Dabura

I may be in the minority here, but I'm happy everyone and his mom his betting against us, as it'll make winning the series that much sweeter.

Gaaaaah I can't wait until Thursdayyyyyy.

I guess I'll offer a serious response. Why Wings Fans Shouldn't Be Dreading The Sharks Yes, we know. "The Red Wings are old, soft and one-dimensional. Team X's superior speed, size and strength will make short work of them." It's become quite the trendy opinion, and not without good reason: In past seasons, the Wings have been old and soft, proving themselves incapable of countering the kind of threats this current San Jose squad offers. That's why the Flames were so openly confident heading into this past series. They believed -- again, with good reason -- that the ever-brittle Wings would crumble under the pressure of Calgary's physical game, would not be able to skate with Calgary's speedy forwards, and would not be able to get anything past Kiprusoff (undoubtedly the best young goalie in the NHL). They made a good argument. The Wings made a better one. Old? You wouldn't have known it watching this series. Lidstrom, though shaky here and there, was generally his quietly dominating self, rendering Iginla's line impotent and frustrated for most of the series. Even when he's off his game (which, by the way, is almost never the case), Lidstrom is still the best defenseman in the NHL. Chelios, beyond ancient by this league's standards, never looked out of place with those oh-so-young and oh-so-aggressive Flames forwards. And Hasek, though overshadowed by Kiprusoff's otherworldly play, was fantastic when he needed to be. Soft? Anything but. The Wings not only responded to the Flames' physical play: They threw it right back in their collective face, hitting everything that moved and never once backing down from a post-whistle scrum. Best of all, this wasn't a two or three-person effort; the whole team was dishing it out, from Bertuzzi to Pavel frickin' Datsyuk of all people. If Sharks fans don't know Daniel Cleary and Johan Franzen now, they certainly will by the time this series is over, whether the Wings win or lose. Finally, one-dimensional? This Wings team's greatest asset is arguably its versatility. As they demonstrated in this past series, they can compete on every front and in any flavor of play. This, of course, is not to say the Sharks are mere Flames clones -- far from it. Where the Flames relied on their goalie to keep them in what would have otherwise been a tremendously lopsided sweep, the Sharks can hurt you in many more ways and to a much greater extent. That is to say, this is a much more well-rounded and dangerous club than the one Calgary put on the ice. And it's going to show. The second the puck drops on Thursday night at the Joe, the Sharks are going to come hard and fast, and it's not going to let up until the series is over. Ron Wilson is sharp as nails and experienced, and he openly stated almost a week ago that he expected his team to face the Wings in the next round -- so don't expect his troops to ever look as unprepared as Playfair's men did in games 1, 2 and 5. They have an identity and a fundamental approach to their game, and they're going to stick to it. Because it works. Then again, the Wings have such a strategy of their own. As the Flames will tell you, a big component of it is the element of surprise. As in the rude awakening kind of surprise.

This is going to be one hell of a series. Hockey fans, rejoice.

Expect most folks to be betting against us. Which, of course, will make winning this series that much sweeter.

Nah, I just find this particular thread really hypocritical and irritating. If the point is that we're "in this together" and what not, pointing fingers at each other like this would seem a silly thing to do.

Haha. I'm on the West Coast so I get to watch Heroes right after this.

YEAH BOI

THAT'S GREAT. IT HAPPENS AND WILL HAPPEN UNTIL THE END OF TIME. WE'RE IN THE 2ND ROUND. MOVE ON, EVERYONE.

After watching our series, I'm used to seeing bodies flying everywhere. This matchup seems much less physical. Just an observation.

Alain kinda scares me, not gonna lie.

No Zubov. s***.

Strader and Vanby?! Interesting pairing....

Dammit all. I hate Saturday games.

Holy God, enough already. This thread's almost as tired as what it was made to rail against.

Nooooooo I can't watch Saturday afternoon games.

Haha, I get that all the time. Agreed.

Umm...no.

I go to school in NorCal, and from what I've seen, it's largely a bandwagon thing. "We have a hockey team? They're doing well?! SWEET! *dons Sharks jersey*" Which isn't to say I disrespect them or the team; both are great. Plus, it's not like the Wings don't have a few bandwagon fans....

They had better; it put a huge wrench in the Flames' plans, and would probably do the same for the Sharks' or Stars' plans.

He deserves a hell of a lot of credit, stepping into such a crucial game--and at the Saddledome of all places! Plus, as most have already said, he was basically mistake-free. Very impressive.

Red wine. (Equally lame. lol)

*the numbers 9 and 4 flash before his eyes. he grows dizzy* MATT! NEVER SPEAK OF THAT AGAIN!