217 replies to this topic

[Grim]

neither has the wings PK. one of those will change, it's just a matter of which one.

hard to be overly analytical when the Coyotes were being gifted PPs with game already decided.

[Howard He Do It?!]

The return of Zetterberg should help improve the PK.

[Heroes of Hockeytown]

The return of Zetterberg should help improve the PK.

Hopefully Babcock will also dust off the ol' Lidstrom and stick him on the PK now that they're up against some real scorers.

[McAwesome]

Last year, the Wings couldn't do anything right in the 3rd period against San Jose. I know the officiating was bad, but Detroit couldn't get it done in the clutch. That was the opposite of what happened in 2007, when San Jose fell apart in the 3rd periods.

That was the difference from last year and 2007.

^This.

Last year the officiating put them in early holes, but they were still in every game in the 3rd period, just couldn't reach that last gear we as fans have become accustomed to.

Hopefully with a more rested team and a healthy Zetterberg the extra gear will be there when we need it, and hopefully we don't fall behind early bad officiating or not.

[Kind Herb]

Aloha LGW!

Been waiting for this one. Despite what most Sharks fans have been saying, I know that the road to Stanley goes through Detroit.

It's going to be a tough series, and the winner of this matchup will go on to the Stanley Cup finals. And it's going to be San Jose!

[LeonardSankar]

Aloha LGW!

Been waiting for this one. Despite what most Sharks fans have been saying, I know that the road to Stanley goes through Detroit.

It's going to be a tough series, and the winner of this matchup will go on to the Stanley Cup finals. And it's going to be San Jose!

I guess your assuming Nashville will beat Vancouver? I don't think the Sharks will beat the Canucks if they get that matchup so yea I wouldn't be surprised if they beat the Wings but they ain't winning a Cup as I'll take Vancouver or even Washington over San Jose if they get those matchups.

[Shoreline]

Some of the schedule is up now via Red Wings twitter. Updated in the OP.

Edited by Shoreline, 27 April 2011 - 03:32 PM.

[I Red Wings I]

The travel issue is irrelevant, as it works both ways. All four teams will be traveling.

[Grypho]

Referring to my statement that I had hoped for a Sharks/Wings WCF instead of a repeat of last year:

I think you're overestimating how much Wings fans care about the Sharks. Sharks fans may see the Wings as a rival, but I don't think that Wings fans really see the Sharks as such. If anything, people here just detest the Sharks for being such a gang of whining divers last playoff year.

So, in other words, "They are too detested and disrespected to be worthy of being called a rival."?

Sounds like so much hyperbole to me. I think there is enough playoff history between the two teams, and enough sentiment expressed just on this board, to call it a bona fide playoff rivalry, without requiring that Wings fans "care" about the Sharks, or even respect them as a team. I don't think most Wings fan "care" about the Hawks or the Preds either, but that doesn't mean there's no rivalry with these teams.

Caring would be only something I feel - just me - about both teams, as a Wings fan, second only to the Sharks. I get the fact that many Wings fans see the Sharks as "a gang of whining divers", and that some actually "hate" the Sharks (as stated many times on the boards, for whatever their reasons). I accept that, no sweat here, it doesn't affect how I feel about either team. But "hate", not "care" is the word usually reserved for rivals.

[themule93]

helm is gunna do exactly what he did to jovanovski to some member of the sharks defence and make him completely useless. thus making a s***ty defensive squad s***tier.

[Mabuhay Red Wings]

Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi
Clowe-Couture-Heatley
Wellwood-Pavelski-Mitchell
McGinn-Nichol-Mayers

Murray-Boyle
Vlasic-Demers
White-Wallin

Niemi

Who do you guys want matching up against each line?

Edited by Mabuhay Red Wings, 27 April 2011 - 04:47 PM.

[Barrie]

Hopefully this year the Sharks will play like men, instead of last year's horrible display of diving, flipping, and flopping to draw penalties.

[themule93]

I think we should match up the Joe Thornton line with Datsyuk's to frustrate the s*** out of Joe who wont be able to keep the puck on his stick. Match Zetterberg/Filppula with the second line and so on. That's just me tho [/font]

[Jesusberg]

I'd view the Sharks as a rival, and perhaps even respect them if they weren't gifted the series. Having a 10-4 PP advantage in a single game is pretty ridiculous, if I remember correctly. Especially considering most of the calls were mediocre at best. I generally don't look for any team to be routed, but I hope Detroit absolutely embarrasses the Sharks to make up for last year.

[dropkickshanahans]

What's the story with Franzen? Will he be back in time for Game 1?

[Vladifan]

If we win one of the two in SJ, I think our chances will be exponentially better. Get 'em while they're
still recovering from their last series. Make it more of a psychological obstacle they would have to overcome, both physically and mentally. Make them chase and react right off the bat. Or the puck drop. Or whatever.

Which means that the Wings have got to lay it on from the first whistle to the last second. It ain't like they're not rested enough to do that.

[stuck in socal]

If we win one of the two in SJ, I think our chances will be exponentially better. Get 'em while they're
still recovering from their last series. Make it more of a psychological obstacle they would have to overcome, both physically and mentally. Make them chase and react right off the bat. Or the puck drop. Or whatever.

Which means that the Wings have got to lay it on from the first whistle to the last second. It ain't like they're not rested enough to do that.

[vegas_shark]

Greetings Wing-Nuts! So we meet again. Nice to see the overflowing optimism from the LGW posters.

This is gonna be one hell of a series. An all out war that I think goes the limit. The Sharks D-corps and goaltending mostly sucked vs. LA, but were outstanding in the last half of the season. I expect our boys to play up to the level of a quality opponent in the WCSF. As is true of most playoff series, I think goaltending and special teams will decide this one. I also think, like many series between equally matched teams, a role player from the third or fourth line will be a deciding factor. The Wings destroyed the Yotes but, after sitting around for 10 days, will they be able to turn on the playoff intensity again?

But rehashing last year's series is meaningless. References to either team's first round series is pretty useless as certain teams always match-up better or worse with others. When the puck drops on Friday night it's gonna be about the team that works harder and wants it more. About which team is willing to make the sacrifices and pay the price to win.

Good luck Detroit, and may the best team in this series go on to win the Cup.

[AtomicPunk]

Someone please explain this one to me.

Wings / Sharks series starts on Friday. Wings have been off for a week, SJ has been off for a day or two.

Vancouver / Nashville series starts on Thursday. Vancouver played a game 7 last night, and Nashville won their Game 6 a day or so ago.

Does this not make any sense to anyone else? Why are the Wings not playing Thursday instead of the team that just finished a Game 7?

Edited by AtomicPunk, 27 April 2011 - 07:12 PM.

[I Red Wings I]

Someone please explain this one to me.

Wings / Sharks series starts on Friday. Wings have been off for a week, SJ has been off for a day or two.

Vancouver / Nashville series starts on Thursday. Vancouver played a game 7 last night, and Nashville won their Game 6 a day or so ago.

Does this not make any sense to anyone else?

CBC would need game 1 to start tomorrow in order to have a game Saturday, Hockey Night in Canada. One could argue, why not have game 1 start Saturday?

That's just one of my guesses.