I attended the Nashville game with my brother as I was visiting MI at the time. We called at 11am. There was no standing room left, but by some miracle we got two seats together (the only two available). Row 20 in the Preds end right in front of the luxury box. We got to see the Wings attacking twice.

Despite the loss, I have been telling everyone that this is the best game I have ever seen at the Joe including playoffs (I attended games 2 and 5 of the Vancouver series in ‘02). Regulation was up-tempo with lots of hitting. Much of the third period was a little more methodical and calculated as both teams played chess and tried not to make a mistake, but it opened up in the final minutes as you could tell Nashville wanted to to for 2 point and leave the Red Wings empty. The goaltending at both ends was superb (except for the shootout, and even then there were several perfect shots), but the highlight of the night was Stevie…

As a lifelong Stevie fan that moment when we all knew the Wings needed a goal to stay alive but nobody knew who the next shooter would be…and then the Captain skated out to center ice (almost like Jesus Christ coming to save us), was incredible. You could just imagine the Predators on the bench going “oh man, he’s not going to miss this”. That’s made it even more incredible because you just KNEW he wasn’t going to miss. He couldn’t miss. It wasn’t allowed. He HAD to make it. I believe my exact words after he scored were, “no WAY did I just get to see that in person!”.

What a night. Too bad Shanny couldn’t put it away, and that Babcock apparently can’t read jersey names (Lang/Holmstom…easy to confuse).

You talk about being impressed with Legace but it’s no different on the other end. We’re just as impressed with Vokoun. It’s scary how he’s bounced back after that bad stretch last month. I don’t like the idea of facing him in the playoffs.

You saw the Wings’ “A” game, for the most part, last night. But, like any team, they have their “C” and “D” game. It’s just more random than most. We’re hoping it doesn’t come out in the playoffs. That would be most inconvenient.

You’re exactly right about the cause for the Preds’ rise. Hopefully we’ll have a lot of years of fierce competion. I’d hate to see either team fall off. I hardly think about the Blues any more.

Well, Kirk wasn’t that much in the crease! He certainly wouldn’t have had any contact with Vokoun if Vokoun hadn’t stuck his leg out! That call could have gone either way. Vokoun needs to learn to keep his temper under wraps because that call may go to him next time he does something like that and as good as he is, compromising his team like that won’t be appreciated.

Sorry about the name miss-spellings. I really do know how to spell them, I was just writing that in a hurry. Really!

I don’t mind Hartnell being a thorn in our side so much as his penchant for running into our goalies. Every rivarly needs players to hate and he’s just another on the list. Just stay away from the goalies, Scott.

What, you haven’t given up hope for the Division lead? It’d take a pretty big slide for the Wings to fall out of it now, Jason. Both teams have a fairly light schedule remaining, except the two they have against each other. I think you’ll have to resign yourself to playing #5 (enjoy it, the Wings’ll be facing a team that fought down the stretch for it’s spot and a team that will have momentum and adrenalin on its side - not fun).

Your blog is missed, man!

Last night’s game was one of the most exciting I’ve seen in a long time. If the playoffs are anywhere near this good I’ll be a very happy camper. I’ve got several points I want to touch on here so I’ll just do quick bursts.

Shootout performance last night notwithstanding, I have to say just how impressed I’ve been with Manny Legace every time I’ve seen him this year (including once at the GEC in Nashville). It’s great to see a guy that many knocked in the past as not being starter material do well in this league.

Also on the Detroit side, your team is just a machine. Absolutely incredible in almost every facet of the game. The thing that sticks out to me the most is just how precise they are with their passing and how well they forecheck. If I were an opposing goalie, the thought of facing Pavel Datsyuk alone would give me nightmares. Put him with 19 other skilled players? Ugh - let’s not even think about that.

There’s only one downside in the package for Detroit fans: being continually tested against the best team in the league, year after year, has made the Predators a hungry team that’s getting notceably better every season. There’s nothing like playing against the best to help you become the best. Any stumble on your team’s part is going to lead to seeing Nashville become the perennial division champion.

About the goaltender interference call: Yeah, Vokoun tripped him, and I cracked up when he did it. But when you said, “A BS call if you ask me, Vokoun clearly stuck his knee out as Maltby skated through the top of the crease (where he shouldn’t have been anyway but that’s beside the point!)” - the fact that Maltby shouldn’t have been in the crease in the first place was the point.

A few notes on some of the Predators’ players’ names: it’s Jordin Tootoo, not Jordan, and it’s Kimmo Timonen, not Kimo Timonenn.

“The punk!” Man, I cracked up every time I read this. I think it’s great when I read a fan of my favorite team’s biggest rival hating Scott Hartnell. I love watching that kid play. He’s tenacious, he’s strong, he’s quicker than most people give him credit fo being, he’s skilled, and he’s got enough of a mean streak to rile the opposition. He and Scottie Upshall are the future star forwards of this franchise, and knowing that he’s a huge thorn in the side for those in Detroit can only bring a smile to my face.
Good luck to you as your team tries to hold Nashville off to claim #1 - I’m going to enjoy following this race as I’m on the road.