Teams Wings Fear Most In Playoffs?

[LeonardSankar 434]

So which team is most likely to keep the Wings from winning the Cup if they meet up in the playoffs? I would say in the West it's San Jose as the most dangerous b/c of how they seemed to have own the Wings the last 3 seasons and then after that I say the Hawks and then the Canucks even though they are not playing well they still can come to life when they want to. In the East the only team I fear is Pittsburgh b/c Gary Buttman will want to put the Cup in Cindy Crybaby's hands just like 2009 as any other team e.g. Bruins, Flyers the Wings can handle from the East.

With that being said it's a good idea for the Wings to get home ice all the way through this year b/c if they draw San Jose they need the extra home game this time around to have a better shot at beating them. Also need to finish atop the division as finishing seeded #4 won't cut it in the Western playoffs.

[GMRwings1983 8,802]

San Jose and Boston are the teams we match up the worst with.

Honestly, you never know, though. The Wings have lost to some pretty mediocre teams in the playoffs before. Maybe not with this group, but it can happen. I thought we'd match up well with Edmonton in 2006 or Anaheim in 2003, and look what happened.

Still, San Jose is the easiest answer because of the last two years.

[BryceWings 0]

I would say the Sharks. Been giving them a hard time lately.

[LeonardSankar 434]

San Jose and Boston are the teams we match up the worst with.

Honestly, you never know, though. The Wings have lost to some pretty mediocre teams in the playoffs before. Maybe not with this group, but it can happen. I thought we'd match up well with Edmonton in 2006 or Anaheim in 2003, and look what happened.

Still, San Jose is the easiest answer because of the last two years.

I still would rather have Boston over Pittsburgh in the East as I know the Wings relied too much on Jimmy Howard to beat the Bruins last week but I would rather face a Tim Thomas than have to face Pittsburgh b/c they would get screwed in some shape or form against those cry babies. I am still pissed about game 7 2009 as I was at the Joe and watching those crybaby Penguins and their fans invade the Joe and hoist the cup is still a bitter pill to swallow.

Getting back to the West I might put the Wild in that category as well but they could be just overachieving. Then you have LA and Nashville who are just pests to deal with but they should handle them if they play the way they are supposed to.

But another factor is the play of Zetterberg as in order to win the Cup they need him to have a playoff like 2008 e.g. the Zet of old.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

San Jose and Vancouver scare me the most in the West. I think the high-end talent on both of those teams is better than the Red Wings overall right now. The Sharks size and speed obviously give Detroit fits. Chicago is a strong team, but the Red Wings defense and goaltending is far superior.

I'll worry about the East if it comes to that hopefully, but that's a two horse race between the Bruins and Penguins. As much as I hate them, the Penguins are the best team in the league healthy.

[esteef 2,679]

The ones who play physical.

esteef

[redwingfan19 293]

The ones who play physical.

esteef

So pretty much every team?

[St. Michael (the Red Wing) 422]

The obvious and only answer in the West is the Sharks. I think we could beat Pittsburgh again in the finals IF we get a legit top 6 forward and only IF. Otherwise yes Boston is the only other team that is remotely scarey in the East.

[jvxp 0]

Sharks

[GMRwings1983 8,802]

No one is scared of the Florida Panthers?

[chrisdetroit 189]

So which team is most likely to keep the Wings from winning the Cup if they meet up in the playoffs? I would say in the West it's San Jose as the most dangerous b/c of how they seemed to have own the Wings the last 3 seasons and then after that I say the Hawks and then the Canucks even though they are not playing well they still can come to life when they want to. In the East the only team I fear is Pittsburgh b/c Gary Buttman will want to put the Cup in Cindy Crybaby's hands just like 2009 as any other team e.g. Bruins, Flyers the Wings can handle from the East.

With that being said it's a good idea for the Wings to get home ice all the way through this year b/c if they draw San Jose they need the extra home game this time around to have a better shot at beating them. Also need to finish atop the division as finishing seeded #4 won't cut it in the Western playoffs.

I guess I don't understand why everybody thinks that the Sharks have owned us the last 2 years. We lost to them in 7 games last year. They won 3 of the 4 by 1 goal and two of those went to OT. The series easily could have gone either way. OT games are a coin flip. San Jose won 5 straight OT games in the playoffs last year. 5 straight OT games! Think about that. They went to the conference finals 2 years in a row and lost 4-0 in 2010 followed by 4-1 in 2011. Really, they are a good team but they got all the breaks and when it came down to it in the WCF, they got crushed.

I'm not afraid of the Sharks at all, especially with Niemi in goal. He had an .896 save percentage in the playoffs last year. He sucked against the Kings and Canucks but was unbeatable against us. The string of luck can't last forever.

[puckbags 863]

The ones who play physical.

esteef

Clearly this has scared this team for the last 20 years. Puck always moves faster so if we are working hard and moving the puck good it eliminates teams from the physical play. Plus we have always been disciplined and have proven time and time again that we won't fall for the stupid s***. I like PP's.

[GMRwings1983 8,802]

I guess I don't understand why everybody thinks that the Sharks have owned us the last 2 years. We lost to them in 7 games last year. They won 3 of the 4 by 1 goal and two of those went to OT. The series easily could have gone either way. OT games are a coin flip. San Jose won 5 straight OT games in the playoffs last year. 5 straight OT games! Think about that. They went to the conference finals 2 years in a row and lost 4-0 in 2010 followed by 4-1 in 2011. Really, they are a good team but they got all the breaks and when it came down to it in the WCF, they got crushed.

I'm not afraid of the Sharks at all, especially with Niemi in goal. He had an .896 save percentage in the playoffs last year. He sucked against the Kings and Canucks but was unbeatable against us. The string of luck can't last forever.

I hope Holland doesn't think like you, otherwise, he'll just put his feet up on the desk during the deadline and stare at the ceiling.

And the Wings have a crappy OT record in the last 10 playoff years. It's hardly a coin flip, as you put it. Some teams are better than others in that situation.

[Guest Crymson]

Clearly this has scared this team for the last 20 years. Puck always moves faster so if we are working hard and moving the puck good it eliminates teams from the physical play. Plus we have always been disciplined and have proven time and time again that we won't fall for the stupid s***. I like PP's.

Definitely this team was chock-full of gritty characters in 2002 and 2008.

I hope Holland doesn't think like you, otherwise, he'll just put his feet up on the desk during the deadline and stare at the ceiling.

And the Wings have a crappy OT record in the last 10 playoff years. It's hardly a coin flip, as you put it. Some teams are better than others in that situation.

The Wings` OT record in the post-lockout era is only slightly below .500. As for the OT losses against the Sharks, one was on an absurd bounce off of Stuart and the other was on a very lucky deflection off Zetterberg's stick. That's luck, not skill. But as usual, you're doing your best to sell the Wings short.

[Red Wings Addict 787]

The East

1. Pittsburgh

2. Boston

3. Washington (if they figure themselves out)

4. Philadelphia (only if Pronger is 100% and that doesn't seem likely)

Dark Horse: Florida

The West

- I feel like the top three shift between San Jose / Chicago / Vancouver and I'm not sure which one is first.

- Everybody else in the top 8 is a serious dark horse. It's ridiculous.

[Guest NeedMoreToughness]

Wings will never win against the Sharks with the current Roster.

[Wing Across The Pond 196]

So which team is most likely to keep the Wings from winning the Cup if they meet up in the playoffs? I would say in the West it's San Jose as the most dangerous b/c of how they seemed to have own the Wings the last 3 seasons and then after that I say the Hawks and then the Canucks even though they are not playing well they still can come to life when they want to. In the East the only team I fear is Pittsburgh b/c Gary Buttman will want to put the Cup in Cindy Crybaby's hands just like 2009 as any other team e.g. Bruins, Flyers the Wings can handle from the East.

With that being said it's a good idea for the Wings to get home ice all the way through this year b/c if they draw San Jose they need the extra home game this time around to have a better shot at beating them. Also need to finish atop the division as finishing seeded #4 won't cut it in the Western playoffs.

They were the second best team in the league in '09, for the second straight season, only behind the Wings. They wanted '09 more than we did after the win in '08. I'd still be scared of them as Crosby can change a game in the blink of an eye, regardless of what people think about him.

Sharks look like they can be undone this year after their roster changes but would still be pretty fearful of them. It's the mid-level teams that scare me. Not much to lose going into the playoffs. That being said, WE are also beginning to look far better than last year. So maybe some teams may be fearing us again.

[jvxp 0]

Wings will never win against the Sharks with the current Roster.

I agree by the time they face the sharks they are to beat up and to small.

[Seraph 240]

The old Ducks used to pound us pretty hard and we were pretty tattered and injured if we managed to get past them. Probably why we couldn't seal the deal in 2009.

[esteef 2,679]

Definitely this team was chock-full of gritty characters in 2002 and 2008.

Shanny, MAC, Fischer, Avery, Dallas Drake, Lilja, Downey, Chelios...

esteef

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

The old Ducks used to pound us pretty hard and we were pretty tattered and injured if we managed to get past them. Probably why we couldn't seal the deal in 2009.

Yeah, it really showed during that long and gritty series against Chicago.

[GMRwings1983 8,802]

Definitely this team was chock-full of gritty characters in 2002 and 2008.

The Wings` OT record in the post-lockout era is only slightly below .500. As for the OT losses against the Sharks, one was on an absurd bounce off of Stuart and the other was on a very lucky deflection off Zetterberg's stick. That's luck, not skill. But as usual, you're doing your best to sell the Wings short.

No, I'm just looking at our OT record and saying that it's subpar. You're the one making excuses for why i it is that way.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

The Sharks. We just can't beat them with this roster, we've shown that already. However our younger guys are starting to put the pieces together and Howard is a goalie who a team can ride to the Cup finals. We need a big physical presence up front, that can grind down the Sharks D and add an offensive presence as well. Who know's if he'd be available or not, but if we got Shane Doan and it didn't involve losing Fil, I'd be 100% confident with us against the Sharks. That's how close I feel we are, a piece or two away.

[Red Wings Addict 787]

The Sharks. We just can't beat them with this roster, we've shown that already. However our younger guys are starting to put the pieces together and Howard is a goalie who a team can ride to the Cup finals. We need a big physical presence up front, that can grind down the Sharks D and add an offensive presence as well. Who know's if he'd be available or not, but if we got Shane Doan and it didn't involve losing Fil, I'd be 100% confident with us against the Sharks. That's how close I feel we are, a piece or two away.

I completely agree. The Wings only need one of those type of guys to be up there with Pittsburgh, Boston and Chicago.

I'm trying to identify younger, perhaps not as polished versions of guys like Shane Doan, Ryane Clowe, Brooks Laich. I messaged Mack_Attack about how much the Maple Leafs value Nikolai Kulemin and it seems like they really want to keep him for a long time. Rats.

I'm not sure who else fits a younger version of that mold. But I imagine their transition with the team to be fairly smooth because the coaches will simply his role.

[Dimaline312000 51]

Sharks for sure in the West. East I'd have to say the Pens. However I think there are a lot of quality teams that once they get into the playoffs can be deadly for any team. The playoffs always bring the best out of a team; as it should be but there are some other teams that have enough talent to win on talent alone.