NHL: Requiem for Marian

Pens in 5.

You heard it here first.

OK. I have to chime in. No love for my team. Wings in 4. That's right.

5 if the officiating isn't fair, but I expect it to be good.

Wings in 5.

Wings in 3.

nihilo wrote:
Vector wrote:
nihilo wrote:

Who is Darren Helm?

Didn't watch the playoffs last year? Kid can skate like the wind. Was supposed to be on the team during the regular season but cap constraints kept him off the roster until the playoffs. Former Medicine Hat Tiger. I only know this because Junior fans don't shut up about their alumni.

No kidding. He played an excellent game last night.. deserved the game winner. My comment is more me reflecting that it's just ridiculous how these prospects keep coming out of Detroit's minor league system and playing well at the highest level. Players like Helm are why Detroit is the best-run franchise in hockey.

Damn straight. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Helm, Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Franzen, etc. The list goes on. They've been an amazingly well run team since Ilitch bought them. I have a lot of respect for him and how he runs the franchise. Some of the stories that former players and front office folk tell are awe inspiring. The guy is committed to winning and providing a great atmosphere for the players and fans. I used to hate the Red Wings but after learning more about the team it's become impossible to.

Edit: Nevermind. Old news.

Pretty good hockey the first two games. Watching the Penguins I was reminded of watching the Hurricanes against them the last series. Even when the Canes drove the play they couldn't buy a goal. That's how it felt last night especially.

I think the Pens outplayed the Wings both nights--Sunday for certain, Saturday at least well enough to win. Bad breaks and blown calls. Two goals bouncing in off the back of Fluery on Saturday was just surreal. The missed call on the Wing's second goaltender, aka center Henrik Zetterberg, closing his fist on the puck in the crease didn't help either. Nor did Hossa's lumberjack number on Dupuis' stick, the one that resulted in a goal in game two. And as for the Wings luck, well, I hope Ozzy is buying his posts steak dinners after each game.

My five game prediction is out the window, but they could still do it in six.

Pens are gonna win this series. They're the better team.

The games seem to be doing well in in terms of viewers: Saturday & Sunday

Hossa didn't slash the stick, he lifted it. Zetterberg got away with one on Saturday, should have been a penalty shot. Malkin had a trip, Saturday, that led to a breakaway. Pens hit 2 posts Sunday, Wings hit 1 post Saturday. Wings 2 goals off Fluery were flukes. Both teams have controlled large portions of each game. Refs are not calling a whole lot. Malkin could have been suspended, it's better for the series that he wasn't. Crosby's slash at the end of game 1 was not a big deal. Osgood embellished the contact at the end of game 2, but Talbot shouldn't poke at anyone with the end of his stick.

I'm enjoying it.

skeletonframes wrote:

Hossa didn't slash the stick, he lifted it.

IMAGE(http://www.kuklaskorner.com/images/uploads/hossa.gif)

As an acute viewer of hockey, both games have been good because of open minded officiating. Hooks, holds, interference, trips on everyone is being let go. That is called playoff hockey, finish your checks and no whining.

You want to know what cost the Pens the goal on the Hossa play? Stopping and Female Doggoing at the ref during the play. I saw the same thing in 03 I think with Montreal and Boston. Ref missed a high stick, Kovalev stopped to Female Doggo in the last seconds, Boston scores and wins.

Maybe practicing in Pitt over Detroit hurt as well. In game 1 Fleury and the defense looked lost with how active the Joe's boards are. And was there a single line change between games 1 and 2 for the Pens?

The net had a lid on it on Sunday, to be sure. And Fleury let a couple softies go. Abdelcater's comes to mind. Osgood bobbled a few behind the net that could have been better scoring chances.

Go home, hold your fort, and come back. All anyone can do.

I still say Wings in 7. Just like when the series began.

KingGorilla wrote:

As an acute viewer of hockey, both games have been good because of open minded officiating. Hooks, holds, interference, trips on everyone is being let go. That is called playoff hockey, finish your checks and no whining.

Granted the play has been up-tempo and at times deliriously entertaining, although the skill level of the respective teams just might have something to do with that.

As much as the Pens are accused of being the beneficiaries of weak calls courtesy of a sympathetic league, one would think them entitled to at least wonder as to particular rule change that, say, authorizes centers to dive into the crease and snatch up live pucks with his fist. That said, yeah, after, not during, the play would probably be the better time to ask.

CannibalCrowley wrote:
skeletonframes wrote:

Hossa didn't slash the stick, he lifted it.

IMAGE(http://www.kuklaskorner.com/images/uploads/hossa.gif)

Nice. So much for the lumberjack theory, that there's a poorly timed broken twig.

Prep for game 3: Mic'd up Holstrom Fleury (NSFW Language)

In the crease. Out of the increase. In the crease.

Vector wrote:

In the crease. Out of the increase. In the crease.

That was pretty funny. It's also good hockey, especially if the Pens don't move the guys out. I know the rules these days make it harder to get rid of the player, but it was nice to see the Pens start to at least pay attention to the fact that Fleury hasn't been able to cleanly see an awfully large number of shots, and to start to play that way as well.

I was at Game 3. Like the others, it was pretty good hockey. Between the Capitals series and the Red Wings series, it's been a lot of fun to watch this year. After 3 games in 4 days, it seemed like a lot of the players were pretty tired. It looked to me like, after playing an excellent two periods, the Red Wings were running out of gas in the third. Whoever wins game 4, it should be good hockey!

In light of the Pens victory last night, check out Geno Malkin after he scored the playoff hat trick against Carolina.
It's old news, sorry if it's been mentioned before.

For those who are local, I also love the radio promo Malkin does for X where he sounds like a neanderthal. Silly Russians

The sport needs a series like this. Look, as a Wings fan I loved how the steamroll came out last year. But competitive series, long playoffs are needed to drum up interest. When I hear about the Wings second round series with the ducks being some of the most watched hockey they have had at FSN, that is huge.

And for f*ck's sake NHL, just give me the CBC feed, announcers and all to NBC and Versus, those announcers SUCK. It is Jason Batemen in Dodgeball level or crap.

I find it quite likely that the Pens will hold serve tonight and this will end in Detroit. Given neither team has found a way to win away, right now it looks like the Wings' Cup.

I still take pleasure that my team, who now needs yet another coach, is the only blemish on the Detroit Red Wings since their mid-90s run of awesome started.

MaxShrek wrote:

I still take pleasure that my team, who now needs yet another coach, is the only blemish on the Detroit Red Wings since their mid-90s run of awesome started.

Colorado? Dallas?

IMAGE(http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/trophies/winners/STC1995.jpg)

Tonight's game was awesome. Here's to hoping Pittsburgh wins!

I'd love to see Pittsburgh win, but I think the odds are against it. The Wings do the little things so well, and it's easy to imagine the Pens getting flustered by some adversity. I'd love to be wrong, though.

This is just like that VanDamme movie, Sudden Death..!
.. or not..

I have to think that Pittsburgh feels pretty good about getting where they are - one win away from the cup. They know how hard it is to beat Detroit in their own building, but they did what they needed to do to give themselves the opportunity.

I'm pulling for Pittsburgh, but Detroit is an awfully good team.

KingGorilla wrote:

The sport needs a series like this. Look, as a Wings fan I loved how the steamroll came out last year. But competitive series, long playoffs are needed to drum up interest. When I hear about the Wings second round series with the ducks being some of the most watched hockey they have had at FSN, that is huge.

Some rule clarification/standardization would make a world of difference as well. Especially for penalties like interference where they seem to use a coin flip to determine whether or not to make a call. Is a player fair game if the puck is in his skates? What if he doesn't have the puck; but is near someone who does? What if he never had the puck; but was near someone who recently played the puck?

Jesus my work computer sucks with double posts.

CannibalCrowley wrote:
KingGorilla wrote:

The sport needs a series like this. Look, as a Wings fan I loved how the steamroll came out last year. But competitive series, long playoffs are needed to drum up interest. When I hear about the Wings second round series with the ducks being some of the most watched hockey they have had at FSN, that is huge.

Some rule clarification/standardization would make a world of difference as well. Especially for penalties like interference where they seem to use a coin flip to determine whether or not to make a call. Is a player fair game if the puck is in his skates? What if he doesn't have the puck; but is near someone who does? What if he never had the puck; but was near someone who recently played the puck?

Well don't forget that the referees are at eye level and I'm pretty sure a human instinct is to follow the play rather than look at other players lagging behind. They also don't have rewind. Sometimes something that looks obvious to us can be a very difficult or impossible call for someone on the ice.

Players know this and they do their evil deeds when they think the refs can't see them.