Rite of Spring 2013 (NHL Playoffs): "You have no fear of the underdog, that's why you will not survive."

[DaRadniz29]

Oh hai win over the Kings. Keep it up Blues.

Still not over yet. A series doesn't begin until someone gets one on the road.

Let me say this: for all the sloppiness the Kings have committed, the Blues have identified a way out of Sutter's suffocation stick-check defense, and I'm impressed with the maturity of Brian Elliott, especially on three Kings breakaways. St. Louis has a solid groove going, but let's see if they can continue that trend in Southern California, or else it'll be a best 2-of-3 back to Missouri. Congrats on holding serve on home ice.

Can't wait for Saturday's monumental Game 3; here's to chewing my fingernails until then.

I think this is most overused phrase in the NHL and NBA playoffs. I get what is meant by that saying because if the home team wins all games then the higher seed and typically the favored team will win the series. But if you took it literally that means that technically the Blackhawks/Wild series, Blues/Kings series, Pens/Isles series and Bruins/Maple Leafs series don't really count. Obviously I'm being somewhat sarcastic, but I don't really like that saying and all eight series have started.

Also bracket updated. Blues score in the last minute of regulation to go up 2-0. Red Wings squander 3-goal lead, but win in OT. Didn't get to see the Ducks/Red Wings third period or Overtime, I was watching the Warriors give the Nuggets every opportunity and then some to come back and beat em, and still won.

[drdougfresh]

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

I wouldn't start bragging now... the Wings BARELY won.

Last time I checked, barely doesn't matter. Win's a win.

Dekeyser out for the year really stings, though. He's been playing great for a rook.

[GFB]

Barrett Jackass

herpa derpa doo

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

I wouldn't start bragging now... the Wings BARELY won.

Less of a brag, more of a dig at how the Ducks' "leaders" behave. Hell, I just saw the great cancer survivor and "inspirational" leader Sakku Koivu get a penalty for taking a run at Zetterberg after the period ended. As if that weren't enough, I watched Lady Bing winner and legendary NHL good-guy Teemu Selanne take a 2-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing 2 blindsided punches at a rookie.

If those two guys are now acting like this, that must be some dressing room environment.

[Still MIGHTY]

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

You're joking right? You must me joking? Surely you jest?

Hey, refs. If you're not going to call anything in the final minute (i.e. Kronwall's form tackle on Palmieri) THEN YOU DON'T ING CALL ANYTHING. (i.e. Souray's little sword fight with whom the hell ever was spearing him in the jock strap.)

Incredible comeback. What an effort. What fight. The big guns finally came to play. Getzlaf. Ryan. Perry had the opportunities. Hiller let in a couple softies (Want to play for the first minute of each period next time boys? Thatd be great) but was again phenomenal in the 3rd. Really made some incredible stops to keep the Ducks in it. After that pretty rough first period, the Ducks were the better team. And after this game, I am more than convinced that the Ducks really are the better team in this series and they'll win this series.

Get back at it on Saturday in their barn, boys. Let's Go Ducks.

[Funky Bunky]

Barrett Jackass

herpa derpa doo

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

I wouldn't start bragging now... the Wings BARELY won.

Less of a brag, more of a dig at how the Ducks' "leaders" behave. Hell, I just saw the great cancer survivor and "inspirational" leader Sakku Koivu get a penalty for taking a run at Zetterberg after the period ended. As if that weren't enough, I watched Lady Bing winner and legendary NHL good-guy Teemu Selanne take a 2-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing 2 blindsided punches at a rookie.

If those two guys are now acting like this, that must be some dressing room environment.

You're quite pathetic. It's not like the Wings are saints... with Kronwall TACKLING people, and Abdelkader spearing people in the ball sack! You guys also employ a well known cheapshotting turtle in Jordin Tootoo, and Todd Bertuzzi, who almost murdered a guy on the ice.

If anything, the Ducks are the ones with the superior leadership. They came back after trailing 4-1, to force overtime. Your team simply choked, and if not for a crappy call and subsequent poor play by Lovejoy/Allen, I'd believe the Wings would be down 2-0 right now.

Whatever makes you feel better about yourself and your team, though. Saturday will be here, and we'll see who truly has balls.

[Still MIGHTY]

Oh and while we're on the topic of leaders:

[Funky Bunky]

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

I wouldn't start bragging now... the Wings BARELY won.

Last time I checked, barely doesn't matter. Win's a win.

Dekeyser out for the year really stings, though. He's been playing great for a rook.

"Barely" as in, barely came through with the win. I know a win's a win, but you don't make digs or brag when you just barely win.

It's like gloating about scoring with an ugly chick. Sure, you got some, but you're not in a position to get cocky. I wouldn't get cocky after my team lost a 3 goal lead.

[Funky Bunky]

Oh and while we're on the topic of leaders:

Too bad the Wings couldn't draw our good ol' friend Dustin. I'd like to see how Wings fans would react to that .

[drdougfresh]

Barrett Jackass

herpa derpa doo

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

I wouldn't start bragging now... the Wings BARELY won.

Less of a brag, more of a dig at how the Ducks' "leaders" behave. Hell, I just saw the great cancer survivor and "inspirational" leader Sakku Koivu get a penalty for taking a run at Zetterberg after the period ended. As if that weren't enough, I watched Lady Bing winner and legendary NHL good-guy Teemu Selanne take a 2-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing 2 blindsided punches at a rookie.

If those two guys are now acting like this, that must be some dressing room environment.

You're quite pathetic. It's not like the Wings are saints... with Kronwall :censored:ing TACKLING people, and Abdelkader spearing people in the ball sack! (and Selanne was reciprocating for DeKeyser's run at him)

Kronwall and Abdelkader aren't captains. Also, who has a dirtier reputation around the league (please remove your homer glasses prior to answering): Kronwall/Abdelkader, or Perry/Getzlaf?

Also, there seem to be a lot of ifs and buts in your rebuttals -- but at the end of the day, guess what? Wings won. That's all that matters. If you scored 5 first, you would've won -- and if money grew on trees, we'd all be rich. But if the weak refutations make you feel better about losing, then by all means...

[Funky Bunky]

Barrett Jackass

herpa derpa doo

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

I wouldn't start bragging now... the Wings BARELY won.

Less of a brag, more of a dig at how the Ducks' "leaders" behave. Hell, I just saw the great cancer survivor and "inspirational" leader Sakku Koivu get a penalty for taking a run at Zetterberg after the period ended. As if that weren't enough, I watched Lady Bing winner and legendary NHL good-guy Teemu Selanne take a 2-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing 2 blindsided punches at a rookie.

If those two guys are now acting like this, that must be some dressing room environment.

You're quite pathetic. It's not like the Wings are saints... with Kronwall :censored:ing TACKLING people, and Abdelkader spearing people in the ball sack! (and Selanne was reciprocating for DeKeyser's run at him)

Kronwall and Abdelkader aren't captains. Also, who has a dirtier reputation around the league (please remove your homer glasses prior to answering): Kronwall/Abdelkader, or Perry/Getzlaf?

Also, there seem to be a lot of ifs and buts in your rebuttals -- but at the end of the day, guess what? Wings won. That's all that matters. If you scored 5 first, you would've won -- and if money grew on trees, we'd all be rich. But if the weak refutations make you feel better about losing, then by all means...

Perry's not a captain, and I believe Kronwall has an A on his sweater, does he not? .... I'd say Kronwall and Perry are pretty equal (Kronwall with his elbows and hits where he jumps 5 feet in the air, and Perry with this crease antics). Getzlaf and Abdelkader are obviously not the same as the first two, but BOTH can get chippy. (and if you don't believe me on Kronwall, you need to take YOUR homer glasses off)

Also, I'm not saying the Wings didn't win, they were the better team for the first 45 minutes, and they did in fact win. That's not what I'm saying though... What I am saying though, is that it's pretty dumb to get cocky after that performance to end the game. I didn't come in here after game 1 and start spewing .

[drdougfresh]

Yeah, still not used to him being an alternate. Whoops. Point still stands, regardless of captaincy status though. I'd say Perry/Getzlaf are more in a leadership role on their team than Kronwall and (most certainly) Abdelkader are. That's what I was getting at. And let's be honest, the Red Wings and 'dirty team' rarely if at all belong in the same sentence.

[habsfan1]

Last time I checked, barely doesn't matter. Win's a win.

It does matter. A win is a win, but when the game is that close, it sets a way different tone for next game.

[Kramerica Industries]

That would mean more to me if the next game were in Anaheim.

As it is, the venue shifts. Now the Wings fans become the background. And I seldom think momentum carries so easily when it's the first venue-shift in a series. For Anaheim, that was a spirited comeback with Bobby Ryan absolutely doing work in that 3rd period. But it's still a missed opportunity to complete the comeback and defend the home ice. Can Anaheim take a game (or two) in Detroit? Of course. But I'd be surprised if the end of Game 2 played any impact on Game 3.

[dbadefense1990]

Oh and while we're on the topic of leaders:

It's like karma or the hockey Gods (or maybe both) are finally punishing the Kings after being so gracious to them in last year's title run. It's been the Blues with the better tactics and the more clutch performances, with the Kings getting nervous, jittery and performing boneheaded, and costly, mistakes this time around. Last year, the switch was flipped.

[drdougfresh]

That would mean more to me if the next game were in Anaheim.

As it is, the venue shifts. Now the Wings fans become the background. And I seldom think momentum carries so easily when it's the first venue-shift in a series. For Anaheim, that was a spirited comeback with Bobby Ryan absolutely doing work in that 3rd period. But it's still a missed opportunity to complete the comeback and defend the home ice. Can Anaheim take a game (or two) in Detroit? Of course. But I'd be surprised if the end of Game 2 played any impact on Game 3.

Exactly. Had Anaheim completed that comeback, I'd be getting ready for an early exit.

[CS85]

Just saw the Gryba his on Eller. That was sickening.

[NEW.ERA]

So on top of Eller being gone for probably the series. Habs now down Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta for tonight per Elliotte Friedman.

Must be pretty bad if it requires you to miss Game 2 of the Playoffs.

[GFB]

Barrett Jackass

herpa derpa doo

Poor Duckies. Good thing they have the leadership to comeback from this...

I wouldn't start bragging now... the Wings BARELY won.

Less of a brag, more of a dig at how the Ducks' "leaders" behave. Hell, I just saw the great cancer survivor and "inspirational" leader Sakku Koivu get a penalty for taking a run at Zetterberg after the period ended. As if that weren't enough, I watched Lady Bing winner and legendary NHL good-guy Teemu Selanne take a 2-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing 2 blindsided punches at a rookie.

If those two guys are now acting like this, that must be some dressing room environment.

You're quite pathetic. It's not like the Wings are saints... with Kronwall TACKLING people, and Abdelkader spearing people in the ball sack! You guys also employ a well known cheapshotting turtle in Jordin Tootoo, and Todd Bertuzzi, who almost murdered a guy on the ice.

If anything, the Ducks are the ones with the superior leadership. They came back after trailing 4-1, to force overtime. Your team simply choked, and if not for a crappy call and subsequent poor play by Lovejoy/Allen, I'd believe the Wings would be down 2-0 right now.

Whatever makes you feel better about yourself and your team, though. Saturday will be here, and we'll see who truly has balls.

Nice composed reaction... just like how your team would respond.

[The Six]

Where was this GFB guy after Game 1?

[GFB]

There was nothing to say after game 1. The Wings had no offense and the Ducks deserved to win. It was also a relatively boring hockey game from a viewer standpoint.

And are you Ducks fans really THAT sensitive to one little picture that started it all? Canucks fans have thicker skin.