I'm not sure why Nashville is getting any credit for being a physical team
They were ranked 3rd last in the NHL overall and 2nd worst in the NHL at home when it comes to hits.
The Wings out hit them by 98 hits on the season.
Trust me, we haven't been a physical team this year. Gaustad and Tootoo yes, everyone else, not so much. This will come down to energy, not big hits I think.
With a $60m+ cap? Nope. There aren't many, but there are goalies worth that much. Lundqvist and Rinne are two. Brodeur used to be, but he's old and might not have it anymore.
Nope. Still too much for a goalie. Look at it this way, lets say the Preds spent 3m on a goalie instead of 7m and they spent 7m on a forward instead of 3m. What happens if Rinne has a bad series? What happens if the 7m forward has a bad series?
If Rinne has a bad series, the Preds most likely lose. If the 7m forward has a bad series? Maybe he only scores a goal and has some turnovers. But it isn't a death sentence. We've seen too much that a good team can make cheaper goalies look just as good as Rinne. Rinne's year isn't very different than 6-8 goalies in the league. I can list them if you want.
Lundqvist is my favorite goalie and in my mind the best goalie in the world. I still wouldn't want him on the Wings for 7m a year.
Hudler has played bigger than he is for most of the last half of the season. and had 4 points in 6 games against Nashville this season. Datsyuk is only 2 inch's taller and 12 pounds heavier, yet i have heard no one talk about him getting man handled. and its because it is now well established that he play's bigger.
If you are implying that Datsyuk plays as soft as Hudler and gets 'manhandled' you are a little off base
Kariya was their highest paid player when he signed, Arnott signed a hefty contract based on one season, and Forsberg was traded there.
None of those are exactly exceptions to what the poster previous was talking about.
It hasn't been my impression that this is a major issue in Nashville these days. Budget was probably the single biggest detriment in past years, not necessarily location-- along the lines of say Edmonton or potentially Winnipeg going forward. Players like going to a place that's huge/well-established (also meaning deep pockets) so NYR always seems a favorite. A lot of Eastern Conf guys want to stay east due to the travel. Then there's climate, which helps some of the Cali or FL teams, for example.
It's not like Detroit is never a victim of these things either. Wiz said he thought players expected Detroit to ask for too big of discount. We'll lose Stuart because his California wife finds excuses to not move.
I really respect Nashville and would not at all be stunned if they won.
Having said that, I am really a bit shocked that the vast majority of so-called experts on NHL.com, ESPN.com, etc., are going with the Predators.
I would think a series that looked like a coin flip on paper would have more people picking the Wings.
Regardless, I think the Wings will win this in 6 or 7 because I think they have more gamechangers on offense.
Every analyst I've heard/read gives the explination of Nashville grinding poor, soft, not to mention old, Detroit into the ground; Detroit has no chance. But we're Detroit, so we'll make it a series at least.
On the bright side, they pretty much pimped Howard, so there's that at least.
Looking at those hit stats, I think they might want to recheck their reasoning. They can still say Nashville, but smashing Detroit to death? We all know Detroit plays more physical in the playoffs than in the regular season. Maybe Nashville does too, but I don't think Nashville will steam roll the Wings.
It hasn't been my impression that this is a major issue in Nashville these days. Budget was probably the single biggest detriment in past years, not necessarily location-- along the lines of say Edmonton or potentially Winnipeg going forward. Players like going to a place that's huge/well-established (also meaning deep pockets) so NYR always seems a favorite. A lot of Eastern Conf guys want to stay east due to the travel. Then there's climate, which helps some of the Cali or FL teams, for example.
It's not like Detroit is never a victim of these things either. Wiz said he thought players expected Detroit to ask for too big of discount. We'll lose Stuart because his California wife finds excuses to not move.
I'm not saying they won't be able to afford anybody. I'm just dispelling the notion that Nashville can easily sign players for less than market value. It isn't that easy with the amount of parity in the league and Nashville just isn't a hot-team for free agents just yet.
no i wasn't implying that i was stating they're not that different in size 2 in and 12 pounds. but saying that the last half Hudler is taking steps to play bigger. like Datsyuk has been doing for years. Datsyuk very rarely gets manhandled and its because he plays bigger.
I'll be cheering for the Wings but it's going to be really difficult for Detroit to win in my opinion.
Nashville is going to park the U.S.S. Hal Gill in front of Rinne (who is massive himself) and the chance of pucks getting through will be very small so that over the course of a long series it will be extremely difficult for the Red Wings to score consistently and that's not even factoring in Weber and Suter.
Montreal did the same thing last year with Gill playing in front of Price who is 6-4 or so and there's only so much a team can do when there is so much mass in front of the net.
Correct. Arnott, Kariya, and Forsberg were absolute horrible players.
Forsberg was pretty much done by the time he was traded to Nashville, and Arnott's and Kariya's best days were also well behind them.
I disagree with the poster you quoted about no one ever wanting to sign there though. They may be able to get top free agents some day, but they are going to need to win first, and then they'll have an easier time getting prime free agents to sign there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heaton
Nope. Still too much for a goalie. Look at it this way, lets say the Preds spent 3m on a goalie instead of 7m and they spent 7m on a forward instead of 3m. What happens if Rinne has a bad series? What happens if the 7m forward has a bad series?
If Rinne has a bad series, the Preds most likely lose. If the 7m forward has a bad series? Maybe he only scores a goal and has some turnovers. But it isn't a death sentence. We've seen too much that a good team can make cheaper goalies look just as good as Rinne. Rinne's year isn't very different than 6-8 goalies in the league. I can list them if you want.
Lundqvist is my favorite goalie and in my mind the best goalie in the world. I still wouldn't want him on the Wings for 7m a year.
Most goalies, you'd be right about - goalies are so flaky from season to season it's not smart to invest huge money there. But for a guy that is in the top 5 every single year, a guy you know is going to give you 70 starts and end up as a Vezina finalist, 7 mil a year is not unreasonable.
Rinne has started off with two pretty good seasons followed by two great seasons. For a guy like Lundqvist, the argument is even easier to make. He's been in the league 7 years and he's never had a bad year. His seasons have all ranged from very good to great.
And the "bad series" argument doesn't work either - a top goalie is much, much more likely to have a good series than some random cheap goalie. Do you think the Panthers feel great about their goaltending heading into the playoffs? How about the Hawks? Do the Yotes really buy Mike Smith as a series-changing goalie?
There's not much difference between the Niemis and the Vokouns and the Andersons. But when it comes to those top few guys - Lundqvist, maybe Fleury, maybe Thomas, formerly (still?) Brodeur - those guys are worth more. They're much more likely to turn in a series that's good or better. Those guys are definitely worth 10% of your cap.
i think the Wings can win.....but they are gonna need some huge performances. I expect Dats and Z to be themselves to to me it starts in net, Howard has to outplay Rinne, Franzen has to come to play EVERY game. Hudler and Flip have to be a factor, the team needs it top 2 lines playing with lots of energy and be a threat to score. Timely goals from the bottom 6
I think the D pairings are good, Kronwall and Stuart seem to step up in the playoffs, Lids makes Ericcson so much better. And White-Quincey is a solid 5/6 who can pitch in.
But most important this team has to pay the price, The Preds lead the NHL in goals from blueliners. The Wings are going to need to block shot, lay infront of the Weber cannon. i know easier said than done, but that's why i said they have to pay the price. Take the check to make the pass, get infront of the cannon, win the little battles. They have to want it more, it's that simple, the days of winning on talent alone are gone.
Twelve ESPN experts picked the winners in every NHL first-round playoff series, and all but one went with the Predators over the Wings. Only Linda Cohn said the Wings would take the series.
i think the Wings can win.....but they are gonna need some huge performances. I expect Dats and Z to be themselves to to me it starts in net, Howard has to outplay Rinne, Franzen has to come to play EVERY game. Hudler and Flip have to be a factor, the team needs it top 2 lines playing with lots of energy and be a threat to score. Timely goals from the bottom 6
I think the D pairings are good, Kronwall and Stuart seem to step up in the playoffs, Lids makes Ericcson so much better. And White-Quincey is a solid 5/6 who can pitch in.
But most important this team has to pay the price, The Preds lead the NHL in goals from blueliners. The Wings are going to need to block shot, lay infront of the Weber cannon. i know easier said than done, but that's why i said they have to pay the price. Take the check to make the pass, get infront of the cannon, win the little battles. They have to want it more, it's that simple, the days of winning on talent alone are gone.
LETS GO LETS ****ING GO!!!
actually the Wings lead the NHL in Goals from the blueline with 49. Nashville has 48
and by that i mean players on the current team with goals so i add Quincy's 7 goals from the whole season.
The two ways they win this series...for one, they have to win at least one on the road and two, keep their power play at bay or stay out of the box. More than likely, they'll take penalties...and try to weather the storm in Music City when they're shorthanded. The Preds power play is my #1 fear of this series. I'd be stunned if Nashville converts on at least 20% and the Wings somehow win the series.
This isn't Phoenix from the last two years with all due respect to Dave Tippett, who I think is a top 5 coach in the league. The Preds aren't playoff greenhorns. They won a series last year and had Vancouver against the ropes...and that was with a much less potent team in front of Rinne. This is the best team they've taken into a playoff. It's going to take maximum effort from the Wings on the road to steal a game or two. Basically every series to the end, they won't have home ice...they need to get it done on the road.
I think goaltending is a draw, both netminders are solid playoff goalies...no edge to either team and I wouldn't expect Rinne to have any clunkers like Bryzgalov had the last two years. These teams no each other well and based on recent matchups, Nashville has looked like the superior team. I think the Preds finally break through against the Wings in the playoffs but I hope I'm proven wrong. I put this series a slight tick below the degree of difficulty of beating San Jose these past two years.
I think they should start by trying not to give up any goals while on the PP. Step two would be trying to actually score on the PP...
Yeah, they'll get swept if they give up more shorties than they score on the PP. I give them credit for rebounding in the Blues game where they gave up two back-breaking goals and salvaged two points. The responses will be the key to mistakes...don't turn one mistake into a tidal wave.
