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Abel to Yzerman

Digging Monday

by IwoCPO on 04/28/08 at 03:52 AM ET
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The Diggers are feeling all retrospective.  They’re thinking about Round 1 at the SoGay and 1999 and 2001.  They’re unified, as usual, in their reporting this morning.  Each of them astute in their predictions that playing underneath the retired jersey of Dive legend Ray Bourque, the home team will most certainly provide a bit more resistance.

Kulfan

The Wings’ main concern heading into Tuesday’s game is to make sure the Avalanche don’t regain any hope.

“We don’t want to take anything for granted,” Osgood said. “It doesn’t matter who is in or out for them. It’s never easy, and we know that.”

A roaring Pepsi Center crowd and possibly seeing Forsberg and Hannan in the lineup should invigorate the Avalanche.

Oh, yes.  I’m pretty sure the Ass Can will be loud.  I have no doubt Forsberg will play.  Hannan probably has a broken foot, but he may be in there too because he’s a hockey player.  Even wearing a Dive uniform can’t completely change that.  Denver fans who haven’t lept off the wagon and focused on the Nuggets (woops, they’re getting swept too…shame), will be excited and optimistic and cheering and stuff.

The Wings?  History, unfortunately, tells us that if we’re going to be realistic here then let’s not be too hasty in boarding up the Stress Train.

Khan(!)

Lessons were learned, the Red Wings insist, after they stumbled in Nashville during the first round of the playoffs, enabling the Predators to tie the series.

They can’t allow the same thing to happen against the supposedly more formidable Colorado Avalanche.

Good job with the “supposedly”, Ansar.  Like that.  Let’s not forget that while the Wings lost 3 and 4 at the SoGay, 1 and 2 weren’t exactly cakewalks either.  Bubba may not have the potential firepower that Denver does, but they showed a lot more fortitude and a better team defense (plus much better goaltending) than the Dive have so far.

It’s difficult to think that the Wings don’t see the opportunity in front of them, to end this thing quickly, to take advantage of a team with fragile confidence, fragile health and an incredibly vulnerable starting goalie.  Scott Bowman, allegedly, gave quite a speech before a Game 6 long ago…one where he said it would have been a lifelong regret if the Wing team gathered in front of him didn’t take advantage of a situation where they could close out a group of scumbags wearing pastel colors.

Now that speech was after a blowout loss in Denver, not a dominating performance at home.  But the circumstances are similar. 

St. James

The Wings’ biggest advantage as they continue this series is how much they’ve learned from playoffs past: To not relax, to not let the other team back in; in other words, to build on the machine they’re beginning to resemble.

A machine from ten years ago maybe?  One that featured Chris Osgood in net, who defeated Dallas in the Conference Finals?  Similar to that team you mean?  Similar to those circumstances maybe?

Got it.

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Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977.  No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y.  Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation.  There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature.  Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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