Nightfall

I can't take credit for this, but I agree with it 100% ---- Now... I've been a lifelong Red Wings fan. But after the OT loss to the Sharks tonight, I've seen facebook, twitter, and forum posts pop up with the same opinion being shared, mostly of the following variety: "zOMG we lost! The NHL has it out for us! We're never going to win!" "The referees screwed us!! 6 penalties for, only 2 against! This is a conspiracy!!" So, since I frown on stupidity, we're going to break this down, period by period, goal by goal, penalty by penalty, and educate people as to what actually happened tonight. P.S. - Penalties were 7-4, not 6-2. FIRST PERIOD Red Wings come out of the gates flying. Good forecheck, good swarming through the neutral zone causing a lot of dump-ins. Officials seem to be letting the players play rather than get themselves too involved (which in the playoffs, is what should be happening). Goals: Good pressure by the Wings in the offensive zone. Datsyuk rolls out of the corner with the puck, and Lidstrom, realizing all the Sharks are puck-watching, sneaks down the slot in a perfect example of an umbrella offense, and one-times the puck home. Penalties: A skirmish after a cross-check by Scott Nichol leads to Nichol heading to the box, as well as one from each team for the skirmish. Current penalties: DET: 1 SJ: 2 Jonathan Ericsson gets caught on a bad pinch, and water-skis a guy rushing up the ice on the odd-man rush. Current penalties: DET: 2 SJ: 2 Dany Heatley goes to throw a hit, but his wide stance causes Stuart to wipe out. A very very marginal call (In the Red Wings favor? Are you SERIOUS? That goes against everything our conspiratorial belief stands for!). Current penalties: DET: 2 SJ: 3 SECOND PERIOD Aaaand here come the Sharks. Shots were 18-9 this period, and how the Sharks didn't tie this game up in the middle stanza, I'll never know. Let's put it this way, when the Zamboni came out between 2 and 3, they only had to clean half the ice, because I don't think the Red Wings sniffed center ice. Jimmy Howard stands on his head in an MVP effort. Goals: None. Refer to the Jimmy Howard statement in previous paragraph. Penalties: Jiri Hudler for tripping. When you put your stick on a guy's ankle and YANK, you're probably going to sit for a couple. Sorry bud. Current penalties: DET: 3 SJ: 3 (SOOO lopsided, right?) Joe Pavelski snows Jimmy Howard. Howard takes offense. One a piece. Fairly simple decision. Current penalties: DET: 4 SJ: 4 (OMG, NHL's fault) THIRD PERIOD There's the goal I called about 45 minutes before it was scored. More of the same in the 3rd. The Sharks dominating and Jimmy Howard bailing the Wings out long enough for them to dump the puck in and get a line change. Goals: Pavelski late in the 3rd. Drew Miller blows a tire, giving Joe Thornton a lane for a shot that rebounds off Howard, giving Pavelski an opportunity to show off his hand-eye coordination with a baseball bat swing into the net (This is obviously the NHL/official's fault, not Paul Boyer for putting a decent edge on Miller's skates in between periods). Penalties: Todd Bertuzzi for an OBVIOUS board. I understand the NHL standard is sketchy at best regarding boarding and checking from behind, but you can't hit a guy from behind 2 ft. from the boards. The first thing that hit the glass was his face. At this point, my officiating spider sense started tingling, and I even twitched putting my arm in the air. No joke. Current penalties: DET: 5 SJ: 4 Patrick Eaves tries to hacksaw a defender's hand off. The least he could have done was slash him low on the stick and make it LOOK like he was trying to play the puck (which was 50 ft. away at the time). Current penalties: DET: 6 SJ: 4 OVERTIME Same overtone as previous 40 minutes. SJ dominating, Wings holding on by a thread. At the start of OT, I told my brother I would put money on the Red Wings losing the game. Penalties: Red Wings get a 3-1 odd man rush. Abdelkader doesn't even get a shot on goal, and he expresses his anger by clipping Murray in the face with his stick. It's the right call, you split a guy open with a high stick, it's 4 minutes. No questions asked, no marginality to it, no "NHL conspiracy". You have a problem with it, keep your damn stick down. Problem solved. Goals: Saw this one coming. The Red Wings, after successfully killing off the 4 minute power play, are pinned in their zone. Ferreiro puts a lazy shot on net, that hits a defenseman's stick and befuddles Jimmy Howard. Those are the kinds of goals that win OT games in the playoffs (I reference Burrows' knuckleball clapper to eliminate Chicago in Game 7 this week). OVERALL THOUGHTS You get outshot 45-26 in the playoffs, you're not going to win many (if any) games. There were three people that showed up in white jerseys to play today, and they wore 5, 13, and 35. The referees didn't screw anybody. Neither did the NHL. Neither of these entities have sticks in their hands, sticks that fired 46 shots in just under 70 minutes of play. The reason the Red Wings lost is the 20 guys in black jerseys that wanted it more, and were the more talented team tonight. So drop the conspiracy/poor officiating crap, before you give yourself an aneurysm. It's only hockey, after all. Thank you, and good night.

No s*** to that.

For the first time in the history of the LGW forum, we are in agreement.

Reffing aside, the Wings were not prepared for the Sharks tonight. The Sharks played better across the board. They had more shots, more scoring chances, and good puck luck tonight. Especially in the 2nd and 3rd periods. The refs didn't decide the game, the players did. The Wings only have themselves to blame for this loss. I suppose that Wings fans here will find the refs good targets to blame in a few embelleshed calls were the reason that the Sharks won that game. Look at the stats across the board first and you will see the truth. Sharks led in shots 46-25 and had the puck in the offensive end for a bulk of the time in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Give the Sharks some credit. They came ready to play.

Fixed it for you.

Franzen is a playoff beast. Yea, he has his dry spells in the regular season, but there are some guys who can carry a team on their own come playoff time. One of those guys is Franzen. The numbers don't lie.

Just like last year when the Wings won in game 7 and pretty much had to play San Jose a couple days later. I would like to think that Vancouver is worn out after that long series, but the Preds had a hard fought 6 game series themselves. I just don't see the Preds standing a chance in this series unless Rinne stands on his head.

I really just don't see the Preds advancing. Course, I didn't see the Preds advancing over the ducks last series either. If I was a betting man, I would say Vancouver in 6 games. I still wouldn't be surprised to see Rinne steal a couple games and then watch Vancouver lay an egg. Course, I wouldn't bet on that happening though. Vancouver has slayed their dragon and is looking for more.

WAS/TBL: 4-2 PHI/BOS: 4-3 VAN/NSH: 4-3 SJS/DET: 4-2

I like the schedule thats for sure. I shouldn't miss any games due to late nights which is a good thing.

Last year, all the Wings fans were up in arms about having to play so soon after winning in Phoenix. They played on April 27th and then had to play San Jose on April 29th. The other Western conference series didn't start until the 30th and Wings fans were crying conspiracy. Here, Vancouver has the same amount of time to prepare between series, having to play on Thursday while the Wings don't play until Friday. I really don't hear the crying from Canucks fans.

Game 1 Detroit 0/5 PP San Jose 2/6 PP Game 2 Detroit 1/4 PP San Jose 2/10 PP Game 3 Detroit 0/2 PP San Jose 0/6 PP Game 4 Detroit 3/8 PP San Jose 1/5 PP Game 5 Detroit 0/4 PP San Jose 1/4 PP Lets face facts here, Detroit was outworked in Games 2 and 3 of the series. Detroit only outworked San Jose in Game 4, and otherwise it was a very lackluster effort. I would say decimated tired team and a strong San Jose team that was motivated to shake the monkey off their backs were the two main reasons why the Wings lost that series. If one team is outworking the other team, the team that is being lazy will get fewer power plays and opportunities. They will be too busy chasing the stronger team around and taking penalties themselves. Look at Games 4 and 5 of the Chicago/Vancouver series for instance. The Hawks wanted those games, and Vancouver took more penalties because of the Hawks dominant play.

I know some Wings fans wanted weaker teams. I would rather make a run to the cup beating the best teams out there. Give our detractors nothing to talk about if the Wings do win the cup this year. I am also fine with playing the Sharks.

This is going to be an interesting series as well. I just don't think the Preds have enough to beat the Canucks in a 7 game series. Course, I discounted them against the Ducks last series too. This is going to be tough to call. If Pekka Rinne played like a Vezina trophy candidate, I would say the Preds would win. He wasn't that spectacular against the Ducks, and Vancouver has more firepower. The Preds really won't have much rest over Vancouver because they have to travel there to play them. My gut says Vancouver in 7. The lingering doubt in my mind says Preds in 7.

Lets remove the tin foil hats ladies and really think about this series. Last year, the Wings played a tough 7 game series and San Jose gave us everything they had. The scores were not lopsided by any stretch. They lost 4-3 in the first three games and then lost 2-1 in the last game. It wasn't like we got blown out. San Jose really wanted that series, and they earned it. That was their "Stanley Cup" last year, because they fell asleep against Chicago. A four game sweep? Really? You could tell that emotional high of beating the Wings in 5 games just took it right out of them. Special teams and goaltending will be the key here. Niemi has to play better for the Sharks to have a chance in this series. The Red Wings PK has to be better or the Wings are going to lose the series. If Niemi doesn't shape up and the Red Wings special teams improve, this could be a 5 game series victory for the Wings. If it swings the other way, the Sharks could win easily in 5 games. Also, don't forget to factor in the rest the Wings are getting. Sharks had more rest last year. This year, the Wings will be well rested. That should be a factor as well. The better team always wins a 7 game series. My pick is the Wings in 6 games.

There are missed calls all the time. In a 7 game series, the better team always wins. The refs don't decide playoff series winners, the players do. As you said, the Canucks crapped the bed on 2 consecutive nights in game 4 and 5. Game 6 was the best game they played since game 3 and came out on the losing side. They only have themselves to blame if they lose game 7.

This is the only reason why I want to face the Predators. From a skill standpoint, the Preds are just as dangerous as the Sharks are. I would be worried about facing either team because they both have an equal chance to beat the Wings in a 7 game series. I believe the Wings can beat either team if they bring their best game every night. That is what it takes to win the cup.

I believe this is the key point in the article. --- Here's the box score for Game 4: Too Many Men penalty, unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Game 5: High-sticking double-minor for Samuelsson and a roughing call on Bieksa at the end of the second. Game 6: Puck over the glass and a penalty shot. This isn't a series of judgmental interference penalties here. --- When it is all broken down like this, you get a better idea of what is going on. These are judgement calls being made that are burying the Canucks. The Canucks are really burying themselves. You would NEVER hear the Wings saying anything like this. They would be puting the onus on themselves, which is the right thing to do. I believe this game is going to be epic.

I don't think Lidstrom would let Holland or the Wings sign him for longer than a 1 year deal at this stage in his life. He wouldn't want to retire 1 year into a 2-3 year deal and hurt them when it comes to cap space. The respect that the Wings have shown Lidstrom has been returned just as much if not more by Lidstrom himself.

I have to agree as well. I have always believed that the best team wins a 7 game series. This series will be no different. Will the refs have a bad game or two? Yes. Will a team win a game that they were getting outplayed in? Yes. Look at a couple of the games in the Sharks-Kings series. The officiating really is not a point of contention in a 7 game series. Any team bringing it up as a point of contention is deflecting the focus away from lazy or substandard play. I like what Lebrun has to say about this. "If his team wins, the GM will be seen as brilliant for his rant. If the Canucks lose, bad officiating isn't what people will remember from this series. It'll be looked as one of the greatest collapses in NHL history." This is very true. I have watched 5 of these games in their entirety. I really can say that there have been missed calls on both teams, as normal. There have been calls that shouldn't have been made, as normal. I don't see any favoritism at all. Stop making excuses, and get your team motivated to win the game. Thats my advice.

I will say it with you. The poison you pick will come back to beat you. It always seems to work out that way every now and again. The teams that move on do indeed move on for a reason. There are no cream puff teams at this stage of the playoffs.

Gotta give Howard some credit too. He was a steady goalie. He didn't need to come up with game saving stops all the time, but he did have to play solid which he did. I was watching some of the goals he allowed and I can count one softie he probably should have had. The rest were deflections, uncovered players on the other side of the net, and so on. If the defense plays this well and the goaltending is solid, then the Wings are going to go far. Especially considering 13 different players scored in this series. Talk about depth! Rest up Wings! 12 more to go!

If Lidstrom retires at the end of the season, you can bet that the Wings will make a play for Weber.

Helm is a beast!

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