fuck history, fuck curses, put yourself in the best position to win it all, and this season, and for the past, count them, 22 straight times, home is the place to be for the wings.

I agree we had the most points in 2007-08 season... But sometimes......

01-02 Pres and Stanley also. Wings more likely to win Stanley w/ Pres but people tend to prefer the curse theory.

Given our home record, it would be silly NOT to want the extra home game in every series. Curses are crap, Wings already won before with the President's Cup. I would love to have both the home ice and psychological advantage our record win streak provides come playoff time.

Don't care one bit about the presidents trophy i don't think its a curse or a blessing. Home games in the playoffs would be nice given the wings home record, but the playoffs are a whole different animal and in the past few years home ice really hasn't seemed to mean a lot to winning it all.

What i do want to see is the wings playing at a high level in the last two weeks of the season. Esp Howard, the way to win in the playoffs is to get hot at the right time and a hot goal tender can win games that teams have no business of winning.

The presidents trophy obviously would be beneficial since the wings have been playing so good at home, but of they are going to win the Stanely Cup they will need to win games on the road..therefor if they happen to win it that's good, but I don't want them to wear themselves out trying to get 1st place. As long as they are playing solid hockey come PO time I like their chances to make a run this year.

tbone413 said:

The presidents trophy obviously would be beneficial since the wings have been playing so good at home, but of they are going to win the Stanely Cup they will need to win games on the road..therefor if they happen to win it that's good, but I don't want them to wear themselves out trying to get 1st place. As long as they are playing solid hockey come PO time I like their chances to make a run this year.

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Actually, if they win the Presidents Trophy, they DON'T have to win on the road in order to take home the cup. That's the whole point. It would be nice if the Wings were better on the road (not that they are terrible), but as long as they have home court, the advantage is immense.

Obviously they don't technically have to win on the road but if the wings have to go to game 7 every round they are not going to win the Cup. The playoffs are a different animal, a team WILL come in and win atleast one game at the Joe- then the wing will have to dig in and win on the road (something they haven't been very good at this season).

Of course it's an advantage to get home ice throughout the playoffs but it's not worth a damn if the Wings wear themselves out trying to accomplish it. All it takes is one fluke win at the Joe and all that hard work to get home ice advantage is thrown out the window.

tbone413 said:

Obviously they don't technically have to win on the road but if the wings have to go to game 7 every round they are not going to win the Cup. The playoffs are a different animal, a team WILL come in and win atleast one game at the Joe- then the wing will have to dig in and win on the road (something they haven't been very good at this season).

Of course it's an advantage to get home ice throughout the playoffs but it's not worth a damn if the Wings wear themselves out trying to accomplish it. All it takes is one fluke win at the Joe and all that hard work to get home ice advantage is thrown out the window.

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Firstly, there really isn't an guarantee that we will lose at home in the playoffs. 23 in a row, and with top teams sprinkled in. That is more wins than it takes to win the Cup (16). Now, there's no guarantee we win them all either, but certainly the odds will always be in our favor at home.

Second, I think you are overstating the "toll" it would take to get the top seed. Our guys are going to be played the same minutes and get the same injuries either way. It's not like Babcock is resting healthy players every other game. If you're healthy, you play, and you play according to your role. The only realistic idea might be that it takes a mental toll always striving for a fluid goal. But this is a veteran team with guys who have won it it, won the Pres Trophy, and know how to set their priorities. Mental fatigue should not be an issue.

And finally, we aren't terrible on the road. We are worse, for sure. But we are basically a 50-50 proposition on the road. That means we would probably win one of three games on the road if it went that far. So we wouldn't necessarily be going all 7 every series. If we win one on the road early, the series probably only goes 5 games. If we don't, 6 or 7. The average series in the NHL is not a sweep. We are more likely to win in 5 or 6 than 7, which is likely to be right in line with every other team we would face going forward.

Home ice advantage is huge for us, moreso than any other team. We should hope we get the record to have it. Getting it or not won't be about expending extra energy or not. We are going to do what we do regardless, we just hope now.

I agree that the way the Wings have been playing so far - they shouldnt be worn out come playoffs. However, if they get into a tight race with a team and they are relying on Howard to play 10 straight games or so (which isnt as likely with the way McDonald played recently) and their best players to play 20+ then it could have a negative effect.

I personally just dont think that the presidents trophy is a huge deal..of course it would be beneficial for the wings to play at home but there is a reason that the presidents trophy winner has won the Stanley Cup only 5 times the past 20 years - its hard to win every game at home.

As long as the Wings continue to play solid Hockey for the remainder of the season (exactly like they have been playing) with balanced scoring, solid D and Goalie play..then I think they will be fine and will have an extremely good chance of winning Home Ice.

Lets just enjoy the season and the home streak and hope that everybody stays healthy - then get ready for a (hopefully) long wild ride into June!