Lord Stanley

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

Lady luck showed up with her twin sister and her best friend.

I wouldn't go that far but certainly she sat on the Pens bench for awhile

Originally Posted by AbbyAk

Me thinks Ozzie caught a break with a post from Talbot tonight and the past two games have been post central going against the Pens--breaks are evening out a bit (finally)--congrats to Pitt for grinding one out against the Wings tonight.

+1

Originally Posted by Sonic dB

Posts are overrated...unless the goalie is clearly beat on the play, most of the time a post results in a Goalie taking away the shooters angle and effectively "making the save" with the post. That goes for both Fluerry and Osgood, to my eyes the posts tonight were good goaltending and not necessarily lucky.

The 6 man on the ice for 21 seconds was inexcusable by the refs..... what if Pitt had scored on that play? damn straight they would have counted that goal....

too many non-calls in this series... lots of stuff not getting called, like the Pitt D man whacking Holmstrom in the face.

The problem with the non calls, is that when they do finally call something...it is a very dramatic event... turns a normal power play in to 'the game decider' because there are not enough calls being made. These refs suck.

I agree somewhat concerning the posts. But it sure makes for drama. The one the beat Fluery really gave a nice loud clang!!

The 6 man deal, yeah I have no idea how not only the officials missed it but also the Wings bench, (if indeed they did).

I whole hardily agree with the lack of calls, for both teams. Specifically the TV annoucers have mentioned the Wings subtle interference calls numerous times. These aren't being called. Reminds me of the NJ Devils back in their day, (horrible hockey).
But before we get all over the officials how do we know they haven't been 'coached' on how to call the game by NHL brass?

[vonsmog]

I just got home from Pittsburgh and the game today! I noticed the six man play and mentioned to my dad " hey I think the Pens just got away with one!" It was so confusing with the change that there were six guys out there, at least it was from where I was sitting. (we had great seats again!) Would have loved to stay and see tomorrows game, but had to get my son home for school. He missed two days to see the Pens beat Carolina, and now two more days for yesterday's game. We even made it on TV, as the wife called to say we were on!
GO PENS!!!!!!

[Porsche_monkey]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

But before we get all over the officials how do we know they haven't been 'coached' on how to call the game by NHL brass?

I believe that the officials are chosen for this very reason. They tend to let the players play, as is NHL playoff tradition. I thought that Hossa got away with a hook on Talbot's (?) glove on Sunday leading to a goal, but otherwise I think the officiating has been very good.

I do not like the 'new NHL' rules in front of the net. If they won't allow players to 'actively' remove guys standing in the crease (like the old days) then they should switch to the international rule where if an offensive player steps into the blue paint area the whistle is blown and the face-off is at centre ice. It is too easy to park yourself in front of the goalie now. (Which the 'Mule' is an expert at.)

[Sonic dB]

eh... the Penguins are taking liberties and cheap shoting the Wings every chance they can get in front of the net. Both teams are obstructing... to be honest though, Erickson's penalty for interferance which lead to the game winning goal for the Pens was the right call, and a dumb play on his part. Instead of holding the guy up, he would have been better off going back and playing the puck. Anyway, these refs suck...they are told what to do by the league before the game is even played.

Pavel will be back. Love those Wings practice jerseys and I want one!

[Porsche_monkey]

Originally Posted by Sonic dB

Anyway, these refs suck...they are told what to do by the league before the game is even played.

And what exactly do you think the league tell them? The Penguins need help, call more penalties on Detroit?

[Sonic dB]

^ No I did not say that. The league does, however...tell the refs in general how to call the game.

But these refs SUCK. The first goal tonight by Pitt was an obvious offsides, missed by these ****ty refs. That is a fact.

[Buckterrier]

Now now boys!! Didn't hear any complaining about the hand over the puck in the crease non-call, the slashing non-call in game two. Bettman today on the radio said they don't coach the refs to call it any different in the play-offs

GO PENS!!!!!!

[Sonic dB]

The Red Wings played tired tonight...slow and out of sync. They did not have their legs. Considering this was their 6th game in 8 nights with travel and without their MVP finalist in th lineup...they started to make mental mistakes that lead to the huge number of odd man rushes that they gave away to the Penns. Credit the Penns for scoring the goals, but this is not the usual Red Wing team, due to the NHL and their selfish act of reschedualling the finals earlier in order to get it on NBC. Honestly I dont think the Wings can pull out of this. This series is now the penns to lose...

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Sonic dB

The Red Wings played tired tonight...slow and out of sync. They did not have their legs. Considering this was their 6th game in 8 nights with travel and without their MVP finalist in th lineup...they started to make mental mistakes that lead to the huge number of odd man rushes that they gave away to the Penns. Credit the Penns for scoring the goals, but this is not the usual Red Wing team, due to the NHL and their selfish act of reschedualling the finals earlier in order to get it on NBC. Honestly I dont think the Wings can pull out of this. This series is now the penns to lose...

if detroit pulls off game 5 then it'll prolly be wings in 7

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Sonic dB

The Red Wings played tired tonight...slow and out of sync. They did not have their legs. Considering this was their 6th game in 8 nights with travel and without their MVP finalist in th lineup...they started to make mental mistakes that lead to the huge number of odd man rushes that they gave away to the Penns. Credit the Penns for scoring the goals, but this is not the usual Red Wing team, due to the NHL and their selfish act of reschedualling the finals earlier in order to get it on NBC. Honestly I dont think the Wings can pull out of this. This series is now the penns to lose...

I don't think it's a physical tiredness. I think it's a mental one. And not having Datsyuk is a big part of it. I think the mental wear of constantly having to keep up with world class players is certainly taking it's toll. IMHO any professional athlete that is not in physical shape is a mis-justice. I remember Gilbert Brown of the Green Bay Packers having to get a blow in the Super Bowl. If I was the owner and paying him millions of dollars I'd have shot the fat f*$k.
And still having home ice advantage, it's the Wings series to lose

[Sonic dB]

ok but the entire Red Wings roster has way more "world class" players than the Penns has. The Penns have 2 great ones, and 2 on the bubble, and the rest a bunch of guys. The Red Wings see more talent than that at every one of their own practices.

The fact is that they were tired, whether mental or physical or IMO both... the fact is that they closed out Chicago in 5, which was only 1 more game than the Penns had vs. Carolina but the fact that the Penns ended a couple days earlier and the NHL rushed the series to try and get it on NBC (NBC went with reality shows during the week anyway, which shows how much they respect the NHL lol)... gave the Wings just a day off before the Penns series, then having to play back to back with a banged up team and without one of their MVP candidates.

Take Malkin or Crosby off of the Penns, for example and they would have already been toast that is a fact. Take Datsyuk off the Wings, and they are hanging but tired and need some rest. That is not due to having to cover 'world class players' trust me on that one...

We will see what happens going forward...things could change and Fluery while pretty good at home, is weak on the road... anything could happen but if the Wings dont get their legs, its over.

[Buckterrier]

I agree with most of what you are saying. In fact it's funny I was actually thinking that as I watched the game last night, how the Wings face each other in practice. It's like the Steelers offense having to face their defense, (#1 rated overall), everyday in practice.
I respectfully disagree that an extra day off should mean that much to a professional athlete. It is an extremely long season and everyone is tired. But I'd rather be a 21 year old tired player than a 31 year old
It's been an exciting playoff season and exciting finals. And I have to say I have the utmost respect for Mike Babcock. He is a class act as are the Redwings.

[Sonic dB]

They are just beat up...and battling injuries. Lidstrom is injured, Draper struggled to get back, Zetterberg is having to play 25 min plus to cover... I think they would love an extra day to sleep in.. hang with the kids and wife, refresh the batteries. etc.

Babcock even said he may have to cut back on practice time to rest some legs.... anyway it is the Penns series to lose now.

[Buckterrier]

Want more corporate greed? I guess NBC is not allowing the Pens to show game 6 on the outside jumbo-tron. What the Fuch???????
Hail to the all mighty $

GO PENS!!

[exitwound]

Everyone gets NBC. Not everyone gets VS.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by exitwound

Everyone gets NBC. Not everyone gets VS.

Part of the network's job is to promote the sport. Look at ESPN. You can't go 5 minutes without the NBA being mentioned. What better way to promote hockey than to show 10,000 fans outside, together, watching the game... on NBC. I know, if there are 10,000 fans watching on 1 TV they lose ratings. Still corporate greed.

GO PENS!!!!!

[exitwound]

NBC just signed for two more seasons of hosting the NHL. They're obviously intrigued since viewership is up from last year, and the Stanley Cup scoring higher than CSI. I hate blackouts and viewing areas and how they do stuff like this, but ultimately, they have the contract. VS handles things quite a bit differently, I'm guessing, since they have a far less foothold in the home. They are doing what they have to to get the name VS out there. NBC doesn't have to. They just have to hold onto what they already have.

[Sonic dB]

CBC coverage is the best if you can get it. I miss it being out here in So Cal, but the pre game and announcers beat both NBC and VS hands down. The game footage is more exciting as CBC handles the crowd noise differently, it just sounds way more pumped up. The CBC announcers are much more interesting to listen to as they assume that the viewer has a knowledge of the game already so they dont necessarily have to spend time educating the viewer with mindless points of the game, as NBC and VS do.

[Mr_Wizard]

Originally Posted by Sonic dB

CBC coverage is the best if you can get it.

Agreed. I grew up outside Detroit and watched Hockey Night in Canada all the damn time. If you want to watch the CBC broadcast go to ustream.tv. I am a cheap skate and refuse to pay for expanded cable, thus I do not get Versus. All the games that are not broadcast on TV I watch through this. Watched the CBC broadcast of games 3 and 4 here.

On another note, I have some Canadian heritage in my family and my wife calls me Canadian Bacon all the time. While we were watching the CBC broadcast between periods Coach's Corner with Don Cherry (woo hoo) My wife was dumbstruck with his outfit. I just told her it was a Canadian Bacon thing and you would not understand.

[Porsche_monkey]

Originally Posted by Mr_Wizard

While we were watching the CBC broadcast between periods Coach's Corner with Don Cherry (woo hoo) My wife was dumbstruck with his outfit. I just told her it was a Canadian Bacon thing and you would not understand.

I live 'here' and I don't understand. But I don't eat back bacon, so maybe there's a link...