From the Sharks to the Wings: Destiny Continues

Yeah, I know what you mean — I have very little idea how this series will go. And even if I could get a handle on match-ups, two questions won’t be answered until the series really begins:

• How good will Chris Osgood be?
• How good will Jonas Hiller be?

It’s really that discrepancy that will likely decide this series. If both goaltenders play at a similar level, I don’t know if the Ducks can keep up.

But hey, the Ducks were outscored in the 2007 WCF and still managed to advance. C’mon, magic.

…ill never forgive the team and fans for there smugness in 97 and 99

I hear you, but those at least were series sweeps. I think they’ve been pretty darn smug about being the better team in 03 and 07, also.

Just read and Tweeted for ya (no problem!).

It was fantastic! :)

Ironically, though, that’s sort of why I love A2Y — relentless!

er, that should be: “the original caption to the Cartman/Thorton cartoon made me laugh out loud.”

seriously, I just keep thinking that having to deal with their fans is going to be the worst part of this series.

heres a question (too bad u cant post polls on the comments)

will the wings trolls be more plentyful and asshole-ish if:

a. wings win
b. ducks win
c. pronger sneezes on a wing
d. all of the above

Dude, those are some sad dudes.

WOW!!!!!!!!

I mean…WOW.

They were sincerely NICE! How is it that Sharks fans are the complete opposite of Detroit fans?!

I get tolerated there a bit, but it usually lasts all of three or four comments. Definitely not for the feint of heart.

One of the comments on A2Y mentioned how the Wings PP% is nearly twice as high as the Sharks PP%.

So I was thinking “Wow, so you guys admittedly plan not to score very much at all?”

If the Ducks give the Wings a lot of PPs

I’m going into this series assuming that we should be saying “when the Ducks give up PPs”, not “if”.

Remember, in the six games of the 2007 WCF, the Wings spent 20 more minutes than the Ducks did on man-advantages. It may be a lesser discrepancy this time around, but I’ll be shocked if the Ducks miraculously clean up their act.

I’m pinning my hopes more on the PK than on the Ducks somehow staying out of the box. Homer’s butt, unfortunately, is one of the reasons why. :)

Oh, and sorry about the anti-Wings fans comments above — like every fan base, you lot are a pretty diverse bunch, and we were discussing those at the opposite end of the spectrum from you and others.

Hope it’s a good series! (heh, but my definition of “good” is probably different from yours…)

what are the chances Giguere sees ice time in a non-fairy-tale scenario?

Actually I’ve been predicting a Giguere performance at some point in these playoffs even before round one. I figure the first or second game where Hiller’s Ducks get blown out then Carlyle might switch starters, like he did in ‘06 and ’07. Now Hiller’s Rd1 performance probably changes all that (Carlyle probably has given him more rope now), but I still figure it’s somewhere around a 30% chance Giguere gets in before the Ducks are finished this spring.

One thing Giguere and Hiller have in common — neither has been eliminated by the Red Wings. Except Giguere’s faced ’em twice.

I personally love the curse.
followed by the Duck coming out of the Shark stomach alien style.

lets hope you get to make another “wrists” cartoon

if we were playing the blackhawks we’d have a problem

There is such thing as "Beating San Jose Curse" you’re about to experience.

Ha, fair enough. I will confess I’m a little less scared of curses and a little more scared of the goddamn Red Wing machine, but it’ll factor in.

Shit — maybe I need to wear two green shirts?

Hey, thanks — lots of good stuff there, and I think you’ve got a strong handle on it.

You may be a little hard on the Wings for ‘03 — that series was entirely about Giguere’s god phase. Babcock could have hand-picked a goalie of his choice not named Giguere and the Wings would have won that series. That team was older, but it was damn good. ‘07 you’re damn right — we were fortunate as hell that Schneider and Kronwall were out, and it was the fortunate bounce that essentially decided that coinflip.

I can’t speak too well on the Wings this season except they scare the hell out of me. It’s not even so much in the big names, but the Hudlers and the Clearys and the Flipulawhatevers. And I can definitely vouch that the Ducks are way thinner up front this year than in ’07.

JG has the odds on this series at about 2/3 Wings, and I could probably be talked up to 3/4 likelihood. But I can’t believe that the Ducks are bigger underdogs than they were in ‘03, and that’s the hope I’m sticking to — with a hot enough goalie, anything can happen. Ducks have been playing inexplicably well, but we still need some luck.

Thanks for signing on, stay around and comment. And for what it’s worth, Rob Niedermayer is at least worth half a damn. He’s useless around the net, but he’s a great boards guy, and like his brother, he’s never been eliminated by the Wings :)

For once, I think we honestly have the Ducks dead-to-rights.

You and me must not be watching the same Red Wings games.

Ya know what was the most ridiculous part about the 2007 series? That call on Datsyuk. Not even the call as much as who it was on. Datsyuk doesn’t take penalties! He should’ve beaten the ref about the head with the Lady Byng.

good post…..youve nailed a lot of stuff ive been saying about the wings…

1. theyll make you pay
2. 3 lines that can score

i dont subscribe to there D (besides lidstrom) being that strong….but i dont think it matters cuz there forwards are even stronger than they were in 07

i assume Rc matched 1st line vs 1st line, our 3rd line vs wings 2nd line and “gulp” our 2nd line vs wings 3rd line (the scariest..sceneraio that will keep me up at nite)

ebbet needs to be on a short leash….if hes getting manhandled..and that a strong possibilty…carter needs to be inserted on the 2nd line…

heres somthing i know..our 1st line will be shut down in a couple games, not all…but maybe half im guessing….so the other lines wlll need to get some lucky goals….

so on paper we should lose this series….

but as any ducks fan and esepcally wings fans should know….the ducks dont always follow the script

me and sleek already are mentally prepared to lose this series…we know were playing on house money…..so fuck it..im just gonna sit back and just enjoy the series…i just hope the ducks put up a good fight….and i know im gonna get slammed for this by wings fan…but for rival sake..i want one act of goonery (as long as no one gets hurt) from pronger just to up the level and intrest in the game….cuz hey this is entertainment

GO DUCKS!!

Just to be annoying, the Wings have eliminated Pronger in the playoffs before, just not when he was in Duck uniform. So the reason I state that is to encourage the team that IT CAN BE DONE!

Sure, that’s possible, but I could counter: the Wings have yet to ever eliminate a Niedermayer. :)

Well, I had it handy — I’m crafting a post of hopeful signs for the Ducks, though it may not emerge until tomorrow with all this (enjoyable) Shark memorializing.

everyone is paranoid..welcome to the club

hair pulling is nice