Early Predictions Wings out in First Round

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

I know Luongo is a good goalie, but s*** everyone has a goalie that can shutout any team on any given night. Look at Ellis today. He was good. But most people would be like who the f*** is Ellis. I thought the same thing about Kiprussoff last year cause of all of his saves, but I dont buy into this Luongo crap.

Luongo crap? WTF does that mean? That he's not that good? Sure, whatever you say.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

yeah because its a better feeling for a wings fan to go into the playoffs thinking we are going to lose in the first round. give me a break.

Huh?

Some people have not had a good feeling about this team from the get go. I was one of them. I loved the addition of Stuart and the potentially Dmac and I think we should and will beat Vancouver if they were our 1st round opponent.

But that statement of yours is complete hillbilly hogwash. If you weren't such a slappy you might not make such a generalization like that.

What's even funnier is the people bagging on Luongo now like he isn't that good. Yeah, anything to make your rose colored goggles even rosier. These are the same people who wanted Luongo so badly when he was a UFA. Now he's not even in the top 3 or maybe even top 5 goalies in the game.

Now that kind of delusional behavior is more childish, or retarded (take your pick) than anything KP said.

[eva unit zero 271]

Huh?

Some people have not had a good feeling about this team from the get go. I was one of them. I loved the addition of Stuart and the potentially Dmac and I think we should and will beat Vancouver if they were our 1st round opponent.

But that statement of yours is complete hillbilly hogwash. If you weren't such a slappy you might not make such a generalization like that.

What's even funnier is the people bagging on Luongo now like he isn't that good. Yeah, anything to make your rose colored goggles even rosier. These are the same people who wanted Luongo so badly when he was a UFA. Now he's not even in the top 3 or maybe even top 5 goalies in the game.

Now that kind of delusional behavior is more childish, or retarded (take your pick) than anything KP said.

I don't know about others, but my opinion on Luongo is:

No, he's not the best goalie in hockey.

Yes, he is top five.

Ultimately, Luongo will not be stealing the series for Vancouver. Detroit's problem in the playoffs the past few years with regard to scoring has been much more about our offense being shut down by the opposing defense, and the goaltender stopping what did get through. Vancouver has one of the most porous defenses in the league, and Detroit showed last season that they can score in the playoffs. Vancouver will NOT be a problem.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

I don't know about others, but my opinion on Luongo is:

No, he's not the best goalie in hockey.

Yes, he is top five.

Ultimately, Luongo will not be stealing the series for Vancouver. Detroit's problem in the playoffs the past few years with regard to scoring has been much more about our offense being shut down by the opposing defense, and the goaltender stopping what did get through. Vancouver has one of the most porous defenses in the league, and Detroit showed last season that they can score in the playoffs. Vancouver will NOT be a problem.

The thing with Vancouver is their defense is in bad shape. Didn't they just lose Ohlund for the rest of the year?

That definitely makes your point about their D look spot on.

Of course teams tend to pull it together come playoff time and we've seen firsthand too many 1st round exits to teams we should've beaten. A hot goalie and a total team committment to shutting the Wings down has done us in before. Hence why I don't have any problem with some sports writer picking us to be upset. Not like it hasn't happened before.

I don't think its going to happen but its not completely out of the realm of possibility.

[Chairman Maouth 97]

Can you believe that this yoyo is predicting a loss to Vancover?

LINK

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 8. Vancouver Canucks

The best team in the NHL against the best goaltender in the NHL. Looks like somebody is primed for another postseason fall. Prediction: Canucks in seven.

Just like last year when we lost to Calgary then San Jose...

The guy is obviously a Homer, but is he really any different than most of you guys who almost always predict a Red Wings win in the "Weekend Picks" thread. He just has an independent outlet for his Homerism.

[lets go pavel 2]

let's face it, these guys HAVE to pick an upset, what's the point of writing a column that says all the favorites will win?

and when it comes to upsets, who better to pick for the upset than the best team in the league who also has a history of following regular season success with early postseason exits, who has a reputation (deserved or not) of being an undersized finesse team lacking in the grit needed for playoff success, and who also would be facing a sentimental favorite of a goaltender who has a reputation for standing on his head? hell, you could even argue that the other series are so even that there really aren't any other favorites to upset ...

that said, who cares? someone will always pick against us, someone will always pick for us, both sides will have their reasons, and none of it will mean a damn thing once the teams start skating ...

[cboth686 0]

what a dont understand is that detroit went to the conference finals last year, and lost to two VERY hot teams in Calgary and Edmonton the years prior.

so a team runs into two cinderela's and losses in a conference final and they've had poor playoff runs? More like unlucky

[Guest Hatethedrake!]

Huh?

Some people have not had a good feeling about this team from the get go. I was one of them. I loved the addition of Stuart and the potentially Dmac and I think we should and will beat Vancouver if they were our 1st round opponent.

But that statement of yours is complete hillbilly hogwash. If you weren't such a slappy you might not make such a generalization like that.

What's even funnier is the people bagging on Luongo now like he isn't that good. Yeah, anything to make your rose colored goggles even rosier. These are the same people who wanted Luongo so badly when he was a UFA. Now he's not even in the top 3 or maybe even top 5 goalies in the game.

Now that kind of delusional behavior is more childish, or retarded (take your pick) than anything KP said.

Luongo never was an UFA. After he was traded by Florida to Vancouver, the Canucks signed him to a contract extension.

Edited March 17, 2008 by Hatethedrake!

[OsGOD 3]

I always go in thinking we won't score enough goals to win.... Hardly ever am I let down that way!

Luongo doesn't scare me one bit... bring him on... I don't think he has really ever stopped us from winning against the Canucks.

Edited March 17, 2008 by OsGOD

[Guest Hatethedrake!]

what a dont understand is that detroit went to the conference finals last year, and lost to two VERY hot teams in Calgary and Edmonton the years prior.

so a team runs into two cinderela's and losses in a conference final and they've had poor playoff runs? More like unlucky

Luck has a little bit to do with it but not entirely. When a team loses to another team 4 times, they are not as good and deserve to be eliminated. Many Wings fans always take the easy road and give the goalie all the credit when the team is eliminated. But mostly it's because the Wings were outplayed and deserved to lose because they did not play well enough to win. Shots on goal are very misleading. The Wings always get alot of shots in the playoffs because they shoot from outside and from bad angles and most of them have no chance of going in.

Last year I felt the Wings deserved to eliminate the Ducks but could not overcome the injuries to Kronwall and Schneider. Game 5 of the series with the Ducks was total robbery. I will chalk that up to Giguere standing on his head and some very fortunate bounces going the Ducks way. However what happened in Game 6? The Wings crapped their pants and showed up too late and ran out of time.

That's the playoffs though. Often it comes down to luck and bad bounces. When the Wings won their 3 Cups, they had some bounces go their way. '98 SCF vs the Caps Esa Tikkanen misses a wide open net in Game 2. Wings come back and win on Draper's OT goal. '02 the infamous Lidstrom centre ice goal on Cloutier which turned things around for the Wings who looked like they were going to be upset. '97 Yzerman and Maltby score long distance goals on the Flyers in the SCF which deflated Philly. It works both ways. But I give credit to the Oilers, Flames and Ducks for being the better team when they eliminated the Wings. 4 wins is tough to argue against.