(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings

[Grypho 195]

Very interesting to see most the NHL media predictions going in the Sharks favor for this series.

I'm looking around and thus far seeing nothing but predictions favoring the Wings. To me that's predictable - the Wings swept the Yotes, and the Sharks had trouble with a "Kopitar-less" Kings. Ergo, knee-jerk, the Wings will beat the Sharks.

Excerpt:

Brandon Bibb: Considering the teams I root for, this is a battle between the lesser of two evils. I revel in any Red Wings failure.

Red Wings in 5.

Pat Iversen: Detroit is well-rested (though not completely healthy)...but the grizzled Wings will find a way...

Detroit in seven.

Taylor Baird: ...the Red Wings came in and torched the Coyotes...San Jose faced a Kopitar-less Kings team who still managed to put quite a few goals in past Antti Niemi.

Detroit in 6.

Art Middleton: Nice try Sharks, but I'm not falling for it...the fact remains that you are in fact the San Jose Sharks and thus can't be trusted in the playoffs ever. Detroit on the other hand is a team you should never pick against or count out in the playoffs and the fact that they've had such a long break to rest and regroup doesn't bode well for the Sharks.

Red Wings in 6

Brandon Worley: The Sharks have spent the past decade displaying nothing but disappointment in the postseason and there's never been a good answer as to exactly why they can't move closer to the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings, especially with some time to get healthy, just present too many problems for the Sharks to move any closer this time around.

Red Wings in 6.

That's just one page, of course. I like it, actually, because I see a lot of apples-to-oranges trend following, and also because it takes the spotlight of expectations off the Sharks, who get to play underdog (in some people's minds). I don't see anyone counting the Wings out. That is always a mistake (as well as good for the Wings if they hear about it). I'd rather the counting-out shoe be on the other foot.

Edited April 29, 2011 by Grypho

[azshark 1]

Actually, looking at the Sharks last series, I wouldn't call Niemi and Howard a wash. The edge in Niemi v Howard in these first series definitley goes to Howard. San Jose needs him to be much better to have a shot. Wings need Howard to be as good or better to have a shot.

The other aspect of keeping goals out of our net is defense. Edge goes to the Wings. Not even close.

Niemi started 32 straight, beginning in mid-January. His record: 24-4-4. He's worn-out. He won the cup last year. It's not a confidence thing. It's a focus thing.

The Sharks scored in bunches against LA. They were also shut down in games 2 and 5. In game 2 it was the worst game for SJ in the series. Got off their game plan. Game 5, Quick was insane. 50+ shots on net. To state that the Detroit defense is way better...ok I guess. BUT, the Kings defense and goalie are much better than the Wings.

The one other thing you Wing fans will learn quickly is that it's not the first line to worry about. It's our 2nd and 3rd that will (I believe) produce the most in this series. Pavs, who played the Wings well last year is the 3rd line center.

Look forward to a great series!

[Guest Save The Octopus]

Niemi started 32 straight, beginning in mid-January. His record: 24-4-4. He's worn-out. He won the cup last year. It's not a confidence thing. It's a focus thing.

The Sharks scored in bunches against LA. They were also shut down in games 2 and 5. In game 2 it was the worst game for SJ in the series. Got off their game plan. Game 5, Quick was insane. 50+ shots on net. To state that the Detroit defense is way better...ok I guess. BUT, the Kings defense and goalie are much better than the Wings.

The one other thing you Wing fans will learn quickly is that it's not the first line to worry about. It's our 2nd and 3rd that will (I believe) produce the most in this series. Pavs, who played the Wings well last year is the 3rd line center.

Look forward to a great series!

I see the argument for the goalie but the defense? The Kings have a younger defense. That's about the only positive.

[azshark 1]

I see the argument for the goalie but the defense? The Kings have a younger defense. That's about the only positive.

Two quick stats that come to mind when comparing the Kings to the Wings:

PK: Kings 85.5% / Wings 82.3%

GA (5 on 5): Kings 141 / Wings 165

People want to state that the Kings were so much better. Not sure what people are/were thinking...but they had 46 wins this year compared to 48 for SJ. BTW, your Wings had just ONE more win (47) than the Kings! 46 wins in the toughest division in the NHL this year.

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

Very interesting to see most the NHL media predictions going in the Sharks favor for this series. Even last year it was more of a split looking at the media. I would have given them last year, but this year is completley different. Wings in 7. Calling my shot even futher, game 7 will be won by 3 goals, 1 on an empty net.

All of ESPN except Barnaby picked the Wings. About 5-1 i think it was. Sportsnet picked the Wings. I havn't seen too many picking the Sharks.

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

All of ESPN except Barnaby picked the Wings. About 5-1 i think it was. Sportsnet picked the Wings. I havn't seen too many picking the Sharks.

s***.

That means we're going to lose.

[Guest Save The Octopus]

Two quick stats that come to mind when comparing the Kings to the Wings:

PK: Kings 85.5% / Wings 82.3%

GA (5 on 5): Kings 141 / Wings 165

People want to state that the Kings were so much better. Not sure what people are/were thinking...but they had 46 wins this year compared to 48 for SJ. BTW, your Wings had just ONE more win (47) than the Kings! 46 wins in the toughest division in the NHL this year.

The Wings have had one of the best overall defenses in the playoffs, save for the PK. The Wings only gave up 4 even strength goals during the Coyotes series. A 1.00 GA/G (5 on 5) is amazing. The Kings and the Sharks both saw their defenses collapse, more notably the Kings', each with a 3.33 GA/G. The Kings gave up 15 even strength goals and the Sharks gave up 14 even strength goals.

The Kings had to rely on their defense heavily because they had trouble scoring all year. LA was 25th in the league with a 2.55 GF/G compared to the Wings' 3.13 GF/G which was good enough for 2nd overall. The Wings could afford the lapses in defensive play because of their high powered offense. Statistically the Kings had the better defense but statistics don't tell the whole story. A player like Nicklas Lidstrom, who is up for the Norris for an 11th time having won it 6 times, finished for the first time in his career with a minus +/-. If you watched Lidstrom play, he didn't play like a minus player.

This series is going to come down to special teams play. The Wings' PK struggled against the Coyotes, giving up 5 4-on-5 goals, but the Sharks also gave up 5 4-on-5 goals. The Wings' overall PK% is 66.7% (times SH=18) compared to the Sharks' 79.2% (times SH=24). Looking at the PP, the Wings had a PP% of 26.7 with 15 opportunities. The Sharks had a PP% of 8.7 with 23 opportunities. Something is going to give in this series. The forward cores match up rather evenly, the defense favors the Wings slightly, as does the goaltending. These teams are about as close as they get 5-on-5. I just hope that the penalties that are called are worthy of being called. I want to see this series played out 5-on-5, not with constant 5-on-3's.

[Jaymister 71]

When I knew it was going to be either Nashville or San Jose in round two believe it or not I wanted the Sharks. Obviously there's the payback factor from last year, but more importantly most of the time when the Wings get beat early in the playoffs what is that beats them? It's superior goaltending and a team that plays tight checking shutdown hockey when they get a lead. Anaheim with Giguere, Calgary with Kipper and Edmonton with Roloson are the ones that come to mind, all three goalies took their teams to the Finals and lost incedently. To me Rinne>Niemi and Nashville has a better shutdown gameplan than the Sharks and better quality defenseman. So that leaves the offense which obviously the Sharks have by a landslide, but at the end of the day a good offensive team doesn't scare me as much as a good goalie and a team that knows how to play good defense.

[Motown4013 350]

ok, then the whole thing is irrelevant then, because no one that knows anything about hockey would have considered the red wings "chokers" at any point before yzerman got a decent supporting cast.

you specifically said this:

[/b]which simply is not true.

nevermind bud...I find the irony of you stating my post is irrelevant mildly amusing

[Mabuhay Red Wings 177]

When I knew it was going to be either Nashville or San Jose in round two believe it or not I wanted the Sharks. Obviously there's the payback factor from last year, but more importantly most of the time when the Wings get beat early in the playoffs what is that beats them? It's superior goaltending and a team that plays tight checking shutdown hockey when they get a lead. Anaheim with Giguere, Calgary with Kipper and Edmonton with Roloson are the ones that come to mind, all three goalies took their teams to the Finals and lost incedently. To me Rinne>Niemi and Nashville has a better shutdown gameplan than the Sharks and better quality defenseman. So that leaves the offense which obviously the Sharks have by a landslide, but at the end of the day a good offensive team doesn't scare me as much as a good goalie and a team that knows how to play good defense.

You can definitely argue that the Sharks have better offense but I don't think it's by a landslide.

[hooon 1,089]

Yeah I don't see how the Sharks offense is better "by a landslide" or even better at all. Referencing the regular season, the Wings outscored them overall, despite having major injuries to several of the biggest offensive players.

[Guest stinky fish taco]

nevermind bud...I find the irony of you stating my post is irrelevant mildly amusing

i'm glad you're amused. doesn't change the fact that you were totally, completely and absolutely incorrect.

[Grypho 195]

s***.

That means we're going to lose.

Too funny, I'd be cursing and saying the same thing if it had happened in reverse.

The only ESPN staff I DO NOT want predicting a win for my team EVER is Barry Melrose! I swear that guy is a jinx! SO glad he snubbed us this year. The only one who "favored" the Sharks from ESPN this round was Matthew Barnaby, and that was only with a Sharks win in Game 7.

Matthew Barnaby : Sharks in 7

John Buccigross: Wings 7

Scott Burnside: Wings in 6

Linda Cohn: Wings in 7

E.J. Hradek: Wings in 6

Pierre LeBrun: Wings in 7

Steve Levy: Wings in 7

Barry Melrose: Wings in 6

Any team that goes to game 7 has an equal chance, statistically, of winning the series. The Hawks could just as easily have beaten the Nucks, and took their series with a single lucky bounce. So predicting a game 7 winner, to me, is just like flipping a coin, or throwing your hands in the air, but indicating an ever-so-slight edge to the predicted winner. Five out of eight from ESPN predicted our series would go 7 games. Three of them predicted 6, and nobody predicted a series closeout in 5. They are all staying on the safe side, including Barnaby - most citing the basic fundamentals of the last series for each team. I take that as three who actually favored the Wings, and five who said, "I have no idea, so I'll go by the last series for each and let that decide for me".

If I took anything from the above, it would be a lot of encouragement, knowing that all teams can adjust quite rapidly in the playoffs, and that series dynamics don't always transfer and follow from one round to the next.

Edited April 29, 2011 by Grypho

[Mabuhay Red Wings 177]

It's best not to listen to those predictions whether they favor your team or not. Hockey can be a pretty hard sport to predict.

[Smite 399]

Ken Kal talks to people on the streets of Santana Row in San Jose to test their hockey knowledge.

http://video.redwings.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=-6&id=112029

Nice work Ken Kal!

Edited April 29, 2011 by Smite

[Grypho 195]

Ken Kal talks to people on the streets of Santana Row in San Jose to test their hockey knowledge.

http://video.redwings.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=-6&id=112029

Nice work Ken Kal!

Oh, that was bad. And funny. But obviously selective, with lots of time given to the same few people Ken found who obviously knew nothing. Santana row is a popular nightclub strip in San Jose, nowhere near the HP Pavilion. Going there to ask random people about hockey is kind of like going to Fisherman's Wharf in SF and asking people there about the Financial District.

There was a similar video that circulated around the internet, trying to show how ignorant "Americans" (as in, anyone selectively included in the video that was somehow a sample of the whole) knew nothing whatsoever about geography, geopolitics, etc., -- effective, too...until similar videos surfaced showing the same (again, selectively edited) ignorance from England and elsewhere across the great divide.

I could make a similar video in Hockeytown. Now that would be embarrassing! Just keep interviewing people in Detroit until I find some ignorant nitwits who are full of confidence, proud of the Wings, etc., but know essentially nothing about hockey.

[FabHckyBbe 2]

Ken Kal talks to people on the streets of Santana Row in San Jose to test their hockey knowledge.

http://video.redwings.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=-6&id=112029

Nice work Ken Kal!

Really? You think Ken Kal did a great job, huh? I hope you're being facetious about this. Because this was one of the most unprofessional bits of douchbaggery I've seen in a long time.

Like you're really gonna find hockey fans strolling through the glitterati of Santana Row, an upscale shopping district/condo complex where the Wings hotel is located. Go hang out in a sportsbar and ask some people about the Sharks. Stand near the Tank. Go down to the Ice Center. Heck, try randomly walking the streets of Downtown San Jose and looking for people there, but not in Santana Row. The guy had to know he was barking up the wrong tree in that lah-di-dah place but he just didn't seem care too much 'cause he was too busy setting up San Jose to look like a bunch of rubes.

And really, who's to say that he didn't find some people who knew what they were talking about and simply didn't use the footage because it wasn't funny? There's only like 6 different pretentious knuckleheads interviewed in this bit and they're suposed to represent the entirety of the Bay Area's hockey knowledge? Yeah, there's some great journalism for ya.

Let talk about The Somerset Collection, shall we? This exclusive shopping center is located 25 minutes from downtown Detroit, including a Nordstom, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co, Barney's New York, Henri Bendel, Ralph Lauren/Polo, and more than 150 other specialty shops.

Now, supposing I went to this exclusive mall, stopped some ladies who lunch and some random rich dudes and asked them to explain icing to me and they thought it was a cake topping. Supposing I found some clueless rich folks who didn't know a backcheck from a paycheck. Supposing I asked them to tell me who Patrick Marleau was and they said he was a French impressionist painter. Supposing I therefore concluded that because these few random rich folks didn't know what the hell I was talking about that all people from Detroit are therefore complete ignoramuses when it comes to hockey.

You know what? That would make me a big fat douchebag.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Really? You think Ken Kal did a great job, huh? I hope you're being facetious about this. Because this was one of the most unprofessional bits of douchbaggery I've seen in a long time.

Hmm... He is our broadcaster for our games. We love what he does. Douchebag? Ok, maybe a smidge, but let's take it easy on this reaction

Alllll in fun.