NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs

[Mme Erzulie]

That one rebound save Huet had where he lifted his leg while lying on his front was out of this world.

Detroit are sure putting on an impressive game with so many key players out, though. 21 shots in the first period?

And I wonder how Babcock likes having the game moved to Saturday, which gives his injured players less time to recover.

[TheHoundRules]

Looks like they moved game one up to Saturday.

*phew*

I was hoping for Sunday. I am going camping today and will not get back until Sunday. Damn. I guess I can DVR it.

[BLU-RAY]

That one rebound save Huet had where he lifted his leg while lying on his front was out of this world.

Detroit are sure putting on an impressive game with so many key players out, though. 21 shots in the first period?

And I wonder how Babcock likes having the game moved to Saturday, which gives his injured players less time to recover.

He doesn't like it, he made some comment in a postgame interview. But, his team doesn't have to travel, and they have two days in between, so I don't see that as a huge problem. The real stupidity here is that they're playing games 1 and 2 back-to-freaking-back on Sat/Sun. That's dumb, folks. If you have Game 2 on Monday, you're guaranteed to lead all the Monday sports shows, you get an extra day to ramp up excitement/digest and dissect Game 1, you get weeknight viewership, and you don't play two incredibly intense games on consecutive days.

Gary Fucking Bettman, everyone.

[dalThor]

That one rebound save Huet had where he lifted his leg while lying on his front was out of this world.

Truly incredible. I'm looking forward to the rematch. Saturday AND Sunday games? Whatever dudes. If nothing else I wish they weren't so late. They'll be on at 03:00 here.

[Rexor]

The whole SCF schedule is crap:

Saturday, May 30 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS

Sunday, May 31 at Detroit, TBD-Night NBC, CBC, RDS

Tuesday, June 2 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Thursday, June 4 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm VERSUS, CBC, RDS

* Saturday, June 6 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS

* Tuesday, June 9 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS

* Friday, June 12 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS

[Rexor]

That one rebound save Huet had where he lifted his leg while lying on his front was out of this world.

Detroit are sure putting on an impressive game with so many key players out, though. 21 shots in the first period?

And I wonder how Babcock likes having the game moved to Saturday, which gives his injured players less time to recover.

Babcock can suck it. I'm sure he's probably already whining about it. If he was so concerned about not starting Saturday (which he knew would happen if they won last night) he would have told his team to throw it.

I'm excited for the rematch. I get to see Chris "Elroy Jetson" Osgood dive some more, Detroit play their not quite illegal enough to get called for it style of clutch and grab hockey, and to see Hossa's dejected look when the Pens hoist that cup.

My prediction: Pens in 5 - Crosby does not want to lose this year, and, with what I've seen from him so far, he's not letting his team lose either. Oh, and Fleury's not going to fall out of the gate this year, so that should give the Pens an emotional boost =P.

[Swordfish]

He doesn't like it, he made some comment in a postgame interview. But, his team doesn't have to travel, and they have two days in between, so I don't see that as a huge problem. The real stupidity here is that they're playing games 1 and 2 back-to-freaking-back on Sat/Sun. That's dumb, folks. If you have Game 2 on Monday, you're guaranteed to lead all the Monday sports shows, you get an extra day to ramp up excitement/digest and dissect Game 1, you get weeknight viewership, and you don't play two incredibly intense games on consecutive days.

Gary Fucking Bettman, everyone.

It does put both games on NBC though. Otherwise the Monday game would be on VS.

It's still ridiculous though. Why all of the sudden is scheduling playoff series so difficult that they keep fucking it up?

Either way: Pens in 6.

[BlueRose]

I'll also take Pens in 6. Stanley cup hockey is always kind of a bummer on/around my birthday because I had a hard time convincing men to go out instead of watching it.

Did you Americans get the hockey commercials with the photographs where one player would start talking? There's one with Crosby after they lost the cup last year, and he says "I never want to be in this picture again." I think the Pens will take that to heart, and they wont lose this year.

[Rexor]

I'll also take Pens in 6. Stanley cup hockey is always kind of a bummer on/around my birthday because I had a hard time convincing men to go out instead of watching it.

Did you Americans get the hockey commercials with the photographs where one player would start talking? There's one with Crosby after they lost the cup last year, and he says "I never want to be in this picture again." I think the Pens will take that to heart, and they wont lose this year.

That commercial was fantastic...and I agree with you. Crosby said it, and dammit, I think he really meant it.

[Biter]

Did you Americans get the hockey commercials with the photographs where one player would start talking? There's one with Crosby after they lost the cup last year, and he says "I never want to be in this picture again." I think the Pens will take that to heart, and they wont lose this year.

And you can see Hossa in that photograph.

Crosby is a wonderful hockey player, and even though the Pens have lost a little depth they have a good chance at winning it all. However, Sid's playoff beard is just terrible. Either go clean shaven or grow a real beard - and in his case clean shaven seems to be a better choice.

Red Wings in 7.

[Brandon Stark]

The Wings are deeper and better on defense than Pittsburgh. As hot as Malkin and Crosby have been, they've been doing it against defenses that don't come close to what Detroit rolls out. I don't think they'll be able to keep up the pace they've been on, and that means it comes down to secondary scoring. Detroit wins in that case.

Wings in 6

[Rexor]

And you can see Hossa in that photograph.

Crosby is a wonderful hockey player, and even though the Pens have lost a little depth they have a good chance at winning it all. However, Sid's playoff beard is just terrible. Either go clean shaven or grow a real beard - and in his case clean shaven seems to be a better choice.

Red Wings in 7.

I will say this as my only argument to your statement...

ON PAPER the Pens appear to have lost a lot of depth. But, if you actually examine the numbers...Guerin is putting up just as many points as Hossa did last postseason, and Fedotenko is outproducing Malone by a longshot. I actually believe that the Pens are deeper this year than last year. Also, Crosby isn't playing on a broken foot and Malkin isn't burnt out. Not to mention they have multiple people with rings in their room this year, as opposed to one last year. This Pens team is much better than last year's team.

[Swordfish]

I will say this as my only argument to your statement...

ON PAPER the Pens appear to have lost a lot of depth. But, if you actually examine the numbers...Guerin is putting up just as many points as Hossa did last postseason, and Fedotenko is outproducing Malone by a longshot. I actually believe that the Pens are deeper this year than last year. Also, Crosby isn't playing on a broken foot and Malkin isn't burnt out. Not to mention they have multiple people with rings in their room this year, as opposed to one last year. This Pens team is much better than last year's team.

The problem for us will continue to be defense. Our defensemen are consistently over rated and slow. You can get away with having your forwards make up the difference against a team like the hurricanes, and you can afford to be slow against a plodding team like the flyers, but the wings will eat their lunch.

MAF will have to come up huge.

And I think he will.

[Rexor]

The problem for us will continue to be defense. Our defensemen are consistently over rated and slow. You can get away with having your forwards make up the difference against a team like the hurricanes, and you can afford to be slow against a plodding team like the flyers, but the wings will eat their lunch.

MAF will have to come up huge.

And I think he will.

The slowest d-men the Pens have are Scuderi and Gill, but they make up for it with solid positioning. There isn't a single defenseman in the league I would want on the PK more than Scuderi. He's one of the most underrated players in the game.

Other than that, Eaton's not too slow. Letang is speedy. Orpik is one of the fastest skaters on the team. Gonch is pretty quick.

[Lord O' Bones]

MAF will have to come up huge.

And I think he will.

I'm not sure why, but I believe this too.

So as mind mind screams at me to stop and be reasonable, Penguins in 7.

[dalThor]

Lidstrom is supposed to play on Saturday and Datsyuk skated yesterday but is still listed as day-to-day. Draper's "doubtful" for game one yet "most of them (including Ericsson) should be ready when they get to Pittsburgh", says the Det. Free Press.

I wish I were more confident. I think Pittsburgh might beat them this year but still I'm going to say Detroit in 7.

[Biter]

Fun fact: The Penguins have eight first round draft picks on their roster, and five of them are top five picks. The Red Wings have four first rounders, and one top five pick.

[Winterfella]

Let's Go Pens!!!!!

[Swordfish]

Fun fact: The Penguins have eight first round draft picks on their roster, and five of them are top five picks. The Red Wings have four first rounders, and one top five pick.

But only five of those eight were actually drafted by the penguins, and only four of the top five guys.

So it pays to be terrible for a long, long time, but not quite as much as those statistics might seem to imply.

;)

ALMOST...... but not quite.

[Rexor]

I've been thinking about it, and I just don't understand this exaggerated, hyperbolic view of just how good this Red Wings team supposedly is, especially this year/postseason.

What have they done this postseason, really?

Round 1 - Columbus: They preyed on a team with 0 playoff experience. Was it really a surprise that they got manhandled? It reminded me of watching the Pens play Ottawa two years ago.

Round 2 - Anaheim: Anaheim took them to 7 because of their experience and a hot, yet inexperienced, goalie. When faced with an experienced team, they almost lost the series. Sadly, Anaheim really just wasn't that good this post-season.

Round 3 - Chicago: Again, more inexperience. Yes, they made it to the conference finals, but this Chicago team was in their first playoffs since the early 90s.

Summation: Detroit is really good at picking apart the inexperienced. They did it last year in the SCF. They won't do it this year. They're older, slower, and a lot more injured.