Red Wings Game 7 Open Thread
Great effort by the Wings, too bad it had to end.
I hate Gary Bettman.
Im trying to really tell how much of my disgust is due to my partiality, but I REALLY feel the sharks got away with a LOT, whereas the wings got a lot of really weak penalties (2 holding calls on Dats, the guy with a bad hand, come to mind)
definatly got away with alot of shit in the last 10 minutes of the game. At the very least that high stick on Lidstrom has to be called.
Vancouver - please beat these PsOS.
DEATH TO SAN JOSE.
This Red Wings team has nothing to be ashamed of. They played their hearts out this whole postseason, but the Sharks got it done tonight when they had to get it done. If it wasn't for Niemi, there's no way in hell San Jose would be in the position they are in now. Give credit where credit is due, and let's hope we can bring the cup back home to Hockeytown next year.
No matter what... always...
Go Wings.
Go TB Yzermans.
Victory to the Fighting Yzermans. (Don't remember who coined that phrase but credit to whomever is responsible)
Time to root for the Canucks to jailsex the sharks. The Wings shouldn't have gotten themselves in that 0-3 hole, but I really feel like they were robbed tonight. Go Canucks!
I hate this feeling as a fan, only Wings and Michigan football losses give it to me.
Nothing sports wise to look forward to until Michigan v. WMU now for me.
Im rooting for an east coast team. Go Boston! Go Tampa!
Im torn between the fighting Yzermans and wanting Vancouver to crush these clowns, then take the cup to Canada, just so they don't all lose interest up there.
Here's to a good summer and Michigan Football in the Fall! Will wear my Wings hat proudly tomorrow.
certainly not, a few others mentioned that...
shit way to lose.
Tomas "My ass is fucking out of the crease, you asshat" Holmstrom certainly thought so.
So did every sane hockey fan (i.e. no Sharks fans).
dong.punch.
Im amazed a random Holmstron stick nicking Niemi's blade is Goalie intereference, but actually standing behind a goalie in the crease is not. (Nor was the near removal of Howard's mask with a stick last night).
Props to Niemi again, though. The sharks really would not have been able to get ahead without him playing as if he thought hed be shot for each goal allowed.
they fought their asses off, and just had too much to overcome tonight. I have always loved Datsyuk but man, he has really moved into the elite - he had an outstanding run. As for SJ and Van, I hope they destroy each other and TB takes the cup - and Stevie can earn yet another ring! Go T-Bay!
where on earth was Juri Hudler's head tonight? He was garbage all game long making bad decisions leading to turnovers. I was pointing it out during the game then 2 seconds later he clocks Cleary coming across the ice! What the hell was that all about?!?! I would have rather put 4 on the ice with that line than have sent him out there tonight.
how about the VS announcers who couldn't stop sucking Joe Thornton's big one all night long, yet the guy isn't even one of the 3 stars of the game. WTF.
There were only 2 teams I thought could beat the wings. Vancouver and San Jose, Detroit made one hell of a run and if the puck bounces a little different in a couple games maybe Detroit wins this series 4-2. For everything Detroit faced injury wise in this game and throughout the series with Franzen, Detroit fought one hell of a good fight.
Datsyuk is the best overall player in the NHL. Thornton is not that great; he relies on his size too much and dives when things don't go his way. If NCAA refs aspire to be NHL refs, and NHL refs are the best in the biz, then judging by current and future refs, NHL officiating is fucked for a long time. Niemi is not that great; the fat bodies in front of him kept more pucks out of the net than he did. Bettman wants a warm weather champion - Stanley Cup Finals will be SJ / TB. TB will win if God really does want us to be happy.
Niemi is pretty damn good. He had to stand on his head these past couple of games just to keep the Sharks in it. Blocks from fat bodies helps, but he made some amazing saves tonight and Tuesday.
NHL officiating has been and will continue to be fucked as long as people like Dan O'Halloran are allowed to be present at games like this and Gary Bettman is in a position of authority.
Glad the Wings battled to the end. Sad to see that injuries ravaged the top 6.
Changes should be coming. Hopefully Lidstrom comes back and some new blood is brought in. GO WINGS!
Both teams fought hard, and every game was a crapshoot. The situation could have easily been reversed. Here's a shout out to every single Michigan sports radio host... F*CK YOU!!!!!! Almost every single one of them picked Detroit to win the game, once again proving their ignorance when it comes to all things hockey. EVERY SINGLE GAME this series was 50:50, and this one was no different.
As far as the game went, how long is it going to take for people to realize that Jimmy Howard is a choke artist? He has yet to steal a game for us in his playoff career. Game 5 MAYBE but I'm sorry a 3 goal game is not a bonafide steal. And throughout the first 3 games, whenever San Jose absolutely needed a score, he always let a softie slip through. The guy has proved NOTHING so far other than that San Jose is his daddy. It was the Red Wing offense scoring 3-4 goals a game that allowed us to come back.
Oh how I long for the days of Hasek, a guy who posted FIVE, count em, FIVE shutouts en route to the 2002 Stanley Cup. Obviously it's hard to compete with the GOAT but it just goes to show that to win it all you need a goalie who won't choke in the playoffs. Howard was 1-8 in 1 goal playoff games coming into game 4. He's now 3-9. That is not going to get you anywhere. Of course he has a long way to go in his career but presently he is NOT the elite goaltender so many pundits have pegged him to be. Somebody has got to start calling him out on it. I'm tired of everyone acting like Jimmy Howard has ever truly stolen a game for the Wings in the postseason.
How many shutouts have there been in the playoffs total this year? I guarantee it's lower than five. The Left-Wing Lock is no longer an accepted practice in the NHL. Yes, he gave up a few softies, but Howard did great during these playoffs. He may not have stolen more than one game, but he gave the Wings a chance to win every game they played.
played well in this series and in the playoffs overall . Game 1, Game 2 and Game 5 could have been blowouts in favor of San Jose, without his efforts. Game 5 easily could have been 5-1 or 6-1 at the end of two periods, without his efforts. Howard was also the only reason why the Wings had a lead late in Game 1, when they were throughouly outplayed in that game. Jimmy was shaky during the regular season, but his play in this series is one of the major reasons why the Wings almost pulled it out.
Jimmy had a .925 save percentage in the playoffs. That is very good save percentage, it does not indicate a choke whatsoever. There were two or three goals he may like to have back, but over the course of a seven series any goaltender could say it. Overall though he made a ton of difficult saves in this series, and gave the Wings a chance in this series.
I just said that he's a chokejob. He was 1-4 in games the Wings were expected to win (I will be gracious and count game 4 as an expected win). It's much easier to come through in lower pressure situations like game 5 where nobody would have criticized him if he'd folded. Yes, I suppose some of the games could have been blowouts but Jimmy Howard is not flat out terrible. When I say chokejob, I mean he simply gives up goals in key situations and always lets in just ONE too many at the end of the day. Howard is now 3-9 in 1 goal games over the past two years and 0-3 in overtime. You are not going to get anywhere with that kind of record. The .925 save percentage is impressive but it's the timing of the goals that matters most.
Please note I do not think Howard is not a worthy goalie but until he proves he can come out with wins in the close ones or post multiple shutouts he is not elite. The only reason I am pointing this out is that in hockey goaltending is truly what carries you through the playoffs.
think about the fact that hockey is a team game? A goaltenders record is not a great indicator of how well a goaltender is playing individually, save percentage is however. Howard's high win total during the regular season despite a subpar save percentage is the perfect example of that. The Wings as a team did not make enough key plays in those close games.
You act like he gave up soft goals left and right in this series. By my count there was 2 or 3 that could be classfied as soft over the seven games, and 1 of those was meaningless as it came in a Red Wings win. None of the goals tonight were soft, he had no shot at two of them and the other was a perfectly placed shot off a bad turnover.
Is there room for improvement with Jimmy Howard? Absolutely, but calling him a choker based on his play in these playoffs is completely unfair.
were not terrible but I think you're hard pressed to say he had no chance on the 3rd goal, considering he made the initial save then let the rebound dribble underneath him.
And my choker label is based on the past two years not just this series. In case you've forgotten we lost game 3 last year in overtime after being up 3-1. He had a chance on every goal that game too.
Not only is Howard 0-3 in OT but he has yet to make it past the 11-minute mark. You are not going to win very many games if that's the longest you can last before letting one through.
Obviously we have irreconcilable opinions when it comes to Jimmy Howard's play this postseason but thanks for not being a jerk about it.
I can understand why I'm taking flak from the Howard camp on this one but please enough with the -1.
and explain exactly why I feel this way, but I don't think you're worth it, so I'll just post my remark.
You're an asshole. Go fuck yourself.
gets tagged for flamebait and yet this tool gets to write "You're an asshole. Go fuck yourself?" How pleasant.
And this is not the first time blastbeat has personally attacked me with some form of the "go fuck yourself" line...
because it was dumb and saying Howard is a choker when he played well in the series is liable to draw some negative reponses. I don't know what series you were watching if you thought Howard choked. He stood on his head at times, particurly in Games 1, 2 and 5 to keep the Wings in those games. The Wings did not lose this series because of Jimmy Howard, he gave the Wings a chance to win every game. Not having home ice advantage, injuries and bad play in the first two games is what doomed the Wings, pinning the blame on Howard is flat out dumb.
so I apologize if that's how you and a few other (considerably ruder) people have interpreted it. But I stand by my belief that Howard has choked vs. San Jose the past two years. 2-8 vs the Sharks in 1 goal games and 0-3 in overtime cannot be explained away by injuries and home ice advantage. Especially overtime. All too often NHL overtime is just a staring match between the two goalies and so far Howard has blinked first in his first three outings. As for the rest of the series, you can't just assume a boost from Franzen would have lead to more goals. Niemi is a rebound machine but he's a proven winner and he played well all seven games. And anyway if you really think injuries are the problem you might as well shut the door on the Datsyuk/Zetterberg era, because given our age that's definitely not something that's going to go away anytime soon.
As far as the overtime goals go, I do realize they were tipped, so we are all too wont to chalk it up to bad luck, but the fact is, in the NHL playoffs you make your own luck. History is not going to give Jimmy Howard credit for standing on his head and still losing.
track record in the playoffs and the way he was playing in the first round, i think it is a safe bet that him being able to factor into this series would have been a big difference. Once again this is a team game, a goaltenders record is not just the product of his own play. Howard wasn't that good last year against SJ. Howard was much better in this series and was not one of the reasons why the Wings came up short. The Wings had too many stretches where they played very poorly in this series and SJ controlled the play, that has jack to do with Jimmy Howard.
Like I said this series doesn't even get to Game 6, without his play in the first two periods of Game 5.
and some other good showings but in overtime and game 7 he blinked first.
We certainly had plenty of chances against Niemi tonight, I might add...