LeftWinger 4,962 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 http://www.fearthefin.com/2010/4/28/1449325/2010-nhl-playoff-preview-san-jose All in all a very good read, he's very knowledgeable and very unbias when it comes to his views. Of course he picks the Sharks in seven and I disagree with that (he is gonna pick his team of course, like we pick ours.) One thing thing he says at the end that rubbed me the wrong way though. He says Todd Bertuzzi should be in jail, without ONCE even mentioning Dany Heatly's criminal past, who should be in jail for life after killing his teammate. Anyway, if you want a good read, check it out... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmamolo 287 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Maybe Im being a little biased but here are a few small comments: 1. Asking the Thornton line to keep pace with either the Datsyuk or Zetterberg line (right now) is asking a lot. 2.Claiming Babcock has 'very little confidence' in Lilja and Ericsson is a stretch. I don't agree with that statement for either of the defensemen but even if I were to go so far as to somehow agree with Babcock doesn't have much confidence in Ericsson there is zero chance he has little confidence in Lilja. Lilja has been very solid down the stretch and so far in the playoffs. Just take a look at him on the PK - especially in game 7 against Phoenix. 3. Thinking the Sharks will go 3-1 at home is a very confident statement considering Detroit went 2-0 in San Jose this year and the author of the article had just previously finished mentioning how he put a lot of stock in season series numbers. 4.Ridiculous finish to an otherwise half way decent article: 'The blueline concerns me but I like the goaltending matchup. Datsyuk is a magician but I have a feeling Thornton finally asserts himself. Henrik Zetterberg has a ridiculously beautiful wife but Patrick Marleau is the best looking man in the world. Todd Bertuzzi should be in prison. Tomas Holmstrom's behind gets more press coverage than Jennifer Lopez but Ryane Clowe is giving him a run for his money. Niklas Lidstrom is bulletproof but Dany Heatley has a sniper rifle. Brian Rafalski is a patriot but Joe Pavelski is the new American hero. I keep flipping this coin. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair. And it always comes up heads. San Jose in seven. Book it. Go Sharks' 1 PrairieDawg reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zetts 236 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 (edited) Don't forget the line about the Sharks' forwards being 6'6", 250 and hitting like mack trucks. That was the line in 2007 right? Heatley is injured. Pretty badly from what I hear. That should reduce his effectiveness. There is absolutely no reason to think that Thornton will assert himself in the playoffs, now or ever. That's just wishful thinking. I'd say that the series would be pretty even. But I give the Wings the edge because we don't shoot the puck into our own net in overtime. And Marleau is not good looking. Edited April 29, 2010 by Zetts 1 Lidstrom for life reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ami 273 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 (edited) Thornton has had an opportunity to assert himself. and he missed it so far. have you seen 1st round stat for this 'big line' combined? Goals: 1; Assists: 9; +/-: -10... Looks natural: complete chokers. However, second line is scary: Goals: 9; Assists: 13; +/-: +16... Red Wings in 6. Todd Bertuzzi should be in prison.In the cell next to Heatly with the only difference that moron Heatly should have the life term. Edited April 29, 2010 by ami Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z Winged Dangler 2,082 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Don't forget the line about the Sharks' forwards being 6'6", 250 and hitting like mac trucks. That was the line in 2007 right? Heatley is injured. Pretty badly from what I hear. That should reduce his effectiveness. There is absolutely no reason to think that Thornton will assert himself in the playoffs, now or ever. That's just wishful thinking. I'd say that the series would be pretty even. But I give the Wings the edge because we don't shoot the puck into our own net in overtime. And Marleau is not good looking. priceless! if heatley is badly injured, i'll change my prediction to wings in 4. if the defence has 1 less sniper to tend to, they'll have that much more time for offence. and thornton is a terrible playoff underachiever. his game is suited for a slow, regular season powerplay. intensity is not in his vocabulary. i like boyle, but nice f***in shot buddy and nabby... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barrie 900 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 (edited) Thinking about it, the Sharks have an excellent opportunity here! I remember in the 2002 Wings Championship DVD Shanny said, "If you want to win the Cup, you need to knock off the defending champs. You can't expect someone else to do your dirt work." We're not the defending champs, but we're the back-to-back defending Western Conference champs, and the last Western team to be the champs, so it's the same thing. If Thornton, Marleau, and Nabokov have any playoff guts at all, the time is now! If they want to be a championship team this is the series they have to win! However, after seeing the Wings play in Game 7 and the Sharks playoff disappointments, how can anyone realistically pick the Sharks to win? They can beat the Wings, sure, but how can anyone think they will win? It bugs me Thornton wears #19 :puke:, I have so much respect for that number that I'll never wear it, unless it's on a Red Wings jersey with the name YZERMAN above it. Edit: Wings in 6! Edited April 29, 2010 by Barrie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barrie 900 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 (edited) Why do I have this feeling Datsyuk is going to lay out Thornton a few times in the series? Edit: Edited April 29, 2010 by Barrie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z Winged Dangler 2,082 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Thinking about it, the Sharks have an excellent opportunity here! I remember in the 2002 Wings Championship DVD Shanny said, "If you want to win the Cup, you need to knock off the defending champs. You can't expect someone else to do your dirt work." We're not the defending champs, but we're the back-to-back defending Western Conference champs, and the last Western team to be the champs, so it's the same thing. If Thornton, Marleau, and Nabokov have any playoff guts at all, the time is now! If they want to be a championship team this is the series they have to win! However, after seeing the Wings play in Game 7 and the Sharks playoff disappointments, how can anyone realistically pick the Sharks to win? They can beat the Wings, sure, but how can anyone think they will win? It bugs me Thornton wears #19 :puke:, I have so much respect for that number that I'll never wear it, unless it's on a Red Wings jersey with the name YZERMAN above it. Edit: Wings in 6! yzerman is my favorite player ever...but gotta give props to joe sakic too. that guy played the game like it should be played. toews is on the right path too. other than that, not many measure up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
F2B&G 15 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Why do I have this feeling Datsyuk is going to lay out Thornton a few times in the series? Edit: I don't know about laying him out, but undressing him with a Datsyukian turnover or three? Bank on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BUHdactyl 23 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Worst part is how he rates Nabokov over Howard... Howard has less experience, but from what I've seen Nabokov can't cut it in big games. Olympic failure, playoff joke, he even let Boyle score a goal on him. Howard is still unproven, but If anything the edge in goaltending goes to Howard because the only thing Nabokov's experience has proved is that he sucks ass in the playoffs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat 44 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Even though they don't got Grier anymore, it still brings back memories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc2fL3ubd40 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 Even though they don't got Grier anymore, it still brings back memories. That wasn't Grier's fault imo. Clowe was the idiot in that event. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mitchmac33 103 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 (edited) One problem i have with that article is when he talks offense. He talks about how Datsyuk and Zetterberg are gonna be a handful defensively but i don't recall him mentioning anything of their offensive ability. Datsyuk and Zetterberg don't jsut play defense and it's not like SJ is gonna change so taht thornton and pavelski are just playing offense cuz that's just a rediculous concept. So my question is, Are SJ's top two lines gonna be good enough defensively to keep the wings top two off the board? My thoughts would be no Oh also, i find it hard to believe a healthy dany heatly is on the third line Edited April 29, 2010 by Mitchmac33 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA Report post Posted April 29, 2010 I just can't see the Wing's losing to a team with Nabokov as their top starter and Dan Boyle as their #1 Defensemen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wings1110 184 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 someone should make a sign saying dny heatley is a murderer and go up by the galss during warmups so ur sure he will see it... that should take him off his game Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
55fan 5,133 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 someone should make a sign saying dny heatley is a murderer and go up by the galss during warmups so ur sure he will see it... that should take him off his game There's friendly competition, and then there's pushing it too far. Snyder was his friend. What is done can't be undone. He has to live with the guilt forever. 1 Datsyuk Fan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lidstromboli Report post Posted April 29, 2010 pavelski is awesome. he has eagles and apple pie running through his veins. that's why he's better than thornton 2 kook_10 and McAwesome reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mjtm77 Report post Posted April 29, 2010 There's friendly competition, and then there's pushing it too far. Snyder was his friend. What is done can't be undone. He has to live with the guilt forever. Iam with you on this one but Heatly was driving recklessly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swayze 81 Report post Posted April 30, 2010 Comparing San Jose's playoff fowards to Detroit's playoff forwards and calling it even is where I stopped reading. If your top 2 forwards can't put up playoff points, especially one being KNOWN for that, then you're not matching up with us...not even close, I don't care how much taller you are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest scottj Report post Posted April 30, 2010 There's friendly competition, and then there's pushing it too far. Snyder was his friend. What is done can't be undone. He has to live with the guilt forever. I agree... but did anybody see the person in the front row at the Joe when it was Wings vs the Columbus Blow Jobs with the "Nash is Trash" sign that they would hold up before every face off in that end? I always noticed it and was wondering what they would do if somebody was holding up a "Bettman sucks" or whatever to that effect sign. do you think they would be able to keep on holding that up or what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Christoph 0 Report post Posted April 30, 2010 There's friendly competition, and then there's pushing it too far. Snyder was his friend. What is done can't be undone. He has to live with the guilt forever. I agree 100% I hate how fans bring up Heatley's past, like it has anything to do with him as a hockey player. He was a young stupid kid driving recklessly. He is responsible for the death of his friend and team mate. He has to live with that for the rest of his life! Snyder's parent's did not want to have charges pressed. As painful as it must be for them, Snyder's parents have forgiven Heatley because they know it was not intentional. People talk about classless fans, then they bring this up, even suggesting making a sign saying his is a murderer. That goes beyond being classless into being totally heartless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest scottj Report post Posted April 30, 2010 I hate how fans bring up Heatley's past, like it has anything to do with him as a hockey player. I'm sure there's a ton of SJS fans that say that n then crucify bertuzzi every chance they get too though that is assuming you aren't a sjs fan 1 SiLkK19 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Christoph 0 Report post Posted April 30, 2010 I'm sure there's a ton of SJS fans that say that n then crucify bertuzzi every chance they get too though that is assuming you aren't a sjs fan 100% Wings fan! Unfortunately you are probably right. The Bertuzzi thing was a bit more intentional and actually was hockey related, but Bert has paid for it and it should not be brought up all the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest scottj Report post Posted April 30, 2010 ah, i couldn't tell if you were just a new poster or a sharks fan comin to the board because of the new series Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anthonyn66 89 Report post Posted April 30, 2010 I'm tired of this bulls*** about the Sharks. I'm tired of hearing these myths about them. Myth 1: San Jose have made it past the first round therefore they have their playoff s*** together The San Jose Sharks can't lose all their first round matches, especially not against the Avalanche! The Avs were very inexperienced and didn't have Peter Mueller in the lineup. Craig Anderson was the person keeping the Avs alive. Yet they still went to 6 games with them, and had three overtime games against them! To have to squeak past an inexperienced and injured team doesn't mean you have your s*** together. Myth 2: Nabokov is playing very solid Nabokov has faced an average of about 25 shots a game, and has saved an average of 23 a game. He hasn't really stolen a game, and when the Sharks won, it was because they absolutely manhandled the Avs. He really didn't need to be that great, except for maybe game 4, and really, he wasn't that great. I'm tired of hearing "1.76 GAA". He hasn't faced a whole lot of quality shots. Howard, on the other hand, has faced an average of about 31.5 shots a game, and has stopped an average of 29 shots a game. The Phoenix Coyotes are a much better team offensively than the Colorado Avalanche, and while Howard was sloppy in some games, he made crucial saves when needed (third period, game 5). While everyone is saying Nabokov is truly the better goalie and San Jose has the edge there, they are clearly overlooking these stats and the fact that they faced the Avalanche. And this is to top things off: Regular season San Jose > Playoff San Jose Playoff Detroit > Regular season Detroit Regular season Detroit > Regular season San Jose therefore, Playoff Detroit > Playoff San Jose Share this post Link to post Share on other sites