149 replies to this topic

[xtrememachine1]

The playoffs are a completely different game. Nothing we've seen this season can give us an idea of how good or bad somebody will be in the playoffs. Everyone plays better defensively, Howard is very capable of just getting on a hot streak like he did last year and dominating. Philly is really good and most likely going to take the East, but Boucher and Bobrovosky have little to no playoff experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see them get bounced. Vancouver hasn't shown anything in the playoffs yet. I'll worry about them more when they get past the 2nd round.

I like the Wings chances this year to win it all. Nobody has more depth or experience. We have the best coach and the better players. Instead of focusing on what we don't have, focus on what we DO have.

[sputman]

The playoffs are a completely different game. Nothing we've seen this season can give us an idea of how good or bad somebody will be in the playoffs. Everyone plays better defensively, Howard is very capable of just getting on a hot streak like he did last year and dominating. Philly is really good and most likely going to take the East, but Boucher and Bobrovosky have little to no playoff experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see them get bounced. Vancouver hasn't shown anything in the playoffs yet. I'll worry about them more when they get past the 2nd round.

I like the Wings chances this year to win it all. Nobody has more depth or experience. We have the best coach and the better players. Instead of focusing on what we don't have, focus on what we DO have.

yeah come playoff time everything is ramped up a little.

i guess that means that salei gets 5 hooking penalties a game as opposed to his usual 2-3.

[SouthernWingsFan]

It's just not "right" at present time for whatever reason. The team is way too inconsistent. However, I think that's probably been a popular opinion in previous recent seasons like in 2009, and that team was just 1 win away from winning it all, the defense pretty much played lights out most games when it struggled most that season, etc.

Back last season, I felt fairly confident they could make a deep run b/c they played solid most towards the end of last season and got healthy, and there were just times against Phoenix where they just took them to school when it mattered most. None more defining than game 7 of that series. San Jose series, the referees were god awful that whole series, but it's not like the Wings were blown out of the water in just 5 games that series, pretty much every one was close but awful calls and just a few bad bounces and there ya go. While they exited earlier than we want, I think they still played a decent series.

I think a good standard is that when this team is as able to play as close to a 60 minute game as possible or have a good break or two go there way early in a game, they are as difficult an out there is as anyone. Right now, I don't see it, but they "flipped a switch" per se in 2009, at times last post season, so hopefully that might be a case again for a deep playoff run.

[yzerman3cups]

I am completely stumped as to how this team will do! Like others have said the consistency isn't there but that doesn't mean it wont be during the playoffs. Early this season this team looked dominant so who's to say that team won't show up during the playoffs?!? It will come down to turnovers/defense and goaltending. If it all comes together they will win. If any portion of that isn't up to par they won't get out of the second round.
My prediction is they pull it all together and beat the Bruins in the finals! If Crosby happens to come back Detroit will beat Pitt in a sweep in the finals!

[mjtm77]

We will win the Cup... Mark it down!

Bruins win the east mark it down

[Mabuhay Red Wings]

Something that would probably make us feel a lot better is if the Wings can really limit the goals and shots allowed for the rest of the season. It would be a very positive indication that they're really trying to clean up their defensive game and solidify it for the playoffs. Yeah you also have to worry about scoring goals too but they should really concentrate on tightening up defensively.

[Z Winged Dangler]

Bruins win the east mark it down

i couldn't be happier than having a DET vs. BOS final. that's the final i was hoping for when the Pens beat the wings. that was horrible to watch. atleast i could live with the wings losing to the B's. i just hope if the wings play the sharts or canucks that they come out on top.

the wings success will be determined by our goaltending and depth. howard has been up and down this year. abby has been useless. hudler, helm and cleary have been awesome lately. and franzen needs to play hard every game. dats, Z, Lids need to just do what they do. rafalski, stuart, kronner and ericsson stay solid and chip in with some points and the wings back end will be lethal. any of this falters, playoff hockey exposes mistakes made by these guys.

[Tr!PoD#19]

This team feels like their primed to get upset in the first round unless they get lucky and draw Minnesota or something. I just don't have a good feeling this year.

[SpIkE]

I love how before the season started everyone said we were hands down favorite to win the cup I just laughed at you guys.

Mindfly?!!

[wings1110]

If they gave it their best effort (which you can tell they arn't) and they lose, fine as long as you gave it your all, we havent lost one game this year that i thought we were giving our best effort, something needs to light a fire under their asses.

[paul19010]

I resumed watching Hockey in 2002, I had stopped watching for a while and was kind of a nomad after the team I was fan of ceased to exist. (Hartford Whalers, and f*** the Carolina Canes, they are not the Whalers). Anyway I decided to get back into it in 2002, and picked the Wings because Brendan Shanahan was my favorite Whaler (behind Mike Liut) because he was so awesome in his short time their and was a bad ass mother f*****. I was a bit hockey ignorant, and while I knew the Wings were a good franchise, I didnt realize how loaded they were, I then became excited as no team of mine had ever won a professional sports championship in all my 27 years of sports fandom. Here is how I felt about each year:

2002: Hockey newb, during the first part of the season thought they were a good team, by the end of the regular season and after the espn mag cover I knew this was a loaded team and felt great about their chances. That was until losing the first 2 home games in round 1. Were the sports Gods that cruel to play this sick joke on me? I was certain after losing game 5 against the Avs it was over. Little did I know that it would be the most epic run of any of my sports teams, and deliver me my first professional sports championship, against thef****** ******* Peter Karmanos and the Canes.

2003: High off of the cup run I thought they were a lock to win another cup. I remember looking at the bracket and dismissing the Ducks, and figuring they would eliminate them in 5. What a crushing shock to get swept in the first round by the 7th seed. I was slammed back down to earth.

2004: I was excited to avenge that previous years devastating loss, and when they traded for Lang I remember hearing it on the radio and was certain they would win it all. I still cant figure out how they lost to Calgary, I guess it shows how important Stevie Y was, when he got hurt, it was over. I really wished Hatcher could have played longer for us.

2005: To have to wait an additional year to try to remove the horrible taste in my mouth from 2004 was torture. I remember being so angry, and talks some s*** like "if they dont play im not going back" LOL!

2006: I wasent sure what to think at this point, and I remember all the talk was about how the Wings were done because of the cap. I was so excited that they got the #1 seed and was ready for another cup run. After game 6 in Edmonton it was probably my lowest point as a sports fan in my entire life.

2007: I remember thinking, yeah, so what if they have a good regular season? That doesnt mean s***. I went into the first round against Calgary thinking if they lost again in the first round I dont know if I could stay sane. Game 6 in OT in Calgary turned out to be one of my favorite sports moments of all time. That joy was short lived as I was staring a 3-1 hole against the Sharks with a minute or so left in game 4 of the 2nd round. That was one of the most incredible playoff games I have ever been a part of. I was so happy the Wings made it to the conference Finals, that while the game 5 loss was soul crushing, I was happy that off season that they got that far and felt they had a good team.

2008: I remember thinking they were a good team, but didnt know what to expect. When they choked up back to back 2 goal leads late in games 3 and 4, I thought "Not again!" Johan Franzen changed all that in game 5 in OT. After that series I just was in awe of how good they played, and I didnt even have a chance to doubt a cup run until game 5 of the Finals. Finally they won it all after those early exits.

2009: I couldnt believe they got Hossa in the offseason, and I knew they were stacked, but repeating was so hard to do. It was a great run with a devastating finish, but I can look back fondly on the Ducks series. It did leave a horrible taste in my mouth, but on the other hand, I hadent had a team win a championship in 27 years until 2002. Now I had 2, to not get the 3rd was easier to deal with since I could focus on the previous 2, plus like I said, winning that Ducks series was almost as good as winning it all.

2010: I didnt have high expectations, but was hopeful. This was the single most grueling season I had ever been a part of. Seemed like every game was long and drawn out with a shoot out loss. It was like a ground hog day nightmare. Then they went on that amazing run after the olympic break and went from out of the playoffs to the 5th seed, and then won game 7 in Phoenix. I walked away last year being very proud of the Wings.

2011: I want this cup sof****** bad, I want to get rid of the game 7 nightmare against the Pens. But I have some doubts. But I feel good at the same time, they have the talent, and I think they have a good chance, but thats been the case almost every year. This is going to be a stressful and brutal playoffs, but hopefully it will end in euphoria and 16 numbers at the top of our forum.

Edited by paul19010, 04 March 2011 - 06:42 PM.

[greenrebellion]

I wonder if there is some element of boredom in the regular season. I mean, a lot of these guys have been there done that, won cups, had fantastic regular seasons year after year, its just the expectation. But one thing is for sure, when this team is firing on all cylinders, they are unstoppable.

I think (hope) we'll make a deep run and expect at least the conference finals, Vancouver and the Sharks both concern me though if we end up running into them at some point.

Edited by greenrebellion, 04 March 2011 - 07:21 PM.

[chuklz]

11 Not feeling good after watching the Sharks last night.

[SuperNovaXll]

1991 - Wow, these guys in red look awesome! And they have a 3-1 series lead agains the Blues! That number 19 guy is cool! (6 days later) DAMNIT!
1992 - Didnt really expect very much
1993 - Ditto
1994 - Had REALLY high hopes. I guess you really do need to lose it before you win it.
1995 - We coulda and shoulda won it. The Devil series might go down as my all time #1 heart breaker. Best team all year and best team on paper.
1996 - Another tough one. Had a great team and I thought we were better then the Avs that year but the Blues series really took a lot out of us.
1997 - Very high hopes again, but I wasnt trying to get excited till we made the finals. Too many heart breaks and I started to wonder if we would ever win. Thank god it happened. Watching Steve hold the cup was my happiest moment as a wings fan.
1998 - I knew we would win this year. Still had one of the best teams in the NHL and after the horrible accident, everyone had that special fire in them.
1999 - Thought we had a great chance at #3. Guess it wasnt ment to be.
2000 - I was doubtful for some reason, but we still had a great team on paper.
2001 - Didnt have much faith due to how good of a team the Avs had that year.. Thought we would get further then we did though.
2002 - How could we lose?
2003 - Fully expected us to get another. Had an amazing team. Shows what a hot goalie can do...
2004 - Had my doubts that year after a very dissapointing playoffs before.
2005 - Well... This year sucked.
2006 - Had a great team and was hoping we would pull one out for Yzerman, but we couldnt get it done in the playoffs. We really have had a lot of early playoff round upsets.
2007 - I didnt think we were all that great this year. Had a very good playoff run though and really set the stage for the following season.
2008 - I knew we had one of the best, if not the best team in the nhl. I had a great feeling this year. Yay!
2009 - Really thought we would win the cup. We had a even better team then the year before... Just had injuries to key players at a bad time.
2010 - Not much faith in this one. Way to many people got hurt and we could never get on the right page.
2011 - I really think we have the best team on paper. Still have Lids around, Z, Mule (when he is on) and I think Dats is the best all around player in the NHL. But we seem to have so many issues. Again, lots of injuries this year, we keep giving up goals in the last minute of periods, and now we suck starting off every game. I still believe we can win, but we have some MAJOR issues we need to fix. Fast. Also we need to find a way to get by the Sharks. They are playing unbelievable.

[wings1110]

1991 - Wow, these guys in red look awesome! And they have a 3-1 series lead agains the Blues! That number 19 guy is cool! (6 days later) DAMNIT!
1992 - Didnt really expect very much
1993 - Ditto
1994 - Had REALLY high hopes. I guess you really do need to lose it before you win it.
1995 - We coulda and shoulda won it. The Devil series might go down as my all time #1 heart breaker. Best team all year and best team on paper.
1996 - Another tough one. Had a great team and I thought we were better then the Avs that year but the Blues series really took a lot out of us.
1997 - Very high hopes again, but I wasnt trying to get excited till we made the finals. Too many heart breaks and I started to wonder if we would ever win. Thank god it happened. Watching Steve hold the cup was my happiest moment as a wings fan.
1998 - I knew we would win this year. Still had one of the best teams in the NHL and after the horrible accident, everyone had that special fire in them.
1999 - Thought we had a great chance at #3. Guess it wasnt ment to be.
2000 - I was doubtful for some reason, but we still had a great team on paper.
2001 - Didnt have much faith due to how good of a team the Avs had that year.. Thought we would get further then we did though.
2002 - How could we lose?
2003 - Fully expected us to get another. Had an amazing team. Shows what a hot goalie can do...
2004 - Had my doubts that year after a very dissapointing playoffs before.
2005 - Well... This year sucked.
2006 - Had a great team and was hoping we would pull one out for Yzerman, but we couldnt get it done in the playoffs. We really have had a lot of early playoff round upsets.
2007 - I didnt think we were all that great this year. Had a very good playoff run though and really set the stage for the following season.
2008 - I knew we had one of the best, if not the best team in the nhl. I had a great feeling this year. Yay!
2009 - Really thought we would win the cup. We had a even better team then the year before... Just had injuries to key players at a bad time.
2010 - Not much faith in this one. Way to many people got hurt and we could never get on the right page.
2011 - I really think we have the best team on paper. Still have Lids around, Z, Mule (when he is on) and I think Dats is the best all around player in the NHL. But we seem to have so many issues. Again, lots of injuries this year, we keep giving up goals in the last minute of periods, and now we suck starting off every game. I still believe we can win, but we have some MAJOR issues we need to fix. Fast. Also we need to find a way to get by the Sharks. They are playing unbelievable.

I honestly feel that vladdy won us the cup in 98, he ignighted the team and gave them a reason to give 200% nothing is a better motivator than winning for a fallen teamate, friend.

i also think the brawl in 97 really brought the team together.

[fivetenandagame]

Comparing this year to last year.

Ok then....

Well that's exactly what you are doing by merely referencing the notion that teams tighten up defensively for the playoffs. You're referencing history. So why call out another member who simply stated an historical fact which is contrary to your position? A tad hypocritical of you.

Fact is we're not tight enough defensively. That said I have full confidence that we will tighten it up come crunch time. My guess is it will be Nicky doing most of the tightening up and I wouldn't be surprised at all if his +/- in the playoffs simply dwarfs his regular season numbers. He'll be the one to log the minutes and knock our GAA down a quarter goal per game on his own.

Rafs been battling back issues. Ericsson will need to have a Quincey like playoff breakout, Salei better get thicker shin guards and start sacrificing. Kindl, i'm not sure what to expect from come playoff time.

Edited by fivetenandagame, 05 March 2011 - 11:52 AM.

[Firehawk]

The wings continue to show they don't want to play full games this year. They take games off, they play periods and not games, and the defense is not nearly as impressive as it used to be. Yes the wings will tighten up defensively, but the players they have on defense are not as good as other teams in the league this year. If we make it to the 2nd round that's what I expect this year. Too many good teams, Howard is a big question mark, and the wings will go from scoring 4-5 goals a game to 2-3. We don't win a lot when we score less than 4 goals.

It is what it is. Howard's numbers are terrible. I am very worried about it. I am a howard fan, and I gave him the free pass last year no matter what, but this year he will be judged heavily.

I just don't think the wings are good enough this year. And I think a lot of wings fans have developed a sense of entitlement, and that we are better than every other team because we are the wings. Well, there are some very good teams, arguably better teams this year, based on play not paper. I dunno, I'm worried.

[stinky fish taco]

i can't believe there are still some of you delusional enough to think the wings are winning the cup with the defense and goaltending they have right now.

LOL

[HockeytownRules19]

i can't believe there are still some of you delusional enough to think the wings are winning the cup with the defense and goaltending they have right now.

LOL

dude go root for another team then

[good morning]

I've pretty much felt like we had the Cup in the bag every year since 1998, EXCEPT last year, when I actually felt that they'd lose in Round 2...and wasn't terribly upset because I felt like they needed rest.

I have an especially good feeling about this year, though. And win or lose, it will be a great show!