russianswede919293

I agree with most of this thread. Maltby has been Maltby all playoffs and reminded me of why he is here. Hasek has ben amazing except for the leaving the crease. Sammy has surprised me with some strong play all playoffs, especially the last few games. But Lilja has only half impressed me. He has been physical and I like that about him, but he is still making some poor decisions with the puck, led the team with 6 give aways tonight. Overall Lillypads has been pretty good though, just don't think 2 defensive liabilities like Schneider and Lilja should be paired on the penalty kill like they have been...

Brett Hull is the American Don Cherry, he says what he wants when he wants without thinking about it..."Datsyuk is siging with Washington to play with his best friend Alex Overchicken (no offense to ovechkin I love the guys playing)" I believe he played with his best friend and linemate who assisted tonights game winning goal...Zetterberg...after re-signing with the wings... And as far as the Franzen hit, it was a check on a guy he thought had the puck, and it was a clean check, though since he didn't have the puck it was called interference and that was all that had to be discussed on the play...Hull needs to shut his yapper

Dan Cleary is AMAZAZING...this guy has been the best player all playoffs in my opinion and I just love how he plays

We shall throw the sky back up where it belongs... GO WINGS

Question though Osgod, what about lines, I have debated that one with it too...I think Franzen needs to be moved up to the first line in that scenario and Calder should bring a more veteran presence on a 4th line with 2 of the 3 rookies, and then one of either Filpulla or Hudler gets bumped up to play with Lang and Bert, I'd say Filpulla. What do you think? Dats-Z-Franzen Flapjack-Lang-Bert Cleary-Drapes-Maltby Calder-Kopecky-Hudler (I believe Kopecky can play center, I may be wrong though)

I believe that Babcock haas proven to be a good coach this year. i rag on the guy when things go wrong, and my personal nickname for the guy is babcockles, BUT I do think he has brought a lot to the team this season, and he has the wings playing a more physical game, (shown throughout the calgary series) I am happy with Babcock as coach thjis year and next year

All right. With the recent new I think we need a lineup change since it is longer term. I think that Kopecky should get a shot at showing if he can contribute. I know he has missed so much time and that he is a rookie, but I really think that he has that grit that the wings are going to need against this team. I was impressed by Kopecky when he played this year and really think he could add something to this lineup. As much as I love Hudler, he looked rather unaffective against those big guys, and Samuelsson has been pretty bad with the exception of one good game, so I would scratch one of those two and bring in Kopecky.

I agree that Holmstrom missing was a big part. I think Franzen would have been a better fit on that line with Z and dats

Quincey has been really good for us, I think that the Schneider-Lilja pairing is kind of a s***ty pairing, I mean Lilja has looked a lot better, but they can both be defensive liabilities. I wouldn't mind move Quincey up and splitting those two guys up

Lidstrom didn't even impress too much tonight. He had a couple bad turnovers and took a bad penalty on the power play goal. BUT Lids is a great player and a good captain and will bounce back with a super strong game next game, so I'm not too upset

Kopecky is healthy and ready to play. I think that we leave the lineup as is for game 2, but if any of the guys struggling struggle again, and homer is still out, kopecky may not be a bad idea for game 3

Wasn't too bad, was kind of a boring game, neither team looked too good. Detroit was shooting the puck into blocked lanes all night especially on the power play, and nabokov looked really good.

I agree Lillypads looked pretty good against Calgary, I would still rather have Kronner though

Don't remember if I did round one or not, if I didn't I'll submit some here for round 2... DET/SJ Detroit 4-2 VAN/ANA Anaheim 4-3 BUF/NYR New York 4-3 NJ/OTT Ottawa 4-2

I agree, I think that Hudles should play, but I think that Samuelsson should be benched because he hasn't been playing that well and in my opninion Bert should move up to the 2nd line and Hudles should play on the 4th line with filpulla and franzen

Shootouts in the playoffs...HELL NO... Shootouts in the regular season...eh they are fun to watch so why not, I like watching them. As far as the "shootouts shouldn't control who makes the playoffs" argument, then all shootout points have to be taken out not just the last game of the season so no whining Toronto... Here are the standings without ANY shootout wins: 1Ottawa 103 pts (46 Wins) 2New Jersey 97 pts 3Atlanta 90 pts 4Buffalo 103 Pts (43 Wins) 5Pittsburgh 95 Pts 6Carolina 88 Pts 7Toronto 87 Pts 8Montreal 85 Pts 9Florida 84 Pts (33 Wins) 10New York Rangers 84 Pts (33 Wins) 11NY Islanders 84 Pts (32 Wins) 12Tampa Bay 83 Pts 13Washington 69 Pts 14Boston 65 Pts 15Philadelphia 55 Pts 1Detroit 111 Pts 2Anaheim 106 Pts 3Vancouver 100 Pts 4San Jose 105 Pts 5Nashville 104Pts 6Dallas 98 Points 7Minnesotta 94 Pts 8Calgary 93 Pts 9Colorado 90 pts 10St Louis 75 PTs I got lazy but you got the point... Moral of the story, the shootout is now part of the regular season, and i think that that is cool. BUT i also agree that it is not for the playoffs at ALL.

Oz is my favorite goaltender in the league...But Hasek is the starter and has been great this season, Hasek plays every game this postseason unless he gets hurt.

Okay so I already put away all the teams that aren't the Wings and the Isles, (My West and East Teams), except for my Sharks jersey which I like alot but wont wear until after the playoffs. SO the question being is...Can I wear my McCarty Wings jersey this round seeing as we are playing him??? I know that the Feds and Dandenault jerseys are okay since they are out of the playoffs, and my Peca Islanders jersey the same. But I went to choose a jersey today and I couldn't decide...DO I wear the McCarty or is that forbidden until the second round?

This might be the hardest series to predict in the first round, but I say San Jose in 7 because their offense is just stellar...

I don't know about this one...I definitely think it goes into 7 games, and I am not 100% confident, but I gotta go with the boys and say WINGS in 7...Datsyuk scores the series winning goal and it is so pretty it is worth $7 million a year.

Fair enough...I can definitely see the arguement, especially since I want to see it happen more than I think it will happen, but don't count them out too early, they are a well coached team.

Do most people make their own sigs, because I can never find one on the internet that fits regulations...

Yes I am...I think that the Isles could pull an upset with DiPietro in the net...you cannot tell me a PRESIDENTS TROPHY winner has never lost to an 8th SEED...(aka us last year) before... I even think that if they get really hot they could with Dubielwicz...I doubt that one though... No sweep even without RIcky, the Isles and especially Nolan arent laying down for this one. Seeing how well the Sabres have played all year, and seeing that the Sabres are definitely the more talented team I can see that one... I just have a good feeling about the Isles in this one...Nolan is a great coach, especially with the kind of team the Isles have, and they have been really good recently... Plus the Isles have Smyth, who tasted it last year but fell short, and he was part of the Oilers upset to the Wings, so he knows it can happen and will beat that message into the locker room... and their D is better than it was on day 1 of the season with Bergeron... I dunno its more that I want the Isles to upset the Sabres, but I do think that it could happen as well. (edit): The key for the Isles is to really use their HUGE size advantage and stop the Sabres from controlling the puck and skating it up ice. If they can force Buffalo off of the puck in the neutral zone, they could have a chance.

People discount the power of vengance...Ted Nolan has huge beef with the Buffalo Sabres franchise. He was offered 1 year 500k after winning the Jack Adams trophy and bringing a pretty bad team to the playoffs in '97. Nolan is going to have his boys playing fierce. Not just that but the Isles have been HOT lately and the Sabres haven't played a meaningful game in months. The Sabres are clearly the more talented team...but the Isles have the size, if the Islanders can use the body and force Buffalo off of the puck, and if the can get hot goaltending out of DiPietro if he is back, or Dubielwicz they could pull an upset off, especially with how much Nolan is going to want this series. I for one would LOVE to see Teddy Nolan rub the Buffalo Sabres faces in the '97 drama...

The Isles need RIcky to be ready to play. If this one says no, he goes for a second opinion tomorrow in my opinion. With DiPietro Isels win in 6 without him Sabres win in 5