We're In! And 7-seed!

[SpikeDDS]

Congratulations to the boys for touching this out and playing some good hockey heading into the SCPs for the 22nd time in a row. HOW they did it is almost as impressive as doing it again. Z played like he would not be denied tonight...like he has for the last 10 games or so. Nobody felt the pressure of ending the streak than the captain did, and he came through.

I think some on here gave them questionable hope of not little hope of making it, and if they DID make it that they would only be doing so to lose in the first round to the Hawks. That's not gonna happen.

So many of us doubted Babcock. Doubted what he was doing. Doubting that he was right when he was aging he liked how they were playing before the wins started coming at the end. I think you've got to give him some credit for getting this team to finally start gelling as the playoffs approached. He gets a lot of flack for not winning like we are used to, but in the end, it turns out that he's done a pretty good job involving and developing our young talent, and trying to figure out how THIS team needs to play and then coaching that and gaining confidence in that system of play, which is very different than it has been in the past. Good for him. Good for us too.

Now, on to Anaheim when we shall see if our higher skill and young legs can overcome the Ducks' size advantage. Hopefully we don't get beat up too badly in the process.

I gave my brother two tickets to Game 3 for his birthday. Glad I don't get a refund. ;-)

LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!

[hf101]

Congrats!

It is tough to replace someone like Lidstrom immediately but I think Detroit will be an interesting team to watch. Anaheim hasn't played as well of late as they were.

[yave1964]

I think I fall into the 'some in here' category, lol. Glad we made it, love the first round matchup, wish the Jackets could have made it as well. Gonna enjoy the post season, GO WINGS!!! Worry about next year after....

[SpikeDDS]

Hey, I'll be the first to admit that as much better as we are playing, unless we are able to dial it up another couple of notches beyond how we are NOW playing, we are unlikely to compete for the Cup beyond round 2. To have ANY chance, Howard must continue to play like he has of late, and the 3rd and 4th lines MUST produce. They haven't done as much the last 2 games, and you've gotta know that if Pav and Z are together, they are going to be the focus. Franzen has to continue to do what he has/had been doing, but if he and/ or those kids can contribute on the board and keep the puck in the O zone, the Ducks will have to spread out their D focus. One line will NOT win it for us in a 7-gamer with the Ducks.

We also better make early inroads, because the Ducks are a BIG team, and their size is likely to wear us down if we don't come out and steal at least one of the first two in Anaheim. They gotta play like they did against LA and Vancouver pretty consistently if they want us to still be talking about 'em a month from now. And scoring first will probably be key. If we play from behind, they can muscle us around with their size.

This could either be a really good series or a real stinker, and it depends more on the Franzen and Filppula line than probably anyone else. If they produce, it's gonna be good. If they don't, it's probably gonna be ugly...and quick.

[yave1964]

I have been looking at the matchups, our first lines are a dead heat for even, both are loaded with talent. Beyond thatHOME ICE: Advantage DucksGOALTENDING: Advantage Wings, No offense against Hiller and Fasth but Jimmy Howard is peaking right now.FIRST LINE: Essentially even but with slightly different skill setsSECOND LINE: Advantage Wings if Franzen and Filpulla can carry the play. Selanne is really showing his age.THIRD/FOURTH LINE: Advantage Ducks. Boudreau has the team rolling four consistent lines.DEFENSE: Even. Beauchamin and Sourey have carried the load, the rest have been okay. Very, very even series. For the Wings to win, we have to counter their size, especially their top line. Brendan Smith may be the most important blueliner we have, I can see him playing 18 minutes a game with a lot of them against their top line. I know he has not had the rookie season we all wanted, but this could be a breakout series for him. The other player I see as critical is Filpulla, our other big underachiever from this season. He has shown a spark paired on the second line with Franzen, if he comes up big- we win period. Selanne and Koivu have shown their age, we need to wear them down with speed and by keeping the puck in play and not allowing them to make quick changes.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

Well, I don't know if you will have seen the same thing I did in what I could see of last night's game (the 1st was pre-empted by the OT period of the Blackhawks/Wild game) but here's what I saw and didn't see:

Big guys in dark uniforms pushing us around.

No organized puck movement from out of the D zone.

Inability to get on pucks in front of their net from being muscled out.

Giveaways in the defensive zone leading to Ducks' scoring chances.

Howard playing well. Had no chance on the first goal. Could have possibly been out further to protect the upper corner of the net on Selanne's goal, but honestly, I'm not sure if it would have helped.

Selanne not looking so old after all. (He sure is a natural scorer. That shot was perfect!)

Filppula awing Selanne more than driving to compete and defeat him.

Johan who?

In short, I saw the same exact issues I saw in last year's first round series against the Preds. Lack of size unable to be surmounted by skill, and little production from our second line. At times, it resembled the first half of our regular season.

If it doesn't change significantly by next game, we are done!

Edited May 1, 2013 by SpikeDDS

[yave1964]

What a bonehead play by Abdelkader, he deserves a suspension from the league and he cost us any chance at the game last night as well. Terrible, terrible play.

[hf101]

What a bonehead play by Abdelkader, he deserves a suspension from the league and he cost us any chance at the game last night as well. Terrible, terrible play.

Abdelkader may have just cost the Wings the series. Really dumb play.

[SpikeDDS]

I agree that it was a really stupid play. I also think it will definitely hurt the RWs. But I don't think it cost us the series. I think the loss of DeKeyser sealed our fate. Our puck movement out of the D zone has suffered ever since he left game 2. Our PP has been much-less to ineffective also. Yesterday, it was 5 guys standing around, almost NO movement off the puck.

but more importantly, also in yesterday's game, just about every goal came from a Duck player who took an unchallenged shot from the slot. What costs the series for the Red Wings is the lack of back end that was evident in Game 3. Abdelkader's absence will only make it more difficult to score, but it wouldn't matter since we are giving away point-blank shots from in front of the net.

We have no size, and little ability to skate out of our zone. These are not so much related to effort as much as they are to personnel. DK was a critical element in both of these areas and was integral to our regular season finish. His broken thumb sealed our fate. Our boys will be doing super to get this series to a 7th game.

If Ken Holland doesn't get DK signed after this season, he should be fired. I hope that DK will give extra consideration to the team that gave him a chance right from the get-go. We need this kid. We need MORE than this kid, but he's an excellent start to getting what we need to compete for the Cup.

Edited May 5, 2013 by SpikeDDS