Hank

There's no need to make excuses for that goal; karma, bad penalties, 5-on-3's. The point is that goal was perfectly legal. 100%. The controversy exists only because of the Ducks bitterness and crying. We won that game 100% fair and square.There is no controversy. Wings win, Ducks lose. Pronger, get your golf clubs out.

Well, to be fair, when the Ducks first line was in our zone, we had the hardest time just getting it out. I couldn't breath anytime they were on the ice because non of our defensmen or forwards could contain them. The Hawks don't have a Getzlaf but they have a better offense all around. From top to bottom they can skate and score and have some big bodies too. I don't expect this series to be a cake walk. But it's ironic this poster brings up our 'average' defense. It's Chicago's defense that they should be weary of. Campbell eats up a lot of minutes and he's probably the worst defensman (defensively) in this series. At any rate, I can't wait for this series to start. It's going to be great hockey. Both teams like to skate and push the play. The Ducks are death to the eyes. SOOOO boring. It'll be a nice change to play a team that actually wants to cross the redline when not on a PP.

I have to agree. I didn't really see a problem with the first 5 games of this series. And the other series' have been pretty good too. You're going to get chincy calls and sometimes a hook or grab is missed. But it drives me nuts when one team is allowed to get away with overly flagrant stuff but the other team isn't. All the examples you gave are perfect ones. I have no problem if the refs are going to allow interference and body slamming as long as both sides benefit from the lax rules. But to see Pronger get away with one thing and the minutes later we're called for the same infraction is maddening. (even the Ducks radio announcers admitted that Pronger got lucky in not being penalized for the Datsyuk interference in game 6 and the suplex on Hossa last night). And that Hudler call was pathetic. But what drives me nuts is then the refs try to 'even it up' by giving out make-up calls. That gives them even less credibility. I thought the slashing call on Getzlaf was a weak one and Selanne's holding call was brutal. He barely touched him. But the refs were doing whatever they could to make up for the Hudler call and the several non-Pronger calls. Like you said though, the first 5 games weren't bad. They were fine. It's just the last 2 that were so horrible and it really seemed that Pronger, specifically, had free reign to do whatever he wanted. And it's funny that he was rarely penalized in this series at all. The guy was voted the dirtiest player by his peers recently and somehow he walks away with less minor penalties than Zetterberg in this series.

I agree with this. It's just the blatant stuff like Prongers obvious interference on Pavel in game 6, Helm getting dumped in front of the net when the puck was 50 feet away and then Pronger body slamming Hossa behind the net and then crosschecking Hudler into Hiller. All of those infractions were pretty easy to see and yet not only were there no penalties handed out to the Ducks, but we got a penalty for Hudler being shot into Hiller. And that PP goal changed the entire game. Before that happened, the Wings were all over Anaheim and I really believed we were on the verge of a blowout. Anway, it's over, the much better team won and the overrated Pronger can use the summer to get ready for his abysmal performance in the Olympics. I seriously hope he's left off the Canadian roster. He's absolutely brutal on international ice. And he's very overrated as a defenseman. As the Cleary goal unfolded, I actually jumped out of my seat as soon as Pronger left the front of the net to attack Zetterberg. I knew right then we had a great chance to score and sure enough we did. Pronger gets beat way more than people like to admit. Without his ability to interfere and cheap shot, he's an average defenseman. Sort of like Darien Hatcher after they cracked down on slashing. Both big bodies that make bad decisions.

Exactly! Everything evened out in the end. Pronger was body slamming and interfering all series long and some of the calls we had against us were complete BS. To me, it's even and that goal was a good one. F*** Hiller and f*** the Ducks. Cory Perry can suck a fat one.

But at the same time you can say the same thing about Cleary, Hudler, Filuplla or the other 7 Wings forwards who haven't scored.

P.S. Hey Al-BOMB, maybe Homer's not playing that well right now because he's freakin' injured!?!?!

Exactly. He's a big eared, short little nerd that's more concerned about the 5 people in Heaven who want to give him a wedgie. I remember a few years back how the MLB Writers assocation took away his right to vote on baseball matters. He was pretty ticked off about it. But that's what happens when you're hanging out with Maury and writing plays more than writing about sports. I've listened to his radio show and he's such an arrogant pompous ass. You can tell he has a very high opinion of himself. I basically stopped reading his stuff when he wrote an article in the spring of 2003 (after we got swept by the Ducks) how the Wings should have traded Fedorov. I wrote him an email telling him what a wonderful idea that was. Sure, why not trade one of your best playoff performers, AFTER WINNING THE CUP, because you're not sure if he'll be back or not. Even if Fedorov had told the Wings "I"m leaving" you make sure you have the best team available for a repeat. And who knows? What if they won a Cup? Maybe Sergei would have stayed? But the point is, you don't make assinine statements like that based off of perfect 20/20 hindsight. No GM in the world would have dealt Fedorov in that situation based on the fact that him resigning wasn't 100%. What an assclown. He knows about sports as much as he does about being tall and not looking like a mentally challenged Hobbit.

Hahaha. Great response. I watched the game too and I didn't see anything the Pens did that warrented a penalty. And whether you love him or hate him, Crosby is the man. He's got the entire hockey worlds eyes on him, during a game 7, on the road, and he scores twice and sets up another goal. He's clutch and he competes just as hard as anyone in the league. In my mind, he proved in this series that he's one step above Ovechkin. Until AO can get to a Conference final, I will continue to believe Crosby is the better overall player and the best young superstar in the NHL.

Tell me the truth, without biased opinion. You honestly and truly believe that this series is still 3-3 without Getzlaf and Zetterberg?

LOL. Funny but right. I'll never hate on Getzlaf. I would love to have this kid in a Wings jersey. If he can turn a coward like Perry into a 70-point man, imagine what he could do lined up with Datsyuk or the Mule. Sick!

He was crap last night. Just like Perry he feeds off of the Getzlaf-teet. Without #15, he's been useless. How many open nets did he miss, or blown chances did he muff up? I can only fathom how many goals a guy like Hudler, Cleary or even Franzen would have if they were lined up with Getzlaf. Maybe 50 each? Make no mistake, I like Ryan. I was excited to see him break out this year and I think he's going to be a dandy down the road. But in this series, he's been Casper and shown his inexperience. He's only looked average on occasion because of Getzlaf. And we could lose Zetterberg and we still make the playoffs. Hossa? Yup, still making the playoffs. What about Datsyuk? You bet, still making the playoffs. Getzlaf is a beast. Nearly impossible to defend. He's so good, he has his team tied with the Wings after 6 games. You take Getzlaf and Zetterberg out of this series and it's a sweep for Detroit. EASY.

I've noticed this too. And because his skating isn't what it once was, his 5-on-5 offensiveness has gone down as well. But it doesn't matter. This team is still the most solid defensive team because they all work as a 5-man unit. We have the offense, we just need to bury more goals. Last night we played like crap but we still generated chances off of Hiller's huge rebounds. If the ice didn't resemble Michigan Ave. some of those rebounds would have stayed flat and we would have buried a couple more. That's what has me thinking so positive. That was the Ducks absolute best effort and it was our worst, and yet we lost by 1 goal. Imagine if we play game 7 like we did in games 4 and 5? IT'S OVER BABY. We are the hardest working team and the most talented. That combination is deadly to contend against. When we work hard, we have won every loose puck battle and beat their dmen with ease. And the AHL lowlites like Miller, Brown, Nikoleinen, Ebbet, etc. have their heads spinning in place trying to keep up.

Ryan should have had about 3 goals last night but couldn't pull the trigger, fired wide or just couldn't settle the puck. Getzlaf has set him up so often in this series the Ducks should have swept by now. He's a perfect example of a rookie that's hit a wall. Yes, this series is tied. You got a fluke goal in game 2, you got a gift early whistle in game 3 and outside of that we have 3 wins in 4 games. You also did get past San Jose. A team that showed less heart than the Tinman. I don't mind giving the Ducks credit. They are getting the absolute most out of their team and arguably the best collection of top 4 dmen in the league. They do it by playing rope-a-dope hockey and taking advantage of turnovers. But in all honesty, without Getzlaf this team is absolutely NOTHING. If any NHL or Anaheim fan really believes that this team would even be sniffing the playoffs without Getzlaf they're high. And they're getting a lot out of him in the postseason too. The truth is though, if the Wings played in game 6, like they did in games 4 and 5, it's a white-wash last night. For whatever reason, we just weren't battling and working like we did previous. But the fact still remains that if we can bottle Getzlaf up for game 7 this series is over and the Ducks are golfing on Friday. And then maybe Ryan can use the long summer to find his game that went deathly cold 10 days ago.

Perry is invisible without Getzlaf. Just watch a replay of game 5 when Carlyle split them up. Ryan? Ryan who? You might have to put out an Amber alert for him. I was unaware he was even playing in this series. I like Teemu, but when he has to play with <insert two crappy Ducks forwards here> he can't do anything. Anaheim's 3rd and 4th lines are basically AHL lines. Brutal. Rob Neidermayer has the offensive vision and hands of a cement truck. And he's arguabley their 5th best forward.

I've read that he was suffering from the flu.

That's why we're lucky that he's the only guy that can create offense out there. There's no difference between the Ducks 2nd and 4th line. Outside of Getzlaf, Anaheim is about as dangerous as a kitten in a tree. Oh man was it bad. I've heard people describe Anaheim ice like skating on the moon.

I don't think Hudler's strong enough to play center in the NHL. I liked our lineup last night. We just didn't work hard enough.

Agreed. Besides, I think fans have way more emotion invested in these games than the players do. Hockey players are unique in that they can attempt to murder each other every other night, and yet let go once off the ice. It's what makes the game so unique. I hate the Ducks, but they compete and have a handful of great players. Most NHLers respect one another. And that's why it's so disrespectful not to engage in the post-series handshake. It's rude and classless.

I actually thought our 4th line played well and had some decent chances. Abdelkaeder with Sammy and Maltby has been effective. Sure, it's not the grind line from 97 but it's far more effective than Anaheim's 2nd and 3rd lines.

Even though we sucked last night, how many pucks bounced over our sticks and skates after overated-Hiller kicked a plump rebound into the slot? We won't be snakebit like that tomorrow night. Wings 5, Ducks 2.

I'm a huge fan or big #15. Like you said, he's the straw that stirs the drink. It's really a testimant to his talent that the Wings know that if you shut him down, you win the game and yet he still finds a way to get on the scoreboard despite the fact that all 4 of our lines are defensively sound. Even on shifts when he's against the Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Lidstrom-Ericson group he can still hold onto the puck and keep it in our zone for an entire shift. It's gotten to the point where I can't breathe once Getzlaf gets the puck down low. He creates scoring chances every single time he's on the ice. If this kid could be this consistant over 82 games he would easily be a 100+ point player. Maybe even win an Art Ross.

I completely agree with you Nightfall. But I think if you read most of the posts in this thread you'll see that nobody is blaming the refs for the loss. I'm just frustrated that a chincy borderline hold is whistled down, but then I watch Pronger destroy Datsyuk in the corner with the puck nowhere in site and it's not called. Everyone in that arena knows that penalty is made if this game is in November or March. Even Ray Ferraro commenting between the benches was stunned with how it wasn't whistled down. Consistancy is tough to maintain in such a fast sport. But last night it was random as to what would be called one second from the next. I haven't felt that the officiating has been that bad this series, but last nights game was really pathetic. In one moment you can't look at a guy without going to the box and in the next you can decapitate someone and the refs look the other way. It's especially harder to swallow when the above scenarios are reveresed. You see some guy get railroaded and then 10 seconds later someone's whistled for breathing on the opposition.

I don't know if it's getting worse or what. But it does seem like half of the refs are calling games like they would in February while the other half is calling games like they would in February of 2001.

I couldn't have said it better Opie. Especially about the quick whistles when Hiller had the puck compared to Ozzie being mauled with sticks for a good 10 seconds before they'd finally blow the whistle. Like you said, there's no concipiracy (why would the NHL want the boring-ass Ducks in the finals compared to an original 6 matchup with Chicago), but the incosistancy is mind boggling. The non-call on Prongers interference hit was atrocious. That could have been the most blatant 'swallow the whistle' moment I've seen since the lockout and new standards were enforced. Filpulla got away with one minutes later but you knew that was a make-up non-call. I would have prefered going back on the PP without one of their best defensemen. Oh well. Despite the inconsitancies the Wings deserved to lose last night. We looked like we were playing in January. The good news is that the Ducks had one of their best games and still could only muster a 2-1 win. That's because they have 7 great skaters and 11 AHL rejects. I've never seen such a drop in skill from top to bottom. I'm pretty sure we have guys in Grand Rapids that are better than the Ducks 2nd line.