Packer487

Pronger can eat a fat one. Where's Dmitri Mironov when we need him? And Holmstrom is back. God that guy is a tough MFer. -Tim

Pronger is such a *****. Where's Dmitri Mironov when we need him? -Tim

Pretty garbage no-call. This isn't NHL 94 where you could just push the goalie into the net and the goal would count: Here's the rule, not sure if anyone has posted it yet...didn't read the whole thread: "69.6 Rebounds and Loose Pucks - In the event that a goalkeeper has been pushed into the net together with the puck after making a stop, the goal will be disallowed. If applicable, appropriate penalties will be assessed." Pretty clear-cut that we got hosed worse than Davey in the Mountain Dew commercial: That said, the fact that that goal was BS doesn't mean we would've won 3-2. Anaheim likely would've come on the offensive late in the game, and there's at least a decent chance they would've put one in anyway. We've gotta play better to win this series, particularly 5 on 5. I'm encouraged that the power play looks like a real unit again and that Hasek is still playing great. The Ducks have brought their "A" game, and we haven't seen it out of Detroit yet (save for our goalie). We're pretty fortunate to not be down 0-2 in this series....it's a shame that a BS goal like that came into play, but we really need to play better all around. Heck, if Dats doesn't miss the net by an inch early in OT, no one even cares about Dom being pushed into the net. We can play MUCH better (especially the Gumptuzzi line). If the Wings step it up, we'll win the series. If not, then we won't (obviously) short of a super-human effort from our goalie. We've gotten out-played but we have had a lot of great scoring chances. Just gotta get a split in Anaheim and we're fine..... -Tim

Hasek is ridiculous. Just ridiculous. That backhand, facing-the-net save might have been the best one of the year. He's unreal. -Tim

I love how superstitious I am even when it's completely irrational to think it could help. But yeah, get the puff piece thread going!! -Tim

You want Clutch? Check out Mr. Hasek's stats in elimination games since he joined the Red Wings (elimination games for us or our opponent): -Shutout tonight -1 goal allowed in a double OT win to knock out Calgary -1 goal allowed in Stanley Cup clinching game against Carolina -Shutout in Games 6 and 7 after falling into a 3-2 hole against Colorado -Shutout against St. Louis -4 goals allowed against Vancouver in a 6-4 win. That means in 7 elimination games as a Red Wing, he is 7-0, has allowed 6 goals, including FOUR shutouts and six games allowing one goal or less. In his last 6 he's allowed TWO goals total. And, ya know, a 2-0 record with a 0.00 GAA and a 1.000 save percentage when the Wings are facing elimination. Unbelievable how good this guy is when it counts. Edit: Added a couple of things.... -Tim

Well...I mean Hasek wanted out of Buffalo. And it was a few years ago. Ottawa didn't want him back after last season. I imagine he's the last guy they'd want to see in the Finals. Especially since had they kept him, the Wings wouldn't be in a position to potentially go back. There's absolutely no way we'd be back in the WCF without Dom on our roster. The only thing more intriguing would be if Ted Nolan's Islanders had made it.... This is going to be a great series vs. the Ducks though. I'm so excited that we've got a shot to get back to the Finals! It's amazing how fast stuff can change. A few days ago, with a minute left in Game 4, I thought we were done for. Then Big Shot Bob somehow manages to not turn the puck over and score a goal....and now we're in the WCF again. There's really nothing like playoff hockey. -Tim

By the way, has anyone else noticed that if we beat Anaheim, it's going to be Hasek's personal revenge series no matter who we'd play in the Finals. Ottawa especially would be like "Oh fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudggggggge" at the prospect of seeing him in the Finals after they didn't want him back. Thank you very much! -Tim

I forgot they have Kunitz. Well, I guess I have my reason to hate them already! I hated his floater-ass when he was at Ferris State, and that'll definitely carry over. I wonder if his time in the NHL has taught him that a defensive zone actually exists. -Tim

BTW, in his last 3 game sixes (all on the road), Hasek has given up a total of one goal. In eleven periods of hockey. This guy is just incredible. -Tim

Double post, delete* The other one is below and the typo is corrected.

Psst! Superstition! (We just took out the toughest team we'll play. I'm much more confident heading into this one. They're good on D and Giguere is better than Nabokov, but they aren't as good or as deep up front and they haven't played anyone that can put the puck in the net like we can. The only thing that scares me in this series is Giguere's record in playoff overtime. But we've got the best goalie of his era, and he's at the top of his game once again.) -Tim

If you're doing it right, hockey should come third. -Tim

SJ should put in Toskala to slash Franzen. Bwahahaha! I'm not dreading this series so much anymore -Tim

THE PUCK DON'T LIE! Good kill boys! -Tim

That's what you get for doing the Statue of Liberty BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH! Karma....

I told WIngfan191 I was feeling a long overtime tonight. I'm just happy we got there. Lang just saved the season....gotta win this game to keep it that way. I'm feeling a sick move from Triple D (Dirty, Dirty Datsyuk) for the winner*. GET ER DONE! (Either that or Schneider will throw a shot off someone's shin pads and Cheechoo will score on a breakaway) -Tim

If they can put a chip in the puck to make it glow on TV, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to put a chip in the puck and a sensor in the ice that can make an accurate reading of if the puck completely crossed the goalline. It wouldn't help for "Did it go in before the whistle blew?" situations, but it would end all questions about plays at the net.... -Tim

I've been saying for months that I didn't want to face San Jose. They're big, they're fast, they're deep, their power play is lethal, and they kind of owned us this year when we faced em. And yet, some of you seem pretty positive about this series. I'm looking for reasons to not be dreading this series. I know their defense isn't that good and I know we have the edge in goal. Apart from that, help me out! Make me feel good heading into Thursday. I just have "Sharks in 6" running through my head and I hate it.... -Tim

Agreed. For his sake, I'm glad he's doing better, but I don't think anything of him as a defenseman. Not to say he won't live up to his potential eventually, but right now the guy blows. -Tim

C'mon, I've been SO good lately! Ya have to let me throw a little jab every now and then. I'm definitely feeling better about things having read what everyone has to say. Don't get my original post wrong, it's not that I don't think we have a chance in this series, I just personally feel that the Sharks are the toughest test we'll face this year (and that includes if we go on to make the Finals). They were the one team I was hoping not to see, because it's an extremely impressive collection of young, big, fast talent they've managed to put on the ice. This one could totally go either way. I still don't like the matchup for us on paper, but execution is a totally different animal and our guys are the ones with the experience. And despite the motivation Nabokov may have, I'll take Hasek anyday. The special teams are going to be what decides this series. You could probably say that in most cases, but it especially rings true here. If we can limit their power play opportunities and not let them score on 40% of them when they DO get opportunities, we'll probably be fine. Those are the two things that worry me though. Big and fast = hooking penalties (as we've seen) and they've got a lot of guys that have those qualities...... -Tim

Yeah but we also had to play Osgood and The Joey MacDonald Experience on the days when Hasek couldn't go...that didn't help the ole' Jennings run.... -Tim

Ha! Thanks for the info. I knew it had to be something like that, that I just missed.... I hate playing these west coast teams....I guess it won't be so bad now that I live in the Central Time Zone, but still. As an aside, Wingfan191 had a great idea for realignment IMO. Have a northern conference and a southern conference. We'd be with all/most of the original six, and all the Canadian teams would be together. You'd have some crazy rivalries due to that. Plus as an added bonus/equalizer, EVERYONE would have to travel. I'm sure there are some negatives (the southern teams wouldn't really be with anyone in a traditional hockey market), but I like the idea of not screwing over the Western Conference teams with travel. -Tim

3-1 for Grossman. But he's never thrown more than 1 touchdown against them (unless you count his 2 TD passes to the Packers' DBs in the last game of the year ) and he's only thrown for 200 yards one time. Must be nice having that defense to cover up for him. You can't tell me that as a Bears fan, you're happy he's your QB. Because I'm happy he's your QB! To tie this back to hockey: Why is Hudler's nickname "Rex"? I totally missed that one, and I can't figure it out for the life of me. BTW, good list of stuff. I'm really enjoying this thread. And welcome to the Sharks fans! -Tim

If the Sharks had Rex Grossman quarterbacking their power play, that would be enough to make me not scared of them. Interesting smack from someone whose team is 8-22 against the Packers in the last 30.... This thread is helping somewhat. Seems to me that the keys are: 1) STAY OUT OF THE BOX 2) STAY OUT OF THE BOX 3) Hasek keeps playing out of his mind 4) Pressure their young defensemen into mistakes It's gonna be a fun series. I just wish we were playing them after they faced Anaheim in a tough 6 or 7 game series...stupid Dallas. -Tim