WingFanInStarLand

What an embarrassment. I'm not usually one to single out goaltending, and often times our losses are a combination of the goaltender AND the defense (2/28 v. Nash and 8-2 vs. CLB) or sometimes just awful defense (1/12 @ Dal). Tonight, like the loss last Monday vs. CGY and Sunday was totally on the goaltending. People can say 60 minutes this 60 minutes that...I thought our team was pretty good tonight, definitely good enough to win. They definitely had the better of the play for the last two periods, IMO. The Defense left Conklin with no chance on the first Backes goal, as it was an alert play by Winchester. The 2nd goal was AWFUL, Conklin totally overplaying his angle and getting caught embarassingly out of position. The third goal was a miscommunication between E and Conklin, but Conklin is the one who blindly shoots the puck right to an StL player. AWFUL play and momentum killer. I think the 4th goal is tough to pin on anyone...the wrist shot has to be given up by the PK and McDonald made a nice deflection, in that case you have to hit it hits you (like several of ours with Mason)...bad luck but still a save that can be made. after all of this, the Wings battled back to tie the game. Make one or two big saves, and I can forgive this performance by Conklin...that the net this team gives you. That 5th goal made me want to vomit. I haven't been that angry in a while. Its softness and the circumstance, especially given how hard we had battled to tie it twice...its just maddening. AHL goaltenders can make that save. Conklin has been decent most of the year, but he was awful and cost us the game tonight. This one isn't on the defense the effort level or our lack of heart. Conklin s*** the bed.

One of my good friends is a Flyers fan, so I saw them a lot this year on Center Ice, and while Knuble is a nice player, he really isn't a great replacement for Drake. -He is not a great skater, which hurts him in the transition game. Don't expect him to bring the same jam that Drake brings. He did play the Flyers PK, but we have more PK forwards than we know what to do with. -He is not a great player on the rush. He makes his living on deflections and screens in front of the net, particularly on the PP. He is pretty good at it, but we already have one crease-crashing PP specialist in Homer, and while Knuble may be better at it than Cleary (and or Franzen, depending on what you want to do with him on the PP) I really don't think the quality difference on the 2nd PP unit that the difference would cause justifies adding another 2.25 or so salary and giving up something of value to get him. Nice player, decent skills, but IMO, he is not suited to the Wings needs at the moment.

There seems to be alot of chatter that Kubina will end up in SJ once the two week window he can be traded kicks in soon, since he was going to be dealt there during the deadline and he rejected it. Assuming that's the case than SJ would have Kubina, Vlasic, Murray, Rivet, Erhoff (sp and rfa i think), carle and Mclaren (although he may be going the other way in the Kubina trade) If that is the case, than how will SJ fit Stuart into the mix? Kubina, Vlasic, Murray, Rivet, Erhoff (assuming he will be signed and he will) is a solid top-5, and even assuming that they move Carle (a big if) and McLaren is traded, can SJ really spend what Stuart will need?? I'm not saying he'll resign here (I am becoming more doubtful by the day as well) but if the Kubina deal goes down, and many people, including the Hockey News, think it will, than where does Brad fit there?

2-3-2 sucks. I hate it. IMO, at NO point in time should the team with a worse record play more home games than the team with the better record. It strips the higher seed of gate revenue and rewards the other team. -Also, as many have said, Game 5 is often a CRITICAL swing game--the numbers on the winner of game 5 winning the series when it is tied at 2 are very high--around 80 percent. The team with the better record should have an advantage in that game. -This place would be going ballistic if we had to play Game 5 in Nashville after losing there in Games 3 and 4. I guarantee that Nashville would have come out with a ton more energy than they did in our building if we did...(No, Im not saying we would have lost). Thats bullsh*t. -It sucks that the first team losing 1 at home can prevent them from playing at home again, but it can even screw you if you don't. I live in Dallas, and the 2006 NBA finals come to mind. Dallas dominated Games 1 and 2 at home, only to lose Game 3 by a nose and Game 4 badly. Everyone in Dallas wanted that fifth game back home. It would have helped to had that game at home to energize a depleted team into stopping the bleeding. Instead they had to play in Miami AGAIN. They lost a narrow, heart breaking game. By the time they got back to the AAC for Game 6, their spirit was broken. I understand the travel costs, but seeing as how the Wings are likely to have home ice advantage most of the time going forward, 2-3-2 SUCKS or us.

I'm not going to lie...I'm sad. I know it was time, but sometimes you don't realize how good you've had it until it's gone. Hasek has done everything the Red Wing organization has asked of him these past two years. He was great in the 07 playoffs and when it was time for Ozzie, Hasek was the consummate teammate, quietly preparing himself and not whining about it to the press. The man is colorful and intense, but he truly has the heart of a champion. One of my favorite moments came in one of our most painful moments as fans. After Floppa scored in Game 5 of OT in the 2002 WCF...the way Hasek was so defiantly skating off the ice, shaking his head...you could just tell the man was on fire. And then he didn't allow another goal in that series. That passion is what separates him from a lot of other goalies, IMO. Is he nuts? Hell yes. Would I have him any other way?? Hell No. Thanks for everything Dom! (and you know what is scary....we didn't even see him at his best.) What. A. Beast.

I've only been here since the fallout of the 2004 loss to Calgary. Since then I've seen people say that the Wings' had no goaltending, weren't tough enough, were too small, old and slow to ever win again. I've seen people rip Ken Holland as an overrated GM and others claiming that he was just ok. I've seen the following people scape goated: Dandenault, Whitney, Legace, Joseph, Fischer, Devereaux,Datsyuk (LOL), Williams, Lang, Lilja and Samuelsson et al. It's been quite a while...but for those of you who were wondering if Holland (with obvious help from Nill, Hakan, Jimmy, Stevie and Babs) could build a winner, here is your answer. This team is based on the solid drafting of smart, skilled players.. And let's not forget, when the chips were down at the trade deadline and everyone wanted Hossa (myself included), Holland took the prudent course and acquired the final part of our blueline puzzle, the grizzled Stuart. (and we didn't even give up a first rounder for him!) This is not an "I told you so thread" where we point fingers at doubters, as both sides had valid points over the past several years. This is the place to show your appreciation for management and to finally remove any doubt (if there was any remaining) that Ken Holland is not a good GM, but he's a great one!

Must be better than that...Its nice to come out of that period with the lead. However, we were lucky to have them miss so many opportunities and somewhat unlucky on that disallowed goal. First period notes: -D and Z are absolutely flying. They are going to see a ton of minutes -Cleary is working so hard on the 2nd line, and after they got hemmed in their own end on the first two shifts, they have been much better. -Tighten up defensively. Backchecking was sloppy that period...they also hit their D on several slow down plays gliding into the zone. Our Fwds need to remember their assignments. -Keep going to the net. Keep going to the net. Keep going to the net. Turco would have saved that Z shot last round...he's clearly human. -Lids F*&! up on his penalty, but he may have saved a goal there at the end of the period. I still love him -You cannot let Ribeiro sit behind the net like that at the end of the period...stupid (and it was all caused by Morrow beating Raffy back for an icing) -What happend to Ozzy on that goal, Im not blaming him, but he looked a little out of position there. (it didn't help that Ribeiro was able to make a clean pass to Robidas).

Absolutely...playing with any combo of Ott and Stu Barnes will drag your numbers down...he's not a primary scorer anymore, so why do people keep saying he is? He has looked very good on the PP recently, but the Modano of old shut people down while dominating at the other end. He isn't that player anymore, and he really hasn't been since 2002-2003 (when Guerin played on his wing and scored a ton). Mo has been good in these playoffs, but let's not think of him as a number 1 center playing a number 3 role, cuz he isnt.

I've seen both of these teams play alot this year and I'm excited for this series and our chances of winning it. Turco is one of those goaltenders who has the potential to make some mind boggling saves and give in some softies at the same time. He is playing out of this world right now. He's answered the 'playoff choker' label pretty convincingly...in fact that entire argument has been overblown for a while now. Dallas lost b/c it couldn't score. HOWEVER...we can shatter his confidence with a big game in Game 1. I don't think we can lose the series that early, but if we come out and overwhelm Turco the way we did Theodore, his confidence and the "You can't win at JLA" will seep in immediately...paving the way for a shorter series. ZDH vs. Ribeiro-Morrow-Lehtinen. Interesting matchup...Lehtinen has been an elite defensive stopper for a long time, so both of these lines can go both ways. Ribeiro is gonna fade...I can smell it. His game is patience and cute passing, the kind of stuff our D eats for breakfast. If you watched the season series, you'll notice that when the Wings had the lead late, Dallas couldn't even enter the zone. Puck possession=fail. Morrow is another animal...if Dallas throws pucks at the net with Morrow there all series, we could get lit up. I expect us to know where he is at all times and get position on him. I truly believe that his dominance in front of the net is Dallas' best chance to beat us. Their other Wingers are average. Eriksson, Hagman, Lundqvist, Ott should not beat us. Richards is good, and Modano, while still somewhat effective, is living off of the PP and is nowhere near the force he once was. In the end I like our depth, discipline and top-end talent over theirs. Wings in six.

Bill Ranford isn't our goalie anymore. /end comparison.

I disagree on Nabokov...playing 74/75 games in the regular season is bound to wear out a goaltender...Brodeur was obviously fatigued in their 2nd round series last year against Ottawa and this year against NYR, and no one would label him a choker. Playing that many games was bound to catch up with Evgeni eventually, and we're seeing it now. Personally, I think that he was quite good against us last year... 13 goals given up in 6 games is NOT choking. I thought he was as good if not better than Giguere was against us. I think San Jose's lack of a backup in the regular season may cost them this series. As for the games themselves, I always hated the Stars and somewhat liked the Sharks...and even though I would rather play Dallas than SJ, I want to see this series get extended. As a sidenote, it's funny to see everyone worshiping Dallas on HFBoards as "clearly the west's best team"...I've said it before but I really really like how we match up against them (and I won't be able to live it down if we were to lose to them).

Colorado certainly has an advantage in 2nd line talent/experience over the Wings. No question there, but our 2nd line guys are all capable defensively and will not wilt under the pressure. I think they will be fine. Colorado has an impressive array of forwards, but whoever said their defense is better/ more physical than Nashville's is out of their mind. The Preds D is so underrated around the league and on this boards it isn't funny. We all know that Foote was once great, but Nashville's collection of stud Dmen just entering their prime is legit...I would take Hamhuis, Weber and Suter over any Av blueliner with the possible exception of Foote. DeVries and Zanon are comparable to Salei and Sauer, and I would still give Nash the edge there. I don't care too much for either Zidlicky or Liles. Their D is not going to be overly-punishing, unless you buy the hype that Ruslan Salei and Scott Hannan are punishing forces, which they are not. The Avs D core is just ok, and we can exploit that.

Well, they let up in Nashville in Games 3 and 4 so they would clinch today on my birthday....right... If that doesn't work, I told my sister (who goes to Vanderbilit) to poison the Predators' team meal...we shall see if she really loves me! In all seriousness...I think we win this one 3-1. THEY BETTER!

As someone else already said... when you can learn from two classic dive artists, Princess Paul and Floppa, you should be really good at diving. Im glad Nashville's younger guys took advantage of the extra diving lessons that Paul graced them with for two years!

well that was pathetic .Nashville won almost all of the loose puck battles....they do look dazed. The D couldnt clear/bad coverage led to the first goal. Losing a faceoff after a careless icing led to the second goal, although more often than not, that shot needs to be stopped. period. Sigh...we shall see what this team is made of...if they play like that than the answer is not much. We know what they can be....now show it.