Now a best of three, Wings need to continue success
With the Red Wings knotting the series up at two games apiece, the series now comes down to who can win two of the last three. There's the home ice advantage for the Coyotes in this now three game series but Detroit won't be thinking about being the road team at all. Getting back to the way they play the game is the most important thing for the Red Wings right now and they're slowly starting to turn the wheels.
Franzen is heating up (point in every game), Datsyuk's coming to life, the defense has clamped down, and Henrik Zetterberg is putting together yet another great postseason with a league leading 5 playoff goals. Add in the mountain of confidence Jimmy Howard got from the shutout last night and the Wings are a team flying high, even in a 2-2 series.
Things are starting to come together for the team and it's paying off. I'm not ready to make the statement that they'll easily win two of the next three because of the way they've done this at points in the season: get really hot and then ice cold for a game or two. But as the top guys start clicking and guys like Todd Bertuzzi start to get involved with assists (he has four) and the like, the team is looking like the dangerous one we know they can be.
Detroit out shot Phoenix 35-29 in Game 4 and has done so in 3 of the 4 games with Game 3 being the one in which they didn't (and we know how that worked out).The key for the Red Wings success has been keeping the pressure on Bryzgalov and limiting the break out plays for the Coyotes to a handful. They've started to key in on the Coyotes offense and forced numerous shots to be taken wide in Game 4.
If the Red Wings go on to win this series, you can look at the 5-on-3 power play for the Coyotes that the Red Wings were able to kill off. Phoenix could have very easily gone up 2-1 or just tied it at 1-1. Instead, the Red Wings killed off the penalties and scored shortly thereafter.
Detroit needs to carry that momentum into the next game in Phoenix and turn the loud homecrowd into a silent, stunned one. Red Wings have the Coyotes right where they want them, regardless of Shane Doan being in or out of the line-up. They've got the Phoenix players working too hard and they are forcing turnovers or forcing players to be out of position.
Continue that pressure and don't look back.
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Whoever wins Game 5 wins the series
i can not see Phoenix winning in the Joe…so lets win Game 5 fellas
TULO = 2010 MVP!
Troy Tulowitzki: "When people think of the Rockies, I want them to think of a winning organization."
LETS GO WINGS!
I think I agree…but last time I said ‘whoever wins game 5 will win the series’ was last years Cup Finals….that didnt work out haha
by plopperrawr on Apr 21, 2010 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions
yeah never know
TULO = 2010 MVP!
Troy Tulowitzki: "When people think of the Rockies, I want them to think of a winning organization."
LETS GO WINGS!
by TuLoRocks2008 on Apr 21, 2010 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
I just can't say that
Not for sure, anyway. The way the momentum has shifted in this series, I am not ready to say definitively that the winner of Game 5 wins the series.
Having said that, if the Wings do take Game 5, their chances of winning the series increase dramatically. Let’s make the Coyotes play from behind in the series for once.
by Amerinadian on Apr 21, 2010 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions
yeah i mean
i think we COULD comeback if we lose game 5 but idkkkk…going to be rough
TULO = 2010 MVP!
Troy Tulowitzki: "When people think of the Rockies, I want them to think of a winning organization."
LETS GO WINGS!
by TuLoRocks2008 on Apr 21, 2010 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
win
win game 5 and game 6 so the wings don’t have to fly back to phoenix. rest up for the series against colorado
Colorado, eh?
The way all the series in the West are going, I have no idea who is going to make it to the 2nd round.
Seriously, who do you cheer for in that series? Sharks or Avs? My hatred for the Avs still trumps almost anyone else (I’m looking in your direction Disney Ducks). So I still want the Sharks to win.
If wings advance its likely they would not face the Avs, I just can’t see ALL top 4 seeds going down in the first round.
happened in 2005-2006 with the West
Unlikely to happen again
by Casey Richey on Apr 21, 2010 2:05 PM CDT up reply actions
It would be pretty awesome – and not just because the Wings would then be the top seed in the West. But I don’t see Little Brother losing to the Preds.
For the first round
I would like to think I am one of the biggest Predator fans ever.
My two favorite teams are the Tigers and Brewers. Drunk tigers. That sounds about right.
Me in 140 characters
Do the playoffs reseed after the first round?
I dont think so….in that case why would it matter? Just wondering. I guess home court. That is a big deal I suppose…
Reading is good...
So you're saying all the lower seeds are going to win?
Bold prediction. I still think the Sharks and Hawks are too good to lose to the Avs and Preds.
My two favorite teams are the Tigers and Brewers. Drunk tigers. That sounds about right.
Me in 140 characters
I give the Preds a better chance of a series win. San Jose has dominated their series and would easily have swept if Colorado had a mortal goalie. The Preds are for real and can beat any team in the league in a playoff series. They have great defense, great goaltending, and timely goal scoring. I also think they work harder than Chicago does. I don’t know why, but I just see the Hawks as a bunch of hotshots. Lead by none other than Patrick Kane. They have skill, but I think they have a tendency to coast. Do they have what it takes to go the distance… yes, but are they willing to work as hard as needed… I don’t think so. I don’t think they even realize it, but I haven’t seen their game elevated to playoff mode.
I think we win the next two
If Doan missed a game, he obviously has more than a bruise. That said, if he does come back, there’s no way he’ll be able to be the physical presence he was in the first three games. Our top D pairing did a number on the Czech line last night and I expect that to carry through the remainder of the series as long as Babs can make the changes in PHX. I think we win 4-1 on Friday.
Toss up
Neither team has shown consistency or a reason to believe they can outplay the other. Coin toss on which Phoenix team shows up, coin toss on which Wings team shows up.
What I can say is that on paper, the series is great. On tv, the series is dull. Neutral zone clogging, obstruction, lots of shots from the outside… yeah, no thanks. I hope the Wings win if for nothing more than Phoenix not ruining my hockey pleasure the rest of the playoffs.
Not trying to be a butt
But let’s focus on Friday before we talk about who we might play in the next series. One game at a time, just like our boys on the ice.
my vote was wishful thinking
but looking at what both teams can do i cant say. i only hope when doan is thrown back in we wont revert back to how we played when he was on the ice
Some of you Red Wings fans are so cocky.(not all of you, but a lot of you)
Your in a tied series and already talking about who you will face next.
unfortunately the post diverged into that
That wasn’t my goal at all and in fact I dont think I even mentioned it but I am far too superstitious (hockey fan so of course) to have mentioned the next teams yet.
by Casey Richey on Apr 21, 2010 7:10 PM CDT up reply actions
Dont worry
I dont like talkin about the next round either until its sealed… i think the conversation went to hypotheticals and turned to what you determine to be “cocky”. Either way i dont like it either.. just cause i agree with casey…. o am very superstitious
Not this fan
Hey Video game man-get to work. Anyway at least you used the word “some” Red Wongs fans and in that sense I would be hard pressed not to agree. We have had reason over the years to be a positive bunch but we have had our failures too. That being said “most” Wings fans are realistic and keen to the possibility that the teams we are playing are world class and have every chance of beating us. This fan knows this series can go either way, but really, being neutral which team would you pick? I hate the Penquins but they are a great team and I never thought Ottawa had a chance. Being Real. I hate Chicago-but know enough not to count them out. I’m just lovin watchin hockey and am glad you are a fan too. Now quit the Nintendo and go to work…lol.
by katiebarthedoor on Apr 22, 2010 8:20 AM CDT up reply actions
Not so fast
Grew up watching Gordie, Alex, Ted Terry. So long time fan. The wings are tired, and the Dmen cough up the puck with regularity. Phoenix is hungry and even the 3 – 0 score was very misleading. I bleed red (how bout that!), but I think a lot depends on the fickle fate of the hockey gods, and whether our D can simply worry about their outlet passes and the punishment that Phoenix (and the other W Conf brutes) keep administering to an aging D. Howard may flake out on us at some inopportune time.
It is a crapshoot, and I hate to say it, I would not bet on the wings.
I have a hard time believing your a Wings fan...
Since you’ve been a member of Second City Hockey since last May and just joined WIM today.
cough TROLL! cough
haha
Besides, everyone bleeds red – it’s hemoglobin!
"While there's life, there's hope." --Cicero
Science nerd and proud of it!
Wings are not tired.
That is said every year. These guys are professional, and most of them took half the season off with an injury or two. Fatigue is not a factor in this series for the Wings. The way I see the D-men playing, is how they’ve played all year. They are turnover prone because they like to make plays. When you do that, you will turn it over. They need to change that, they probably won’t but it doesn’t have anything to do with fatigue.

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