48 replies to this topic

[JaketheShark]

Sorry AZShark but I have to agree with the Wings fans here. Bigger, stonger and as a team faster (Red Wings have some pretty quick forwards too) doesn't mean tougher, smarter or despite Thornton, more skilled. Sharks have to prove it on the ice, paper matchups and even regular season results don't mean anything in the playoffs. I'd like to see the Sharks play their A game and take the series in 6 or even 5 but I don't see anything yet in the first two games to predict that. Wings are much tougher than Nashville and I'll be happy to win this series in 7. Maybe Sharks fans will see a great Sharks team that totally dominates the Red Wings in games 3 and 4, that would be nice, but I for one haven't seen it yet in games 1 and 2.

[BuckeyeWingsfan80]

Sorry AZShark but I have to agree with the Wings fans here. Bigger, stonger and as a team faster (Red Wings have some pretty quick forwards too) doesn't mean tougher, smarter or despite Thornton, more skilled. Sharks have to prove it on the ice, paper matchups and even regular season results don't mean anything in the playoffs. I'd like to see the Sharks play their A game and take the series in 6 or even 5 but I don't see anything yet in the first two games to predict that. Wings are much tougher than Nashville and I'll be happy to win this series in 7. Maybe Sharks fans will see a great Sharks team that totally dominates the Red Wings in games 3 and 4, that would be nice, but I for one haven't seen it yet in games 1 and 2.

Thank you for being honest.

[GoWings1905]

Here's the deal...

The Sharks got exactly what they came for in Detroit, a WIN!

Detroit exhausted themselves all over the place to beat SJ yesterday...ON HOME ICE!

Yesterday the Sharks came up short. Hasek made some tremendous saves early and throughout the game.

After two games into this series, I present my first prediction: Sharks in 6. Perhaps 5. Definitely not 7.

That wasn't the Red Wings exhausting themselves yesterday, that was hard work and skating that paid off. Maybe you aren't used to it judging by your team's strategy to score a couple of goals and then no longer forecheck by sticking four guys back on the blueline. Expect more of this "exhaustion" from the Red Wings for the remainder of the series. Call it as you wish, but most people would say it was hard work and a desire to win.

[YoungGuns1340]

Sorry AZShark but I have to agree with the Wings fans here. Bigger, stonger and as a team faster (Red Wings have some pretty quick forwards too) doesn't mean tougher, smarter or despite Thornton, more skilled. Sharks have to prove it on the ice, paper matchups and even regular season results don't mean anything in the playoffs. I'd like to see the Sharks play their A game and take the series in 6 or even 5 but I don't see anything yet in the first two games to predict that. Wings are much tougher than Nashville and I'll be happy to win this series in 7. Maybe Sharks fans will see a great Sharks team that totally dominates the Red Wings in games 3 and 4, that would be nice, but I for one haven't seen it yet in games 1 and 2.

You know whats funny about this series though?? Neither the Wings nor the Sharks have played up to their level yet. I know the Wings can play better and I KNOW the Sharks can too - all Wings fans here do - and its going to be a real exciting series if both teams decide to start stepping it up.

[haroldsnepsts]

http://sportsillustr...win-game-2.html

Neat reading material by Allan Muir of SI.com about last game and what he thinks might happen the rest of the series.

More/less he states...

Sharks were in this same posiition last year against Edmonton and goofed that up.
Hasek needs to settle down the puck playing.
Wings deserved to win the game as they eventually worked hard throughout the game after settling down.
Sharks have the younger/bigger and probably faster team but they can't take their foot off the gas pedal if they play well early or this series is bye-bye for them.
Too many giveaways from both teams.

This is not to take away from the many HUGE saves he's made during both series, but Dom needs to be much more conservative playing the puck.

It's a relatively simple thing to correct. The Sharks are too good to be spotting them a goal like that.

[puckloo39]

he knows, already....

Happily, no other Wing ever makes a mistake aside from the 25 or so turnovers in Game 1, I mean. The ones that Dom pretty much covered for them and bailed them out on, ya know?

"It was tough five minutes for me and whole team," Hasek said. "They just came hard and they score on the first shot, and then I try to help my teammates with the puck and I gave away the puck and the net was open. It was just mistake, and we were down, 2-0."

Hasek doesn't make the same mistake twice, and he owns up to it when he does. No worries here.

[SouthernWingsFan]

Can we please not turn this thread into a Hasek is the anti-Christ or Hasek is a demi-God thread?

[Zenithian]

Here's the deal...

The Sharks got exactly what they came for in Detroit, a WIN!

Detroit exhausted themselves all over the place to beat SJ yesterday...ON HOME ICE!

Yesterday the Sharks came up short. Hasek made some tremendous saves early and throughout the game.

After two games into this series, I present my first prediction: Sharks in 6. Perhaps 5. Definitely not 7.

You may want to view the first two games that way, but keep in mind that it's also highly interpretative/subjective. The Sharks have been less than impressive; the series being tied up is more a function of the Wings not playing well in the 1st period than the Sharks' "superior play" (as the media would have one believe). To be completely honest, if this is all the Sharks have, you may want to revise your prediction to: Wings in 6. Perhaps 5. Definitely not 7.

Make no mistake - we won in Calgary, so we can definitely win in San Jose.

[puckloo39]

Can we please not turn this thread into a Hasek is the anti-Christ or Hasek is a demi-God thread?

I think maybe that's an over-statement.

[Kp-Wings]

Hasek doesn't make the same mistake twice, and he owns up to it when he does. No worries here.

Not to be rude, but how many times has he made the same exact giveaway, in which he tries to play the puck and it causes a goal? More then once I'm afraid.

I'll let him slide though, since he played pretty solid after that.

[haroldsnepsts]

he knows, already....

Happily, no other Wing ever makes a mistake aside from the 25 or so turnovers in Game 1, I mean. The ones that Dom pretty much covered for them and bailed them out on, ya know?

"It was tough five minutes for me and whole team," Hasek said. "They just came hard and they score on the first shot, and then I try to help my teammates with the puck and I gave away the puck and the net was open. It was just mistake, and we were down, 2-0."

Hasek doesn't make the same mistake twice, and he owns up to it when he does. No worries here.

The 25 other turnovers didn't lead to such an easy goal for the Sharks. One where the goaltender isn't in net.

God forbid someone say anything remotely negative about Dom.

He has made this exact same mistake twice. More than twice this season, easily.

He's a great goalie, but he's not good at playing the puck. That's fine. The simple solution is not to play the puck in traffic like that.

He's been great in the postseason, but there is such a simple fix for such a costly mistake.

[puckloo39]

The 25 other turnovers didn't lead to such an easy goal for the Sharks. One where the goaltender isn't in net.

God forbid someone say anything remotely negative about Dom.

He has made this exact same mistake twice. More than twice this season, easily.

He's a great goalie, but he's not good at playing the puck. That's fine. The simple solution is not to play the puck in traffic like that.

He's been great in the postseason, but there is such a simple fix for such a costly mistake.

you know, I had a response typed but I erased it. There's no point anymore. Either you believe in the man, or you don't.

[Rice]

you know, I had a response typed but I erased it. There's no point anymore. Either you believe in the man, or you don't.

That's just totally untrue.

I think Hasek is a great goalie, but everyone has their flaws. Hasek's flaw is his puck handling. He made a mistake and paid for it.

Is he still a great goalie? Yes.

[Happy Pancake]

you know, I had a response typed but I erased it. There's no point anymore. Either you believe in the man, or you don't.

I have to agree with Harold here. Hasek helped save the game and I have nothing against him. Hasek just needs to pick his spots better. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying Hasek shouldn't play the puck as much. If there's a guy coming at you, just stay in the net do what you do best.

[haroldsnepsts]

you know, I had a response typed but I erased it. There's no point anymore. Either you believe in the man, or you don't.

actually I think it doesn't have to be one of those two absolutes.

Dom is a great goalie and has come up huge in the playoffs. He also wanders from the net and it has occasionally cost the Wings.

Those two beliefs are not mutually exclusive.

If there's a guy coming at you, just stay in the net do what you do best.

Exactly.

[Seraph]

I think this series is pretty interesting because both the fans and coaches seem to be seeing different things out there. It doesn't matter if the Sharks don't think we're outplaying them. We can not outplay them all the way to four wins. I don't give two thirds of a crap.

As far as Hasek goes. He always makes me so nervous when goes for a stroll in the park to blindly flip the puck behind him and saunter back to the crease.

[YoungGuns1340]

Doms good at rebounding, hes taken his lumps like a man, acknowledged when hes deserved the criticism, and (unlike most people seem to think because he only faces 18 shots a game) he makes HUGE saves game in and game out.

[haroldsnepsts]

Doms good at rebounding, hes taken his lumps like a man, acknowledged when hes deserved the criticism, and (unlike most people seem to think because he only faces 18 shots a game) he makes HUGE saves game in and game out.

Absolutely.

What killed us last year is not so much the number of goals Legace gave up, but what huge momentum killers they were for us. So many seemed to be at the worst possible time.

Dom has come up huge in both the wins and the losses.

[Viperar]

Absolutely.

What killed us last year is not so much the number of goals Legace gave up, but what huge momentum killers they were for us. So many seemed to be at the worst possible time.

Dom has come up huge in both the wins and the losses.

well said harold...couldnt have said it better myself

[Flip-check]

you know, I had a response typed but I erased it. There's no point anymore. Either you believe in the man, or you don't.

loo, you're a great fan of Dom's. The guy can be criticized though.

And not all criticism defaults to being "unfair". It is possible to believe in someone and point out their flaws. This is a very good thing, actually.