NeverForgetMac25

Not possible. Babs is a no-bulls*** type of coach. If players can play, they will....just like he said when he cut off that reporter when he asked if there was any thoughts of resting the big guns.

Wingsgirl001 will be out of town and PM'ed me her picks.

:rotflmao:

Mark it, Dude!

Please. This has nothing to do with that and everything to do with the league bowing down to NBC's demands. This issue should've been addressed before the playoffs started so there wasn't the potential for this to happen. The league got lazy and both teams suffer the short layoff as a result. Had the injury situation for the Wings or the level of play the Penguins have been playing at been reversed, we'd still be in the same boat.

Scoring goals isn't what concerns me in this series. The Wings were able to get pucks past ANA and I would think any rational Penguins fan would agree that defense is far superior to their own. I think the key to the entire series (aside from the Wings' health) is going to be how well Z matches up against Crosby again and then how well the rest of the team swarms their offensive stars. If the Wings are able to get guys on Crosby and Malkin the second they touch the puck and allow them no room, the Wings' depth should take over and score timely goals. Also, discipline will be huge in this series. If the Wings head to the box more often there's a decent chance the Wings will be in trouble. IMO, the team with the more sustained forecheck likely wins this series. Fortunately, having Blue-collar Babcock as the head coach makes me feel more comfortable in that area.

DET/PIT: 4-3

I'm in complete and utter awe by this team and what I've seen the past two games. If ever there was an excuse to fold due to the injury situation and the mindset after Game 3's loss, this would've been it. What did the remaining players do in Game 4 without Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Draper and Lilja......they destroyed the Blackhawks on their home ice. Game 5 rolls around once again with no Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Draper and Lilja, but now they have to deal with a freak appy scope to Ericsson putting the Wings at 50% of what their blueline should've been this postseason. The way Lebda and Chelios stepped up last night was flat-out amazing. No Draper to win face-offs, no problem... the Wings won 55% of them and Toews won 29% on the game! The way Helm took control of this game, not during OT, but on that penalty kill was one of the best moments of this run thus far. The way Ozzie controlled this game, when he knew he'd have to minus a good chunk of the big-guns is awe-inspiring. A 1.00 GAA the past two games, minus 50% of the defense....simply amazing. What this team accomplished the past two games is nothing short of incredible. If they can be this effective playing without 25% of their starters imagine what they could do in the finals with all of them back. E will be back and just imagine what they'll be able to do if Lids, Dats and Drapes are able to suit up and be healthy enough. To you Red Wings.

.....trying to make a point.

No worries. Even I've had enough of this conversation to last a lifetime.

Homer Alert!

As long as McCreary is reffing, it doesn't matter what Quenneville said. The guy is as fair as they come. I'd take McCreary the rest of the playoffs if I was given the choice.

I don't care who it is, but if Havlat does play the Wings better take notice and continue to lay those big hits on him. Nothing wrong with good ol' fashion rough hockey during play. Make things difficult for him.

I posted this in another thread, but I think it bares repeating: If you seriously have that big of a problem with the Wings not being as "tough" of a team as you want them to be, then its time to cheer for another team. I understand that people like hockey fights (I do too), but not at the expense of smart hockey and winning. The way the current wave of grit-slappies talk about the team and their feelings towards fighting is downright absurd. The problem I have is that every one of the slappies knows the type of team the Wings are and the type of team Holland is going to put together year-after-year as long as it remains successful. Given that you know this is how its going to be going forward either shut the f*ck up or move on to cheering for another squad.

"Crystal Ball" Huet....cracked.

If he wasn't injured at all, there's no way Q would've had Crawford backing up Huet. Point and case, imagine how helpful he could've been in Game 4 after the first period debacle. Psychological reasons were the main reason he was pulled in Game 3. If he was healthy, he would've been in net (or atleast available) for Game 4.

I'd venture to guess, 100% doubtful. The fact of the matter is that Huet has absolutely zero confidence right now not only thanks to his piss-poor play but Quenneville playing ring-around-the-rosey with him last game. There's no way Khabi is at 100%, but if he's at all able to "go", you have to think Q is gonna play him because he has no better option. Obviously, if Khabi does play a fast start would be huge for the Wings given they'll be missing Dats and Lids once again. Jump on them early, forecheck the hell out of them and force Khabi to go up-and-down, side-to-side and wear him out. It won't take much given the condition he's in, then let your depth take over.

Lakeland? My grandparents just sold their Lakeland retirement home (which they had for over 20 years). If they only knew what took place on the outskirts of their "quiet" former retirement community.

Well, I guess Babs wasn't waiting. Obviously the injuries were severe enough that another half day wasn't going to be enough. Too bad.

So was Kane, Khabi and the rest of the Blackhawks for that matter. If the Wings are fortunate enough to move on, while the Penguins are playing great hockey right now, just like last year, they haven't faced a defense like they will in Detroit. While I don't deny the offensive talent of Crosby and Malkin (because it is incredible) did anyone else notice the amount of respect and room the Canes gave them? There's a reason Kane has been shut down in the series thus far....its because the second *before* he touches the puck there's two Red Wings on him. The same will go for Crosby and Malkin (just like it did last year) if the Wings move on.

I didn't think they would. Babs stated that they'd see how they were doing during the pre-game skate. There's no use putting on skates now to see how they're doing, only to have them flare up before the pre-game skate. Best case scenario is to give them another 8 hours without irritation.

Note: Congrats to Chunkylover who was the only one (believe it or not) to receive 3 bonus points for picking the Penguins to advance to t he SCF's. Mid-Round Scoring Update: Rank, Player, Current Score 1 Chunkylover 98 2 ARice89 86 3 -=Red_Force=- 85 4 12Newf 79 5 CrossCheck24 78 6 I Red Wings I 77 7 wmubronco420 76 8 aflac9262 75 8 The Nephilim 75 8 NeverForgetMac25 75 11 CanadaBoy 74 12 sibiriak 73 12 Firehawk 73 14 UKWING 72 14 Hockey13Playa 72 14 tweekvp 72 14 Shaman464 72 18 KillerB14 71 19 Zetterling 70 19 Mike 70 21 Reds4Life 67 21 Breadgy 67 21 The Edge 67 24 Aussie_Wing 66 24 FinRedWing 66 26 anthonyn66 65 26 kugz 65 28 pavyaz19 64 29 Gordie Howe hat trick 63 29 Ruys92 63 31 Frozen-Man 62 32 3chrisosgood0 61 33 vOrophin 60 33 Echolalia 60 33 GoWings1905 60 33 revnic 60 33 Jersey Wing 60 33 timothy1997 60 39 ilmickeyli 59 39 hak 59 41 zata20 58 41 marcaractac 58 41 Dominator2005 58 44 Shoreline 57 44 Greatness=PavelDatsyuk 57 44 detroitsportsman05 57 47 wings_fan94 56 47 brownie 56 49 Electrophile 55 50 dat's sick 53 50 wings1wings1 53 52 RedWingAbner 52 52 zetterisbetter 52 54 #19=Legend 51 55 McCartyFanForLife 50 55 DatsyukianDeak 50 55 russianswede919293 50 55 GOWINGSGO5131419 50 59 lets go pavel 49 60 bkeck 48 60 redwings2002 48 60 Yzersyukstromberg 48 60 Vladifan 48 60 55fan 48 60 frederick9125 48 66 Batigol2k 47 67 Dano33 46 67 scotvm 46 67 Kwame_Kilpatrick 46 70 cirov19 46 71 kylee 44 71 Detroit # 1 Fan 44 71 P. Marlowe 44 71 shannyfan1414 44 75 wingsgirl001 42 76 Wildwings44 42 77 HockeyCrazy3033 40 78 WhiteLightning91 39 79 KrazyGangsta 38 79 naranja 38 81 WingsRJ91 37 81 Vladimir316 37 81 Doggy 37 84 evilmrt 36 84 MotorCityMadness 36 86 stactum 35 86 dangledangle 35 86 Carl Atkins 35 86 T-Ruff 35 86 Swayze 35 91 edicius 33 91 jollymania 33 93 clutchngrab 32 93 Ontario Wingsfan 32 93 IUWingsFan 32 93 grwingfan 32 93 rick zombo 32 98 alienanxiety 31 98 interminded 31 98 bellarina 31 101 shadow47 30 101 hoogs 30 103 MSUDoubleJ19 29 103 RedWingedKitten 29 103 kook_10 29 103 TRD604 29 103 xBrave_Heartx 29 108 Superman54 28 109 StevieY'sguy 25 109 stevkrause 25 109 johnnyoski 25 112 FinWing 24 113 FLWINGSFAN4013 23 113 servo 23 113 creedie 23 116 redwinger4747 22 116 TheCaptain19 22 118 dats13owns 21 118 hockeysattva 21 118 WalleyeHockey09 21 121 F.Michael 20 121 ander2ta 20 121 SoDakWing 20 121 b.shanafan14 20 125 Z and D for the C 17 126 Pletzke26 15 127 Skiminok 14 127 talex 14 127 HereComeTheHawks 14 130 RedWings 13 130 ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24 13 132 Octopus 12 132 CrimsonFlame 12 134 bobbyryan 10 135 wingfan4ever 0 135 deltawing 0 135 zackisonfire 0 135 tdinc 0

Welcome to Round 3 of the 2009 Playoff Picks Game. Keep in mind that each correct series winner prediction is worth 12 points this round rather than 8. Feel free to post any questions, and remember that your picks must be in *before* the first puck drops Sunday at 3:00 PM ET. Here are the Matchups based on their respective ranks: WEST: (2) Detroit Red Wings vs. (4) Chicago Blackhawks EAST: (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes NOTE: Please copy and paste the following template when making your picks. Bold the team you're picking to win, and then write the series score directly after in this manner: PIT/CAR: 4-2 Round 3 Template: DET/CHI PIT/CAR This truly cuts down on the time it requires to tally up scores and I greatly appreciate it. Best of luck to everyone!

Hmm....lets see. Detroit (the best media market in the West) in a rematch against the leagues' poster boy (not a shot on Crosby for those that think it was) along with the added interest of Hossa facing the team he left for a team he thought had a better chance of winning a Cup. Yeah, I'm sure most teams could match that script. What a moron.

It's not about coasting. It's about playing a conservative physical style to ensure you're healthy when the postseason starts. You don't seem to be able to wrap your head around that concept.