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I also looooove how the National headlines for the Hawks, Bruins, and Pens all talk about what they "need to do" in order to even up THEIR Series, whereas the Wings/Ducks Series headlines read: "Ducks look to go up 3-1 on Detroit"

LOL..... Well, MrSandMan, I stand humbled. Your optimism rocks. Hopefully our boys can prove you right. And WHEN they do, I'll be the first to come here and apologize for being so "freaked out." Deal?

I don't think that's it at all, MrSandMan. I think it's much more than that, and more than a little justified. Let's bear a few things in mind: The Wings have shown not much, (even in their one Win this Series), to give us too much confidence that they'll be able to net much better results than those they've netted thus far. They look tired, frustrated, outworked, overmatched, and (dare I say it), "scared". They're disengaged. And I've seen no indication that things are likely to change. Why? Because I'm watching the Wings and their Coach in interviews and photos. They look grim-faced. They sound terse. They look and sound, (regardless of the WORDS they choose to use), JUST LIKE the opponents/opposing Head Coaches of EVERY TEAM they've faced over the past five Play Off Series. And their opponents? They're laughing, loose, cracking wise, sitting there with a downright nasty smirk on their faces, while almost literally making throat slitting gestures and chuckling to each other.....winkwink....nodnod..... Any why? Well, let's face it.... This is not the first time this has happened, against this very Team. Hell....it's not even the SECOND time it's happened, against this very Team. This is the THIRD TIME it's happened. And in eerily similar fashion/pattern. Ya know how it is between the Wings and the Blues? It doesn't really matter how many Players the Wings have out with injury, or how poorly they're playing at the time. It doesn't really matter how HOT the Blues happen to be, or how much they've improved. It's the Blues! And the Wings OWN the Blues. The Wings know it. The Blues know it. The Wings are so far in the Blues heads, (regardless of HOW many times they turn over the roster), that they know what the Blues players want for dinner before the Blues players themselves know. I'm not saying that this is unequivocally the case, that the Ducks ARE in the Wings heads....that they DO "own" them. What I'm saying is that with every Game the Wings choke away by REFUSING to show up, by gripping their sticks too tight, by playing tentative, while the scumbag Ducks take it to them, and have their way, and then confidently SMIRK about it afterward.... The more real that possibility becomes. And THAT is why some folks, (myself included, admittedly), are "freaking out".

I agree with everything you've said. Go back and read my previous posts in this thread, and others. Yes....Hiller is "solid". But since when has a "solid" goaltender been able to completely shut down the Wings? It's not Hiller. They're doing this to themselves. And the more harmless shots they take, the more easy stops he makes, the more confident he gets, and the more they begin to belive that it IS him.

Of course not. Didn't expect them to be completely stifled, as well as OUTPLAYED, (it has to be said), by a Team with discipline issues, only ONE real scoring line, a bunch of checkers, and an average goaltender who can't stop 5-hole shots and pops out rebounds like a Pez dispenser. And yet, somehow, that's exactly what's happening...

Here's something I'm finding more and more discouraging every day.....(Game days AND Off days): In press conferences and interviews, there has been a complete role reversal. Carlyle sounds and carries himself EXACTLY the way Babs has for the past 5 Series. And Babs is looking AND sounding like EVERY coach who's faced the Wings over the past 5 Series. Same for the Players. The Ducks sound JUST like the Wings have sounded over the past 5 Series. "They're a good Team. But so are we. We just have to continue to do what we're doing, and we'll continue to be successful." The Wings Players? "We just have to continue to work hard, and eventually, we'll break through. Hopefully, we can wear them down." Very, VERY discouraging to me....

I can't make it tonight, hon. Wish I could, damn it! Really wish I could... Will the guys to a better effort, Jacqui! Will them to Victory.

I am breaking with long standing tradition and posting in the GDT prior to the game. May the guys show up tonight. Damn it. May they FINALLY show up when the puck drops, rather than 35 minutes into the Game. Because I'll tell you what..... If I have to read ONE MORE ARTICLE, either here in SoCal, or coming out of Detroit, about how Hiller has been "the difference" or how "the Wings must find a way to beat Hiller".... I will VOMIT! They are throwing muffins at him out there. MUFFINS! Lobbing 40 shots from the point, or from the goal line, right into his chest or glove, is NOT going to cut it. This is shaping up to be yet another year where the Wings use the "hot goaltender" as an EXCUSE as to why their vaunted Offense FAILED TO SHOW UP ! It has happened before. Let it NOT happen again. Not this year. Not against this SH!T Team! The Wings are the BETTER Team. From top to bottom. NO doubt in my mind. If they lose this, it will be because THEY lost it. Nothing more, nothing less. It will have precious little to do with the Ducks, and certainly far less to do with Hiller. This is the BEST TEAM in the NHL. THEY control their destiny. The only Team THAT can beat the Wings in 4 of 7 Games.... Is the WINGS! May they remember that fact, and REFUSE to allow themselves to let it happen... AGAIN! Now get out there and make it happen, guys! LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!

There ya go. Seems like a lot of folks here forget, (if they ever knew), that Mike Babcock also holds a Masters Degree in Sports Psychology. Not to state without reservation that an advanced Degree is the end-all, be-all, (God knows....there are some real dim bulbs out there with PhD's), but if the guy cared enough to STUDY what makes an athlete tick, from the INSIDE, then he's not just in this for sh!ts and giggles, folks. You think he's been as successful and effective as a Coach and motivator out of luck? He obviously wants to know EVERYTHING it takes to Win. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. The man's a sharp cookie. He knows when to use the carrot, and he knows when to use the stick. He also knows how, and when, and with WHOM, his strengths lie. And he HAS coached a large number of these very same Duckies. He knows what makes THEM tick, too. His players had best listen to him. If he TELLS them "stay outta the scrums. Do not get sucked in", then there's a reason for it. Ignoring him is just ASKING for trouble.

The Wings need to stop looking OUTSIDE for "help". They need to look within. Everything they need is there. RIGHT THERE! They just have to commit. To "engage", as Babcock is fond of saying. Why do you think Babs is refusing to make changes, thus far? Making changes is like making EXCUSES! They're not struggling because they don't have what it takes. They're struggling because they're not 100% committed. They start "slow". They take shifts, even entire periods off. Again.....they need to STOP looking outside. To Leino. To Abdelkader. To Draper. To Rafalski. This. This is IT. This is what we have, guys. THIS is all we need. This is what we will USE! Quit waiting for SOMEONE ELSE to come in and take the lead. ANYONE else. Step forward and do it YOURSELVES.

Ya know.... The Wings need to MOVE ON without Raf and Drapes. As I said in another thread: Raf and Drapes are DEAD to the Wings for Games 4 and 5. They have ZERO CHANCE of helping the Wings Win either Game. MOVE ON without a second thought. Quit dwelling on what's missing, and waiting for how much better it will be once the missing pieces are back, and start making it better....NOW. Otherwise, they're just slitting their own throat. JUST LIKE THEY DID IN 2007!!! Instead of "waiting" for Schneider and Kronner to come back and make it all better, they shoulda concentrated on who WAS playing. They spent too much time worrying about what was missing, and not enough time PLAYING.

goodKarmagoodKarmagoodKarmagoodKarmagoodKarmagoodKarma Let's Go Red Wings!!!!

goodKarmagoodKarmagoodKarmagoodKarmagoodKarma

Your Team can play in OT. They just can't seem to SCORE in OT.

Both Draper and Rafalski have been ruled out for Game 4. My opinion? Not lookin' like they'll be back for Game 5, either. The Wings are gonna have to do this without them. They need to concentrate on who IS playing, who IS in the line-up, rather than on who ISN'T. Those who are sidelined have ZERO CHANCE of helping them Win Game 4. Focus on those who CAN. This is the trap they fell into in 2007..... "Things will pick up when Schneider comes back...." Phooey. There is no tomorrow. Drapes and Raf are DEAD to the Team for Game 4, and probably Game 5, too. Move on without them. Focus. Execute. Make it happen.

Except for the fact that the Bruins hammered their opponent in the Opening Game.

I am one SUPERSTITIOUS individual. It's almost on the level of OCD, sometimes. As such..... Considering the position my beloved Wings find themselves in, down 2 games to 1, in hostile territory, against a Team that has OWNED them , (both at home and on the road), in recent Play Off match ups.... I am sending only POSITIVE wishes and thoughts to my Team, rather than negative wishes and thoughts against any perceived "enemies". I do NOT want the universe bouncing bad Karma back at me or my Team.... Let's Go Red Wings!!!! **Edit** Stupid typos@!!

Bit of a difference here..... When Babcock made the 'tender switch last year, Dom appeared to be getting weaker and weaker the longer he was kept in. It culminated in a 2-2 tie. Dats seems to be getting better and better as the Series goes on. I have no comment on #81, but Dats appears to be getting stronger. And again.... Who's to say he WON'T make any changes. But why should he TELEGRAPH them to the Ducks?

With all due respect, I read your post. I still disagree with you. Babcock knows what he's got on that bench. He knows what he's got in the lockerroom. He knows these players, and they know each other, better than you, or I, or ANY of us, can begin to think we "know" them. To think otherwise is foolish and arrogant. If you truly believe that you see something from your couch/barstool/seat that is somehow NOT being seen by not only the man who has made NHL History with this Team in front of him, but all of his support staff, too? You're fooling yourself. And besides that...... Who's to say he WON'T change things up, once they're on the ice? Why should he tip his hand to the Press, and allow his enemy to think he's got him on the run?

Ya know..... You kinda have to admire his "stick-to-it-iveness". Seriously. This IS the Team who posted 100+ points during the regular season while coming off a Cup Win. This IS the Team that led the League in goals for, by a tidy margin. What is he supposed to do? Panic? Send a statement reverberating through the lockerroom that he's lost faith in the guys who led the Team to the Cup just last Spring/Summer? He's GOT the horses. He knows it. THEY know it. WE know it. They just have to produce. They either will, or they won't. If they don't, then HE will be no more to blame than THEY will be. EXECUTE, gentlemen. The Ducks, with what has been WIDELY acknowledged to be LESS to work with, are managing it. Somehow. Some way. Imagine that.... You want it? TAKE it. Or have it taken from you. Plain and simple.

That is 100% untrue, in this case. I counted at least TEN shots last night, from my seat at the Ponda, that were either high, wide, hit the SIDE of the net, or never made it through, that went up on the shot clock IMMEDIATELY. And this wasn't the first Game it's happened. The guys stats are SEVERELY padded.

Arghhhh! The Ducks are NOT the Sharks. Totally different animal.

Hopefully she'll turn a less baleful eye our way. Soon. Not gonna hold my breath, though. It's not lookin' good...

Agreed 100%, but with the above changes.

You're right....you're right..... Average Cap Hit is the same.