evil204

That was our first good shift of the game

Well, nothing has changed. The Wings are still brutal in their own zone as they were against the Sharks.

Is he the guy who ran into Chelios?

haha, 26 minutes again for Chelios! That man is amazing.

Dang. Sweet goals! Btw, I've barely seen Holmstrom. What's happening?

Hey, where the hell is Holmstrom on the PP?

The Sabres sure did get lucky with travel. They stayed in New York for the first 2 series, and now they have to go to Ontario, while the Wings will be going to the west coast for all 3 rounds (hopefully).

I'd give Holmstrom Datsyuk's $7 million :-D

What's it like in Cheli's Chili when there's a game on? Is the place packed? Is there space to sit down?

:lol: Dude.. you're a joke. First of all, I actually clearly stated in my thread about Babcock that I DON'T think he's a terrible coach. I just don't agree with how he coaches. Read before attacking people. Second... noone ever said Lidstrom wasn't a great player. The original poster simply said that Lidstrom hasn't been on top of his game. I only asked a question about why Lidstrom chooses to let the opposition get to the puck first instead of getting it himself, I didn't criticize him, so what the hell is your problem???? I love this forum's attitude. If there's any hint of negativity, everyone goes crazy. This is a public message board, you know, and it's there for people to post their opinions. If you disagree with someone's opinion, either state yours or piss off. These "be happy we have Lidstrom" and "be happy we finished first in the conference" posts really don't contribute to the discussion in any way.

I have a question... When the puck is loose and it's going into the corner in our own zone, and Lidstrom is going after it but there is an opposition player behind him chasing it too, Lidstrom ALWAYS stops and lets the guy get it. WHY??? Our other defensemen do it too, but not quite as often as Lidstrom... Is he trying to avoid getting slammed into the boards, or does he think he'd be better off letting the other guy take the puck and then taking it away from him? I don't get it...

Thank you, I really thought I was the only one who saw this.

I can't believe none of you noticed that most of our shots come from the blue line and from horrible angles. The Sharks actually get the puck and maneuver around our defense to score their goals. All we do is shoot at first opportunity. You can't count on the puck deflecting off Holmstrom's stick on Schneider's shot and going in 3 times in a game.

Many people are probably going to disagree with me, but I just don't like Babcock at all. It's not just that I'm angry about the Wings screwing up Game 3. Here's a list... 1. All throughout the playoffs (and in the regular season) the Wings have been trying to shoot from the blue line. I'm pretty sure this is Babcock's strategy. He wants them to get traffic in front of the net and shoot from 50 feet away, hoping the puck will go off Holmstrom. This strategy has failed miserably, and the majority of Calgary's chances in the 1st round came from our giveaways on attempted shots at the blue line. Babcock didn't adjust and the Wings kept doing it, giving the puck away all the time. If this wasn't his idea, I'm sure he would've gotten it through the players' heads by now that shooting from the blue line directly into the guy blocking it in front of you is retarded. Everyone's got our "shoot from the blue line" offense figured out. 2. The Wings are brutal in their own zone. This was especially evident tonight but it's been a problem all year long. They just can't get the puck out. They keep making stupid passes around the net to the other side of the ice when there's noone there expecting it and the opposition always gets control. Sure enough, tonight, every time we were in SJ's zone we got one chance at best, but when SJ had control they got 3 at a time.... 3. Babcock can't manage the bench. Lang has been terrible all year long and he is a liability. Filppula was playing way better yet he got half of Lang's ice time at best in the 1st round. Then, Babcock benched Calder after the Wings lost 2 games, and he explained it himself that Calder was benched just to get the team going, not because he wasn't playing well. That's completely ridiculous. You don't bench a guy who's actually effective in the playoffs. You bench bums like LANG! Having said that.... Babcock has definitely made the team better. He made them grittier and more aggresive and more emotional. That's where it ends, though. I think that's all Babcock is capable of. All he can do is yell at them and make them work harder. I think he is completely clueless when it comes to tactics and strategy. The Wings have been making the exact same mistakes all season long and there has been no adjustment made whatsoever. Anyone agree?

What's funny is that most of you didn't address the points I made at all. Can any of you tell me that we haven't been repeatedly giving up the puck shooting from the blue line, or that we haven't been awful at getting the puck out of our zone, or that Lang deserved to get 20 minutes of ice time per game in the 1st round while Hudler and Calder were benched? I never said (at least I don't think I did) that Babcock is a terrible coach, that he should be fired, or that our losses are solely his fault, so you guys should stop freaking out. I said that, in my opinion, all he can do is create discipline, and that he lacks tactical knowledge. I've only been watching hockey and Red Wings games since 2001-2002, so I really don't remember if Scotty Bowman was any better (and even if I did, it'd be hard to compare because he had a totally different team to work with). This is the only team I follow closely so I have no idea what the other coaches are like. But I've been watching this year's team make the exact same mistakes over and over again, and I don't understand why Babcock hasn't made any adjustments to correct them. And to whoever said I'm not a real fan... would I even be here in the first place if I wasn't????

Hasek's style works 9 out of 10 times. Most players aren't smart enough or quick enough to react and actually lift the puck. Hasek effectively takes away the bottom of the net, where everyone is trying to stuff it in.

Yeah, we won the series because Calgary just wasn't good enough. If that was San Jose or Anaheim, we would've gotten killed with all the giveaways at the blue line and the sloppiness in our own zone. I may have exagerrated, but really not that much. The fact that we finished 1st in the western conference... well, you can attribute that to our crappy division or..whatever. During the regular season, we got away with all the things I mentioned. That's not gonna work in the playoffs against teams like San Jose and Anaheim.

I'm not talking about this game in particular. I'm talking about the playoffs and the entire season. We have been making the same dumb mistakes over and over again, and Babcock apparently hasn't noticed.

Lang actually looks like he kinda cares :-)

LIDSTROM!!!! HOW ******* STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE!!! NEARLY 30 BLOCKED SHOTS IN GAME 1 AND HE SHOOTS IT FROM THE DAMN BLUE LINE AGAIN!!!!!!!

I blame Babcock. He sucks at strategy. Sure, we get all these shots on goal, but how many of them have any chance of going in? 90% of them are from the blue line, from outside the blue line, from a terrible angle, right into the goalie's chest, or right into the guy going down to block it. The coach obviously can't adjust. His whole gameplan is to get traffic in front of the net and shoot from the blue line. The wings got by with that strategy against Calgary, but it won't work here. San Jose is actually a good team :-P Despite the lack of energy, we could've won this if we actually got some decent chances.

That's what happens when all you do is shoot from the blue line.... :-P

Ugh. Babcock is an idiot..benching Calder for Hudler. Of course Calder can't be effective with 5 minutes of ice time per game. I'm glad Hudler is in, but Lang or Samuelsson should've been benched instead.

STOP SHOOTING FROM 100 FT AWAY! STOP COUNTING ON THE PUCK GOING OFF OF HOLMSTROM!

Dang. That was prettier than a Datsyuk goal.