33 replies to this topic

[LeonardSankar]

So they are going to make the second round unless a miracle happens for the Phoneix. So with that being said the competition now gets way tougher as diffucult second round matchups loom in the form of the Sharks, Predators, or Ducks. I don't like my chances with the Sharks and also the Ducks & Predators also bug me. Even if they get past the second round I see no chance in hell they beat Vancouver as they have to much dept for the Wings to handle. I think if the Wings could start playing like they did in 2008 playoffs then they have a chance to win the Cup but I would imagine the puck posession-less defense-less play will rear its ugly head again at some time in these playoffs.

[nate94gt]

you forgot the kings

[jollymania]

that's why dallas was supposed to face vancouver in the first round because instead of torres tkaing out seabrook it woudl have been mark fistric taking out both sedins

[VM1138]

I'd love to see a Vancouver-Detroit Conference final. Would be pretty damn legendary.

But how far will the Wings go? Honestly, I'm just enjoying the ride. The Wings, right now, appear to be the best team in the playoffs, even on par with Vancouver (both teams beating feisty but inferior teams 3 games to none with the best goalies playing). A lot can happen, even in this series still, but they are playing near perfect hockey right now and everyone always says you don't beat Detroit in a series when they're playing their game.

Let's put it this way, if the Wings make it to the Finals, they win the Cup. As usual, the Western Conference finals are going to determine the Cup winner.

[8 Legged RedWing]

So they are going to make the second round unless a miracle happens for the Phoneix. So with that being said the competition now gets way tougher as diffucult second round matchups loom in the form of the Sharks, Predators, or Ducks. I don't like my chances with the Sharks and also the Ducks & Predators also bug me. Even if they get past the second round I see no chance in hell they beat Vancouver as they have to much dept for the Wings to handle. I think if the Wings could start playing like they did in 2008 playoffs then they have a chance to win the Cup but I would imagine the puck posession-less defense-less play will rear its ugly head again at some time in these playoffs.

Who says the Sharks are even going to advance? The Kings could easily be up 2-0 in that series. Playing against the Nucks as the underdog in my opinion would be an advantage for the Wings. They will be focused and if Howard plays like he has recently which is as good as I've ever seen him play then they have a very good chance of making it to the final. Staying healthy is also a key.

[LeonardSankar]

I'd love to see a Vancouver-Detroit Conference final. Would be pretty damn legendary.

But how far will the Wings go? Honestly, I'm just enjoying the ride. The Wings, right now, appear to be the best team in the playoffs, even on par with Vancouver (both teams beating feisty but inferior teams 3 games to none with the best goalies playing). A lot can happen, even in this series still, but they are playing near perfect hockey right now and everyone always says you don't beat Detroit in a series when they're playing their game.

Let's put it this way, if the Wings make it to the Finals, they win the Cup. As usual, the Western Conference finals are going to determine the Cup winner.

I agree if the Wings find a way to get out of the West they win the Cup as the only thing that can come out of the East and beat them is if Cindy Crybaby returns and the league decides to politic the Penguins the Cup e.g. 2009 boy it still hurts me to this day as I was at the Joe for game 7!

[evilzyme]

So they are going to make the second round unless a miracle happens for the Phoneix. So with that being said the competition now gets way tougher as diffucult second round matchups loom in the form of the Sharks, Predators, or Ducks. I don't like my chances with the Sharks and also the Ducks & Predators also bug me. Even if they get past the second round I see no chance in hell they beat Vancouver as they have to much dept for the Wings to handle. I think if the Wings could start playing like they did in 2008 playoffs then they have a chance to win the Cup but I would imagine the puck posession-less defense-less play will rear its ugly head again at some time in these playoffs.

No chance in hell to beat Vancouver? Did you not watch the regular season or something? Half of the games we played against them we were missing key role players and tied the season series. Can't match the depth of the Canucks? Dude, where are you getting your facts, I understand the depth defensively for Vancouver but if you honestly say the Wings can't take on the "offensive" depth of the Canucks you are highly mistaken...

[mmamolo]

A huge factor for the Wings will be the PK. They look good for long stretches but then end up giving up goals. It's painful to see them kill off almost an entire 1:52 5 on 3 only to get scored on. Ultimately as/if they advance they will face better and better powerplays and they'll have to shut those teams down for chances to win games.

Howard has definitely been great so far. The offence is clicking and people can blame Bryzgalov for not showing up all the want but a lot of credit needs to go to the Wings as well for making his life tough. To me so much will depend on the Wings' PK

[LeonardSankar]

No chance in hell to beat Vancouver? Did you not watch the regular season or something? Half of the games we played against them we were missing key role players and tied the season series. Can't match the depth of the Canucks? Dude, where are you getting your facts, I understand the depth defensively for Vancouver but if you honestly say the Wings can't take on the "offensive" depth of the Canucks you are highly mistaken...

My rationale is that I don't like how Detroit has played since they won the Cup in 2008 as their defensive game has totally gone downhill since as teams tend to get more chances to score on the Wings and they have scored on them hence the puck posession game isn't on like it was back in the spring of 2008. Believe if these were the Wings of 08 I'd say they sufficate the Canucks high powered attack but this years squad is not the case as even in this series with the Coyotes they have been able to penetrate the Wings zone from time to time and thus caused some panik but fortunately Howard has been solid but against Vancouver I don't think Jimmy can save the Wings bacon. I am also hoping the Sharks get upset by the Kings and the Ducks get beat by the Preds but that will set up Wings/Preds in second round and we all know how much trouble the Preds gave the Wings this year so its not a give they beat the Preds either.

[Dimaline312000]

I really want to resond to this thread but I'm pretty supersticious and don't want to Jinx anything so I'll just so Let's Go Detroit Red Wings!!!!

[Heaten]

The second round will be the toughest in the West for the Wings. I don't see Canucks being much of a threat. They seem more like pretenders than contenders to me. Most important factor is staying healthy and rested.

Sharks and Preds scare me the most in the West... though Sharks have looked really lack-luster against the Kings.

[evilzyme]

My rationale is that I don't like how Detroit has played since they won the Cup in 2008 as their defensive game has totally gone downhill since as teams tend to get more chances to score on the Wings and they have scored on them hence the puck posession game isn't on like it was back in the spring of 2008. Believe if these were the Wings of 08 I'd say they sufficate the Canucks high powered attack but this years squad is not the case as even in this series with the Coyotes they have been able to penetrate the Wings zone from time to time and thus caused some panik but fortunately Howard has been solid but against Vancouver I don't think Jimmy can save the Wings bacon. I am also hoping the Sharks get upset by the Kings and the Ducks get beat by the Preds but that will set up Wings/Preds in second round and we all know how much trouble the Preds gave the Wings this year so its not a give they beat the Preds either.

I understand your thought process on defensively during the regular season this year and last year, and somewhat in 2009 but this post season the defense really did a 180. They're pushing the fore check to the outside and clearing the puck and keeping the slot cleared. I've been watching Vancouver a lot and their offensive fore check is very simple, they like to fade out to the outside, implement the corners and cross crease whenever possible, most of the time they randomly just throw the puck to the slot hoping for someone to be there and there's always someone back door. It's been working for them yes, but the way the Wings have been playing defensively they're not going to beable to run that slot work with them, our man coverage has been good and we're not allowing the person sitting back door able to get his stick on the puck because hes already tied up. I'm fine with allowing them to work the outside because I feel like we can counter that very well, as long as we watch the pushes to the circles too. Howard has been great this post-season so far and I don't believe he's going to randomly just vanish anytime soon, he's there to prove a point and doing an outstanding job right now. Vancouver is VERY physical when they NEED to be. Chicago and their series is built on physicality because they know it's going to happen, they want to initiate the hitting not retaliate the hitting. When they play the Wings they normally aren't that physical because they know its going to draw penalties. The Wings play a very strong puck possession game that would draw out a lot. Would it be a great series? Hell yes, it would be great to watch, but i'm also going to say I feel the Wings can take them out. The Sharks are a big concern of mine, more than Vancouver. They seem to have our number and obviously match up with us very good. Todd McLellan was apart of the Wings organization from 2005-2008 (obviously there for the Stanley Cup). He knows how Babcock works and he knows how to work against it. Thornton has a magical retractable arm with the reach of seven feet. Nashville is fighting for their first round win, they deserve it and Trotz has been doing a great job coaching. When the Wings came and wanted to match their physically we showed we could keep up and do something against them. Rinne is a big guy and is hard to shoot on but I think we can finish that series too. Am I cocky? No, i'm trying to be realistic. Don't judge the regular season when it comes to the playoffs, some players become insane and some just disappear. The post-season is where you leave everything you have on the ice, and we'll see what happens.

[LeonardSankar]

I understand your thought process on defensively during the regular season this year and last year, and somewhat in 2009 but this post season the defense really did a 180. They're pushing the fore check to the outside and clearing the puck and keeping the slot cleared. I've been watching Vancouver a lot and their offensive fore check is very simple, they like to fade out to the outside, implement the corners and cross crease whenever possible, most of the time they randomly just throw the puck to the slot hoping for someone to be there and there's always someone back door. It's been working for them yes, but the way the Wings have been playing defensively they're not going to beable to run that slot work with them, our man coverage has been good and we're not allowing the person sitting back door able to get his stick on the puck because hes already tied up. I'm fine with allowing them to work the outside because I feel like we can counter that very well, as long as we watch the pushes to the circles too. Howard has been great this post-season so far and I don't believe he's going to randomly just vanish anytime soon, he's there to prove a point and doing an outstanding job right now. Vancouver is VERY physical when they NEED to be. Chicago and their series is built on physicality because they know it's going to happen, they want to initiate the hitting not retaliate the hitting. When they play the Wings they normally aren't that physical because they know its going to draw penalties. The Wings play a very strong puck possession game that would draw out a lot. Would it be a great series? Hell yes, it would be great to watch, but i'm also going to say I feel the Wings can take them out. The Sharks are a big concern of mine, more than Vancouver. They seem to have our number and obviously match up with us very good. Todd McLellan was apart of the Wings organization from 2005-2008 (obviously there for the Stanley Cup). He knows how Babcock works and he knows how to work against it. Thornton has a magical retractable arm with the reach of seven feet. Nashville is fighting for their first round win, they deserve it and Trotz has been doing a great job coaching. When the Wings came and wanted to match their physically we showed we could keep up and do something against them. Rinne is a big guy and is hard to shoot on but I think we can finish that series too. Am I cocky? No, i'm trying to be realistic. Don't judge the regular season when it comes to the playoffs, some players become insane and some just disappear. The post-season is where you leave everything you have on the ice, and we'll see what happens.

I am also very impressed with the better defensive hockey the Wings have played these first 3 games but I am also very cautious as its against the punchless Coyotes so they have no business giving up more than 2 a game to those guys.

As far as defending against Vancouver goes, well I know they are dangerous on the forecheck, but what scares me is also what they can do on the rush as they tend to get those goals in transition and the Wings have been very turnover prone this season but its come down this series I know but cannot occur if they match up with Vancouver. Also another factor with Vancouver is that what if the Wings do in fact outplay them but that still doesn't give them the series b/c Roberto Loungo is capable of stealing a series just like how past Wings teams outplayed their opponents and lost the series e.g. 03 Gigere, 04 Kypersoft, 06 Roloson, 07 Gigere (game 5). As much as I would like to be one of those fans who predict Stanley Cups every year for their fav teams I am also very realistic and try not to let my guard down and be aware of when danger lurks.

I also agree San Jose is a bad matchup and need to be avoided at all costs hence Go Kings Go!

[egroen]

I will say it feels good to roast the Coyotes like this while resting Lidstrom a lot and having no Zetterberg. I sometimes forget they are without their leading playoff forward in these games. Tough to find much to ***** about.

PK is my only concern right now.

[HankthaTank]

They stay focused and have their bottom lines perform this same way, they can go as far as they want to. Focus and PK as stated above is very key. Getting Hank back is paramount and it should be interesting to see just how we could look with him back.

[stinky fish taco]

2nd round exit.

[hillbillywingsfan]

Very?

[stevieisthebest]

They will go as far as they go.

[Broken 16]

They go all the way. And anyone who says they won't is too realistic for my liking.

[wingslogo19]

2nd round exit.

Oh mindfly