Checking up on the Wings website and reading some of the comments about some of the stories. I am a Wings fan, as well as Tigers and UM. I love the NHL playoffs and watch quite a few of the games, at least bits and pieces, but I always watch the Wings, regular season or playoffs. I had some comments about the Wings, but the website will not let me post them for some reason, so I decided to post here instead.
The Wings have heart, they just hold back because they have to. Look how many penalties they had called on them game 1 that were not penalties!! The PP goal that tied the game, there was no penalty, just acting. Wings get nailed for lousy penalties all the time, ESPECIALLY in the playoffs. They have to stay out of the box because their PP kill isn't that great, hasn't been all year. So they back off a little bit, playing cautious so they don't get a penalty. That's why San Jose keeps getting those 50/50 pucks. Stop playing scared and just play your game. They did better game 3, outhitting the Sharks and it showed with the goals they scored.
Problem isn't Howard. First 4 goals he gave up, how many of those goals were lucky, fluke goals that ANY goalie would've given up? at least 3 out of the 4. 2 of those 4 goals hit OUR OWN players sticks, when we weren't even trying to knock the pucks down. Puck slapped out of the air in game 1 OT. Puck bounces off his shoulder and barely goes in. Howard has done his job for us to be up 3-0, if not 2-1. Playing Ozzy sounds appealing, yes, but when was the last time he played? Is he healthy enough to jump right into the playoffs? Is he even on the roster right now? The last thing you want to do is put in a guy who hasn't played a single game in 3 or 4 months to bring you back from a 3-0 hole. I think Ozzy could do it, but that's more pressure than just being down 3-0.
Someone commented on another story about the Wings not having the offense to win this year. They have the offense. They were 2nd in Goals For in the entire NHL, only one goal behind Vancuver, who ran away with the Pres Trophy. Problem all season was defense and PK. They gave up the most goals of any playoff team. They gave up one more goal than Tampa Bay, so 16th out of 16 teams in Goals Against.
The Wings have great defensemen, they just play too cautious at times and that's what costs them. It's not lack of Offense. They typically gett off 35 + shots/game and give up 30 or less/game. Most games they outshoot by 5 shots or more, even in losses. They don't get the big guys in front of the net to push around on D, they play cautious and don't go after enough loose pucks. Unless they can fix those problems NOW, we're lucky to make it to game 6
