The Ducks

[OsGOD 3]

so by this virtue you might have home ice advantage all the way to the finals...

[swedishconnection 36]

Anyone who thinks that not playing the Sharks, the Ducks, or the Flames in last years run was no factor to us hoisting the holy, then you need to dust yourself off- you just took a high hit from Pronger in the corner.

Last year, we played our Central nemisis, who we all knew we could beat in a 7 game series.

Followed by a disheveled Colorado team that had just enough offence to break Minnie's trap.

Third up was the team that tried to copy our puck possestion style, but failed (valliently as they tried). Thanks for taking on the west coast teams for us.

Last was a young penguins team that got frustrated and abused in the first 2 games due to shakey leg syndrome. There is no return from an 0-2 deficit in the finals, especially if they are Shutouts.

Now lets not misunderstand me. Winning the Cup is the greatest thing in the world. It is the hardest and most physical trial of all of sport. It is not easy to win. In fact, if there is a direct opposite, the Cup is it.

The wings worked thier asses off and found ways to compete every night.

Rooting for STL last week was something that I was doing with all my heart. I did not want to see the ducks for the first round. I dont want to see them for the 2nd, either.

This has nothing to do with poison. I am not taking cyanide- I am rooting for matchups that favor the wings.

Vancouver, or Anaheim? I'm sure arguments could be made for both, and have been.

However I would much rather face a worldclass netminder with (I dare you to name the bottom 4 defencemen on VAN without a search) a mediocre defense. We can solve at least 1 problem at a time (Luongo).

VAN first line can be stopped- it will be a challenge but our 5 skaters on the ice work as a team.

Now for ANA- they seem to also have the makings of a worldclass netminder. --- This becomes a wash.

Pronger (dirty), Needavacay (highly skilled), Douchaman (gritty), Whitney (offensive), TakaWISonme, (gritty, shutdown), etc. Much favors ANA.

ANA first line pretty much is a wash vs. VAN.

Second line is still capable of producing- Ebbot, Selanne (our nemisis of a few years ago).

Take into account that ANA still plays that style of "Hey, they cant call ALL of the penalties we commit, why not keep going?"

In conclusion, I'll take Vancouver. Hey, we have to travel out west anyway, right?

Go Wings! (and go SHARKS!!! for the love of god, now- GO SHARKS-- 7 games tho, why not take your time?)

Edited April 20, 2009 by swedishconnection

[RedWings 79]

I'd like the Ducks series to go in 4

The " I want the series to go in 7" argument is usually not relevant for round 1... Teams are not really tired in round 2.

That becomes a factor during the conference finals, not before.

If anything, we sometimes have upsets for teams who had easy sweeps in round 1, sometimes the long break turns them cold..

Edited April 20, 2009 by RedWings

[YoungGuns1340 1]

If the Wings lose their #2 and #3 defenders to injury again, I think the Ducks would have a chance to beat them again, but other than that the Wings should steamroll them.

Moen and Pahlsson were beasts in the Ducks' playoff run in '07. Both are gone now. McDonald and Kunitz are gone now as well, and there is no doubt in my mind the Wings can handle any one-line team in the league -- even if it was a line of Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin. The Wings defense, playing to its potential, is still a hell of a lot better than San Jose's and especially when you factor in the defense of Detroit's forwards.

The only teams I feel are capable of beating this current Wings team are teams like Boston and San Jose - that can roll line after line of offensive players, still have a capable defense and have a hot goalie - all at the same time. Obviously I think any team is going to have their hands full with the Wings this year.

Spot on. I don't know why no one ever seems to remember that we were without Kronwall and Schneider for that entire series. I would've LOVED to see how Anaheim did without Neidermayer and Beauchemin for that series, for example.

At any rate, we can handle the ducks. I've watched both games, and it looked a lot more like a Sharks team that could still take it up a few notches against an Anaheim team that was playing their best game.

[Duck Guy 86]

Ehh anyways... considering the history behind the 0-3 deficit in the playoffs Sharks will be coming into a must win situation at the ponda. Should be a very good game.

[aflac9262 211]

One thing that stands out to me is how the Ducks pass the puck. It's almost like the Wings in a way. There seems to be a lot more speed and confidence on the passes, and better real time decision making by the Ducks. Now if you watch the Sharks passes, it's nowhere near as effective as the Ducks. Just one of the little things IMO that have helped the Ducks to their 2-0 lead.

[C-TownWing 0]

Anyone who thinks that not playing the Sharks, the Ducks, or the Flames in last years run was no factor to us hoisting the holy, then you need to dust yourself off- you just took a high hit from Pronger in the corner.

......

Followed by a disheveled Colorado team that had just enough offence to break Minnie's trap.

......

Vancouver, or Anaheim? I'm sure arguments could be made for both, and have been.

However I would much rather face a worldclass netminder with (I dare you to name the bottom 4 defencemen on VAN without a search) a mediocre defense. We can solve at least 1 problem at a time (Luongo).

VAN first line can be stopped- it will be a challenge but our 5 skaters on the ice work as a team.

Now for ANA- they seem to also have the makings of a worldclass netminder. --- This becomes a wash.

Pronger (dirty), Needavacay (highly skilled), Douchaman (gritty), Whitney (offensive), TakaWISonme, (gritty, shutdown), etc. Much favors ANA.

ANA first line pretty much is a wash vs. VAN.

Second line is still capable of producing- Ebbot, Selanne (our nemisis of a few years ago).

.....

Go Wings! (and go SHARKS!!! for the love of god, now- GO SHARKS-- 7 games tho, why not take your time?)

I did some selective snipping here, just to help line up my points.

1. You're absolutely right, getting that walkover 2nd round series while Dallas took out SJ (and Anaheim before that) was as big of a key to winning the Cup as the play of Osgood/Zetterberg/Franzen (pre-injury) or anything else. Maybe even more so.

2. That point made, you go on to say that arguments could be made either way for Anaheim or Vancouver. If it's close, why not root for the outcome that takes out the Sharks and gives us a matchup against a team worn down from a physical and hopefully long series? Just like last year, except a round earlier.

3. I'm not going to go too deep into the Nucks-Ducks comparison. I agree that the first lines are about equal and that Anaheim's D is much better. But even with Hiller playing as well as he is, it's a stretch to call him a wash with Luongo, IMO. And I'll take Vancouver's 2nd line over Anaheim's, easily. Either team would be tough though.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

LOL! Somewhere Ron Wilson is smiling his ass off!

Probably on a golf course.

[#18 the _Hoss_ 2]

Yeah ! Let them beat the hell out of each other !

Red Wings are once again becoming the unstoppable machine !!!

[Dabura 12,232]

If the Wings lose their #2 and #3 defenders to injury again, I think the Ducks would have a chance to beat them again, but other than that the Wings should steamroll them.

Moen and Pahlsson were beasts in the Ducks' playoff run in '07. Both are gone now. McDonald and Kunitz are gone now as well, and there is no doubt in my mind the Wings can handle any one-line team in the league -- even if it was a line of Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin. The Wings defense, playing to its potential, is still a hell of a lot better than San Jose's and especially when you factor in the defense of Detroit's forwards.

The only teams I feel are capable of beating this current Wings team are teams like Boston and San Jose - that can roll line after line of offensive players, still have a capable defense and have a hot goalie - all at the same time. Obviously I think any team is going to have their hands full with the Wings this year.

qft

[adtthosa 5]

The Ducks' team defense has been awesome so far. They've done an incredible job clearing the zone of loose pucks and not really allowing any second chances on Hiller. I picked Anaheim in 7 in my pool based solely on Anaheim's defense and it's looking pretty good so far. The Sharks really don't seem to be playing very well though.

I wanted to play Anaheim in the first round solely for the revenge factor. Now if we advance and Vancouver advances, we are either playing Anaheim or the 'Nucks. I think we are very capable of beating both teams, espescially if we continue to play the way we have. One advantage for us is our special teams are looking FAR better than St. Louis or San Jose's special teams. I think this is espescially important if we play the Canucks, because they've played with fire with all their penalties but the Blues haven't been able to cash in. I would also say that our offense is somewhat more potent than the Sharks offense, or at least our offense has proven it can show up in big playoff games. The Sharks have had the most success so far when they've had traffic in front of Hiller and gotten pucks through, and no one does that better than us.

Bottom line, if we continue to play like we are we have nothing to worry about. It's unfortunate though that if we are to make it to the finals, we're probably going through Anaheim AND Vancouver.

Edited April 20, 2009 by adtthosa

[motorcitykid 42]

Its a moot point really seeing as the Ducks are likely up next if/when we beat Columbus. The travel our team does is a joke. Get us out of the damn West!!

Go Wings!!

[XxGoWingsxX 0]

I am loving Hiller... Getting Hiller with it!! lol ^^ I like how shark fans where already buying their round 2. tickets when they found out they would be playing the ducks... HERE IS TO A HOME ICE WIN ON TUESDAY (which I will be attending!! cant wait) oh and also loving the sharks 0 for 12 i think it is on the PP for this series so far.

LoL true but i also remember before last game....wait nevermind...its calgary whos gone 1/50 of their last pp attempts...HORRENDOUS lol

[selkie 10]

Its a moot point really seeing as the Ducks are likely up next if/when we beat Columbus. The travel our team does is a joke. Get us out of the damn West!!

But, but we actually got an eastern time zone matchup before the SCF. That's progress I tell ya.

[Grim 5]

But, but we actually got an eastern time zone matchup before the SCF. That's progress I tell ya.

why... isn't that what we had last year?

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

The Sharks are beating themselves by not scoring on PP's, turning over the puck, and letting Anaheims checking get to them. This team has to much veteran leadership to worry about Anaheim's checking, we'd handle the Ducks easily.

[C-TownWing 0]

Its a moot point really seeing as the Ducks are likely up next if/when we beat Columbus. The travel our team does is a joke. Get us out of the damn West!!

Go Wings!!

I'm not going to take it that far...unlike 99.9% of people out there, I actually don't think the Sharks are done just yet. The Ducks were lucky to escape last night--almost 2-1 shots for SJ, Ehrhoff alone had 2-3 pings. Not to discount the fact that the Ducks probably have better quality shots on average, but still...I think this is more of a case of Anaheim having a hot goalie and counterpunching well than it is the Sharks rolling over (again). I wouldn't be that surprised to see this go back to SJ at 2-2.

Totally agree on the travel...it's absolutely freaking insane that there's only one team in the West in our time zone. Think about it--the Wings went to a different time zone for 29 of our 41 road games. That's ridiculous. Now there's a distinct possibility of having to play two west coast teams before the finals (and an opponent that stayed in EST all three rounds).

[LidstromIsASuperhero 29]

Well we wen't 3-1 against the ducks this season versus Vancouver where we 2-2. vancouver seemed to give us bigger problems all year in the games that I watched, but Luongo didn't really seem to be much of a factor for the most part. (we beat them 6-5 once)

I'm not really too concerned about rival goaltending in general right now. Reason being is that we thrive on creating a net front presence that debilitates goalies. The type of game that they may have been successful with and built a reputation upon doesn't have as great a bearing when facing the Wings.

[hmmthesharks 0]

Hello everyone, I've been gone for the longest time because of my frustration in these playoffs.\

Just a note to all of you worrying about the Ducks, there's no need to. The only thing they really have going for them is their defense and Hiller (who I highly doubt will stay hot if they get to the 2nd round).

The Sharks really have surprised me (although you all may think otherwise). While I will say that they definitely outplayed the Ducks in the second game and the only reason they lost that game is because of Hiller and their lack of a good PP, I'm still disappointed in our leaders. Marleau (who is rumored to have an injury) and especially Thornton, do not know how to motivate the rest of the team, and that's their job! What really drove me over the edge was in last night's post game interview, Thornton said that the team "is right where they should be". I just about ripped my hair out. The guy is in denial and has for the last three years.

I'm not jumping off the boat just yet because the Sharks can take it to 7, but not with the way they've been playing. They need to figure out their PP issues. The only times the Sharks look dominant is when they skate fast and bring traffic in front of Hiller. And shooting pucks right in the middle of Hiller or trying to get pucks through the 5-hole will not happen; Hiller's a butterfly goalie. They need to shoot high and on the corners, and both goals that were scored were either the top or bottom, but were on the corners.

They need to get in Hiller's head, this is his first playoff appearance and the Sharks are making it too easy for him.

At the same time, I have to blame Todd a bit (I would say 5%). He didn't transition as well as I would have hoped after the all-star break. The Sharks new style of play was dominant in the beginning of the season when nobody knew about it, until teams figured out how to play against the Sharks and play better, and Todd never changed anything. Can't blame him though, I lay the blame on the players.

As for Nabby, the way he plays is reflective on how the team in front of him plays. When the team in front of him plays like s***, more pressure is set upon the goalie to make every save to keep his team in the game.

Edited April 21, 2009 by hmmthesharks

[chrisdetroit 189]

The Sharks are not going to come back and win the series. Not only are they down 2-0, both of the losses were at home. I expect them to win a game or 2 but for them to come back and win the series, they have to win 4 of the next 5 and that is with 3 of them on the road.

Anybody know what the Shark's road record this season was? 21-13-7. That's right they are a .500 team on the road.

Stick a fork in them, they're done, just like in 2008, 2007, 2006 but this time it was only 1 round, not 2.

I've been saying it all year, a rookie head coach isn't going to take a perennial underachieving team to the Stanley Cup...

[hmmthesharks 0]

The Sharks are not going to come back and win the series. Not only are they down 2-0, both of the losses were at home. I expect them to win a game or 2 but for them to come back and win the series, they have to win 4 of the next 5 and that is with 3 of them on the road.

Anybody know what the Shark's road record this season was? 21-13-7. That's right they are a .500 team on the road.

Stick a fork in them, they're done, just like in 2008, 2007, 2006 but this time it was only 1 round, not 2.

I've been saying it all year, a rookie head coach isn't going to take a perennial underachieving team to the Stanley Cup...

At least not the first year.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

The Sharks are not going to come back and win the series. Not only are they down 2-0, both of the losses were at home. I expect them to win a game or 2 but for them to come back and win the series, they have to win 4 of the next 5 and that is with 3 of them on the road.

Anybody know what the Shark's road record this season was? 21-13-7. That's right they are a .500 team on the road.

Stick a fork in them, they're done, just like in 2008, 2007, 2006 but this time it was only 1 round, not 2.

I've been saying it all year, a rookie head coach isn't going to take a perennial underachieving team to the Stanley Cup...

You call that a .500 record? Hmmm, it seems to me like they finished 8 games over .500. Eight games makes a big difference. For one thing, we'd be way ahead of them in the standings if they were .500 on the road.

Killer post, dude.

[Datsyerberger 279]

You call that a .500 record? Hmmm, it seems to me like they finished 8 games over .500. Eight games makes a big difference. For one thing, we'd be way ahead of them in the standings if they were .500 on the road.

Killer post, dude.

An overtime loss is a loss and nothing more in the playoffs. That's essentially 21-20, JUST over .500.

[RedWingedKitten 9]

You call that a .500 record? Hmmm, it seems to me like they finished 8 games over .500. Eight games makes a big difference. For one thing, we'd be way ahead of them in the standings if they were .500 on the road.

Killer post, dude.

If you're going to calculate a winning % with OTWs in the win section, then you better put OTLs in the loss section. 21-20.

I don't care how hot the Ducks goaltending / defense is. I want to see them lose, and I want the Wings to do it. No offense to Duck Guy, (awesome poster) but I want to watch the Ducks get decimated in every aspect of the game. I want the Ducks to beat SJ, then I want the Wings to play them.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

An overtime loss is a loss and nothing more in the playoffs. That's essentially 21-20, JUST over .500.

If you're going to calculate a winning % with OTWs in the win section, then you better put OTLs in the loss section. 21-20.

I don't care how hot the Ducks goaltending / defense is. I want to see them lose, and I want the Wings to do it. No offense to Duck Guy, (awesome poster) but I want to watch the Ducks get decimated in every aspect of the game. I want the Ducks to beat SJ, then I want the Wings to play them.

It doesn't matter. We had some OT and shootout wins also on the road, as well as shootout losses, as did just about every team. It's just a misleading way to portray stats.

Bottom line is that they had a road record way above .500. That's just the way the NHL point system is currently counted. If you want to complain about the system then you're more than welcome to. But if you look at it that way, everybody's record is somehow inflated.

Edited April 21, 2009 by GMRwings1983