Anaheim Preview

[Vladifan 680]

That's a Swiss trait numbnuts. The Swiss like to make things appear difficult, but in fact it's very easy for them. Example Swiss Army Knife. Wow you're not very smart.

:rotflmao: .......... whaaaat? :looney:

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

That's a Swiss trait numbnuts. The Swiss like to make things appear difficult, but in fact it's very easy for them. Example Swiss Army Knife. Wow you're not very smart.

:lol:

Like I give two s***s about people from Switerzland and what their tendencies are, he looked shaky and a great defence greatly helped him. Yeah Swiss Army knife, sweet, now I know something about the Swiss, thanks bro.

[Dr. Rahmani 0]

That's a Swiss trait numbnuts. The Swiss like to make things appear difficult, but in fact it's very easy for them. Example Swiss Army Knife. Wow you're not very smart.

Damn straight. Swiss Miss and s*** too.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Wings in 4/5? are you crazy? this will be a really tough series, probably 6 or 7 games, either team could win though.. wings 4th line is bad, osgood is not outplaying hiller, ducks 1st line is heavy, wings D are not physical and can't move them away from wings own net, kronwall+stuart pairing will probably be horrible to watch... still wings powerplay is great(except samuelsson on the point) so if anaheim takes stupid penalties i think wings can win... also datsyuk needs to be fantastic, not just good, to be able to win.

No one thought Ozzie would outplay Mason either...

[Vladifan 680]

HELP!!!!!!!!!!

The stupid Cleveland Indians are on NBC on Sunday. The Ducks/Wings game will be on NBC on Sunday. Is there any other way to watch the game besides pay $20 on nhl.com

How's about we just go ahead and play the series? Even if your bud Corey has told you it's over, I still think - just for the sake of network fees, salaries, the NHL, etc., that we just.might.need.to.play.the.series.

...jeeeeezussss......

EDIT: Sorry, teck - this reply was meant as a response to Hector Blake. I apologize to you for my inattention!

Edited April 28, 2009 by Vladifan

[RedWings 79]

you can't compare Mason and Hiller. Mason will be forgotten forever.

Hiller made a first class series, allowing really few goals, and he was peppered all along

the Ducks are the only team which can beat the wings this year

They don't mind to not control the puck, Strong defense and goalie, strong special teams, and very smart and fast on the breakaways

That's a team tailored for the playoffs and they can finish the Wings in 6 just like in 2007.

We need top level Datsyuk & Zetterberg, their game against the BJ won't be enough.

[Kwame_Kilpatrick 0]

Zeta must improve from before ok or maybe we will be in a hole. anaheim has much better defence than columbus and a good swiss goalie, something the nhl has never seen. we need to be ready and ozzy needs to be sharp most importantly. this is pavels series he must work hard now

[MaynardJKeenan 1]

It's funny how everyone is talking about how good Hiller was in the Sharks series. Did you guys actrually watch the games? The Sharks made him look good by throwing weak 40ft wristers with no traffic in front of Hiller. I didn't see him make many "oh my god, what a save" type of saves. I could see the Wings sweeping the Ducks but I'll say Wings in 5. We'll probably lose game 3, but that's it.

[Ozzie30 170]

It's funny how everyone is talking about how good Hiller was in the Sharks series. Did you guys actrually watch the games? The Sharks made him look good by throwing weak 40ft wristers with no traffic in front of Hiller. I didn't see him make many "oh my god, what a save" type of saves. I could see the Wings sweeping the Ducks but I'll say Wings in 5. We'll probably lose game 3, but that's it.

Just like the Wings made Giggy look good all those years ago.

[teckaholic 0]

Anaheim wins this series if the play smart! Can they do that? I am not counting on it

[MaynardJKeenan 1]

Just like the Wings made Giggy look good all those years ago.

The Wings team that year did make it easy on Giggy. This years team has alot more will to their game. Giggy won the Conn Smythe that year so he was the real deal. I don't think Hiller is anywhere near that level. I'm actually a little worried that we'll light Hiller up and Giggy replaces him. I think we'd still win, but it would be tougher, imo.

[hamertime 0]

It's funny how everyone is talking about how good Hiller was in the Sharks series. Did you guys actrually watch the games? The Sharks made him look good by throwing weak 40ft wristers with no traffic in front of Hiller. I didn't see him make many "oh my god, what a save" type of saves. I could see the Wings sweeping the Ducks but I'll say Wings in 5. We'll probably lose game 3, but that's it.

Holy crap, this could be the stupidest statement ever made. San SoGay literally had twice the amount of grade A scoring chances in this series and Hiller must have made 15 to 16 a game. Stick to homing the Wings and let the people that understand the game communicate in this thread.

[hamertime 0]

Anaheim wins this series if the play smart! Can they do that? I am not counting on it

Why don't you just shut up. Allducks is calling.

Edited April 29, 2009 by hamertime

[Ms_Hockey 0]

My analyisis:

Goaltending? Clear edge to Hiller and the Duck. Dont' forget they have a Conn Smythe winner on the bench too. And before you go on about Osgood, remember please that we are talking about Chris Osgood and he is a MEDIOCRE goaltender. And please also, before you knee-jerk off a "duckie duck duck quackarro" unintelligible reply, please take a look at Hiller's numbers. Then you can agree with me. Huge edge to the Duck.

Defense? Easy. Come on. Neidermayer, Pronger, Beauchemin, Whitney, Wisnewski and then Brookbank and who cares cause the top 3 play 45 minutes of the game and the next two play the next 15. That's an all world defensive line up and not one of them is a Euro. HUGE edge to the Duck.

Forwards? Best first line in hockey, speedy second line and grinding vets added on. Wings have a collection of flitting snipers who should be playing for Sweden in 1972 wearing those stupid blue helmets. I'll be gracious and call it even.

Coaching? Babcock = Duck reject. Enough said.

Special teams: Ducks had one of the best PP's in the league to finish the year. They killed 131 of the 132 penalties the stupid refs gave the Sharks in period 2 of game 1 alone. I'll call it even.

X factor: Way more North Americans on the Duck. Cleaner home town. Better fans.

Overall edge? DUCK!!!

(btw, this is reprinted with permission from disney.com)

I'm going to try to take this bit by bit - completely ignoring the points brought up that have no bearing on the game whatsoever.

Goaltending.

Every team that Detroit has played with Osgood in net feels that he's our "weak link" and/or that they have an instant edge over us in this aspect.. and that may very well be true. However, we have one of the top defensive teams in the league. We're so good, in fact, that Osgood - while him only being MEDIOCRE as you so thoughtfully pointed out - has won multiple Cups here and broken various franchise records. You have a Conn Smythe winner on your bench, we have a Conn Smythe winner on ours. And no, I'm not talking about fifteen years ago. I'm talking about last season. Hiller is, admittedly, a better goaltender than Osgood.. but Osgood does the job this team needs. We don't need Osgood to steal games for us - we just need him to show up when our defense doesn't do the job themselves.. and I think you can agree that after watching the first round, he's done that. In short: Don't overestimate your supposed advantage.

Defense.

It's laughable that a team like the Ducks, a team built around toughness and using the body to get the job done, could ever consider them to be better off defensively than a team like the Wings - a team built around their defense in a finesse style of play. The entire Red Wings team is centered around our D. Are we always squeaky clean and perfect? No, of course we're not. But I watched that entire first round against SJ and I have to tell you - neither was the Ducks' defense. Having no Euros isn't ANY kind of advantage. In the game of hockey, it's the skill and talent that matters - not the nationality. And really - if you want to argue that it's a huge advantage, you're completely forgetting that Lidstrom - A EURO - is easily one of the best defenseman in the modern era or otherwise to ever play this game. In fact, our third line defenseman would easily be first line defenseman on other teams. So don't give me this "no Euros, yay! We're better!" bullcrap. If that were true, Lidstrom wouldn't have raised the cup last season.

Forwards.

I'm going to be nice here and for the sake of this argument, assume your first line is better than ours. We, without-a-doubt, have a far superior second, third, and I'd even venture to say fourth line. You have ONE solid good line. Wow. I'm so impressed. We, on the other hand, have another situation with our forwards where our third liners would be first liners on any given team other than the Wings. We're so stacked with offensive talent, we have no idea where to put it all. And this is where the edge goes to the Wings: We're ridiculously good at containing big players. I mean, Rick Nash from Columbus had the most goals against Detroit than any other player in the NHL. We kept him down to what? One goal? Maybe two? Last year, in the Finals, we contained Crosby and Malkin so that they were practically invisible. If you really think the Wings haven't caught on to who your "big guns" are and been thinking about containing them, you're kidding yourself. They'll be silenced and you'll be left with an inferior second, third, and fourth line. Advantage? Wings.

Coaching.

Really? A Duck reject? That's what you say about Babcock? This is one of those points that means absolutely nothing to this series and it's just pure crap being spewed to get blood pumping. But just to humor you, let's talk about coaching. Let's talk about how many records Babcock holds, shall we?

Let's start with his Red Wings records:

-In his first year as coach of the Detroit Red Wings, he set a record for the most wins of a head coach in their first year of any NHL team. He also guided the Wings to win their fifth Presidents' Trophy in his first year here.

-He was selected as a finalist for the Jack Adams Trophy - and just in case you have no idea what that is - it's awarded to the coach who contributes most to his teams' success.

And now, his reign with the Ducks:

-Mike Babcock led YOUR team, the Mighty Ducks, to their first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Did you forget that?

-While he was coach, Anaheim swept Detroit, making themselves the first team since the 1952 Red Wings to sweep the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

-Before the Finals appearance, Babcock led the Ducks to their best regular season in the club's history - with 40 wins and 95 points.

-Anaheim was the most improved team in the NHL, finishing 26 points higher than they did in 2001-02... and, as a side note, Babcock became one of only eight coaches to lead a team to a 26 point or more improvement in his first season as an NHL coach.

-Babcock's first term with the Ducks also led to a record of best GAA and fewest goals allowed.

And just so you're not confused, since you called him a Duck "reject", it was actually Babs that rejected the Ducks - turning down an offer to remain with the Ducks to come and coach - you guessed it - the Detroit Red Wings.

So really, kind of a stupid "rejection" on your part, dontcha think?

Special teams:

You may have one of the best PP in the league - but we have THE best PP in the league. You guys also take a ridiculous amount of penalties. Compared to the Ducks, we take... well.. just about none. You won't have very many power plays, and we'll have an astounding number of them. Instant advantage to the Wings.

X Factor:

Another one of those points that make no difference whatsoever to the game. You have more North American players. You didn't win the Cup with them last year. We won the Cup with the most European stocked team around. I'm not going to argue North American vs. European with you - but all you gotta do is look at the teams stat sheets to know that this point is null and void.

All in all, thanks for playing.. but that was one of the most illogical posts a Ducks troll--er, I mean, fan--could make. Better luck next time.

Edited April 29, 2009 by Ms_Hockey

[Vladifan 680]

Why don't you just shut up. Allducks is calling.

What the hell? You're on our board, bubba. And I checked out Kingsternet and it seems to be the place where all boys between the ages of say, 14-18 can go to use all those words their mommies don't let them use at home. No real hockey talk. Just idiotic, pubescent-type putdowns. Neeeuuuooo, thank you!

Are you still here? Go home! It's over!

[MaynardJKeenan 1]

Holy crap, this could be the stupidest statement ever made. San SoGay literally had twice the amount of grade A scoring chances in this series and Hiller must have made 15 to 16 a game. Stick to homing the Wings and let the people that understand the game communicate in this thread.

Not quiet, but it's your lie, you can tell it how you want.Every hockey show I watched or listened to on radio said the same thing, the sharks made Hiller look good. I just hope your here to eat you crow when the Wings whip the Ducks ass. They'll be lucky to win 1 game. I'm guessing Giggy will see some action in this series after the Wings light Hiller up.

Edited April 29, 2009 by MaynardJKeenan

[Electrophile 3,554]

What the hell happened to this thread? Is it even remotely possible for there to be reasonable and intelligent debate about the series between both teams' fans without it turning into a grade school pissing match?

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick.

[Dabura 12,207]

What the hell happened to this thread? Is it even remotely possible for there to be reasonable and intelligent debate about the series between both teams' fans without it turning into a grade school pissing match?

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick.

Not when one of the teams is the Ducks, apparently.

[Hockeytown_Ryan 119]

Yeah Ok Hiller has a SLight advantage in numbers over Osgood.... Wait till after game one , Then we will see.

[Outsider 42]

Hiller played well enough, but he certainly wasn't anywhere near as good as the knob-slobberers are making him out to be.

Like the Wings did in 03, the Sharks fired harmless shot after harmless shot from the point, with no traffic in front.

Babcock states of Hiller that "We watched him lots." I hope he means that earnestly.

If they truly HAVE been watching, they'll note that:

1. The guy's like a Pez dispenser when it comes to rebounds. Lots of goalies give up tons of rebounds, but most can put them where they want them. Hiller has little, to no, rebound control. Beat the Duckies to those rebounds, and it's a whole different game. The Sharks weren't willing to do that. Will the Wings be willing to?

2. High. Shoot high. Glove side....blocker side....doesn't matter. His own Teammates pump goal after goal by him in practice AND warm-ups because they ALL SHOOT HIGH on him.

3. Traffic. He's scrambly in traffic. How many times during Round 1 was he literally, and I do mean literally, crawling around on his hands and knees like a 6 month old? He saw nearly EVERY SHOT the Sharks fired on him.

This Series worries me only because I know very well the Duckies penchant for attempting to advance through the Play Offs by injuring/intimidating their opponents into defeat.

Edited April 29, 2009 by Outsider

[Electrophile 3,554]

The only thing I'm worried about is Chris Pronger. I can't stand that SOB.

[Rice 42]

Did the Duck play smart when they beat the Wings the LAST TWO TIMES THEY FACED THEM IN THE PLAYOFFS? Did they "play smart" when they took a boatload of penalties vs San Jose? Thew WIN GAMES because they bully their way around.

The day they "play smart" is the day their season ends.

The Wings have a significantly better (healthier, too) powerplay and offense in general than the last time they faced the Ducks. You can bet this iteration of the Detroit powerplay won't blow multiple 5-on-3's like its '07 counterpart did. Pahlsson and Moen would've played a big part for the Ducks in this series.

[Duck Guy 86]

all these trolls....

[Rivalred 630]

all these trolls....

Duck Guy, I can not thank you enough for being a awesome member.

[UKWING 8]

Did the Duck play smart when they beat the Wings the LAST TWO TIMES THEY FACED THEM IN THE PLAYOFFS? Did they "play smart" when they took a boatload of penalties vs San Jose? Thew WIN GAMES because they bully their way around.

The day they "play smart" is the day their season ends.

they didn't take a boatload of penalties against san jose - they were only shorthanded 24 times in 6 games; the sharks were shorthanded 22 times. one of the things that impressed me most about the ducks in round 1 was their more disciplined play. they were still physical but they did not take a ton of dumb penalties like they did against the stars last year.

IMO there is no way they will beat this wings team if they cannot continue to control their aggression.