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Icesurfer

The Blues are in the driver's seat

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I realize that but leading the league with a month to go does not excuse a decade of irrelevancy. If they're excited then more power to them, it's great for the game. However, they need to stop it with the "Detroit sucks" and saying Vancouver is s***ty when they really have no room to talk.

A decade?

Not quite. They missed the playoffs 5 of the last 6 years.

And why such a small sample size? I like to look at it and say we've been competitive/very good and made the playoffs 26 of the last 31 years. No, there isn't much to show for it...but they were a lot of fun to watch.

And saying so and so "sucks" is part of the game. It's just how it is. And ummm, I'll let you in on something...saying "Detroit Sucks" or "Vancouver Sucks" doesn't mean we think they are actually a bad hockey team. Does that even need to be said?? Come on.

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Why are people afraid of playing Nashville in the first round? If we can't beat them, then who are we kidding about a possible Cup run?

I'd rather play them over Chicago or San Jose.

in addition...have the Wings ever lost to the Preds in the playoffs? didn't think so. i'm not overly worried about the Sharts this year as they lack effort needed to win in the reg season this year let alone the playoffs. i'd be more worried about playing hard nosed teams like the Blues and Hawks, or the Canucks cause the Wings will get f***ed by the refs and spend the entire series on the PK like against San Jose in the past. If the Wings don't end up in the SCF, I really hope that the Blues represent the West. It's really hard not to like the Blues team top to bottom, and Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk are 2 of the best young dmen in the game for sure. I would go as far as to say as good if not better than Keith/Seabrook.

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Why?

What does 20 years ago have to do with right now?

Nothing really.

Not 20 years ago, rather the last 20 years as large sample group. All the Blues have to brag about vs the Red Wings success is whay exactly? A presidents trophy and a current 2 point lead that's been flip-flopping all year? Unless you live in denial land, how hard is this to understand?

And why such a small sample size?

This is what I was saying to you.

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I am a strong believer that the Wings need to focus on their own play and nevermind the standings. St. Louis, as it is, is only 2 points ahead of us and we are missing our 2 best players, along with others. With that said, we will start to get our guys back and, by next week, we will have the majority of our team playing and I predict we will get rolling again.

With that said, St. Louis is playing great hockey under Hitch, only a fool would doubt that. You cannot make an argument about lack of playoff experience because they have a very good coach, several veteran players with playoff experience and, most importantly, they have 2 great goalies. I predict they are going to go with Halak for the playoffs and he is having an outstanding season. Halak has playoff experience by almost single-handlidy carrying the Habs to the Conference finals 2 seasons ago. Playing for the Habs as a goalie in the playoffs has a ton more pressure than the Blues, so I think he will continue to be very good for the Blues in the post season. The Blues play a great, tightly contested defensive system and could be a real threat in the playoffs.

It is because of that, that I believe the Red Wings need to do what they can to get 1st or 2nd seed and we have a schedule to make that possible once we get Nick and Pavel back within the next week or so. Simply put, if the Red Wings play like they should, and have for a majority of the season, then they should be able to pass St. Louis and possibly Vancouver because we have a pretty easy schedule for the remainder of the season (especially after next week's road trip is over). Since Mike Babcock has come here, he has typically been able to get the Wings to finish their seasons on a strong note, and I have no doubt in my mind that this year will be no exception. Zetterberg and Fil are playing very well, and with Pavel back we will be able to get a much stronger team balance in scoring. Also, with Nick back it will make things flow much better and help lead to success heading into the playoff season.

I respect the Blues and what they have been able to do this season. I am happy for their fans who have waited a long while for their team to become a contender again. With that said, I think the Wings will finish strong and a strong finish is important to the Wings because it ensures home ice through at least most of the playoffs and we all know how good the Wings are at home.

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Just remember: The Playoffs and the regular season are two completely different animals. And regular season success doesn't always translate into post season success. So Blues fans can enjoy what they have going right now, but don't start thinking your destined for greatness until you've achieved it.

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A decade?

Not quite. They missed the playoffs 5 of the last 6 years.

And why such a small sample size? I like to look at it and say we've been competitive/very good and made the playoffs 26 of the last 31 years. No, there isn't much to show for it...but they were a lot of fun to watch.

And saying so and so "sucks" is part of the game. It's just how it is. And ummm, I'll let you in on something...saying "Detroit Sucks" or "Vancouver Sucks" doesn't mean we think they are actually a bad hockey team. Does that even need to be said?? Come on.

You are right, lets look at the last 20 years.

Vancouver made it to the playoffs 13 times, and to the finals 2 times.

Detroit made it to the playoffs all 20 times, made it to the finals 6 times, and won the cup 4 times.

St. Louis made it to the playoffs 14 times, and made it to the conference finals only once.

As you said, they are fun to watch, and they have been relevant in the last 20 years. Five of the last six seasons have been forgetful ones though. Its good to see them come back to relevancy though, but how far they will get remains a mystery. Can Hitchcock get this team to play playoff hockey when the playoffs come around? Stay tuned.....

Edited by Nightfall

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A decade?

Not quite. They missed the playoffs 5 of the last 6 years.

And why such a small sample size? I like to look at it and say we've been competitive/very good and made the playoffs 26 of the last 31 years. No, there isn't much to show for it...but they were a lot of fun to watch.

And saying so and so "sucks" is part of the game. It's just how it is. And ummm, I'll let you in on something...saying "Detroit Sucks" or "Vancouver Sucks" doesn't mean we think they are actually a bad hockey team. Does that even need to be said?? Come on.

Man, you must have been the last picked kid in gym class growing up eh? The back to back to back replies in this thread on another teams forum just screams "Validate Me!" ... so I will. Yeah bud, the Blues are among the best teams in the NHL right now but until they've won a cup or at least reached the finals the fanbase really shouldn't get that excited. You don't have to go back too far to see that a stellar regular season doesn't necessarily translate into a deep playoff run. The Blues have made the Playoffs with pretty good regularity - unfortunately they have never won the cup which puts them into that hazy lump of teams (ala Vancouver, Buffalo, St Louis, Washington) that have been good, bad, had great regular seasons - BUT, manage to consistently let their fan bases down again and again.

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Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Blues play Columbus twice in two days. Home on Saturday and away on Sunday. Our Bluejacket buddies better play their hearts out or St. Louis could quickly pull away.

CBJ has won 4 in a row so at least they are playing a little bit better.

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The Blues have 7 road games in a road starting to day, and 8 out of their next 9 on the road. They win a good chunk of those, then they might be in the driver's seat.

Right now, I haven't seen any team even leaving the garage yet.

The Blues have a "2 game lead" with 13 games left to play. It's certainly possible for us to catch them. We have 6 road games left, they have 9. Our road point % is 0.471. There's is 0.516. As far as who they play versus who we play, I don't think that it matters at this time of the year. There are many teams "on the bubble" that are playing desperate. We see it every March. Any team really can beat any team this time of year.

We are at a disadvantage because of the injuries. If we can win 2 of the 3 games on the coast and the Blues drop at least 1 in the same time period, we will have a chance because we will have kept the lead to 4 points or less and will have got back our two best players. If their lead makes it to 6 points, I don't think we will catch them.

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It is the way the Blues are winning that scares me. Their defense is just absolutely shutting everyone down and their goaltending is phenomenal... true sign of a champion.... and this has been going on for the last three months. If you are hoping for St. Louis to lose you are barking up the wrong tree. Howie hasn't been the same since his first injury. The Blues' GA is 28 less than Detroit's and 11 less than Lundqvist and Biron.

The Blues would not be fun in a 7 game series.... if they don't win the 7 game series they will put a heavy dent in their opponents chance of winning the cup.... the series would be brutal and the winner will come out limping.... "Road to the cup".

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Guest Hatethedrake!

The thing is no one knows what will happen. The Blues are a good team but the Red Wings can beat them. It is not as if the Blues are another version of the '77 Habs team. If the Wings are healthy then I think they are better and more experienced team. I think we have more skill and more depth and better goaltending. However, while the Wings can beat any team, they can also lose to any team. I am not going to fear the Blues or the Preds or any team. Play the games and may the best team win. Period.

Edited by Hatethedrake!

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Honestly, I'm loving the Central these days. The last month of the season was always boring because the Wings had the Central locked and did nothing but coast into the playoffs.

Personally, and I know I'm in the minority, I can't stand Hitchcock, but you can't argue with what he's done for the Blues. I don't think I've ever seen a coach make such an immediate and positive impact on a team. Bravo!

Are the Blues in the driver's seat? It's possible, but probably not so much at this point. I'd just like to see that this upswing lasts more than this season. The defense will not play like a wall forever, and how many goaltenders have we seen get hot going into the playoffs and then fizzle pretty much for good?

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Honestly, I'm loving the Central these days. The last month of the season was always boring because the Wings had the Central locked and did nothing but coast into the playoffs.

Personally, and I know I'm in the minority, I can't stand Hitchcock, but you can't argue with what he's done for the Blues. I don't think I've ever seen a coach make such an immediate and positive impact on a team. Bravo!

Are the Blues in the driver's seat? It's possible, but probably not so much at this point. I'd just like to see that this upswing lasts more than this season. The defense will not play like a wall forever, and how many goaltenders have we seen get hot going into the playoffs and then fizzle pretty much for good?

Captain Crunch was a pick of mine as an assistant or defensive coach as you knew already and were against, but he would not of taken a demotion, so that dream never materialize...

Central is entertaining again and it may give the boys in Red/White the push they need to reach deep down and play like they can.... Hitch knows D but do not know if the Blues can keep pace, it will be interesting to see what happens.

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I can't believe people are fearing the blues... Playoffs are a whole different story, just look at the Ducks from a few years back, just like the Blues they were insane coming down the stretch and I believe they maybe won 1 playoff series that year

Also remember when everyone was in the lineup for us we were the best team in the league... Period

In a 7 game series, there is no doubt in my mind we would beat the blues and it would take no more than 6 games.... Bring on the Playoffs, I'm pumped

Edited by HockeytownRules19

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