2probert4 8 Report post Posted February 22, 2009 It's a board. People can say whatever they want. People can respond however they want. Some are stupid and all are stupid, comparatively. Big, fat, hairy deal. People will get passionate (and that's a good thing, no?). They will probably say some stupid things, in your humble opinion. Get mad and call them names or ignore them. Who's not guilty of typing something dumb in the past? me. and only me. dickheads. Holland has said more than once that they wont carry an enforcer, unless they find a player like Bob Probert, who was playing a regular shift, and was an actual scoring threat... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisdetroit 189 Report post Posted February 22, 2009 Actually, the Wings have won almost as many Cups in the last 10 years as Edmonton did in the 80's. It's harder in today's league to have that kind of success. However, our biggest playoff successes came in seasons where we dressed some kind of tough guy either in the regular season or in the playoffs. It's tougher to win the Cup when a team hasn't shown any consistent grit all year. This year the Wings haven't shown any consistent physical play to match that of last year. So yeah, you were right about the Wings being successful year in and year out, but that hasn't always translated into playoff success. I just want this team to play with more attitude like they did last year, so that it can hopefully result in more grit for the playoffs. It's tough to do that with such a soft 4th line, and would be easier if we had a Downey or McCarty in the lineup. Yeah, skill is more important than toughness, but we already have plenty of skill. The Wings have yet to show me that they can win the Stanley Cup with just skill on their roster all year and no toughness of any kind. Who knows, if they win the Cup without any consistent tough guy or figher in the lineup this year, maybe then I'll change my mind. Until then, this is my position. The toughness in last years playoffs came from the same guys that we have now (except Drake). Kronwall and Staurt with the big hits and Lilja and Pavs. Mac didn't do much. i don't remeber them being all that tough in the regular season last year. I expect them to turn it up come playoff time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,804 Report post Posted February 22, 2009 The toughness in last years playoffs came from the same guys that we have now (except Drake). Kronwall and Staurt with the big hits and Lilja and Pavs. Mac didn't do much. i don't remeber them being all that tough in the regular season last year. I expect them to turn it up come playoff time. We had way more fights last year in the regular season than this season. Drake and Downey provided that. Your memory is obviously not that good if you can't tell the difference between the 2 seasons. Also, the same guys you speak of that we had last year are not playing with that same grit this year. They need some catalyst on this team who everyone else can feed off of physically. That's what the 4th line is for and we haven't seen the 4th line give us that passion and hitting like we need. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) The toughness in last years playoffs came from the same guys that we have now (except Drake). Kronwall and Staurt with the big hits and Lilja and Pavs. Mac didn't do much. i don't remeber them being all that tough in the regular season last year. I expect them to turn it up come playoff time. The toughness in last years playoffs was grown. Downey and Drake effected everyone, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, even Hudler all finished checks, for the first time I've ever seen. You can discount it if you want, but it wasnt a coincedence they did it when they had a tough guy on the roster. You dont remember the toughness from last year eh? McLaren running Drake and Zetterberg, Downey handling him easily and the Wings pound San Jose in the 3rd and win the game. Or when we were absolutely depleted and Lappierriere takes a run at Lidstrom, to which Downey responds and makes him turtle, and the Wings win with 5 d-men, and already short regulars. I could name off a ton of different instances from last year, but I can really only name one this year, and it was a star player who did it, and it only happened last week. There is a huge difference in overall team toughness and physical play this year and last year. Kronwall came up huge in the playoffs, and Stewie and Lilja were always tough, but Rafalski and Lebda/Chelios all played tough in the playoffs as well, or at least as tough as they could. Lidstrom played much to smart to ever even throw a body check, so it didnt matter. As for the McCarty comment, yeah he didnt do much. But his leadership on the bench for the games he played was huge, his goal against Nashville was huge, and in a series where we dominated Colorado, and they tried to goon it up, he proved we werent to be f***ed with. And we werent, 2008 Stanley Cup Champions. Cant argue with that, like GMR said earlier. Edited February 23, 2009 by Detroit # 1 Fan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
