YoungGuns1340

There are tons of reasons for this: 1) economy 2) Tigers and Pistons 3) early round exits 4) playoffs in Detroit are commonplace. If Detroit squeaked into the playoffs, hadnt may the playoffs the year before, and/or didnt have to contend with TWO top notch sports teams during THE SAME TIME, there wouldnt even be this article. Likewise, if all of the above happened with Montreal or Toronto, and their economy was piss poor, theyd be singing a different tune. I mean, Im as die hard a fan as any. If I could, Id go to every playoff game, but not only can I not afford to go to so many, but Im likely going to the first game ALONE because none of my friends can afford to go with me.

Lilja, Hudler, and a 1st for Crosby.

Hopefully after the first round of the playoffs, the correct response will be Playfair.

What? He was the best on the cup winning team outside of Bowman. Ill never understand why Lewis got the job over Smith. Or why Gretzky was head over Smith, either (other than for the "sexy" factor)

DMac. Other than that, whoever their oldest player is who hasnt won a cup.

Awesome post!

I think Nashville has as good of goaltending as any. They have as legit a one-two punch as any with Vokoun and Mason. Hell, Id take Mason over half of the playoff teams starting goaltenders. This can do nothing for Nashville except inspire competition between the two goaltenders.

I agree. After that 9-4 beating the Wings took, every Wings fan overrates the Sharks.

Why is everybody so god damned pessimistic about stupid s***. Do you KNOW FOR A FACT that we cant win a back to back game? NO, so quick screwing with the cosmos and keep that attitude positive!

Yeah hes a HUGE Clown. Lets hope he refs out East and doesnt get anywhere near the Western Conference. This guy is as big a joke as any. Im not a fan of Fraser, but EVERY NHL REFEREE is better than McGeough. ...and he looks like a penis with that helmet on.

You betta recognize. Detroit blew out its last game in the afternoon. Was it against Chicago? Yes. But were regular sitting out and Datsyuk and Lidstrom playing limited minutes? Yes again. Didnt they just lose to the same Chicago team? Yes once again. They played hard and won by committee. And you wanna bring up offense like its been some huge problem in big games. The games where Detroit hasnt put up the goals, theyve kept the opponent from scoring even fewer. Last time I checked, that goes down as a win....and a playoff type one at that.

The real advantage I see in the Red Wings this time is the guy behind the bench. Babcock has been absolutely vicious about this first series. Everything hes said about the playoffs makes me feel so much better about the team. Playfair seemed to make a great transition with the Flames, but Sutter was scary good. I realize Sutter will still have input, but Bowman has input from our end. At any rate, with the way Babs has called out Lang, Hasek, and Cleary (last night for night protecting his body better) over the seasn - among others - it makes me a lot more confident in his "no bulls***" attitude. Plus, the whole 13 regular forwards saga will keep these guys on their toes. Nobodys spot is safe in the lineup, so we no longer have to put up with casual attitudes and soft play when theres another guy waiting to take your spot.

They seem to forget that the Wings dont NEED Bertuzzi to big a big scorer. Dats and Hank dont fold like they used to - they are both more mature, hardworking, hungry, and experienced. This series is a BIG difference from 2004. We DONT rely solely on our PP anymore nor do we need to make 8 passes to score a goal. This team has been scoring garbage goals all year - and not just from Homer either - Dats, Hank, Bert, even Flip have caught on in terms of going to the net.

Teemu Selanne doesnt belong in Selke talk. Zetterberg, Pahlsson, Lehtinen, Draper, and Brind'amour are the frontrunners right now. Langkow is the darkhorse.

WOW. This was an AWESOME game to go to. The crowd was SO into it. Everybody was awesome...how bout Sammy with that 5 point game?? At least him, Calder, and Homer are ready for the playoffs. Looks like Markov and Lilja are too. IM SO EXCITED!!!

We dont need him.

..pardon the pun

But Bertuzzi's got a lot of excuses on hand: Nearly two seasons off, coming off extensive back surgery, and joining a completely new team. The recovery period for all that combined is going to get him a lot of leeway in his contract negotiations and so far, he has brought all the intangibles that Detroit expected out of him: Grit, hitting, crashing the net, creating space for his linemates, and simply his imposing presence on the ice that makes opponents think twice about hits. Hes already made examples out of Cajanek, Tollefsen, and Svitov in, what? 6 games? Thats more damage to the opposition than any of our regulars has done all year. Thats what Detroit is looking for and they know they desperately need it - even moreso when having it after going so long without it.

I dont think Zetterberg will go for significantly more than Datsyuk...if at all more than Datsyuk. An extra 1M after the salary transfer would put Zetterberg at 6.25M. I doubt Zetterberg is going to ask for 7.25-7.75M per season. At most, I see him asking for the same as Datsyuk, which would be an extra ~1.5M.

Hes still at the top of his game now - at age 37 - but its clear that his peak play has already passed. Thats been evident this year despite him still being the #1 Dman in the league. At age 38, after having been one of the top paid players for several years running, Lidstrom WILL take a paycut and a fairly significant one at that for a few reasons. 1) He wont be playing at the level he used to 2) It will likely reflect poorly on his character should he demand another 6-7M dollar season when other key players need to be re-signed....especially after Steve Yzerman took a paycut when he was in this position. 3) Lidstrom will not want to play for another team after playing his entire career in Detroit. Therefore, Detroit will have the upperhand in negotiations as the offers of other teams (should there be any) will merely be afterthoughts to Lidstrom.

Im conflicted...but at the same time I think people are absolutely spoiled when it comes to Datsyuk. Watching him every game you get used to his trickery, but hes one of the most exciting guys in the league. Add that on to what hes brought in terms of leadership, defense, and heart - things that hes brought in spades this year - and he truly is an elite forward. I dont think I like so much the length of the contract - 7 years is a few years too much for me - but the cap will likely keep goin up and thats always a benefit to Detroit. I think people forget how it was before the cap. There are some teams who simply WILL NOT spend up to the cap limit. Detroit ALWAYS has been one of the highest spending teams. Should the cap reach 55M in a few years, you can bet that there will be a number of teams whos payrolls are still hovering around the 40-45M mark.

Holland didnt do a bad job of planning really - Lidstroms contract and Zetterbergs contract expire at the same time. Lidstrom will be 38 at that time. Hell, Lidstrom may even RETIRE after this contract is up. At any rate, assuming Lidstrom re-signs at age 38, Im sure hed re-sign for max 5M. Thats a 2.6M transfer that can be made bumping up Hanks salary to 5.25. Throw in another 1M, a likely increased cap, and Detroit will be just fine. When Detroit needs a player like Bertuzzi as much as they do, its not "take it or leave it". A two year, 8M contract is reasonable, but if Detroit needs to go to 4.5, so be it.

Backstroms been dominating for sure....but his stats are inflated due to facing the late abysmal Oilers and shutting them out in three games aganst them. Thats nothing too impressive these days. To me, Minnesota is preferable because Detroit has the ability to shut down speedy finesse guys but has more trouble with the imposing power forward types. Minnesota simply matches up better with Detroit. That being said, Im getting pretty impartial to who we play. Weve shown we dont fold when the going gets rough and can win playoff type games.

It really sucks that the 2nd to last games favor Calgary. The Oilers are a walkover, but you never know. I could see Calgary bombing against the oil, the Avs beating the Preds, and then Colorado taking it all in the last game.

You know, I never got this bulls*** of ALWAYS and NEVER when it comes to playoff hockey. Winning at home, winning on the road, winning out west, out east, against the 8th seed, against the 1st seed, against a physical team, an offensive team, a hot goalie, a no-name goale, Patrick Roy, the San Jose Sharks, Mick McGeough....WHATEVER. Sorry for the rant, but it cannot be said enough that ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN in the playoffs. Who actually thought Cam Ward was a Conne Smythe candidate? ..that Pisani would be lighting the lamp on pace with Eric Staal? This is anybodys game and if the Wings play out West, they can win if they bring their A game. They can beat San Jose if they bring their A game. Hell, Danny Markov could lay out Dion Phaneuf if he brings his A game. No team is safe and no team should be favored. Lets all just send out the positive vibes that our team is going to play the best that they can and relax about the whos, whats, and wheres of the first, second, third, and fourth rounds.