NHL 2007 - 2008

[CHEWIE]

If Hull was still playing, I'd be rooting for the Wings... (or Stars if we were talking late 90s)... but now, good luck Pens... you're gonna need it!!!

[Jesse James]

Meh, you callled it Brent...

The Penguins aren't out, but at the moment as a fan it feels like it.    They've played embarassingly poorly against Detroit, and I think they're sugarcoating it to themselves sometimes.  No whining, no crying, the Pens simply have been outplayed by a better team.  At the moment I think it's Detroit's to lose...  I agree with Crosby's remarks tonight about Osgood, but it's nothing that would've altered the outcome of the games so far.

We'll see how things go back in Pittsburgh, but unless Malkin steps up his game and becomes a sore threat on that second line, I really don't see them coming back.  Not that everyone else doesn't need to step up, but this was a bad time for Malkin to just shut down because he's "tired". 

I do think experiences is hurting them, but ultimately I think defensive depth has more to do with it.  Detroit's system is virtually flawless unless they simply don't show up to play hard.  That coupled with Osgood stealing the chances from the Pens, which I called could be a major issue, and it's just snowballed for two games now.  It hurts, but such is life.  It's good at least playing a team you know is on par with you unlike the Sens whose crowd just whined before the puck was even dropped and felt the Penguins were getting some edge form the league over them.

On a wholely separate note, it's being mentioned in the media here locally that Detroit's "hockeytown USA", yet there were tickets available apparantly for the games that Pittsburgh fans got at a relatively late date from the box offices there.  Just something mentioned here that I found interesting...  You can't get a ticket here for less than $350 for the last series, so I shudder to think what the finals are selling at, yet they were available in Detroit?  Maybe they like the college stuff better than the pro's.

[Jeff]

On a wholely separate note, it's being mentioned in the media here locally that Detroit's "hockeytown USA", yet there were tickets available

Yeah, that's why Sports Illustrated took the "Hockeytown, USA" title away from Detroit this past winter and gave it to another city that was more deserving.   

[Morgbug]

I'm not sure I called it really.  It's just an observation that many good or great teams need to lose in the finals before coming back and winning them.  I think the talent on the Pens is amazing, quite possibly the best team in the league.  But they're lacking playoff experience at the moment. 

When I wrote what I wrote I was thinking of a couple of guys on the Wings that have been there before: Hasek, Osgood, Lidstrom and Rafalski previously with New Jersey.  I couldn't honestly remember if there were many other Wings that had won cups.  I don't think that Zetterberg or Datsyuk were around for the last Wings cup, but might have been.  There are probably a couple of other guys there that were though.  Still, just having Lidstrom and Rafalski as two top tier defensemen that have been through it before is huge.  Leadership, experience, wisdom.  The Pens, at this time, lack that.  I don't think they will next year and if they can keep the core together, it could well be a nifty little dynasty. 

We saw the start of Saturday's game before we went to the Rush concert.  When Fleury fell in the gate we all knew it would be one of two things: He'd get a shutout or get hammered, nothing in between.  Ouch. 

I'm not convinced the series is over.  Home ice is huge.  I think Osgood can be beat, but it's not so much the goaltending as the defense I've been impressed with. 

[Jesse James]

Agreed, and IMO Fleury's been the best Penguin save for his goal he let in on the wrap-around in game 1...  Otherwise, he's been as dominant as usual, he just is getting zero help from his forwards.  Two goals in Game 1 were gimmes by the Pens who just didn't care at that point it seemed.   Especially the last one when Gonchar wasn't even taking a body.

I don't think the series is over either, but it's a hell of an uphill climb and I'm even a die-hard faithful to be saying that I think it's virtually impossible.  If they storm back and tie it, I think it's a whole new series, but they'll have to take both games at home...  They'd have momentum swinging back to Detroit and that's clearly important right now.  I think only taking both home games can swing the steamroller our way and undermine the Detroit defense and their experience.  You get them on their heels and I think you can steal that one in Detroit, then really have them by the throat.  So I remain hopeful...  I like to think I'm a realist in most cases but I'll never give up on the Penguins, even if it was a bigger deficit.

Right now a HUGE problem for the Pens too, and this is why I still debate some of the experience issue, is that many of them just aren't clicking on all cylinders.  Malkin keeps saying he's exhausted from previous series, and guys like Dupuis keep missing every opportunity handed them on a silver platter.  And stupid penalties from guys like Ruutu, Malone, etc. are keeping us from gaining any kind of rhythm.  All seem like HUGE contributing factors to the current state of affairs.  There's a ton they need to do right, that they simply haven't done yet in this series.

BTW congrats to Minne getting the nod over Michigan...  Everyone in Pittsburgh is finding it rather sad that their team's in the finals and had tickets available.  I tried 3 times to get tickets to different series, and within 5 - 10 minutes, 2000 tickets sold out.  People camped out the night before they went on sale down at the arena to get them.  Even if Detroit wins I completely don't respect their fanbase for not selling out that arena.  That's a lame-ass thing to me.  It's something fans here pride themselves on, that even during our dead last years in the league our arena was selling out or near it most nights in the regular season.  There was some really ugly stuff going on in those years too.

[Jesse James]

Obstruction...  No call.
Slash and break a stick...  no call.
More obstruction...  no call.

Kennedy hooks someone and the refs call.

You can't tell me the officiating is anything but horrible in this series.  I like to think there's no chance of bias, but even I'm at a loss for words at this point.  It's just like the last game where they slapped I think Malkin with a penalty late after putting the whistles away all game...  This is ******* sad. 

And I'll add something to this...

The guys calling the game clearly hate the Penguins for the most part, and rarely credit them with anything positive, but even they are calling all these missed calls by the refs tonight.  It's just sad.

Here's the guys that should raise the cup first...

[Morgbug]

At 1.48 left I thought the Pens gave up.  Now we're headed to OT!

[Jesse James]

Took everything they could get and every cross-check to the head that Detroit could throw at their heads too, judging by the replay.

Anyway they really did look dead...  After they got that immensely bull**** call handed to them, and thus a goal, against Kennedy, they just looked like they didn't care.  Then Detroit went up 3-2 and it just felt like anything you tried to do was gonna be met with either a dumbass call or a team that's just in your face every play.  They worked their asses off for that last 1:30 or so to get the tying goal though, seriously.  They had to fight through some serious stuff just to get a chance there.

[Rob]

Excellent finish... hoping for a game 7.   

[Jesse James]

Man, 3 OT's and finally Sykora (of all people, as I've been bitching up a storm about him alongside Malkin) got the goal.

The Penguins have to take it one game at a time, that's something being spoken here like a mantra...  Back home, one more to make it a new series.  Nothing more, nothing less...  

As hockey goes, this game was attrocious though...  And all my bitching about officials shouldn't be confused that Detroit is, without doubt, a fantastic team and far superior to all 3 Eastern opponents we faced.  Those teams put up no fight while Detroit is clearly dominant most of the time against us.

They put sticks int he right places, they bat down passes out of the air, they are fast onto every loose puck...  They're still getting away with an assload of penalties every game, far lopsided against us IMO, but they're also a dominant team...  It doesn't help that half our guys just seem out of it too (Malkin, Sykora, Gonchar at times, Ruutu, etc.).

I'd add too that the game's pace picked up in the OT ironically and was a bit better.  Much more entertaining to watch.  I muted the TV though as I cannot stand hearing one more time how good they are and how bad we are by comparison.

Oh and another Edit here...  It's ironic that the game is on NBC, which NBC has THE worst sports coverage for hockey in Pittsburgh.  They're easily the worst news outlet locally to cover hockey, yet they cover the Stanley Cup Finals...  It's painful to watch sometimes because the head of the NBC sports group here only ever pays attention at this time and now he's acting like he's king hockey.  **** that guy in the ear with a jackhammer.

[Morgbug]

You won't like me for saying this, but not really having a preference who wins, I just thought the refs swallowed the whistle.  I might say that Detroit took more advantage of it than Pittsburgh did, but I saw lots of hacks, shoves, crosschecks and other stuff from Pittsburgh as well.  (Not couting the crosscheck to Talbot's head after the goal, that is).  That game so easily could have gone either way.  Tons of pucks rolling through the crease and just wide; crossbars, goal posts.    

That was a gooder.  Woulda been a good way to end the season 

[Jesse James]

Oh don't get me wrong Brent, I agree...  I felt like they did swallow the whistles.

Which if you're gonna do...  Hey, so be it, but what I hate seeing is those ******** swallow the whistle long enough to cough up one penalty against us at the end of the game.  It's tough to argue that point then...  They did the SAME thing in the last game.  They called Malkin I believe it was for an obstruction penalty, after letting a game of obstruction penalties go by the wayside...

Personally I see more Detroit Clutch & Grab, which to me simply means they're not the powerhouse everyone says they are, they just don't abide by the rules and refs let it go.  But there were indeed a lot of penalties not called both directions.  I think the Penguins take more cheap shots though with things like roughing, etc.  The Wings hitting has been simply incredible for the most part.  They obstruct more...  To me that lessens my opinion of their supposedly flawless defense.  If they're flawless they don't need to do that.

Anyway though, no argument from me there, just I think I see more Detroit stuff not called, and regardless of my opinion you cannot swallow the whistle for 50 minutes, only to call an obstruction call on Kennedy in the last 10 at some point and hand Detroit the game...  You just can't do that.  Be consistant, regardless if you're calling penalties or ignoring them...  Just be consistant so everyone knows if they can cheat or not.

[CHEWIE]

I didn't see this going 6 games... who knows, maybe the Pens pull it out.  Still though, they have a tough road ahead of them. 

[JangoTat]

Was the game winner from game 5 a 5-3 or 5-4. I was soo tired I can hardly remember most of it, but it was a great game. Still feel wierd cheering the the Pens, especially since I wanted them out for most of the playoffs lol.

[Morgbug]

So very, very close.  Wow.  Great series Pens, I can see a rematch last year if both teams can stay intact.