WingNut722

The team that made fewer mistakes last night was the team that won. Unfortunately, Martin Erat had a hip flask with 18-year old scotch and bag full of fig newtons which he used to lure half of the team away from the goal mouth. I can't believe that happened....

@Podein25 Thanks Pods. It should be a fun matchup. If Detroit brings their A-game, this will definintely go to 7 games. I do not forsee Detroit "winning out" against Nashville. .@SpikeDDS You do mention the Sharks as a tough matchup, but I don't think that will be a concern. St. Louis plays better against the Sharks and I think they'll be able to eliminate them. They were able to pull it out last night at the Shark Tank, so they've already won once on the road. It won't be easy, but I'm confident the Blues will prevail.

@SpikeDDS Agreed. The best thing they can do is win at least the next two before losing one. The Wings need to pick up momentum. I submit that Nashville would be the most difficult task in the Playoffs. That is not to say that the following opponents would be "easier" but the Wings had a trickier time against the Predators in the regular season than they had with any other opponent in the Conference Playoffs. Projecting on the playoff series so far, they'd have to play L.A, St. Louis, and Chicago/Phoenix. Chicago would give them fits but at least it would be another series in a closer time zone. Detroit has clearly been the better team in the regular season against the other clubs.

@yave1964 @SpikeDDS Lidstrom may look old but he still finished the regular season at a +21 which tied Weber for best among defensemen. Cleary isn't looking "old" per se, but the man has a nagging baker's cyst behind his knee which is giving him pains. He expects to undergo surgery in the offseason. And there is no way to "overvalue" Darren Helm. His absence is huge. The Wings do need to bring more physical play, but they need to recognize the fine line between physical play and roughing, something Holmstrom and Bertuzzi haven't been able to do for the last couple years. However, Gentleman, I submit to you that the biggest problem the Red Wings are having is shooting the puck. Yes they put up to 40 shots a night on Pekka RInne, but they need to do more. Particularly on the power play. The Red Wings have been waiting too long for a perfect hole to open up, and it's just not happening. Have you seen a "dirty goal" by the Red Wings yet this series? There hasn't been. Each goal has been beautifully orchestrated with the scorer in perfect position. This is why the Wings have only scored 2 (or 3) goals in a game. The filthy goals, the strange bounces, the ugly rebounds...THAT, my friends, is how you win a Playoff series.

Great post! Thanks @IgorBurdetskiy

@JackStraw I know ours do! :-)

@JackStraw Not at all! I'm all for them. However, most of the best long-legged busty office temps cost more than $2500. I see no reason why the fines for Weber shouldn't at least cover the cost of overhead..

I was hoping that Babcock would hold Helm for Game 1 just to make absolutely sure his knee was better. I was concerned the way he flies down the ice, that he might tweak it again and miss more time. I guess I was (kinda) right.

LOL! Thank you Mr. Rooney! In response to your previous post, would I prefer to have the fine or a 2-min penalty. Personally, I'd rather have the suspension. But I'm surprised they even bothered with the $2,500. The probably spent more on the long-legged, busty office temp to fill out the paperwork.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=627504 Weber only has to pay $2500 for this incident which is total Bull! Weber makes $7.5 MM a year and he only has to pay $2500? Hell, I make peanuts compared to that, and $2500 to smash somebody's head into the wall seems like a pretty good deal to me!

@SpikeDDS Zetterberg could have at least said he had a splitting headache afterward... I know I would...

@SpikeDDS C'mon, Spike, everybody works harder and more visibly when the boss is in the room. We all drive our cars the way we want to, but when that cop shows up we hit the brakes (most of us). :-) The officiating is always tough in the first game of the Playoffs. The officials are trying to set that tone that they won't tolerate any monkey business. It's always the same. And yet, in overtime in a deciding game, the refs all but disappear completely.

@Vanflyer Completely uncalled for. I seriously doubt he will get any suspension, it being the Playoffs, no injury, and Weber's clean record. I didn't see any dirty hit that Zetterberg laid on Weber, but I'm not saying it didn't happen. As a Red Wings fan, I hope he gets suspended, but in reality, I don't think he will. Game on...

Game 1 of the Playoffs! Only 16 more wins to the Cup! For what it's worth, the last time the Red Wings met the Nashville Predators in the Quarterfinals, they went on to win it all. Just sayin'......

Agreed on your prediction for NSH-DET. However, as a Wings fan, I am impressed and thankful you gave them 7 games. I figured 6, or even 5. Either way, Detroit probably won't get out of the first round.

@Digityman By the way, thanks for the banner in the main forum announcing the chat!

@Digityman Thanks Digity. At least someone else has the guts to throw down 250 hard-earned tokens on the WInged Wheel. Never give up!

@Podein25 @hf101 Great! See you tonight!

Hey folks- I'd like to set up a game chat for Wednesday night's game against St. Louis. It'll be good to chat about all the DRW issues as they happen. Join me in the game chat Wednesday night at 7:30. Game is on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus).

http://www.freep.com/article/20120330/SPORTS05/120330020/Jimmy-Howard-in-Kyle-Quincey-out-as-Red-Wings-host-Predators The Detroit Free Press reports that Jimmy Howard is ready to man the Pipes tonight as The Wings take on the Predators. Kyle Quincy is also being rotated out in place of Jakub Kindl, though everyone agrees it's not due to performance issues. The Wings have seven defensemen and will rotate them now and throughout the Playoffs. With the return of Howard, and Kindl, keeping Ty Conklin as the backup, and rotating Quincy out, we will now have a chance to see the Red Wings lineup that we saw back in February, when they were on top of the NHL. If the mojo is still there, it should be a great game tonight at The Joe.

I agree, Spike. Friday's tilt against Nashville will tell the tale of the Playoffs. I agree that they'll end up with Nashville in the Quarterfinals and I also think Nashville will have home ice. I'd be willing to bet the winner of Friday's game will be the winner of the first round series. I'd be willing to throw some good HF Tokens at that. If they don't come out against Nashville, it's because they WON'T, not becasue they can't. It's rediculous that a team like Detroit can still believe they can get by on half-a$$ play. This is a team that is searching for their confidence under rocks in the park, had a huge win against Columbus two nights ago, came out against the VERY SAME TEAM last night, and played like pee-wee leaguers. There is no such thing as a road jinx. There is not some mystical hex which slows your game down when you're playing in someone else's barn. It's a hockey team on a hockey rink. Same size, same shape. I will concede that a visitors' locker room and 20,000 fans wearing someone else's colors is a force to be reckoned with, but it seems to me they'd be able to tune that out by now.

"You guys won today. You guys won yesterday, so that's two in a row. If you win again tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE."

According to NHL.com, the Red Wings can clinch a playoff berth with a win tonight over Columbus. They can also clinch if they get one point against Columbus, so long as San Jose and LA both lose. I'd rather have the flat win, of course, and I'm sure Red Wings would too. Given the string of losses they put up recently, it'll sure be a sigh of relief to see that "X" next to their name in Western Conference Standings. It's another stepping stone. With the remaining games in the season, they can concentrate on position for home ice, but getting in is priority now. The upcoming home-and-home against Columbus should hopefully lift their spirits and their confidences. They have played well against the Jackets this season, so hopefully they can refine all aspects of their game tonight and Wednesday, particularly when Florida and Nashville come calling.

@SpikeDDS No not at all. But ther perspective is to stay ahead of Nashville for the fourth spot or else you'll be in fifth against Nashville. If that were the case, I'd rather be sixth against Dallas.

@SpikeDDS If they lose to Carolina, then I'll be worried. Still in 4-5 place in teh standings. Not bad at all. We'll never be first...it's too late. However, allow me to throw this out for fun...wouldn't be the wrost thing in the world if the Wings ended up in 6th place, would it? That would pit them against Dallas (if things stay the same), who they beat all four times this year. I'd almost rather face them isntead of Nashville.