Convince me why I shouldn't be dreading this series....

[hockeyfanatic 0]

Ha, even NHL.com, the paragon of neutrality, is down on the Wings in the introduction of their preview.

"Now if they can pound the Red Wings harder than the Flames gave it to them in the opening round, the Sharks should have no trouble advancing to the conference finals."

I like how the 'Detroit is soft' mentality is still being perpetuated.

The second paragraph of the article also makes it sound like the Flames physical play forced the Wings into a game they want to stop playing. I dunno, it seemed like the Wings set the tone early in this past series. I see no reason for them to change a winning formula.

[EasyMark 8]

Let me list some reasons why you SHOULD be dreading this series:

1- The Sharks are the biggest team in the NHL. Only 4 starters are under 200 pounds. Forwards Thornton, Marleau, Guerin, Clowe, Bernier, Bell, Grier, and Michalek are at least 220. Rismiller is 215.

2- San Jose is the youngest team in the NHL.

3- The Sharks roll 4 lines all game. In the 5 game Nashville series 18 players got at least one point. In the 6 game Calgary series 15 Wings scored a point.

Taken together, expect the Sharks to roll big, fast, young players at the Wings all game getting production from all four lines.

4- Red Wing fans believe Detroit has a better defense and a superior goalie. The Red Wings yielded 199 goals during the season -- the same as the Sharks.

5. The Sharks were the best road team in the NHL with 26 wins in the regular season. The Sharks won 2 of the 3 games at Nashville in Round 1.

This should be a close hard fought series that can go either way.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Patrick Marleau will be more of a problem then Thornton. Thornton pulls a Houdini in the playoffs every year, and I don't see this year being much different.

That said, I'm sure Babcock will put Lidstrom out to shadow him just in case. Good plan and all for the regular season, but I again I disgress, Patrick Marleau is a much bigger threat in the playoffs.

[Viperar 16]

Patrick Marleau will be more of a problem then Thornton. Thornton pulls a Houdini in the playoffs every year, and I don't see this year being much different.

That said, I'm sure Babcock will put Lidstrom out to shadow him just in case. Good plan and all for the regular season, but I again I disgress, Patrick Marleau is a much bigger threat in the playoffs.

QFT

marleau scares me more than thornton does

[Houdini 0]

Patrick Marleau will be more of a problem then Thornton. Thornton pulls a Houdini in the playoffs every year, and I don't see this year being much different.

Hmmm, maybe I should just change my name to Thornton?

- Houdini

[Kp-Wings 3]

Hmmm, maybe I should just change my name to Thornton?

- Houdini

It's the same thing, isn't it?

[2mins4roughing 0]

Hey Wing fans.... Watching and wondering who the Sharks would get in the Second round and I was hoping for this match up...Wings and Sharks. (As a Shark fan I was Dreading the Ducks in the second round figured if we had to see them it would be in the conference finals after Vancouver beats them up.) Glad you guys believe Kipper is better than Nabby because that will be your down fall ....I believe that the Warren Strelow factor is key for both of our goalies and that his spirit is on the ice with them. Hasek may still be great but I think that 9-4 loss will be in his head (Most goals ever given up by Hasek) he was the one dominated in that game...Granted it was not the Playoffs but last time in the 2005 / 2006 Olympics it was Nabby that had the Shutouts and Played great while everyone thought Hasek had lost his form...If Ken Holland didn't call him would he really of played again??? It should be great hockey to watch the Sharks with size, speed, strength and the ability to score with any line or combination...Red wings you have proven work horses in Chelios, Lidstrom, Hazek and a few old guys that once had the touch.... But I think the Kids will get it done for the Sharks there are just too many to deal with..Thornton, Marleau, Bernier, Cheechoo, Michalek, and the old guns Rivet, Guerin, Brown and Grier. I feel good about this series but if Bowman was still behind the bench I would say its the Wings.....But its Babcock's wings now so it could go either way......Hoping for Sharks in six

[superstarsingh 23]

Patrick Marleau will be more of a problem then Thornton. Thornton pulls a Houdini in the playoffs every year, and I don't see this year being much different.

That said, I'm sure Babcock will put Lidstrom out to shadow him just in case. Good plan and all for the regular season, but I again I disgress, Patrick Marleau is a much bigger threat in the playoffs.

Well said sir. Marleau is a beast in the playoffs.

[puertoricanWingsfan 5]

Hey Wing fans.... Watching and wondering who the Sharks would get in the Second round and I was hoping for this match up...Wings and Sharks. (As a Shark fan I was Dreading the Ducks in the second round figured if we had to see them it would be in the conference finals after Vancouver beats them up.) Glad you guys believe Kipper is better than Nabby because that will be your down fall ....I believe that the Warren Strelow factor is key for both of our goalies and that his spirit is on the ice with them. Hasek may still be great but I think that 9-4 loss will be in his head (Most goals ever given up by Hasek) he was the one dominated in that game...Granted it was not the Playoffs but last time in the 2005 / 2006 Olympics it was Nabby that had the Shutouts and Played great while everyone thought Hasek had lost his form...If Ken Holland didn't call him would he really of played again??? It should be great hockey to watch the Sharks with size, speed, strength and the ability to score with any line or combination...Red wings you have proven work horses in Chelios, Lidstrom, Hazek and a few old guys that once had the touch.... But I think the Kids will get it done for the Sharks there are just too many to deal with..Thornton, Marleau, Bernier, Cheechoo, Michalek, and the old guns Rivet, Guerin, Brown and Grier. I feel good about this series but if Bowman was still behind the bench I would say its the Wings.....But its Babcock's wings now so it could go either way......Hoping for Sharks in six

your analysis is a fair one... it should be a fun series to watch. Nabokov has given us trouble in the past, but I believe that after conquering a goalie like kipper in the first round the wings will have the necessary confidence to face Nabby. This series could go either way, but I give the edge to the wings due to their experience and ability to play hard AND smart. Wings in six.

[Kind Herb 0]

As a Red Wings fan you should be concerned.

San Jose is on fire. We were 13-2-4 since the trade deadline, and just finished up Nashville, the 3rd best team in the regular season, in 5 games. While Nabby might be a little behind Kipper, our offence is way more potent then Calgary's. 18 players scored a point!

I think the Shark's speed and youth will outlast the Wing's age and experience.

This is going to be a great series!

[superstarsingh 23]

I would not gauge anything on a series with Nashville. We beat that same team 4 times in a row.

[rwfan007 18]

As a Red Wings fan you should be concerned.

San Jose is on fire. We were 13-2-4 since the trade deadline, and just finished up Nashville, the 3rd best team in the regular season, in 5 games. While Nabby might be a little behind Kipper, our offence is way more potent then Calgary's. 18 players scored a point!

I think the Shark's speed and youth will outlast the Wing's age and experience.

This is going to be a great series!

we are a lot younger than we were the past couple years, we have lebda, franzen, hudler, filpula, pav, hank, calder, cleary, and quincey, all who are under the age of 30... last year we didn't have hudler, filpula, and calder, or bertuzzi. we are younger, faster, tougher than the past few seasons and trust me, the sharks will know that after this series is done.

[Dabura 12,207]

Gaaaaah I can't wait until Thursdayyyyyy.

[superstarsingh 23]

we are a lot younger than we were the past couple years, we have lebda, franzen, hudler, filpula, pav, hank, calder, cleary, and quincey, all who are under the age of 30... last year we didn't have hudler, filpula, and calder, or bertuzzi. we are younger, faster, tougher than the past few seasons and trust me, the sharks will know that after this series is done.

QFT!

[redwings4life 3]

Just for the record:

Detroit went 15-3-5 vs Columbus/Chicago/St. Louis. 35 points in 24 games.

San Jose went 12-4-0 vs LA/Phoenix...gaining 24 points in 16 games against the two worst teams in the conference.

Detroit went 7-1 vs LA/Phoenix, for 14 points in 8 games vs the two worst.

San Jose went 10-2-0 vs Columbus/Chicago/St. Louis to get 20 points in 12 games.

So against five of the six worst teams in the Conference, Detroit went 22-4-5 for 49 points in 31 games, while San Jose went 22-6-0 for 44 points in 28 games.

That means, excluding head-to-head games, Detroit went 27-12-8 for 62 points in 47 games against Playoff clubs, Edmonton, Colorado, and the East, while San Jose went 26-19-5 for 57 points in 50 games against those same opponents.

So in other words...Detroit gained more points and more wins in fewer games against better teams, while San Jose gained points at the same rate against weak teams.

Please never try the 'weak division' argument when it's so easily refuted.

Sorry i just saw this post and it was the greatest one i've seen since i've been here very nice work

[edicius 3,269]

Sharks did win the regular season against us 3-1 BUT That 9-4 romp was just a FREAK accident and those games are bound to happen at times PLEASE WINGS AND SHARK FANS DO NOT! READ TOO MUCH INTO THAT GAME.The one game they won at the Joe I remember the Wings had a 2-1 lead with like 2 minutes left and the Wings decided to get lazy and that's what cost them the game.Nabakov is ABSOLUTELY no Kipper,and this Wings team is way different this time around.We are NOT Nashville!!! Nashville was bugged with injuries and suspensions during the series vs. the Sharks.The Wings are pretty much healthy and Hasek is the MAN right now.I am not predicting a win or loss in this series but it would be nice to get some payback for 94! But this should be a pretty good series and the better team should prevail.GO WINGS!!!

Silly question...but didn't we already kind of get payback in '95? I would have figured a four-game sweep a year later would do it.

[Griffin 0]

i want san jose to win one game, just because i have tickets for my b-day to game 5, im coming all the way from toronto to ee my first red wings game at the joe! i'll finally be among my own kind!

[GregoryG 0]

I've been saying for months that I didn't want to face San Jose. They're big, they're fast, they're deep, their power play is lethal, and they kind of owned us this year when we faced em.

And yet, some of you seem pretty positive about this series. I'm looking for reasons to not be dreading this series.

I know their defense isn't that good and I know we have the edge in goal. Apart from that, help me out! Make me feel good heading into Thursday. I just have "Sharks in 6" running through my head and I hate it....

-Tim

Hi All,

My name's Greg. I grew up a Wings fan, still am, however I'm from the Silicon Valley for many years and have adopted the Sharks as my team now.

I tell all my friends, I'll always root for the Wings...except when they play the Sharks. That being said let me add my two cents as to why all you other Wings fan should dread this series.....

The Sharks are class organization from the top down. For the most part all the key players (except thornton, guerin, rivet, and bell (who cares), are home-grown talent. The Sharks farm team, the Worchester Sharks, play the same style of hockey as the main club. So everyone knows everyone and has played together for several years.

Ever since getting the snot knocked out of us last year in Edmonton, the Sharks have been on a mission. And that is to win Lord Stanley's cup. The Sharks are BIG, fast, and live to roll 4 lines. The D can be said to be young, but did you see much action from Kariya or Forsberg the last couple weeks? No, the reason is Hannan, Rivet, and McLaren. Pickles, Carle, and Erhoff can definitely hold their own.

But here is the real kicker that most hockey fans don't know. Nabby is on a mission, and therefore so is the rest of the team. A little noticed event happened the opening day of the quarterfinals. Warren Strehlow died. Warren was not only Evgeni's mentor, he became a 2nd father to Nabby over the last 10 years of his being his goalie coach. Nabby has already gone on record to say that he is dedicating this series to Warren. If you look on the Sharks sweaters, you'll notice a "WAS" patch....Warren A Strehlow. This is the intangible, the X factor that make the Sharks the most committed, dedicated team.

Nabby has already stood on his head during several periods of the Nashville series to save two games for the Sharks. Believe me, I haven't seen Nabby play this good for several years.

Unfortunately for the Wings, I think they are going to run into a buzz saw.

Sharks in 6.

gg

[redwings4life 3]

i want san jose to win one game, just because i have tickets for my b-day to game 5, im coming all the way from toronto to ee my first red wings game at the joe! i'll finally be among my own kind!

Hopefully theres no sweep so you can see it

[davk912 0]

Im not sure if anyone posted this or not but looking back on the SJ-Nashville series 3 of SJ's wins were 1 goal games its not like SJ just blew Nashville out of the series. http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&am...season=20062007

Edited April 24, 2007 by davk912

[Viperar 16]

Im not sure if anyone posted this or not but looking back on the SJ-Nashville series 3 of SJ's wins were 1 goal games its not like SJ just blew Nashville out of the series.

that being true, i think overall off the scoresheet, SJ outplayed nash pretty badly

[superstarsingh 23]

Good grief did eva OWN that dude.

[Houdini 0]

that being true, i think overall off the scoresheet, SJ outplayed nash pretty badly

And yet Nabokov had a sub par .902% save percentage. For the playoffs that's not very good. There's no way he can play like that and expect his team to beat the Wings. Especially considering we have a league high 42.5 shots on goal this playoffs, and a league low 21.5 shots against.

And FYI, we were also number one in both shots for AND shots against during the regular season as well, so no reason not to expect that season long trend to continue.

- Houdini

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

Not meaning to sound like a smart ass, but convince me why we should be dreading playing the Sharks? sure they are a tough talented team. but so far so have the Wings, we had a harder first round against a really hard opponent and if it wasn't for Kipper we could have probably won in four games. I've got confidence in my team and am looking foward to the challenge.

Edited April 24, 2007 by glasgowcelticwing

[VikingMark 5]

As a Red Wings fan who lives in San Jose, I cheer on the Sharks whoever they play .. unless it's against the Wings!

This will be a close series, the Sharks youth vs the Red Wings rolling 4 lines continuously .. I predict 7 games with multiple overtimes before we have a victor.

Wings in 7 .. I just hope the survivor of the VAN / ANA series is at least as beat-up by then too.