UMFan83

teams don't have all the good bounces going for them one year and then against them two years later. that's nonsense. the wings won the president's trophy and the championship two years ago because they were a better team, not because they just had good luck on their side. i think the wings are the 5th best team in the league after SJ, Chi, Van and Pit. 07/08 the Wings played in a terrible division-Presidents Cup they played the 8,6 and 5 seeds to get to the finals Pittsburgh was poorly coached and still somewhat undermanned This year the Wings have 300+ games lost due to injuries and played in a very solid division-5th seed They have played the 4 and 1 seed so far I really dont think that they are that much below where they were a couple of years ago and were probably a better team last year then the year they won the Cup. That actually makes sense laid out like that. I definitely agree that last years team was probably better than the one that preceeded it. Given that they lost Hossa and Samuelsson among others in the offseason, and given all the injuries they've had, and given how the conference has probably gotten stronger over the last 2 years, it says a lot about the wings that they were not too far from a top 3 seed, and if a few things broke the other way, very alive in a series against the top team in the conference. They are better than they seem.

Give credit to San Jose for playing well and building up a 3-0 lead, but it's not like they've barrelled over Detroit thus far. I think San Jose can be beaten. Although I personally think the Blackhawks are the only team that would be able to do it at this point. Maybe Vancouver, depending on who survives (and that series is far from over). I don't think a team in the East could beat SJ if they were playing well.

The question you have to ask yourself is: Is clicking on the reply button, typing the word "ballgame" and clicking submit really contributing to the board in any way? If the Cubs are in a tied game in the 8th innning and Justin Berg gives up a grand slam, yeah we know its probably game over. If the Cubs are up 8 in the 7th inning and you post "ballgame" does that provide any insight? It's just a useless thing to post. God knows too many of my 30k+ posts on this board have not contributed enough to the discussion, but its something most posters should be aware of and try to work on.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/351585/BUFFY_medium.jpg LOL

It was a sketchy play, but get over it. You lost by 3 goals, but 90% of the vancouver paper's article is about this one goal.

LMAO. I expected this but it's still funny. The beginning of the Vancouver Sun article on the game: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Cole+Buff+roughs+Canucks+Dustin+Byfuglien+three+mendous+Blackhawks/2991744/story.html#ixzz0n9ws4eZL

Of course in his 3.5 seasons in NJ, he did managed to make the playoffs and finish with a winning record coaching a team whose top players were Keith Van Horn, Sam Cassell, Kendall Gill, Jayson Williams and Kerry Kittles.

Also, wanted to point out that the defense played fantastic in the 3rd period tonight. Every rebound that Niemi gave up was quickly cleared out of the zone. If they play like that the rest of the series, we'll cruise into the WCF.

Well, he must be lobbing pitches up to the plate so swinging would seem to be appropriate. He's allowed 31.9% LD percentage so far and 35% of his fly balls given up have been for home runs (which translates to teams batting .384 off of him and him giving up 3.26 HR/9 so far). His K/BB ratio is actually pretty decent but he's still getting pounded. Nope. 95MPH over the middle of the plate. The first three innings you'll be shaking your heads. The second time through the lineup, he'll start using his curve and missing, and everyone will sit on the fastball. Want to make a gentlemen's bet that he earns at least a quality start tonight for the Buccos? Not sure if you made a remark about this a few pages back, but yeah I win. 6 IP 2 ER, 5 H

CSN just said they changed the scoring and gave that last goal to Buff. HAT TRICK!

Great great great great win. Let's wrap this series up by the end of the weekend :)

Now you know what it feels like to be dominated on your home ice Vancouver.

Canucks fan maybe.

Did they? CBC still says Buff scored. Yeah Foley said that the PA announcer called the goal for Kane. But it might be overturned before the final scoresheet comes out. It definitely looked to be Buff's goal.

3 star predictions? 1 - Buff (2 G, 1 A) 2 - Niemi (30 SV, 2 GA) 3 - umm Hossa? (1 G, 1 A), or Kane (1 G, 1 A)? or Toews (0 G, 3 A)?

BOO!!! They gave the goal to Kane. Edit: 5th straight game with a goal for Kaner. Pretty good for a player who is really unclutch when it matters. Although I must admit, he played a mediocre game tonight.

Wow...I was hopeful for this game all day, but in the back of my mind, I figured we'd drop this one and possibly win game 4. I am pleasantly surprised. I'm all about taking back home ice! Now I'm gonna get greedy and hope for a game 4 win as well. It would be just about over if we could do that.

That's either the 5th straight game with a goal for Kane or a hat trick for Buff.

POSSIBLE HAT TRICK FOR BUFF!! Will this get reviewed?

My heart would really appreiate it if we could keep the lead at or above 2 goals for awhile.

HOSSSAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally his play is gonna get reflected on the score sheet! 4-2!!!!

It's amazing how Sopel is viewed as a horrible player when he plays 5 on 5, but when he's on the kill he becomes indispensable.

That penalty was by design. They've been trying to piss off Buff all game waiting for him to do something stupid. And it happened.

Why this one and not the next one? Already answered but this became the one we are supposed to win because we held a 2 goal lead until the last minute of the 2nd.

Canucks taking dives all over the place. Thank God the refs are too smart for that.