WhiteLightning91

Again, what has McCarty shown in his 3 games playted that makes you believe he has the ability to police our star players better than Downey? I'm beginning to get the feeling this thread is not serious...

For the exact reason Babcock and Holland have stated over and over again. DEPTH!

See, now the ironic part of your post is that losing one of our key players to some douch bag like Tootoo is actually a hell of a lot more likely with Downey OUT of the line-up than it is with him IN the line-up. /close thread

That's 5x the amount of playoff experience Dan Ellis has. Should Nashville not play him in game 1 as well? And when was the last time McCarty was relevent in a playoff game? I love Mac, but there is no way he deserves to be in before Downey at this point.

Toskala is not going anywhere. If Toronto is going to trade one of their goalies it will be Raycroft. The problem is that he has ZERO trade value. He was horrendous this year and really showed a lack of confidence in himself. I dont see Toronto being able to put together a package for Stamkos. Tampa is going to be looking for defense and a goalie. Toronto's defense is slow and overpaid. They would have to include Pogge in the deal in order for Tampa to even listen. With the heat they took after throwing Tukka Rask in the Raycroft deal with Boston, I can't see them trading away Pogge until Toskala proves he can be the #1 in Toronto for a whole season.

In the past??? This is Downey's first playoff series with us. There is NO PAST PROOF with him.

Everything you have said so far in this topic is all hypothetical and what ifs. Bring up some concrete evidence to back up why you don't think Downey should play and maybe you will get some support. EDIT - If Babcock and Holland did not think Downey knew how to pick his spots when it came to fighting he would've been put on waivers back in October.

Obviously you haven't seen 1 game Downey has played in all year so I will totally disregard your postings. I would also like to know what you've seen from Mac that makes you so sure he can handle Tootoo. McCarty hasn't been physical at all yet so I'm assuming you're just looking through Red Wings glasses circa 1998.

Fan 590 and AM640 Toronto are always pretty good. Although, if you hate hearing about the Leaf's -- beware.

Well. golly gee. Bin Laden could blow up the Joe once the puck is dropped as well. We probably shouldn't even play in the playoffs because someone like Datsyuk could get a career ending injury. How about that logic?

Well I guess no one has to worry about McGeough. For some reason I have it in my head that this is 2 consecutive years he has been out of the playoffs. Anyone know if this is correct?

Can you really say Nashville over Detroit is an upset if so many people are calling it? From what I've been reading/hearing, it will be an upset if Detroit wins this series. So my possible first round upsets... Detroit Colorado Philadelphia New York

I thought about that. There was a poll question over at TSN about who has the best chance at stealing the #1 draft position from from Stamkos. Since were talking Tampa Bay, there biggest need is in goal. Yes, I know they have Holmqvist and Smith, but how many people realistically think TB has a shot at the Cup with one of those guys in net for them? The problem is, as deep of a draft as this year is, this is one of the worst drafts if you're looking at a goalie. Tampa's problems aren't on offense, there on defense. If they end up choosing to shop the #1 pick and they don't find a package of their liking for Stamkos (highly unlikely, I know), how much of a chance do you think there is of Doughty or Pietrangelo upstaging Stamkos on draft day. Wouldn't that be a shocker?!?! My guess is if TB does go for a Dman, welcome to TB Drew Doughty!

Go Detroit! Go San Jose! Go Anaheim! Go Colorado! Yes. I know I could be tried for blasphemy. But San Jose vs. Anaheim in the 2nd round is too good to pass up. That would be an absolutely grueling series. If the Wings get to the 2nd round and the Dives do as well, one of SJ or ANA is going to be dead after playing in the series -- hopefully giving us, if we make it that far, a huge advantage in the Conference Finals! Go San Jose! (until it works against the Red Wings)

See now, you should probably know what you're talking about when you post something on the boards. Hate to break it to ya but Downey is an even +/-. So, most times if the opposition can get a top 2 line out against Downey it doesn't result in a goal. Now let's rephrase you're post so that it is correct: There's more to Downey than just his fisticuffs. Now we all realize Downey is no Parros, but knowing that he is on the bench is nothing but a positive for our star players. Can you say the same for Hartigan? Some of the misinformed garbage that gets posted on these boards amazes me.

Haha. The host said "That's Helene St. James from LETSGOWINGS.COM" FREE SHOUT OUT!

Sweet phone, dude!

Well that was a good start...

Ansar Kahn and Bruce MacLeod must've been watching different practices. They are both reporting different lines. Kahn Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Filppula-Franzen-Cleary (Helm skated with this line) Abdelkader-Draper-Hudler Drake-Hartigan-Downey (McCarty skated with this line) MacLeod Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Cleary-Flippula-Franzen Hudler-Draper-Abdelkader McCarty-Hartigan-Downey I'm hoping that Kahn is correct because I like seeing a bigger body like Franzen playing in the middle on the 2nd line.

So much for keeping Drake fresh for the playoffs... But that 4th line gets a big :colorbounce: from me! Although Drake centering it would be even better.

Playoff Line-Up Zetterberg Datsyuk Holmstrom Filppula Franzen Cleary Downey Draper Drake Hudler Abdelkader McCarty Lidstrom Rafalski Kronwall Stuart Chelios Lilja Hasek Osgood Injured Samuelsson Maltby Kopecky Scratched Hartigan Lebda Meech

Not at all. Off topic - Anyone else notice that Milbury didn't get one word in the whole program? Just thought that it was kinda funny that he was their but didn't say anything.

Many people think the OTL point is a pretty pointless (no pun intended) aspect of the game. My feeling has always been that you shouldn't be rewarded a point just for making it to overtime. I think it's a pretty safe bet to assume that teams would try harder in the 3rd period to win in regulation if they knew they were either going to get 2 points for a victory or 0 points for losing. Here's how the standings would look if this system was used by the NHL this year: Eastern Conference Pittsburgh* 82 47 35 94 Montreal* 82 47 35 94 Washington* 82 43 39 86 New Jersey 82 46 36 92 Ottawa 82 43 39 86 Carolina 82 43 39 86 New York Rangers 82 42 40 84 Philadelphia 82 42 40 84 Boston 82 41 41 82 Buffalo 82 39 43 78 Florida 82 38 44 76 Toronto 82 36 46 72 New York Islanders 82 35 47 70 Atlanta 82 34 48 68 Tampa Bay 82 31 51 62 Western Conference Detroit* 82 54 28 108 San Jose* 82 49 33 98 Minnesota* 82 44 38 88 Anaheim 82 47 35 94 Dallas 82 45 37 90 Colorado 82 44 38 88 Calgary 82 42 40 84 Nashville 82 41 41 82 Edmonton 82 41 41 82 Chicago 82 40 42 80 Vancouver 82 39 43 78 Phoenix 82 38 44 76 Columbus 82 34 48 68 St. Louis 82 33 49 66 Los Angeles 82 32 50 64 I was actually kinda surprised at the lack of change that occurred in the standings under this point system. A couple of the seedings changed but only two of the teams involved in the playoffs. Only Boston would have missed the playoffs with Carolina replacing them. Thoughts?

If you sit Lilja in place of Ericsson, you can pretty much bet that he will bolt this offseason. Since Holland has already offered him a contract for next season, although he didn't accept it, you gotta figure he is in the managements future plans on this team. With Kopecky going down, we lost our leader in hits. Lilja is 2nd on the team in that category. To sit him would be a pretty obsurd move considering we are going to need as many physical players as we can have on this team. Even though I love Ericsson, he is still pretty raw and needs some overall polishing to his game. Lilja is solid on the PK and also a decent shot blocker. Using him as a #6 defenseman is an ideal situation. It's when he is used as a #4 that his weaknesses and defensive gaffes are exposed. Zombo's got it right. Lidstrom - Rafalski Kronwall - Stuart Chelios - Lilja

According to an article I read over at MLive, the Red Wings expect it will be an every other day series.