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aMonster

Canucks Vs Detroit in Motor City

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If Vancouver wins that means they will have split the regular season series with Detroit, just like last season. But somehow this game will be a touchstone for the season?

makes sense. :blink:

Detroit will and should just be focused on the two points. If you want to think it means something about the postseason, so be it. I'll just wait for the actual playoffs.

:siren:

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I dont know about the average Detroit fan but for me Thursday February 23 will be a touchstone game for the entire season and for both of these teams. Last year Detroit wasn't up to Vancouver's caliber of play and rightfully, did not face them in the playoffs. This year I absolutely demand a playoff series for all our sakes; we want this premier playoff matchup to happen in 2012 and it will!

This game will stage the Western Conference final, and it will end with the Canucks in six.

lol

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It is clearly a big game. And an indicator of how the two teams stack up.

Personally, I don't think Canuck fans overestimate the importance of this game any more so than (smug) Red Wings fans try to downplay the potential impending loss (let's face, it the home streak will end eventually). It is a big game, no two ways about it. By pointing out the obvious, that there are only two points at stake, you are taking away from the fact that the outcome will also impact the season series and potentially the ROW stat. Not to mention it is a clash of two of the NHL's flagship franchises.

While it is popular to crap on Vancouver, the team and its fans lately, I'd challenge any Wings fans on hockey knowledge and/or love of the game. There is any entire generation of Wings fans who have never experienced a losing season. Show me a fan who has watched all 82 of a team that finished out of the playoffs and I'll show you a hardcore Wings fan. So that means unless you're over 30 you're pretty much out.

It's easy to be a Wings fan because they have an excellent team and organization. But, from an outside fan's perspective that is obviously pure luck.

Anyways, I'm a fan of both teams and have always had a great deal of time for current and former Wings, especially Yzerman, Lidstrom and Larionov. Because they were/are great players and great people. You'd never catch them taking unsolicited shots at their competitors, unlike certain current players, media and fans (hello Bollard, Marchand...). Unfortunately, it seems the unreasonable and irrational distain for Vancouver has leaked into the usually civil Wings fanbase.

Edited by Bertmondi

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It is clearly a big game. And an indicator of how the two teams stack up.

Personally, I don't think Canuck fans overestimate the importance of this game any more so than (smug) Red Wings fans try to downplay the impending loss (let's face it the home streak will end eventually). It is a big game, no two ways about it. By pointing out the obvious, that there are only two points at stake, you are not taking away from the fact that the outcome will also impact the season series and potential the ROW stat. Not too mention it is a clash of two of the NHL's flagship franchises.

While it is popular to crap on Vancouver, the team and its fans lately, I'd challenge any Wings fans on hockey knowledge and/or love of the game. There is any entire generation of Wings fans who have never experienced a losing season. Show me a fan who has watched all 82 of a team that finished out of the playoffs and I'll show you a hardcore Wings fan. So that means unless you're over 30 you're pretty much out.

It's easy to be a Wings fan because they have an excellent team and organization. But, from an outside fan's perspective that is obviously pure luck.

Anyways, I'm a fan of both teams and have always had a great deal of time for current and former Wings, especially Yzerman, Lidstrom and Larionov. Because they were/are great players and great people. You'd never catch them taking unsolicited shots at their competitors, unlike certain current players, media and fans (hello Bollard, Marchand...). Unfortunately, it seems the unreasonable and irrational distain for Vancouver has leaked into the usually civil Wings fanbase.

They've played each other three times already this season!

It may be important to (the generally condescending) Vancouver fans. Just being honest when saying I don't think most Wings fans don't see it as that big of a deal. It's one game in the season. That's not smug. The Wings haven't made it out of the second round in a couple years now. It's not that they dont' have anything to prove. It's just that they have to beat whoever is in front of them, whether it's the Preds, Nucks, Sharks... whoever.

Honestly a Sharks game is a bigger deal because they are the team that's eliminated the Wings two years running now.

As for being popular to crap on Vancouver, the players and fans bring that on themselves. The Canucks used to be one of my favorite teams in the early to mid 90s. My recent disdain for them comes comes from personal experience in real life at games combined with the idiots over at hfboards. Last year they basically made that place intolerable. And at games they made Philly fans look good natured.

As for the actual team, they still have some players I like, but I can't get past all the diving that team does. The Sharks Nucks series was ridiculous, especially compared to Boston Tampa. Add to it garbage like finger biting, and they're just not a team I want to see win.

But hey if you want to ignore the prior three games this season and build this one up to be something it's not, so be it.

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We didn't offer these opinions unsolicited - they were asked for by a Nucks fan who insists this is a touchstone game. Sorry, but as a hockey fan who saw 30 longer ago than I care to admit, no one outside of Canada and under God only knows what age considers Vancouver an NHL "flagship." And no one has "dumped on" Vancouver in this thread any more than (and quite a bit less than) I've seen Nucks fans do in seasons past; we just don't consider this a game any more important than most. And we've lost regular season series to many whom we have subsequently dismissed from the playoffs. Outside of a divisional rival, regular season series in a good season don't mean a whole lot.

Detroit hasn't had an actual riot since 1968 and I defy you to find any real evidence outside of accusations from non-local media to prove otherwise, yet it's a perpetual joke in North America. Anyone who does have an actual riot is going to hear about it repeatedly from Detroiters. Might as well learn to live with it - it's not going away any time soon.

And it's not luck the Wings have been dominant - it's by the grace of Mike Ilitch and the genius of Jim Devellano. We Michiganders must be right with Jesus to be so blessed.

So I'm sorry if we don't hold the Nucks in the same esteem you do, but I am hard pressed to think of any reason thus far why we should.

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Thanks to living in BC, I get to constantly hear about how important Vancouver games vs Detroit are. Nearly every nucks fan I know is building this up like its the beginning of the playoffs. I agree that the win against the sharks was a bigger deal but I'd like to see the Wings win this so I don't have to hear the gloating around here.

As far as it being the popular thing to do, hating the Canucks, the fans in my area have been so wildly arrogant and obnoxious and the team has played in a way that I just don't enjoy watching. It's not like everybody just hates them for no reason and I assure you that it's not "jealousy" as most people claim.

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I dont know about the average Detroit fan but for me Thursday February 23 will be a touchstone game for the entire season and for both of these teams. Last year Detroit wasn't up to Vancouver's caliber of play and rightfully, did not face them in the playoffs. This year I absolutely demand a playoff series for all our sakes; we want this premier playoff matchup to happen in 2012 and it will!

This game will stage the Western Conference final, and it will end with the Canucks in six.

The Canucks should be thanking the Wings for softening up the Sharks for them.

FYI, the Canucks used the Wings model to built their team. The Wings are up to, and better than, the Canucks caliber, because they invented it. I think if the two teams played each other in the WCF the Wings would win because the Sedin's won't be able to step up to the level of play Datsyuk and Zetterberg are capable in the playoffs and they'll disappear, again. Also the pressure on Luongo in the 2012 playoffs will be more than last year, leaving Howard to probably have a better series.

Wings in 6.

The game in Chicago on Tuesday is the most important to me. After the Hawks' game, Vancouver's will be the most important.

Thursday's game will be more important to me, because I'll be there!

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The game in Chicago on Tuesday is the most important to me. After the Hawks' game, Vancouver's will be the most important.

I agree, go in the mutthouse on Madison and pick up a good road win and bury the Hawks from winning this division if they aren't out of it already then come home and get back to business on home ice. 4 points up for grabs against 2 good hockey teams. Nothing more..nothing less

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The game in Chicago on Tuesday is the most important to me. After the Hawks' game, Vancouver's will be the most important.

the canucks are playing in nashville on tuesday,after canucks and wings have played their games on tuesday,then they can focus on each other on wed and thursday

Edited by PredsFanTheBayouState

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lol... Red Wings win 22 straight home games and then other teams' fans come in here acting as if them beating the Wings would be such a huge deal lololol. Like it's not bound to happen sometime...

Winning streaks end, ending one doesn't make your team awesome, it just fulfills the law of averages.

I've never been too excited about this streak anyways. I mean, it's nice for the win-loss record and for the people who've attended the games, but I want a cup and nothing can replace Lord Stanley.

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At 41 years old I've seen enough to expect the Cup Curse on Vancouver but that hardly means last season was a disappointment, I'll take a loss in game 7 of a cup final every year if other fans aren't interested unless it means actually taking home the prize ;)

Back to this game though, the comments here suggesting that it matters no more than two points make for entertaining literary calisthenics. The fact is that it is a matter of professional pride for players on both sides to rise to this challenge, if only to benchmark themselves against the next best in their conference and be assured, neither team wants to get rolled over.

As for the fans, there are kids in all camps, I dont get too bent out of shape over it. I respect the Wings as a team with deep talent and regardless of what what the Canucks have or haven't done in the past they too are deep so if some here dont feel this matchup means anything more than 2 points, I challenge them to prove it by not bothering to watch :D

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aMonster's neg count is getting quite high. -20 :hehe: Fans of other teams are really intimidated by us, aren't they?

Anyhow, I could care less if we drop a game to Vancouver. The streak has to end eventually, although if given the choice, I'd lose it to someone other than San Jose or Vancouver. I care a lot more about the playoffs.

Hopefully Abdelkader kicks Lapierre's ass again on Thursday! :boxing:

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We didn't offer these opinions unsolicited - they were asked for by a Nucks fan who insists this is a touchstone game. Sorry, but as a hockey fan who saw 30 longer ago than I care to admit, no one outside of Canada and under God only knows what age considers Vancouver an NHL "flagship." And no one has "dumped on" Vancouver in this thread any more than (and quite a bit less than) I've seen Nucks fans do in seasons past; we just don't consider this a game any more important than most. And we've lost regular season series to many whom we have subsequently dismissed from the playoffs. Outside of a divisional rival, regular season series in a good season don't mean a whole lot.

Detroit hasn't had an actual riot since 1968 and I defy you to find any real evidence outside of accusations from non-local media to prove otherwise, yet it's a perpetual joke in North America. Anyone who does have an actual riot is going to hear about it repeatedly from Detroiters. Might as well learn to live with it - it's not going away any time soon.

And it's not luck the Wings have been dominant - it's by the grace of Mike Ilitch and the genius of Jim Devellano. We Michiganders must be right with Jesus to be so blessed.

So I'm sorry if we don't hold the Nucks in the same esteem you do, but I am hard pressed to think of any reason thus far why we should.

I did not mention opinions, I said unsolicited shots. Much in the same way Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic did not take unsolicited shot at their foes after victory and after retirement (hello Mark Recchi), I would expect fans of opposing teams to do the same. Opinions, certainly. But unsubstantiated insults and vitriol are oftentimes pointless and simply rude.

I see you are speaking using the pronoun "we" as if you represent all Wings fans. I'm sure I've been guilty of the same many times. But this Canuck fan can only speak for himself. And I see the game as a big regular season game. There is nothing wrong with viewing a marquee matchup as important. I'm not sure if you recall but when Karl Malone and Michael Jordan were in the NBA oftentimes NBC would feature those games on the Sunday for a national television audience signifying the relative importance of the game. If you think those games were just the same as Jordan rolling into Vancouver to play the Grizzlies on a Tuesday night then yes, this game on Thursday is just two points.

Further, if you look at the objective reality of the tie-breaking system (i.e. ROW and season series) you will know that in addition to "just two points" being on the line there is playoff positions and perhaps home ice advantage at stake on Thursday night. So with respect to your comment about the importance of season series, I just say you are objectively incorrect. I'm not sure why a Red Wings fan would downplay the importance of this game, but make no mistake, from an objective point of view this is a reasonably important game.

From a subjective point of view, I see a matchup with Detroit as fun and exciting, because it is a good hockey game. I would rather watch Vancouver vs. Detroit than almost any other matchup because its good skilled hockey. Anyhow, I was at Rogers Arena on December 21st and that was one heck of game. The atmosphere, the intensity and the hockey were just at a higher level than Vancouver vs. Columbus or Minnesota.

With respect to the riots, what can I say? They happened. But I mean, you weren't there and you didn't walk the streets during the riot or go to work the next morning at 7AM and see the actual damage. So much in the same way you can say only local media has a handle on the alleged riots in Detroit then I will respond by saying the riots looked at lot worse on TV then they actually were. But a riot by a bunch of drunk teens and 20-something is nothing new in this world. And let's be honest, the riot has nothing to do with the merits of the team, or the vast majority of its fans. Nor did I mention the riot, nor do I care about any riot actual or alleged in Detroit. I mean I won't start talking about the economy of Detroit or the crime rates because well, it is simply not relevant.

As for Vancouver not being a flagship franchise? I beg to differ. They are the seventh most valuable team in the league whilst being in medium-sized market. They have the longest sellout streak going in the NHL. They are highly profitable, in the sense that they pay a large chunk of their revenue in to league coffers for redistribution. They are the second biggest market on HNIC, which is the biggest hockey television production in the world. They have won their division six out of the past eight season...etc...etc...etc...etc. Economically speaking Vancouver, is a flagship franchise for the NHL. Pierre McGuire of NBC was on sports radio in Vancouver yesterday and said that same thing. NBC has no problem putting Vancouver on American television because they are "a huge draw." And the SCF was the "most watched since they started taking ratings in 1971."

The only teams I would place ahead of Vancouver without qualification are the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. In recent years I would add Boston and Chicago, however those teams are extremely recently rejuvenated. And in the same way as these sorts of things ebb and flow, Dallas and Colorado are, at this time, not considered flagship franchises.

As for your comments with respect to Jesus and success, I'll leave you to your superstitions without comment. The fact of the matter is you are either a Red Wings fans by default (meaning you've been lucky for a long time) or you choose to cheer for the because of their success (meaning you are bandwagon jumper). The success of the team, does of course have nothing to do with luck. But the smugness of the fans directly correlates with luck. The true measure of fan therefore is if you stay with a team when they are terrible. Sounds like you are clearly a hardcore Wings fan, but that does not change the fact that an entire generation of Wings fans have not experienced a losing season.

I'm looking forward to a great game. And I know it means a little more to many of you Wings fans than Columbus or Edmonton. Lets be real about it. It is only 2pts, but they are a big 2pts. Viewing SJ or Chi as bigger rivals is natural, but it does not make those games of more importance. OF course, I view Chi and Bos as bigger rivals than Detroit too, but objectively speaking a game against Boston is quite literally just about the 2pts and against the Wings it is not.

I'm sure many/all of you will disagree. Which is fine. But it does not change the fact that I've tried to provide objective analysis and facts to support my points. And I continue to enjoy reading (and sometimes posting) at this website.

Edited by Bertmondi

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At 41 years old I've seen enough to expect the Cup Curse on Vancouver but that hardly means last season was a disappointment, I'll take a loss in game 7 of a cup final every year if other fans aren't interested unless it means actually taking home the prize ;)

Back to this game though, the comments here suggesting that it matters no more than two points make for entertaining literary calisthenics. The fact is that it is a matter of professional pride for players on both sides to rise to this challenge, if only to benchmark themselves against the next best in their conference and be assured, neither team wants to get rolled over.

As for the fans, there are kids in all camps, I dont get too bent out of shape over it. I respect the Wings as a team with deep talent and regardless of what what the Canucks have or haven't done in the past they too are deep so if some here dont feel this matchup means anything more than 2 points, I challenge them to prove it by not bothering to watch :D

Entertaining literary calisthenics? :rolleyes:

The fact of the matter is the game obviously means something to you. But you and your other Canucks friend still haven't acknowledged that these teams have played each other three times already this season. And even if Vancouver does win then it means they split the series with Detroit again this year. Yet this game somehow is the one that counts? You're right in that it's a matter of professional pride, just like it would be not to lose to Columbus. Because they're professional hockey players. They take professional pride in not losing hockey games.

So far you're staying true to form for a Canucks fan. Condescendingly telling fans of other teams the "truth" about hockey and being so self involved that you can't imagine your own view of the hockey world isn't fact. The general subtext of your posts is that Vancouver is so special of course this game means a lot to Detroit and its fans. The reality for the Wings fans I know, is it just isn't. The vancouver games have made for some really entertaining regular season hockey, but it's still just another regular season game in the stretch run.

I don't know if the Vancouver media somehow is playing this up to be a big deal or if it's your own creation, but it's getting comical. It's like in years past when the Blues would talk about the huge rivalry in Detroit, when to Wings fans it wasn't even in the top 5.

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2 points is 2 points... but lets not forget the "game" within the game.

Detroit doesn't blow up the Habs in Dec 2, 1995; they don't giftwrap Patrick Roy to our rivals the Avalanche. We must respect the Canucks for what they are... an already very talented formidable team. Them Canucks also seem to have the Sharks number.

An ugly outcome for either team on Feb 23 may spur a turning-point trade.

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At 41 years old I've seen enough to expect the Cup Curse on Vancouver but that hardly means last season was a disappointment, I'll take a loss in game 7 of a cup final every year if other fans aren't interested unless it means actually taking home the prize ;)

Back to this game though, the comments here suggesting that it matters no more than two points make for entertaining literary calisthenics. The fact is that it is a matter of professional pride for players on both sides to rise to this challenge, if only to benchmark themselves against the next best in their conference and be assured, neither team wants to get rolled over.

As for the fans, there are kids in all camps, I dont get too bent out of shape over it. I respect the Wings as a team with deep talent and regardless of what what the Canucks have or haven't done in the past they too are deep so if some here dont feel this matchup means anything more than 2 points, I challenge them to prove it by not bothering to watch :D

That line right there is why there are Red Wings fans and then there is every other teams fans. We don't settle for 2nd which is why its cup or bust every year. It's also why this place becomes a ***** fest when we lose 2 in a row. :lol:

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Guest Hatethedrake!

Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story...

Brian Burke lives by this statement.

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