OT - Wings/Sharks Game 5 Open Thread
Do or die part deux for the Red Wings at 10 pm EDT/7 pm PDT.
At the NHL.com preview, Henrik Zetterberg states:
"Last game is last game. There's going to be a new fight tonight and it's important to go out and take charge right away."
Mike Babcock echoes the theme:
"We won a game and now we have to re-establish that here tonigh. I think the start is very important, so you have to be prepared for that and I think you have to put your will on the other team."
Game on.
took off my Shanahan jersey and put on my RBK away Zetters jersey
FUCK the Sharks and their divers and head hunters
...to go.
Fuck anyone who ever doubted Jimmy Howard, he's stepped up enormously this game.
This
Empty net. Go wings
....1:36 to go. Faceoff in the Sharks end.
Now the Sharks are lying on the puck to kill the clock
6 on 4 plz...
C'mon, Wings, score on PP!!!!
I wish he would stfu.
...PP, two man advantage with the empty net. 0:52.2 to go.
This is such a last-ditch effort to make the refereeing seem fair.
the penalty is a blessing and a curse.
an extra man, but now san jose can ice the puck without consequence.
fuck.
of this video
...she wrote. 2 - 1 Sharks. 4 -1 series win. Time for the handshake line.
FUCKSHITSONOFAMOTHERFUCKINGBITCH!!!!!!!!
That is all for now.
it's been real
Fuck Shit Ass Cock Barbara Streisand.
FUCK....time to shave....
And now the waiting game begins re: Nicklas Lidstrom.
being a long-time Wings fan, I have certainly been far more disappointed in certain other years - this wasn't like 96 for example. I guess I have to hope for MTL to come back or these playoffs are dead to me.
agreed - the three teams i hate the most in the league (chi, pit, sj) have either advanced or are on the verge. i really hope the canadian teams make a big push, or that the bruins can pull it out.
exactly. I cannot in good consience root for the Hawks out of the west. I would love for vancouver to pull a miracle, but after witnessing the abortion of the game they played last night...
I am rooting for les habitants to pull an upset over Buttman's lover Cindy Crysby. Otherwise, I am a Bruins fan now.
This team is chock-full of pussies, no wonder there were so many abortions.
As a Canucks fan, my greatest sports memory is losing to the Rangers in Game 7 of the 94 finals, I can't even imagine what it feels like to be a cubs fan.
Much better than getting upset in the 1st round.
The Wings making it to the 2nd round was amazing, given how the whole season went. I just wish we had gotten fairer whistles this series.
well, that was ...
gotta say this - amazing push by the wings the last half of the season to even get this far. hopefully with this extra rest, they can heal up, and make a big run again next year.
howard was brilliant over the last 60 games. with happy coming back, filppula emerging as a young passing dynamo, and big bert contributing strength and scoring we have some guys to back up the old guard of Z, dats, homer and mule. we just need nick to stay a few more years. stuart has stepped up his game and kronwall is solid. johnny E should shake off the sophomore rust. jakub kindl is also a promising young stud.
this team is still a championship caliber team.
however, I would love it if the Wings could pick up a solid younger D-man that is really physical for next yr - I have never been sold on Lilja.
i dunno, after this year, ive hopped on the lilja bandwagon (if there ever was such a thing).
he so good defensively, esp on the pk. and he such a physical player in the trenches and in front of the net. hes not stuart or kronwall wholl knock the shit out of you in open ice, nor is he a slick passer like nick. but hes a big body who has great defensive awareness and patrols his crease like the police in a rich folks' neighborhood.
Lilja's value is on the PK. Last year, without him, the penalty kill was basically a free goal each time, whether it was Perry/Getzlaf, or Toews, or Malkin, they always had free reign to set up shop, because none of our other defensemen could clear them away. That's what Lilja does. Even this postseason, with a horribly schitzophrenic PK, the majority of the goals given up came with Lidstrom and Stuart out there.
But I agree, something has to be fixed on the backend. The names were the same as they were in 2008 - but the play was noticably worse.
Probably not going to happen unless Lidstrom either retires or takes a Chelios-type deal (and then it's still a long shot). There are just too many pieces that need to be signed and not enough cap room to work with. Right now they have $43.6M of a $56.8M cap locked up and have Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Lilja, and Lebda (among other minor parts) as UFAs and Abdelkader, Helm, Miller and Eaves (among other minor parts) as RFAs. I'm not saying that all of those pieces will be back, but they only have $13.2M to spread between those players and any FAs that they choose to pursue from other teams, which makes it unlikely that they will be able to go after the type of player that you suggest.
but bargains can be found. I can't think of names off the top of my head, but the Wings front office is excellent, and I wouldn't be surprised if they make something happen.
Yeah, it's definitely possible, but it's more likely to happen with an older player coming off of a bad year (or an injury year). Just looking quickly at the available UFAs, I don't see anyone under 30 who fits that description and could be had within budget. There are a couple players in the 30-35 range who could possibly fit the bill, but this is a really weak UFA class for defensemen. The RFA class isn't a whole lot better, either, at least in terms of guys who could be feasibly obtained by Detroit.
I didn't want to make a whole separate thread on this, but who thinks we saw Lidstrom's last game tonight?
No.. just... no.
I negged this post simply because a little part of me will die if this was it for #5.
he has a lot left in the tank. plus you really think he goes out like this unless theres some serious health concerns?
no fucking way.
There's no doubt he can still play at a high level, and he's always been durable, but sometimes competitive fire just fades. Lidstrom's accomplished everything you can imagine a hockey player can accomplish, his trophy case is nearly endless...there really isn't anything else for him to prove. Obviously it's a matter of what his mindset is, and nobody knows what that is except for him...but it's always possible he just sits down with his family during the summer and decides, "Ya know...I'm happy with what I've done, and I'm going to call it a career."
Lidstrom will be back. The more relevant question might be "who thinks we saw Holmstrom's last game tonight".