LeonardSankar

2009 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Yea for them not our guys who can't win on the road.

I would love to hear the logic in this one, what does finishing 4th, 1st or 8th have to do with getting on a roll and winning 16 games?

The problem with finishing 4th or lower means you have to start a series or two on the road and that pretty much automatically puts the Wings in an 0-2 hole!

Aside from 2010 against the Coyotes who haven't won a playoff series in forever you have to go all the way back to 1998 when the Wings last won a series where they didn't have home ice advantage.

In 97 & 98 they didn't need home ice all the way through b/c they used to have all the time before and never won the Cup so they stopped putting much emphasis on regular season standings but since then they need the #1 seed to get them the Cup e.g. 02 & 08.

All I know is finishing 4th in the Conference will not get us a Cup!

So I guess the 4th seed it is and a second round exit as this team is done!

Wings probably drop this one b/c too many injuries also they suck on the road.

I've only been to the Joe once and it was game 7 of the 2009 Final and I noticed that there was about 20-30% of the fans rooting for the Penguins and I was wondering is that the norm at the Joe or only when certain teams come in. I remember during the first intermission I got caught up in the concourse getting some drinks and I heard the crowd roar and I thought it was a Wings goal but then I looked at the TV and saw the Pens took a 1-0 lead and I was like WTF?

So do any other teams fans venture off into the Joe like that or is that just a 1 time thing? I know the Leaf fans come in huge numbers but thats expected b/c lots of them live in Windsor area but Penguins fans is unacceptable if you ask me and for game 7 of the biggest game of the year was really tough to swallow all those loser celebrating in our building.

It's funny if the Wings were up 2-1 late we know the Hawks would tie it late but when the switch is flipped our guys can't score! Now you all know why I am so hard on this team b/c they just let me down!

I'm ready to bear his children.



Mursak?  He fights?

I guess with our defensive injuries, Quincey is unlikely to fight anyone right now.  Especially with Smith already going off.

How about not fighting and just allow the opposing player to beat you up so you get a 5 minute powerplay?

Well I just saw the score on the ticker and saw that Howard is injured so you pretty much know what I think about the outcome of this game! I guess the 4 seed is where the Wings will finish and you can add the Hawks to the list of teams including the Canucks, Blues & Sharks who can all eliminate the Wings in the playoffs.

I haven't seen the hunger from this team the last several playoffs.  The hunger was there in 2007 and 2008.  

I said before the season that we won't win the Cup with this roster, and I'm sticking with that since Holland didn't do anything at the deadline.

I agree they have to make use of this summers cap room to make a serious push for the Cup in 2013 b/c there is not a chance they win it this year. They must treat this offseason like the summer of 2001 when they went for it all and won in the following season.

The thing I've not seen from the Wings since '08 was their ability to lock it down once they got a lead.  They seemed able to control games and close them out much more easily than they have any season since then.

In general they just played like a team on a mission almost every night.

That's exactly what I was getting at b/c I remember in 08 the Wings would win a game 2-1 but it really wouldn't be that close as the score indicates b/c the Wings would stiffle the opponents to death with their puck possession game. Back then when winning by a goal the the other team rarely got a chance to tie it with the net empty but this years team will choke away leads in the dying minutes by the dozen.

Also I just double checked and in 08 the Wings did give up the fewest goals in the league and have not done so since and its the main reasons why we haven't seen any Cup banners hung since.

i cant remember if youre one of the trollers on here or not, but i think we should beat them no problems tonight even without Nick and Pav. they played a long game last night, their starting goalie got injured, and lets face it; heatley is still scared of kronner.

wings get it done tonight.

No I am not a troller but I have no confidence in this team as they give up way too many chances to score and it wouldn't surprise me they played a clunker again tonight. Remember the Wild are Columbus you know.

Well what are the main differences b/t the Wings of 07/08 that won the Cup to this years team? For starters I'll list a few of them below:

a) Team Defense - the 07/08 squad could actually shut down the opposition with ease and use of their superior puck possession game as they gave up the fewest shots on goal per game and very little quality scoring chances. The same cannot be said about this years teams as our goalies are being hung out to dry and the PK flat out sucks.

b) Scoring - I'd say the scoring is about the same but with this years team lacking the defense that the 08 team had then we are at a huge disadvantage b/c with the porous defense you need to score alot more to win but the Wings still don't get the clutch goals when they need them. Also back in 08 the Wings could be counted on when they needed the big goals as they still only had 2 big guns up front with Dats & Zett but they got more secondary scoring when need be.

c) Goaltending - I'd say this is the only area that's better but its not showing up in the stats sheet b/c they give up more goals and its attributed to horrible team defense. So Jimmy is better than Hasek & OsGood but he is only as good as the skaters around him and thus his fine heroics have been wasted at times.

d) Powerplay - the powerplay was fairly consistent back in 08 with a few dry spells but nothing compared to today's unit that flat out sucks. Also the SH goals given up are also inexcuseable.

e) Penalty Kill - another unit that has had a huge downfall from 08 and thus one of the main reasons for the spike in goals allowed.

f) Secondary/Role Players - Well the 08 had some decent gritty players like Dallas Drake, Draper when healthy, Helm's arrival, and also players like Hudler & Fill were just entering the league. Today's team has some better support players according to the numbers but what they don't do is make plays when it matters most e.g. clear the puck of their own zone when leading by a goal in the final minute, or score the clutch goal that will ice the game or break a tie.

So with all this factors I would say that this team will not match what the 08 team did in the playoffs which is win the Cup as in 08 they only had to deal with San Jose as the other powerhouse in the West and fortunately they got upset, but this year Vancouver is the main competition but teams like the Blues, Preds & Hawks can all eliminate the Wings.

Well I still don't think the Wild are for real but I do expect them to beat the banged up Wings tonight.

I say the Wings finish 4th and win 1 round and thats it b/c they can't play defense as the odd man rushes & breakaways are going to kill this team come playoff time especially against a team like Vancouver. I don't even think the Wings can handle the Hawks or possibly the Blues, Preds and Coyotes.

So how do you guys think the Wings will go the rest of the way now with all these injuries? I saw the finish no better than 4th in the conference as the Blues and possibly Predators will overtake them to go along with the Canucks.