::Doing victory dance with Falc::
I respectfully beg to differ.
True, Patrick Lalime has no playoff experience. But he has been a wall between the pipes, setting franchise records when he was only supposed to be the second-string goalie… He’s been a success because he frequently defies expectations.
And although I can’t predict what kind of shape he’s going to be in come Friday, CuJo wasn’t exactly on fire when I saw them play here Saturday.
Ottawa has swept Toronto this season, 5-0 record for 2000-2001. I say Ottawa in six.
Mind you, I AM biased…
Go Sens!
I now name you as a fellow Devil worshipper
I say they’ll bag the 'Canes in 5.
Tripler
Others beat me to it, but I just want to point out that just because the Red Wings trademarked “Hockeytown” doesn’t make it so. That title goes somewhere north of the border.
That being said: Let’s Go Caps! I’m feeling good about the Halpern-Dahlen-Konawalchuk line against Lemieux and Jagr – the brothers mullet (I know they cut their mullets but they still wore them well into the '90’s).
Speaking as a Montrealer… Please, oh God, don’t let us win… please oh please… our city could not withstand another win…
(we Montrealers seem love to trash our city when we win)
Detroit’s north of Canada so I have no idea what you’re talking aboot, eh.
<sigh> I would really love to disagree with you here, donnie; I had such high hopes for the Leafs at the start of the season, but they just haven’t been there often enough.
But I can still hope against hope that CuJo can pull off another miracle. Please God - I was two years old the last time the Leafs won the Cup, and my son is now almost two; we deserve it more than once per generation, don’t we?
So:
[sub]go leafs go[/sub]?
But failing a miracle on par with the parting of the Red Sea, I’d kinda like to see Super Mario and the Penguins drink from Lord Stanley’s Grail once again.
It’s north of the border?
[last hijack on this otherwise wonderful thread]
Yes, I have to travel south/southeast on the bridge or tunnel to get to Windsor. The border winds south because of that funny little pennisula in Ontario. Overall, Canada is north of Detroit but Detroit’s border with Canada runs south of the city.
[/last hijack]
[last hijack 
on this otherwise wonderful thread]
Yes, I have to travel south/southeast on the bridge or tunnel to get to Windsor. The border winds south because of that funny little pennisula in Ontario. Overall, Canada is north of Detroit but Detroit’s border with Canada runs south of the city.
[/last hijack]
Well, if we’re going to debate whether Detroit is north or south of the border, I’ll throw in a quick defense. All of Canada is north of the border, just as all of the US is south of the border by definition. The border is different from the geographic location of parts of the countries.
Of course, regardless of semantics, Detroit is still south of Hockeytown – Montreal. Of course, the Habs currently suck, but they’ve stockpiled a lot of Cups.
I don’t want to turn this into the first hockey-lovers thread ever moved from MPSIMS to Great Debates, BUT …
I acknowledge the greatness of hockey cities such as Montreal and Toronto. I don’t think either, however, surpasses the love the city of Detroit, the metropolitan Detroit area, and the state of Michigan has for the Red Wings. I don’t think either surpasses the knowledge level of the fans, or crowd noise, or following elsewhere throughout the entire NHL. (Yes, I know they are followed all throughout Canada. I haven’t heard a “Let’s Go Canadiens” chant in Phoenix recently, however, or heard Leafs fans drown out the crowd noise of home crowds in Carolina, Tampa Bay or Nashville.)
Further, I think Montreal’s fans in recent years have been a divisive influence on their team, the fans and media helping to create an atmosphere leading to a revolving door of coaches and general managers, pushing for more French-Canadian players (as if that matters), etc. They certainly seem to be rather love-hate with their Habs.
As for other U.S. teams rivaling Detroit as hockey capital of America? Please. Name one U.S. city besides Motown where hockey is unquestionably the Number One sport, the city’s sports passion? (Close but no cigar, Boston.)
Then factoring in the knowledge base of fans, their enthusiasm, storied history of the franchise, etc., knocks out all the newcomer cities where hockey is the only game in town.
All that said, I don’t really like that Detroit has developed kind of an America’s-team, Dallas Cowboys, Notre Dame following throughout the country. I lived and died with the Wings from the time I could walk. I watched every televised game back when they went a decade without even making the playoffs, back when almost everybody did, even moreso than now.
If some of the bandwagon fans fell away, it would make it a helluva lot easier to get tickets.
P.S. Throwing an octopus on the ice during the playoffs is the coolest, weirdest fan tradition for any team, in any sport, in any country. Period.
Rant over.
You make some good points, Milo. I would say Detroit is the biggest hockey city in the US. But I think some of your points need to be discussed.
Detroit is currently a successful club and Montreal is not. It stands to reason that fans in Montreal are going to be more pissed. A better comparison can be made when both teams are either good or bad. That also gets into why you never hear “Let’s Go Canadiens” in Phoenix – the Habs suck so they don’t have as many fair weather fans (and please note that I’m not implying that all Wings fans are fair weather fans.) A lot of those people cheering for the Wings probably justify their fandom because their Spanish teacher’s cousin’s mechanic’s father-in-law lived in Detroit – the same crap you got with the Chicago Bulls (whose fan base has mysteriously dried up).
And this only matters if the “Hockeytown” title is given based on fan support. I would have to say the Canadiens have a richer hockey tradition. I don’t particularly like the Habs (or Wings) but that’s my outsider’s view. I’m not saying Detroit doesn’t have a great tradition, but I’ve got to give it to Montreal on this one.
But my post is so mundane and pointless that it shouldn’t be moved to Great Debates.
** Dewt **, you’re safe. Gotta be in it to win it, and you ain’t. Your team sucks. I’m a Ranger fan, so I know sucks.
** Trip **, I’ll buy you a drink next time you’re in the area if you win. You lose, you buy me one.
**Milo **- want 3 reasons hockey is #1 in Detroit? Here they are:
1) The Lions
2) The Tigers
3) The Pistons
Just wanted to point out that has only recently become common to call Detroit ‘Hockeytown’. The title that I had always heard was ‘Hockeytown U.S.A.’ Which was more or less accepting the fact that Montreal does have the greater tradition(at least for a little while longer). Accepting that it it Hockeytown U.S.A, Detroit is the only contender for the title.
Make it six or seven either way, and you got a deal.
Tripler
Go Devils!!
I seriously doubt that the love much of Ontario has for the Leafs can be surpassed, same with Quebec’s love for the Canadiens.
The only reason that there are Red Wings fans everywhere is due to the fact that there are so many people that have fleed the cesspool that is Detroit.
And I didn’t realize that crowd noise was a sign of good fans. I thought that was a sign of drunk fans.
The entire state of Minnesota has a hockey jones that won’t quit. OF course their love for the game starts at the grass-roots level with high school hockey and probably nothing surpasses the Gophers for popularity in the state.
This I will agree with.
Detroit is not even Hockeytown, USA. That is Warroad, MN.
Go Kings!!!
Go Sabres!!!
Setroit is not even Hockeytown, USA. That is Warroad, MN.
Go Kings!!!
Go Sabres!!!
Funny you should mention worship, my fathers house has a shrine to Martin Brodeur