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

[Kp-Wings 3]

This is a myth just as much as the WIngs being soft and old.

There is a reason he was ran out of Boston. Do you honestly think, under normal circumstances, that Boston would have given up Thornton for two mediocre forwards (Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau) and a depth defensmen like Brad Stuart if they wanted to keep him? I admit, Mike O'Connell was a horrible GM for Boston, so the move may not come as a suprise, but still. Thornton is a franchise player, but his leadership and ability to step it up in the playoffs has constantly been questioned, leading to his demise in Boston.

I'm just going by how he was before. Maybe he has changed, I don't know. I still think Marleau is the bigger playoff threat though.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Tim, I know the biggest, most important reason why you shouldn't dread this series: Maggie picked the Wings! LOL

Edited April 24, 2007 by HockeyCrazy3033

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

San Jose is on fire. We were 13-2-4 since the trade deadline, and just finished up Nashville

Just like to point out that beating up Nashville really is a small feat. Sure, you get punks like Hartnell and Tootoo taking their cheap shots, but they apparently just suck. The Wings kicked their ass during the season, and the ass kicking continued courtesy of the Sharks in the playoffs.

[ih8music 0]

Thornton is a franchise player, but his leadership and ability to step it up in the playoffs has constantly been questioned, leading to his demise in Boston.

It was only questioned in Boston, where he was prematurely annointed Capitan and had expectations set way too high for him at an early age. And his laid-back personality was also at odds with the Boston media's desire to make him the next Orr. In SJ, his personality is a perfect fit - for both the team and the city - and don't forget that he's no longer under the pressure of wearing the C.

re: playoff performance.... If you look at his boston stats and remove the 97-98 playoffs when he was an 18yr old rookie and the 04-05 playoffs when it was later revealed that he was playing with cracked ribs and torn cartilage in his chest, he was 6-12-18 in 22 games (.818 ppg). He was a .852 ppg guy in the reg season for boston. Granted, not exactly setting the world on fire, but that's a negligible dropoff when you consider that playoff scoring is always less than reg. season.

In the 140 games since coming to SJ, he's 42-164-206 (1.471 ppg). so yeah, regardless of what happened in Boston, I think he likes his new situation. Detroit will be playing the SJ Thornton, after all.

And I agree with you... Marleau should be Detroit's biggest worry this series, offensively at least.

[8888 0]

I think we can beat San Jose in 5 games. Much has been said about San Jose speed. But the wings are not slow either this season. We also for once have an enforcer in Bertuzzi folks. He could be on the line the grind-line. Franzen could see some real big minutes if he continues to play the way he has. Cleary has plenty of speed too. I hope Holmstrom will be back for game 2 of the series just in case are power-play sucks in game 1. But Bertuzzi is a big man with good hands , he will most likely take the place of holmstrom on the power-play. All i'm saying is, i'm not worried like some about San Jose speed because we just finished a real good goalie off and a speedy team in Calgary .

LETS GO WINGS :!: :!: :!:

[Wings_Rule_1010 4]

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.

That's a great post I get so sick and tired of hearing about how our division is sooo weak, so our point total is greatly inflated due to it. In the end, everything equals out.

Edited April 25, 2007 by Wings_Rule_1010

[Kp-Wings 3]

And let's not forget guys... The Northwest division has the Edmonton Oilers. Aren't those games also considered fluff points too?

Of course, we really have no room to talk. The Oilers did take 3 of 4 games in the series against us. That was before the Smyth trade though.

[LeftWinger 4,963]

They're big, they're fast, they're deep, their power play is lethal

...sounds like the Flyers headlines before game 1 of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals...

...remind me what happened that year...

[Echolalia 2,961]

...sounds like the Flyers headlines before game 1 of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals...

...remind me what happened that year...

I've been thinking the same exact thing.

Anyway, their toughness we already know isn't going to be a problem, because we just outhit Calgary and even Datsyuk was laying the body out. So expect a good physical series with no intimidation from either side.

Speed can be countered with good positioning, and Lidstrom is #1 in the league with positioning,. Chelios and Schneider are also pretty smart in our zone, and the way some of our forwards have been playing defensively (ie Datsyuk, Draper, etc) we should be able to take them. Just be careful with the sloppy line changes.

Skill is pretty even. We both have talented offense with 4 solid lines. They have good defense, but its young and generally inexperienced in the post season. Thats not to say they aren't solid, but if we get in their head early and rush the puck, we can force them to make mistakes.

[superstarsingh 23]

The Sharks are nothing to be afraid of. We are the Detroit Red Wings after all.

[Kp-Wings 3]

The Sharks are nothing to be afraid of. We are the Detroit Red Wings after all.

Quick! I shall alert the boys at LetsGoBlues you said this just to piss them off!

[Matt 1,048]

In 97 , you'd have to be foolish to predict the Flyers to win

The majority of "pundits" predicted the Flyers to pound the Red Wings into submission.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

The majority of "pundits" predicted the Flyers to pound the Red Wings into submission.

Joke was on them then

[GoWings1905 2,694]

I guess I don't understand why anyone would "dread" this series or any for that matter. It's playoff hockey, sure it's intense, but it's also the best and most fun time of the year. I understand being nervous or worried that the Red Wings might not win, but if you dread it, that means you aren't even looking forward to it at all. Have some faith in this team, and even Babcock said the playoffs are all about having fun, so enjoy it!

Edited April 25, 2007 by GoWings1905

[rwfan007 18]

exactly! this is the playoffs! this is the best hockey of the year! everyone get a 12 pack, a couple pizzas, chips, a few friends, and cheer on the wings!

[papachub 0]

Hey guys. As a San Jose Shark fan living in the Bay Area, let me throw in my two cents after reading this thread.

1. The Joe scares the living crap out of me. Until this year, the Sharks seemed doomed every time they set foot in the arena. However, I do believe that the Sharks this year finished with the best road record (correct me if I'm wrong), so if any team should be able to offset home-ice advantage, its them.

2. The San Jose PP, while pathetic against Nashville, was streaky all year long. On top of that, Nashville was the #1 PK team during the regular season. Furthermore, I believe last time we were in a long PP drought, the game that got things going again was the 9-4 shelling of Hasek.

3. Speaking of the 9-4 game, many people have pointed out that it was only 1 game (and I couldn't agree more). Also, many have pointed to the fact that Detroit is a "new" team since the last time we played, given the additions of Bertuzzi and Calder. To this I add the fact that the Sharks are also quite a different team since we last played you guys. Bill Guerin has been a nice addition to our 2nd line, and has given us the option of benching Mark Bell for as long as we want (thank God). However, the Craig Rivet trade has brought some desperately needed stability to the blue line. His presense alone has settled Matt Carle from a turnover-prone liability to a consistant player. Without Rivet, I would have serious doubts about our ability to advance beyond the 1st, let alone the 2nd, round.

4. Nabokov has played extremely well since we stopped the goalie rotation, and has effectively put to rest the debate raging on the Sharks message boards about which goalie was better. While he is not as consistant as Kiprusoff, he has the ability to make tremendous saves at the right moments. However, you could also drive a truck through his 5-hole.

5. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, stop referring to manhandling the Flames as a reason that you will be able to do the same to San Jose. The Flames entered the postseason in a freefall, and were almost physically incapable of winning outside the Saddledome. Not trying to be insulting, but I was honestly surprised that they took the Wings to six games.

6. Joe Thornton (at least in San Jose), has, and most likely will, make his living by racking up the assists, making gorgeous passes to Michalek and Cheech, or whoever else is on the ice with him. 6 assists in 5 games against the Preds, while not spectacular, is not a disappearing act.

Look forward to the upcoming series, and good luck to both teams. My teammate here at home is a huge Wings fan from Detroit, and we'll be watching each game, him with his Yzerman jersey on, and me with my Marleau jersey on. And I wouldn't be a true fan if I didn't pick the Sharks in 6.

[Echolalia 2,961]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=205416&hubname=nhl

After reading that I'm under the strong assumption that the Sharks are going to underestimate us.

"''We feel like we've got a team that can win the Stanley Cup without any tricks or special (things),'' captain Patrick Marleau said. ''We're just going to keep working hard, play our game and get everybody to make a contribution.'

Wilson plans no major changes to that struggling power play, preferring to believe his club can recapture its dominance from the regular season."

Edited April 25, 2007 by Echolalia

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

I don't really think "we can win the Cup" and "we've going to work hard and play our game" are signs of overconfidence or whatever. That's pretty standard fare.

These guys are professionals, and nobody's overlooking anybody, especially with the way the playoffs have gone for those guys as well as us over the last few years.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

5. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, stop referring to manhandling the Flames as a reason that you will be able to do the same to San Jose. The Flames entered the postseason in a freefall, and were almost physically incapable of winning outside the Saddledome. Not trying to be insulting, but I was honestly surprised that they took the Wings to six games.

And you guys need to PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop referring to the manhandling of the Preds as a reason you guys are taking the Wings so lightly. Tons of Sharks fans are making it seem like this series is a cake walk. The Wings are NOT the same team anymore. They won't be pushed around, they are tough mentally, physically, and can out smart any team in the league. They are one of the most skilled, if not best puck possession team in the league..and they are WAY better than the Preds. *I'm not saying this towards you* but from what I've read and see from Shark fans they are joyed playing the Wings, and I think that's laughable.

Edited April 25, 2007 by HockeyCrazy3033

[Echolalia 2,961]

I don't really think "we can win the Cup" and "we've going to work hard and play our game" are signs of overconfidence or whatever. That's pretty standard fare.

These guys are professionals, and nobody's overlooking anybody, especially with the way the playoffs have gone for those guys as well as us over the last few years.

Not so much the "we can win the Cup" attitude as much as the "we can win the cup without any special tricks" and "we don't need to worry about our horrible power play, I'm sure it'll fix itself when we verse Detroit" attitude.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Not so much the "we can win the Cup" attitude as much as the "we can win the cup without any special tricks" and "we don't need to worry about our horrible power play, I'm sure it'll fix itself when we verse Detroit" attitude.

*shrug* Power plays run hot and cold (except for Detroit's which is all-cold all the time). Sometimes there's no need to goof around with it. Despite it being off now, it was second in the league during the season so they must be doing something right. Detroit's PK hasn't exactly been dynamite either.

Edited April 25, 2007 by Heroes of Hockeytown

[clamchop 3]

And you guys need to PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop referring to the manhandling of the Preds as a reason you guys are taking the Wings so lightly. Tons of Sharks fans are making it seem like this series is a cake walk. The Wings are NOT the same team anymore. They won't be pushed around, they are tough mentally, physically, and can out smart any team in the league. They are one of the most skilled, if not best puck possession team in the league..and they are WAY better than the Preds. *I'm not saying this towards you* but from what I've read and see from Shark fans they are joyed playing the Wings, and I think that's laughable.

were happy cause we dont have to play the ducks this round. I for one am not taking the wings lightly and im sure the sharks wont either. its going to be an interesting series for sure.

[EasyMark 8]

I don't really think "we can win the Cup" and "we've going to work hard and play our game" are signs of overconfidence or whatever. That's pretty standard fare.

These guys are professionals, and nobody's overlooking anybody, especially with the way the playoffs have gone for those guys as well as us over the last few years.

Well said.

[dicksmack 33]

Wings in 7

This won't be easy but I think we can pull it out. Obviously, If you take a look at that roster, SJ looks great and pretty damn big. Those guys are gonna drive to the net and give us fits. Hasek is pissed about letting in 9 goals that game--their bench looked like one of those repetitive video-clip avatars of the guys skating back to slap gloves after another pp goal (shouldn't give their fans any ideas). But Dom will be ready he's gonna need plenty of goal support and lots 5 on 5. If we can stay out the box, we'll do fine. Hopefully, Babcock will put Bert on the 1st pp unit until Homer's back. I'd love to see what those guys can do.

Go Wings!

[CAredwingsfan91 28]

our boys are gonna be pretty beatin up win or lose from this series...san jose is a hell of a team and their fans can rock that stadium like no other, so lets just keep up our hopes up for them and hopefully we can keep on rolling through the playoffs.