I am leaving this "untitled" because I am not sure what to say. The shock of the Wings losing the series has mostly worn off, leaving me to analyze the series itself and my thoughts about it. Actually, the word "shock" is not the right one. I was not shocked the Wings lost. For most of the series, the Wings were a step behind the Sharks, and never caught up.
It's hard to pinpoint what exactly went wrong. The Wings lost too many battles for loose pucks, and good God were they awful at faceoffs. A puck possession team has to be actually have the puck, and the Wings were forced to chase the Sharks, unlike in years past when it was the other team chasing the Wings. It's not a good feeling being on the other side, watching Wings' opponent control the play and never give up the puck. I hope that when training camp opens in September, every single centerman on the Wings practises faceoffs for at least 2 hours a day.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the referees. Let me start by saying that I do not believe the refs had anything to do with the Sharks winning this series; they won (mostly) fair and square. But I have been watching hockey for a very long time, and I truly believe that was the worst officiated series I have ever seen. I say that as both a fan of the Red Wings and a fan of hockey. If I were a Sharks fan, I would probably say the same thing. Two of the most brutal calls were against the Sharks; the penalty shot in Game 3 and the goaltender interference call on Heatley in Game 2. I hope that in the coming years, when tapes are shown of how not to officiate a playoff series, every game in this series is shown.
Again, I want to repeat: the Sharks were the better team in this series, and the refs did not affect the outcome of the series. There were calls missed, including yet another one in Game 5 with Murray's head-shot to Franzen. The Sharks scored immediately after that play after the Wings fucked up yet another faceoff. I heard someone argue that the faceoff never should have been in the Wings' zone if not for the missed call; but, be honest with yourself. Do you really believe the Wings were going to win that game? Whether the Sharks scored on that faceoff or another one, I had the sense that a Sharks win was inevitable. Even in the dying seconds, when the Wings had a power play and were trying to tie it, I could not shake the sense that even if they made it to OT, the Wings were going to lose. The Sharks were the better team for the first 30 minutes of the game, and the last 20.
This series was not lost due to the penalty discrepancy of Game 2, or the 3-goals-in-90-seconds of Game 1, or even with Rafalski's brain fart in Game 5. This series was lost when the Wings could not hold a 2-goal lead in the third period of Game 3. At some point this summer, I am going to go back and look at how many games the Wings lost when they had at least a 2-goal lead at some point in the game; I am dreading the results of that research. Unfortunately, this was a team that could not clamp down on their opponent, and it cost them both during the regular season and in the playoffs.
I will probably do a season "recap" in the next few days. I am working on something that sums up how I feel about the season as a whole, not just the series just passed. All I can say about this series is that, as much as it pains me to say it, the better team won. I wish I could say I want the Sharks to do well going forward, but I just can't. In fact, as it stands today, the final 4 would be the Penguins, Bruins, Sharks and Blackhawks. Ugh. I think I am going to unplug my satellite and just read the post-game reports. On second thought, maybe I will cheer for the Sharks; they seem to be the lesser of all evils.
Showing posts with label Sharks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sharks. Show all posts
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Is This It? - Part 2
Due to family stuff, I didn't get to see the game. I will say that it is probably a little inapporpriate to be at a funeral home and yell out "Yes, eat shit motherfuckers!" That is what I did when I (discreetly) was told by my wife what the score was after the first period. Needless to say, I was given a very stern look by many people there. The only part of the game I saw was the second intermission on TSN. I wasn't paying too much attention, but James Duthie made an interesting comment. He said "if Detroit wins Game 5, they win the series." Bold prediction, and I hope he's better at predicting things than Maggie the Monkey.
So, how do you write up a preview of the game when you haven't seen the last one? I don't know, but this seems to be working so far. I have read a lot of the blogs (because the news reports of the game don't tell me what I want to know), and from what I've seen, the pairing of Franzen and Bertuzzi apparently lit a fire under both their asses. That reminds me of Game 4 last year against the Ducks when Babs put Hossa and Mule together and they torched the Ducks. That game carried over to Game 5 which the Wings won big. Here's hoping history repeats itself.
I guess Franzen decided to actually put the puck in the net, eh? 6 points isn't too shabby for one night of work. Let's hope he didn't blow his wad too early and go cold again tonight. Bertuzzi also appeared to have a good game.
I've always been wary of how a team like the Sharks will react after a blowout loss like Thursday night. We saw what happened last year against the Penguins (fuckers). I think I'd rather the Wings had won a hard fought 2-1 OT game. That lets the Sharks know that the Wings are fighting back against the Sharks. I don't know exactly what happened, but from my own experience playing, it was always easier to bounce back after being blown out because you think "we sucked today, but that won't happen tomorrow." Here's hoping that the Wings get another early lead and keep their foot on the gas.
This series should be 2-2, or even 3-1 for the Wings. Should this series end tonight, I will be extremely disappointed, not just because the season is over for the Wings, but because this was a series that feels extremely winnable. I have not been very impressed with the Sharks so far, and that's not just because I am a very sore loser. I think that if they can steal a win tonight, the collars around the Sharks are going to get very tight. The thing to remember is that the Wings no longer have to come back from being down 3-0 - it's now 3-1, and we just witnessed the Canadiens come back against the President's Trophy winners. Anything is possible. Whatever the Wings did in Game 4, they just need to do it again. Shouldn't be that difficult, really. Right?
No movie quotes again today. I can't think of anything that wound sound tired and cliched. The Wings know what this game means. Win and the epic comeback is half complete. Lose and the season is over. I think tonight is where Jimmy Howard shows why he should be ROY. He steals a game the Wings have no business winning, and the Wings stay alive.
So, how do you write up a preview of the game when you haven't seen the last one? I don't know, but this seems to be working so far. I have read a lot of the blogs (because the news reports of the game don't tell me what I want to know), and from what I've seen, the pairing of Franzen and Bertuzzi apparently lit a fire under both their asses. That reminds me of Game 4 last year against the Ducks when Babs put Hossa and Mule together and they torched the Ducks. That game carried over to Game 5 which the Wings won big. Here's hoping history repeats itself.
I guess Franzen decided to actually put the puck in the net, eh? 6 points isn't too shabby for one night of work. Let's hope he didn't blow his wad too early and go cold again tonight. Bertuzzi also appeared to have a good game.
I've always been wary of how a team like the Sharks will react after a blowout loss like Thursday night. We saw what happened last year against the Penguins (fuckers). I think I'd rather the Wings had won a hard fought 2-1 OT game. That lets the Sharks know that the Wings are fighting back against the Sharks. I don't know exactly what happened, but from my own experience playing, it was always easier to bounce back after being blown out because you think "we sucked today, but that won't happen tomorrow." Here's hoping that the Wings get another early lead and keep their foot on the gas.
This series should be 2-2, or even 3-1 for the Wings. Should this series end tonight, I will be extremely disappointed, not just because the season is over for the Wings, but because this was a series that feels extremely winnable. I have not been very impressed with the Sharks so far, and that's not just because I am a very sore loser. I think that if they can steal a win tonight, the collars around the Sharks are going to get very tight. The thing to remember is that the Wings no longer have to come back from being down 3-0 - it's now 3-1, and we just witnessed the Canadiens come back against the President's Trophy winners. Anything is possible. Whatever the Wings did in Game 4, they just need to do it again. Shouldn't be that difficult, really. Right?
No movie quotes again today. I can't think of anything that wound sound tired and cliched. The Wings know what this game means. Win and the epic comeback is half complete. Lose and the season is over. I think tonight is where Jimmy Howard shows why he should be ROY. He steals a game the Wings have no business winning, and the Wings stay alive.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
A Fitting End to a Shit Day
Well, that was brutal. It's hard for me to write about this, because I am still numb.
A note before I recap the game, because this is the reason I just don't give a shit: my grandmother passed away today. She had a quick but determined fight with cancer, but unfortunately the disease won out. Just like the house, cancer always wins. All of the cliches are true: stuff like this puts life into perspective. Don't get me wrong: I'm still uber-mad the Wings pissed that game away. But I just don't really care. The Wings could get swept on Thursday, and I won't care as much then. My grandmother was a wonderful woman and was really like a third parent to me. I was very close to her, and it's going to take some time to get over the fact she's not with us anymore. The only saving grace is that she is no longer in pain, as it got pretty bad towards the end.
On to the game. How is that the 3 things we all said were important for the Wings to win (faceoffs, contain Pavelski, better on the PK) were accomplished, and they still LOST THE FUCKING GAME!!! I just don't get this team this year. They play an inspired first period, even if they did get a huge break when they got the penalty shot. But why the fuck did Hank take it? He is godawful in shootouts. Put Bertuzzi out there. At least he scores every once in a whie on those things. Babcock really screwed the pooch out there.
I was feeling great until that goal with 1.8 seconds left - 1.8 seconds away from a 2-goal lead and a dominating first period. To quote Andy from Fight Night at the Joe said on Twitter, "Unacceptable".
The second period was blah, but to be honest, I missed most of it because I was talking to family. From what I saw on Twitter, it sounded like the Sharks were starting to take over the game. But, I felt good going into the third with a 2-goal lead.
The third period. Our nemesis. How many leads have we seen the Wings piss away this year? Too many to count, if you ask me. About 5 minutes into the third period I turned to my wife and said "they're not skating". Sure enough, Thornton picks up a goal after the Wings turn into a bunch of blind idiots trying to get the puck. After that, the Hank line picked it up, This was clearly their best game of the series, but it was too little, too late.
The tying goal. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Jimmy, I am proud of you for what you have done this year. You almost single-handedly kept this team close to a playoff position when we had the injuries. You were unbelievable down the stretch after the Olympics. In fact, you were having a pretty good series. But, you pulled a Legace - you let in a cheap goal when your team needed a save. I think you're going to have a good career here in Detroit, but if you ever give up a goal like that again, don't think I won't turn on you like a rabid dog.
We're going to take a break from the recap to discuss what we all love - the refs. They did not cost the Wings tonight. The penalty on Homer at the end of the game was a brutal call, but overall they did not influence or impact this game. I know there was a discrepancy in calls (again), but the Wings put themselves in position to take penalties too many times tonight. Here's a thought: move your fucking feet and keep skating. Or, win a faceoff and control the puck. If you have the puck, then you don't need to hook or trip anyone. It's fairly simple.
So the Wings broke their OT cherry tonight, and damn if it wasn't pretty. The millisecond after I saw Thornton and Marleau on the 2-on-1, I knew it was over. There was no chance, and it was a nice pass. I'll be honest: Thornton is looking pretty good out there. I still don't like him, and still think he's overrated, but he is starting to shed that "choker" label.
So that's just about it. Down 3-0, and nothing the Red Wings did tonight gave me any confidence they can come back and win 4 straight. This series has exposed a lot of flaws on the Wings, and it's very disheartening to see them go out like this. Tyler over at Triple Deke echoed my thoughts in saying that this is not about the Red Wings "not wanting it". I'm disappointed by the outcome, but I know that each and every one of the players in that room are even more devastated by the loss tonight. They want to win just as much, if not more, than we want them to. You can question their decision-making or their execution, but don't question their heart or desire to win. As much as it pains me to say this, maybe they just aren't that good. At least not good enough to win the Cup. The loss tonight is squarely on the Red Wings - they had a 2 goal lead, once again, and frittered it away with a laid-back game plan and poor play.
RIP Grandma Jean. We will always love you and miss you. I know you are in a better place.
A note before I recap the game, because this is the reason I just don't give a shit: my grandmother passed away today. She had a quick but determined fight with cancer, but unfortunately the disease won out. Just like the house, cancer always wins. All of the cliches are true: stuff like this puts life into perspective. Don't get me wrong: I'm still uber-mad the Wings pissed that game away. But I just don't really care. The Wings could get swept on Thursday, and I won't care as much then. My grandmother was a wonderful woman and was really like a third parent to me. I was very close to her, and it's going to take some time to get over the fact she's not with us anymore. The only saving grace is that she is no longer in pain, as it got pretty bad towards the end.
On to the game. How is that the 3 things we all said were important for the Wings to win (faceoffs, contain Pavelski, better on the PK) were accomplished, and they still LOST THE FUCKING GAME!!! I just don't get this team this year. They play an inspired first period, even if they did get a huge break when they got the penalty shot. But why the fuck did Hank take it? He is godawful in shootouts. Put Bertuzzi out there. At least he scores every once in a whie on those things. Babcock really screwed the pooch out there.
I was feeling great until that goal with 1.8 seconds left - 1.8 seconds away from a 2-goal lead and a dominating first period. To quote Andy from Fight Night at the Joe said on Twitter, "Unacceptable".
The second period was blah, but to be honest, I missed most of it because I was talking to family. From what I saw on Twitter, it sounded like the Sharks were starting to take over the game. But, I felt good going into the third with a 2-goal lead.
The third period. Our nemesis. How many leads have we seen the Wings piss away this year? Too many to count, if you ask me. About 5 minutes into the third period I turned to my wife and said "they're not skating". Sure enough, Thornton picks up a goal after the Wings turn into a bunch of blind idiots trying to get the puck. After that, the Hank line picked it up, This was clearly their best game of the series, but it was too little, too late.
The tying goal. Jesus. Fucking. Christ. Jimmy, I am proud of you for what you have done this year. You almost single-handedly kept this team close to a playoff position when we had the injuries. You were unbelievable down the stretch after the Olympics. In fact, you were having a pretty good series. But, you pulled a Legace - you let in a cheap goal when your team needed a save. I think you're going to have a good career here in Detroit, but if you ever give up a goal like that again, don't think I won't turn on you like a rabid dog.
We're going to take a break from the recap to discuss what we all love - the refs. They did not cost the Wings tonight. The penalty on Homer at the end of the game was a brutal call, but overall they did not influence or impact this game. I know there was a discrepancy in calls (again), but the Wings put themselves in position to take penalties too many times tonight. Here's a thought: move your fucking feet and keep skating. Or, win a faceoff and control the puck. If you have the puck, then you don't need to hook or trip anyone. It's fairly simple.
So the Wings broke their OT cherry tonight, and damn if it wasn't pretty. The millisecond after I saw Thornton and Marleau on the 2-on-1, I knew it was over. There was no chance, and it was a nice pass. I'll be honest: Thornton is looking pretty good out there. I still don't like him, and still think he's overrated, but he is starting to shed that "choker" label.
So that's just about it. Down 3-0, and nothing the Red Wings did tonight gave me any confidence they can come back and win 4 straight. This series has exposed a lot of flaws on the Wings, and it's very disheartening to see them go out like this. Tyler over at Triple Deke echoed my thoughts in saying that this is not about the Red Wings "not wanting it". I'm disappointed by the outcome, but I know that each and every one of the players in that room are even more devastated by the loss tonight. They want to win just as much, if not more, than we want them to. You can question their decision-making or their execution, but don't question their heart or desire to win. As much as it pains me to say this, maybe they just aren't that good. At least not good enough to win the Cup. The loss tonight is squarely on the Red Wings - they had a 2 goal lead, once again, and frittered it away with a laid-back game plan and poor play.
RIP Grandma Jean. We will always love you and miss you. I know you are in a better place.
WCSF - Game 3 - May the Force Be With You
Ok, so I'm a pretty big Star Wars geek. Not the "dress-up-in-a-stormtrooper-costume-to-see-the-movie-at-the-theatre" kind of geek - I don't have enough money to buy a costume. But like most Star Wars fans, I can recite pretty much all of the original movies, and some of the next set (which were not as good, but don't get me started on that). I've got some action figures lying around the house, and I am not completely ashamed to admit I own a few t-shirts that may or may not have Darth Vader on them. Under normal circumstances, I would watch at least one of the movies today, but there's a hockey game on tonight that is a little important. So, we're going to look forward to that. So, in honour of Star Wars Day (May the Fourth, get it?), we'll do our game preview with a Star Wars theme.
"Never tell me the odds" - Empire Strikes Back, 1980 - The Red Wings are down 2-0, and without doing any actual research, I would bet all $300 I have that the team that is up has won the series about 70-80% of the time. Bad news, right? Well, there are reasons why the Wings should feel confident they can come back. First, how many times did the Wings win the first 2 games of a series, only to see the other team win their home games and tie it up? Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 series where that happened: 2004 against the Predators and Flames, 2007 against the Flames, 2008 against the Predators, and 2009 against the Penguins (fuckers). Of those 5 series, the Wings lost 2 of them. So it's not impossible to come back. Plus, we all remember the Finals last year. I still have nightmares about it. Basically, until the Sharks win 4 games, I will not consider this series to be over.
"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you" - A New Hope (1977) - With all apologies to Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg is the cog of the Wings' wheel (pun intended). He was awesome against the Coyotes, but against the Sharks he has been a little invisible. It's not that he has played poorly; it's just that he's not doing what we really need him to do, which is score goals and play smothering defense against the other team's top forward. He can't do it alone; Bertuzzi and Filppula have to be better as well. But if the Wings are going to win this series, Hank has to be our Luke Skywalker. This starts in the faceoff circle, where he's been dominated by anyone on the Sharks that has gone against him.
Darth Vader - Not a quote, but it's clear that Joe Pavelski is the Darth Vader to the Red Wings' rebel alliance. In fact, if you pay attention, I'm pretty sure he just scored again. He has been the reason that the Sharks are up in this series. He's got 4 goals out of the 8 the Sharks have scored, and his line has scored 6 of the 8 goals (Greg Louganis (Setoguchi) and Clowe have the other 2). So the message should be simple - stop that line and the Wings win. The Thornton-Heatley-Mitchell line has not been scary - both of their goals came on a busted stick leading to a 3 on 1, and a matchup after an icing on the Wings' 4th line.
Wedge - Remember Wedge? He's one of the rebel X-wing pilots. He's the only guy besides the main characters that is in all 3 of the early movies. He's there, but you don't really notice him as the movie is going on. When the trilogy is over, someone mentions that Wedge was in all 3 movies and you say "huh, I hadn't really noticed that. I guess I will pay attention to that next time." This is Johan Franzen. He's had a point in every game. That's impressive. But have you really noticed him out there? Outside of Game 1 of this series, he's been fairly mediocre. It's time for the Mule to stop being a supporting player and become a main character in this series.
Jabba The Hut - Jabba was an interesting character. He was some sort of mobster, controlling Tatooine, although he never moved. The only thing Jabba was actually good for was getting Princess Leia in to the gold bikini. I guess some would say he was an imposing figure, but as the movie develops, you got the sense he was really just a minor plot point to advance the story that Luke was now a superstar. I mean, for a guy that huge, all 100 lbs of Leia could choke him to death? Really? Anyway, this is how I feel about Evgeni Nabokov. Some people consider him an elite goalie - but does he scare any of you? He let in a softie in Game 2, and I don't think he's been the difference in this series at all. He's made a few nice saves, but I credit the Sharks' defense more for keeping the Wings to the outside and preventing second and third chances. If they get that, they will score a ton.
Babcock needs to pull some Jedi-mind shit on the players today. He needs to convince them that they are the better team, and that they will win tonight. I can just see it:
Team: This Sharks team is pretty good. It's going to be tough to beat them.
Babcock: These aren't the Sharks you're playing.
Team: These aren't the Sharks we're playing.
Babcock: You're playing the Coyotes.
Team: We're playing the Coyotes.
Babcock: It's Game 7 - lose and you're done.
Team: It's Game 7 - lose and we're done.
Babcock: Kick some ass!
Team: Kick some ass!
My prediction for tonight? I can not see the Wings falling behind 3-0 in this series. I think the officiating is going to be very even, because this series is under the microscope. I don't think there will be any make-up calls for Tuesday, nor do I want any. The Wings come out and play like their season is on the line, which it essentially is. I really believe that tonight is the night that Franzen and Zetterberg step up and take this series over. Thornton will continue his streak of being one of the most over-rated players in the NHL, and Pavelski will not have the opportunities that he's had in the first 2 games. The Wings win big, 5-2, and set the stage for a pivotal Game 4 on Thursday.
LGRW - May The Force Be With You!
"Never tell me the odds" - Empire Strikes Back, 1980 - The Red Wings are down 2-0, and without doing any actual research, I would bet all $300 I have that the team that is up has won the series about 70-80% of the time. Bad news, right? Well, there are reasons why the Wings should feel confident they can come back. First, how many times did the Wings win the first 2 games of a series, only to see the other team win their home games and tie it up? Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 series where that happened: 2004 against the Predators and Flames, 2007 against the Flames, 2008 against the Predators, and 2009 against the Penguins (fuckers). Of those 5 series, the Wings lost 2 of them. So it's not impossible to come back. Plus, we all remember the Finals last year. I still have nightmares about it. Basically, until the Sharks win 4 games, I will not consider this series to be over.
"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you" - A New Hope (1977) - With all apologies to Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg is the cog of the Wings' wheel (pun intended). He was awesome against the Coyotes, but against the Sharks he has been a little invisible. It's not that he has played poorly; it's just that he's not doing what we really need him to do, which is score goals and play smothering defense against the other team's top forward. He can't do it alone; Bertuzzi and Filppula have to be better as well. But if the Wings are going to win this series, Hank has to be our Luke Skywalker. This starts in the faceoff circle, where he's been dominated by anyone on the Sharks that has gone against him.
Darth Vader - Not a quote, but it's clear that Joe Pavelski is the Darth Vader to the Red Wings' rebel alliance. In fact, if you pay attention, I'm pretty sure he just scored again. He has been the reason that the Sharks are up in this series. He's got 4 goals out of the 8 the Sharks have scored, and his line has scored 6 of the 8 goals (Greg Louganis (Setoguchi) and Clowe have the other 2). So the message should be simple - stop that line and the Wings win. The Thornton-Heatley-Mitchell line has not been scary - both of their goals came on a busted stick leading to a 3 on 1, and a matchup after an icing on the Wings' 4th line.
Wedge - Remember Wedge? He's one of the rebel X-wing pilots. He's the only guy besides the main characters that is in all 3 of the early movies. He's there, but you don't really notice him as the movie is going on. When the trilogy is over, someone mentions that Wedge was in all 3 movies and you say "huh, I hadn't really noticed that. I guess I will pay attention to that next time." This is Johan Franzen. He's had a point in every game. That's impressive. But have you really noticed him out there? Outside of Game 1 of this series, he's been fairly mediocre. It's time for the Mule to stop being a supporting player and become a main character in this series.
Jabba The Hut - Jabba was an interesting character. He was some sort of mobster, controlling Tatooine, although he never moved. The only thing Jabba was actually good for was getting Princess Leia in to the gold bikini. I guess some would say he was an imposing figure, but as the movie develops, you got the sense he was really just a minor plot point to advance the story that Luke was now a superstar. I mean, for a guy that huge, all 100 lbs of Leia could choke him to death? Really? Anyway, this is how I feel about Evgeni Nabokov. Some people consider him an elite goalie - but does he scare any of you? He let in a softie in Game 2, and I don't think he's been the difference in this series at all. He's made a few nice saves, but I credit the Sharks' defense more for keeping the Wings to the outside and preventing second and third chances. If they get that, they will score a ton.
Babcock needs to pull some Jedi-mind shit on the players today. He needs to convince them that they are the better team, and that they will win tonight. I can just see it:
Team: This Sharks team is pretty good. It's going to be tough to beat them.
Babcock: These aren't the Sharks you're playing.
Team: These aren't the Sharks we're playing.
Babcock: You're playing the Coyotes.
Team: We're playing the Coyotes.
Babcock: It's Game 7 - lose and you're done.
Team: It's Game 7 - lose and we're done.
Babcock: Kick some ass!
Team: Kick some ass!
My prediction for tonight? I can not see the Wings falling behind 3-0 in this series. I think the officiating is going to be very even, because this series is under the microscope. I don't think there will be any make-up calls for Tuesday, nor do I want any. The Wings come out and play like their season is on the line, which it essentially is. I really believe that tonight is the night that Franzen and Zetterberg step up and take this series over. Thornton will continue his streak of being one of the most over-rated players in the NHL, and Pavelski will not have the opportunities that he's had in the first 2 games. The Wings win big, 5-2, and set the stage for a pivotal Game 4 on Thursday.
LGRW - May The Force Be With You!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sharks 4 - Red Wings 3
Not a whole lot to say about that. Even now, almost 12 hours later, I'm still pissed about that. What an awful display of officiating. That was as embarrassing as all of the diving the Sharks were doing out there. Apparently McClelland picked up a few new tricks when he went out to San Jose.
There's really no need to recap the game. The Red Wings were looking good until someone realized that the Sharks had not had enough power plays, so the parade began. And if you think I'm just upset as a Red Wing fan, think again: two of the calls against the Sharks were just as bad (the Marleau "boarding" and the Heatley goalie interference). If I were a Shark fan, I would feel good about being up 2-0, but if you don't recognize that the refs have had a huge impact in these 2 games (the missed high stick on Franzen and the debacle last night), you are deluding yourself.
The two refs who worked the game last night should be ashamed. There is no reason why any official should have that great an impact on a playoff game. Especially in a series that would be awesome if the refs weren't fucking the whole thing up. How about just letting them play and only calling actual penalties? When you've got neutral announcers questioning the validity of the calls, and the 2 guys in the studio also wondering why there are so many penalties, then it's pretty clear you're doing a shitty job.
Having said all that, the Wings need to get better. Uh, guys, how about winning a faceoff once in a while? Pavel Datsyuk can not carry this team on his own, especially if the Sharks' top line gets going. Zetterberg, Filppula and Bertuzzi have to do a better job at creating offense.
Overall, the Wings didn't play a great game, but didn't play that poorly, either. Aside from Datsyuk, who almost single-handedly won the game, I can't think of a Red Wing player that had a great game or a bad game. The GWG was off a fluke play, and it's shit like that that makes me feel like this is just not their year.
Game 3 is huge. Must-win. I expect to see Game 7 Detroit show up. Otherwise this series is over.
There's really no need to recap the game. The Red Wings were looking good until someone realized that the Sharks had not had enough power plays, so the parade began. And if you think I'm just upset as a Red Wing fan, think again: two of the calls against the Sharks were just as bad (the Marleau "boarding" and the Heatley goalie interference). If I were a Shark fan, I would feel good about being up 2-0, but if you don't recognize that the refs have had a huge impact in these 2 games (the missed high stick on Franzen and the debacle last night), you are deluding yourself.
The two refs who worked the game last night should be ashamed. There is no reason why any official should have that great an impact on a playoff game. Especially in a series that would be awesome if the refs weren't fucking the whole thing up. How about just letting them play and only calling actual penalties? When you've got neutral announcers questioning the validity of the calls, and the 2 guys in the studio also wondering why there are so many penalties, then it's pretty clear you're doing a shitty job.
Having said all that, the Wings need to get better. Uh, guys, how about winning a faceoff once in a while? Pavel Datsyuk can not carry this team on his own, especially if the Sharks' top line gets going. Zetterberg, Filppula and Bertuzzi have to do a better job at creating offense.
Overall, the Wings didn't play a great game, but didn't play that poorly, either. Aside from Datsyuk, who almost single-handedly won the game, I can't think of a Red Wing player that had a great game or a bad game. The GWG was off a fluke play, and it's shit like that that makes me feel like this is just not their year.
Game 3 is huge. Must-win. I expect to see Game 7 Detroit show up. Otherwise this series is over.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Sharks 4 - Red Wings 3 - Uh, ok?
Well, that was not the start we wanted exactly, but I am not as upset this time as I was after Game 1 against Phoenix. Sure, it was another game where a Red Wing was cut by a high stick that was not called. But as mad as I was last night about that call and subsequent goal, I'm not dwelling on it today.
There are reasons for optimism in this series. Basically, the Wings lost this game with about 90 seconds of running around and poor play. Take away that 90 seconds, and the Red Wings were just as good if not better than the Sharks. After it was 3-0, the Wings took over, and they got the next goal. After that, I felt like it was a matter of time before the Wings tied it up, but unfortunately they just couldn't get that third goal. They pushed for the equalizer at the end, but came up a little short. No worries.
Dan Cleary and Johan Franzen were much better last night. I was really concerned about Cleary after getting hit by Blake, but breathed a sigh of relief when he came back. Franzen looked like Playoff Mule again. He was making things happen with the puck, getting quality looks, and he was engaged physically. That's a good sign.
Once again, the special teams let us down. 2 PP goals against and an 0-fer on the PP was ultimately what cost us. Again, I'm not worried. The first goal was essentially a 4-on-3, and the 2nd one was a 5-on-3. On the 5-on-4 PKs the Wings had to kill, they were just fine. The PP got some good looks, but just couldn't get the puck past Nabokov.
Joe Thornton is a little bitch. Once again, he didn't do much in the game beyond the assist. And that was after an icing by the Wings' 4th line and 3rd D-man pair. I'll give him credit for that. But he didn't do anything else for the rest of the game. And did anyone else see him snow Jimmy, then after he got popped in the mouth (which he should have), complain to the refs? Hey, Jumbo Joe, you've been around long enough to know that if you snow the goalie like that, you're going to answer for it. Don't do that shit again.
The Sharks tried to be physical, but I didn't think they were any more physical than Phoenix was. The Red Wings didn't look intimidated, and unlike each loss to the Coyotes, the Wings actually got better as the game went on.
As Drew from NOHS said, forget about this game. The Wings were coming off the high of winning Game 7 and had to play 2 days later. They looked tired in the first `10 minutes, but got their legs under them as the game kept going. Even after it was 3-0, I never had the feeling that the Red Wings were in any serious trouble. I'm still confident that the Wings will get this done in 6.
There are reasons for optimism in this series. Basically, the Wings lost this game with about 90 seconds of running around and poor play. Take away that 90 seconds, and the Red Wings were just as good if not better than the Sharks. After it was 3-0, the Wings took over, and they got the next goal. After that, I felt like it was a matter of time before the Wings tied it up, but unfortunately they just couldn't get that third goal. They pushed for the equalizer at the end, but came up a little short. No worries.
Dan Cleary and Johan Franzen were much better last night. I was really concerned about Cleary after getting hit by Blake, but breathed a sigh of relief when he came back. Franzen looked like Playoff Mule again. He was making things happen with the puck, getting quality looks, and he was engaged physically. That's a good sign.
Once again, the special teams let us down. 2 PP goals against and an 0-fer on the PP was ultimately what cost us. Again, I'm not worried. The first goal was essentially a 4-on-3, and the 2nd one was a 5-on-3. On the 5-on-4 PKs the Wings had to kill, they were just fine. The PP got some good looks, but just couldn't get the puck past Nabokov.
Joe Thornton is a little bitch. Once again, he didn't do much in the game beyond the assist. And that was after an icing by the Wings' 4th line and 3rd D-man pair. I'll give him credit for that. But he didn't do anything else for the rest of the game. And did anyone else see him snow Jimmy, then after he got popped in the mouth (which he should have), complain to the refs? Hey, Jumbo Joe, you've been around long enough to know that if you snow the goalie like that, you're going to answer for it. Don't do that shit again.
The Sharks tried to be physical, but I didn't think they were any more physical than Phoenix was. The Red Wings didn't look intimidated, and unlike each loss to the Coyotes, the Wings actually got better as the game went on.
As Drew from NOHS said, forget about this game. The Wings were coming off the high of winning Game 7 and had to play 2 days later. They looked tired in the first `10 minutes, but got their legs under them as the game kept going. Even after it was 3-0, I never had the feeling that the Red Wings were in any serious trouble. I'm still confident that the Wings will get this done in 6.
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