Bender

"Excellent" (in Mr. Burns' voice)

Interesting. Could be worse, that's for sure...

True dat. The only positive thing about west coast trips is that, silly as it seems, it makes me feel even more like a hockey fan because I have to experience some pain - kinda like the Wings - in order to see this thing through. Granted, it's not the same as getting cross checked into the boards or anything, but the whole lack of sleep and higher stress level of western trips makes it all feel more real to me.

I don't think it's wise to focus so much on the whole idea that Kipper was the uber-goalie & anybody else (in the west) can't stop us. The Sharks are big, fast & talented - we have to get past them first in order to take advantage (if any exists) of their netminder. My point being that we are kidding ourselves if we think that the SJ is just going to sit back like Calgary and depend on the goalie to save them. This should be a great series, I'm looking forward to it. That said, my biggest fear against Calgary was that they would resort to dirty play (aka, "playoff hockey") resulting in injury to the Wings. There was never really a moment that I doubted Detroit could & should be victorious in the series. This year, it just felt like they weren't going to give up & roll over when the going got tough and indeed they didn't. With the Sharks, I am very apprehensive that they could run away with the series if the Wings lose their focus or take them for granted, even for a few minutes. Still, I like our chances - but if anybody can negate our home-ice advantage, it's probably SJ.

That's cool. Apparently, they should be on final approach right about now...

I dunno...after the choppy ice we saw in Calgary, maybe Dallas wouldn't be that much of an adjustment. At least the ice at the Joe has been good to us so far, and since we have home advantage against everybody in the west, that can only be good for the Wings.

Yeah, full credit to Dom for (still) doing what he does best.

LOL @ Obi-Wanzenstein... Now that you mention it though, Mule does look a bit like Sir Alec Guiness (sp?)

Way to be a classy Flames fan, especially under the circumstances edit: I understand that Playfair is a rookie coach, but from where I'm sitting it really doesn't look like he is the right guy for the job. Between the play that Calgary is obviously capable of and the reality of just how close they came to success in this series, I think this could have easily gone the other way for the Flames with Sutter behind the bench.

Dare I say it - by the end of this series, all of the Wings looked to be playing as a complete unit such as has not been seen in Detroit since the '02 championship. There are no bad lines. They are supporting each other all across the ice. If special teams are having a bad night, goaltending saves the day. On top of all that, they have done all this with a physical toughness that many said they couldn't possibly muster. I appreciate the point of this topic, but so far the results speak for themselves. The whole team deserves credit for this - the important thing is that nobody has been the goat and they were able to get 'er done when it mattered most.

-Now that is what I call a hockey game. -Thank goodness that the better team won -I hope Homer is alright.

I like it. Not to dwell on the past, but if Scotty were here this would've happened during the last game already...

This is an absolutely pathetic excuse for a "stay positve" thread Up until Calgary scored that 2nd goal, I think Dom was OK - but then that one seemed to piss him off a little & it was all downhill from there. Both teams have enjoyed the benefit of the doubt from the refs on home ice so far - and there is no reason to think that it won't continue - so i don't see why everyone is acting so ******* surprised by the outcome of this one. After some uncharacteristic poor plays on our part and sub-par special teams it isn't so shocking. Yes we lost this game, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost for chrisssake. Contrary to the overall tone in this thread, all of this actually makes me feel a little bit better becasue now I remember that the playoffs are all about adversity and how each team responds to it. That, my friends, is the essence of playoff hockey and as usual the Wings need a reality check in order to really get motivated. And to any flames fans that feel the need to come onto a Red Wings board and get all cocky while gloating about 1 win: get over yourselves already. As much as you all like to think that you are somehow entitled to win just because a particular franchise happens to be in Canada - give me a break. I am so sick of the mentality that US teams aren't "worthy" of the cup - that is complete BS. By all means, you should take the oppurtunity to enjoy the success of your team amongst yourselves - but if you want to act like trolls do it on your own board

Whoa there ! Don't count your pucks before they're in the net Regehr being out is not good news for the Flames, and a little confidence for the Wings after the first two games is nice, but there is alot of hockey yet to played in this series.

Oh well, I just hope this turns out to be a temporary situation like they are saying and Toledo will get another minor league team in the future. I liked the team, but the TSA is long overdue for replacement. It would be sweet if they did something like bring back the Goaldigger name with the Storm colors... Also, the generalized inbred comment was uncalled for, but the crowds at TSA bring it on thmeselves by acting like a bunch of trolls in the first place. Yeah, I know it's a hockey game after all, but the main reason I won't go to more Storm games is because of the behavior of people in the stands & and the whole anthem business is just silly IMHO. They did it once when Karen Newman was guest singer, and I think it scared the hell out of her (she didn't pause).

Right on, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's just have faith and hope that Babs sits Sammy for bert instead of breaking up the fourth line.

It was a little disorienting to view the play from behind the net, but I still liked the different perspective during the PP because it felt much more realistic. As for the guy between the benches, I don't mind as long as he keeps to himself and just calls the game or points out interesting developments near the benches - but as soon as they start trying to interview people during the game, I can't stand it. The media needs to just back the hell up and wait their turn. There is just no reason for that crap, especially in a sport with two lengthy intermissions available to harass the team in between periods of play.

I meant the part about him being basically taking care of himself (more or less) out on his own in order to play hockey before he entered the service. Like I said, I had plenty of faith in him as our captain before, but I think that story just gives us a little more insight about how he came to be the solid foundation of the Red Wings that he is today.

Wow. Great post. There will never - ever - be another Steve Yzerman, and it's not as if I need any more reason to line up behind Lidstrom, but that just another fascinating piece to the puzzle.

I agree.

LOL OMG, I almost spewed soda all over my screen when I read that. Seriously though, I hope he pays attention to the first part especially note to administrator: we need an emotiocon shooting something out it's nose at a 'puter screen for times like this. ------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Detroit Red Wings: Forget about let 'em see red. Let 'em count the banners after you knock them off their skates! ----------------------------------------------------------- edit: this thread is hilarious, just what I needed to loosen the nerves a little as it's only 4 hours till the puck drops

Awsome GDT AFLAC !!! Besides actually winning the cup, this is my favorite moment of the entire season...the calm before the storm...the anticipation is practically tangible ! I can hardly wait, but I'm ready for a tough series to get going - I just hope the Wings are too ! Let's Go Red Wings!!! :burnout: We Want Stanley!!! p.s. - ROFL @ LILAHS (Lang is lazy and he sucks) official name change

I've said it before & I'll say it again - Hull is just ticked off because both the NHL & Detroit made Stevie's banner ceremony like some kind of a royal coronation event which included the who's who of hockey elite. Hull, on the other hand, got a pat on the back and thank you very much - now get off the ice, we have a game to play in St. Louis. It was almost like they were saying that he was good enough for Blues banner, but not good enough to deliver the cup to them, so he didn't really get the royal treatment he probably thinks he deserves.

Damn, it's probably going to the Joe on Thursday & I won't be able to get the HA until this weekend at the earliest I would definitely put letsgowings.com on it if I had the chance - can you imagine if any of the players/staff actually saw it and came on here to read what we say about them? If that didn't get them fired up for the playoffs, I don't know what would