http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/20080123/80x60/det.gif -vs- http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/20080123/80x60/pit.gif

Detroit
54-21-7, 1st in Central

Pittsburgh
47-27-8, 1st in Atlantic


Season Series: No games

Red Wings lead 2-0

Series Schedule
1. Sat, May 24 – Detroit 4, Pittsburgh 0
2. Mon, May 26 – Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 0
3. Wed, May 28 – at Pit, 8:00 pm EDT (NBC, CBC)
4. Sat, May 31 – at Pit, 8:00 pm EDT (NBC, CBC)
*5. Mon, Jun 2 – at Det, 8:00 pm EDT (NBC, CBC)
*6. Wed, Jun 4 – at Pit, 8:00 pm EDT (NBC, CBC)
*7. Sat, Jun 7 – at Det, 8:00 pm EDT (NBC, CBC)


ESPN Picks:
Amber:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/pit.gif
(in six)
Buccigross:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/pit.gif
(in six)
Burnside:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/pit.gif
(in six)
Cohn:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/det.gif
(in seven)
Hradek:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/det.gif
(in six)
Melrose:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/det.gif

MoTown:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/det.gif
(in six)

I see the Mullet finally jumped on the band wagon.

What do the stars represent Mo?

if nec

It's a running bit Glenn. He didn't mess anything up so I had nothing really to post.

* - Games in which Sydney Crosby will have his balls sucked on the ice by the announcers.

Glenn doesn't get our inside jokes, Fool. Leave him and his volcanos be.

BTW, I fucked a lot of things up on this one, you just didn't see them in time. Next game thread I will wait until you are online and warn you when I am about to post them.

You guys are cute.

Next game thread I will wait until you are online and warn you when I am about to post them.

Sweet. Appreciated.

Franzen Doubtful for Game 1.

Disregard my post of the other day about him being likely. Gol damn internets.

* - Games in which Sydney Crosby will have his balls sucked on the ice by the announcers.

Then where are the other four stars?

Franzen Doubtful for Game 1.

Disregard my post of the other day about him being likely. Gol damn internets.

You might not have been wrong:

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080522/BLOG09/80522076/1048/sports

I would assume Franzen will play if he can get through practice without any problems. That's good news for the Wings. Without Franzen, we will have a tough time matching up with Pens' top two lines.

Franzen Doubtful for Game 1.

Disregard my post of the other day about him being likely. Gol damn internets.

You have to be careful what you read on the information superhighway

Also Cleary's been allowed to ditch the face/chin guard, so hopefully he can pick up his offensive game a little.

DETROIT (AP) - Johan Franzen is nearly back for the Detroit Red Wings.

He is expected to miss Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, but Detroit coach Mike Babcock says he will return at some point in the series.
Franzen skated with his teammates Thursday and was cleared to practice Friday.
The center known as "Mule" leads the NHL with 12 goals in the playoffs despite being scratched for the last five games of the second-round series against Dallas because of concussion-like symptoms. Babcock says Franzen looks ready to play after watching him tip pucks in the net toward the end of Thursday's workout, but doctors will decide when he will return.

I am going to game 2 and I am very excited

EJ Hradek is usually right.

I wonder who Cherry picked...

Also are these games even going to be sold out? I hope so, I went to a Cup game in '02 Vs. Carolina, greatest sporting even I've ever attended. I hope this Cup is the same.

He is not a Detroit Fan fan however.

Buncha rednecks.

SDB, who do you consider better?

Redwing fans - buncha rednecks
Piston fans - buncha punks

Canadian sports broadcasters love to generalize about Detroit fans; seem a little jealous.

Red Wings fans, because Glenn is not one of them.

Glenn:
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nhl/teams/1/50x50w/pit.gif
(in 4)
(also, go Steelers!)

Actually, I couldn't care less about this thing, other than the desire to see you all happy.

Car flags?

Glenn doesn't care about Lidstrom becoming the first European captain to win the Cup. He thinks Lidstrom is a bunch of punks.

Wings in 3! :cornbread:

Apparantly stores in Pitt will be carding for octopus. If you are from the midwest, are wearing any Wings apparal, or have a midwest accent you will not be sold octopus. What cracks me up is that means Wings fans will be bringing it from out of town, and it will be days old when they bring it in the arena.

I just read Franzen out for game 1.

I'll believe it when I don't see him in the awesome Wings uni Saturday night.

I just read Franzen out for game 1.

I'll believe it when I don't see him in the awesome Wings uni Saturday night.


Chelios isn't playing either. Lilja will pair w/ Lebda.

Lets get it on.

These first two games being on VS. is pretty brutal...

God damn, so many sports on tonight I've just decided to stay home, lol.

Babcok has split Dats and Zets.

OT...has anyone seen that cleavage right behind Babcok?

I'll be looking for it now.

^ Red shirt. Pretty sweet.

Babcok's playing the matchups, Neither Dats or Zets was out there on this 4 on 4 (as far as I could tell).

I didn't see them out there. I'm just happy this game is on CBC. Made my night. I cancelled all my plans until 11.

And there's a perfect example how you can take yourself out of the play trying to make the big check.

I didn't see them out there. I'm just happy this game is on CBC. Made my night. I cancelled all my plans until 11.

She's right behing Babcok at times. Red shirt. j/k

Kronwall is obviously looking for the big hit. That's a problem. If he doesn't just let it come naturally he's going to end up out of position at a key time.

Haha, nice Tahoe.

Osgood just came up big.

OZZIE!

edit: nm

Damnit, almost had one...

Between all these Wings penalties and the Pistons horrible start I'm going to end up eating my table.

It is a bullshit call. He was out of his damn crease. Fucking ref was right there too.

Dumb.

What a save by Ozzie!

Power play for Detroit.

nutin nutin at the end of 1.

Should be 1-0 Wings. That was a bullshit call.

Fun 1st period. Both teams came out flying. 5 or 6 penalties in one period of the Stanly Cup finals is a fucking travesty.

OT - You were right Tahoe. That's some very nice cleavage.

I haven't seen it yet dammit!

they're not basketballs, but they seem pretty damn good.

Fuck these guys on CBC. Last game I watched on CBC, they were talking about how its a good penalty when you slash a guys stick, because they have to protect players' hands. All of a sudden Crosby gets called for it and its "one of those thigns they need to change". Bullshit.

They're winning all the fucking faceoffs...

GOAL GOAL GOAL!

2-0...woops, 1-0.

wrong thread the first time...

SAMMY

Good second period. At the risk of sounding too cliché, I felt the Wings were able to impose their will more that period and got the Pens back on their heels a bit more.

Woohoo, 2-0! Sammy!

Is that 2 for Sammy

Don't say Sammy. It's gay.

Samuelsson has played a great game, even without the goals.

WHAT A GOAL!

4-0, err...3-0, beatdown in game 1...nice.

Cleary? Wow

PItts coach looks like he could be in the KGB or something.

Beards - 1
Pube stache - 0

Zetty

Goal bitches! 4-0. Ozzie gets teh shutout!

My uncle used to say "Why cultivate something on your lip that grows wild on your asshole"

I don't know much about hockey, but I'd say that was a mighty fine performance.

5 goals and a shutout? Yeah, that's damn solid.

PItts coach looks like he could be in the KGB or something.

Pavel better watch his back then.


IT would have been nice to be able to watch this game.......

So final score 5-0, right SDB?

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.

Great win. I honestly don't think the Pens were ready for a team like the Wings. I mean, no doubt the Pens were intense and skating but other than the Crosby line, and even then not that much, they weren't able to control the game at all. I thought the Wings checking, both pressure wise and taking the body, was fantastic. That plus their speed had them all over the ice and in the Penguins face whenever the Wings didn't have the puck. The Pens did have a couple of great chances but Ozzie, once again, was fantastic in net.

It was a really smart move to break up Dats and Zetterberg. You can put them back together when you need instant offense or a big momentum change, but otherwise having them split like that really seemed to hurt the Penguins.

I thought Babcock owned Therrien yesterday. He had Dats and Zets split, he'd bring them back together and run his normal 4 lines, he'd use them together on special teams and then split them up again and then even let a whole different line start special teams play.

It was like he was saying, "You have two greats and so do we, but the difference is that I'm counting just as much on my other players and can depend on them more than you can depend on yours. You want to try to key on my 2, have fun and good luck." And if that's the case, he was right.

Is any one else as impressed with Helm as I am? The guy comes in with barely any NHL experience (7 games) and he's flying all over the place making plays. I really love his energy out there. He's only 21 years old so he should have plenty of it.

I went to the Wings site and he's not listed anywhere. He's not under prospects, not under roster, and not listed in the depth chart. That's very strange.

Helm has impressed.

I wonder if Babs would have split them up if Franzen was playing?

just an attempt to bring some happiness to y'all. what better way than to talk about the Wings winning and cleavage at the same time

Good question. I hope we get a chance to find out soon.

And you can always bring joy with a Wings win and good cleavage.

Franzen cleared by Doctors to play in Game 2.

I was just reading that. Very good news. I hope the layoff hasn't affected him too much. If he can play at the level he was before the Pens are really in trouble.

LETS DO DIS!

DTE, you here?, H1?

Cleavage girl is there again tonight but in a white shirt. YES!

White out rules.

Yep. Volcanoes blow.

Franzen on the ice.

Wings have had a few good shots already.

And the answer to Tahoe's questions so far is that Babcock's keeping his 1 line together with Franzen back in the line-up.

yeah ! whatashot!

YES baby abyaga;lsdkfj as;asdf uck an A mothyer fucker ayes 1 goal already

That just looked like a goal to me for some reason when Filp got control of the puck again. That entre right side was open.

So that was the Franzen line, right?

The Pens have yet to get a shot on goal I think.

Yes it was Tahoe.

Certainly seems like it de.

I knew they scored when I heard the horns go off.

The Pens have yet to get a shot on goal I think.

Correct and thats pretty amazing even from my lack of knowledge about the game.

Oh Cleary, you had more time....

I knew they scored when I heard the horns go off.

You are on top of it.

It is amazing but it's because they're not moving their feet and anticipating on the forecheck. They get one man in on the puck and that's about it. Once the Wings make one pass in their zone they're moving right into the breakout and transition. The Wings are everywhere right now, on the puck and where the puck is going to be.

Yessir!

2 friggin OH

Shit, penalty.

Zetty and Dats were both on that shift, weren't they?

I love the way these Wings play. Attack the zone, get it on the net as much as possible and crash the net. That's how good things happen, especially in the playoffs.

Zetty and Dats were both on that shift, weren't they?

Yes they were.

This game has been damn near perfect for the Wings so far. I don't know hockey too well, but I can tell that.

I couldn't ask for more that's for sure.

I've seen a couple of pretty bad defensive sequences by Detroit...then again, I'm not sure I know what I'm talking about.

I think you saw the pressure the Pens were getting on the power play.

Yeah, we didn't even give up a shot 'till that first power play. D has been good.

It was definately stellar at first but I thought it lagged a lil there for 2 straight Pengs possessions. But it might have been the PP.

Missed the first goal... went to take a piss, heard GOAAAALLL and promptly sprayed the wall for a second lol.

Some great checking going on this game.

Pens get a slashing call in the offensive end?

I usually think those happen on defense.

I think the Wings had an ok period there. The Pens started skating and upped the intensity but I thought the Wings played smart. They need to kick it up a gear and put this game away.

Look at Dats not taking shit!

You can't do that Malone. WTF is he thinking to even argue that call

Wow! What a goal.

OMFG that was sweeeeeeeeeet

WAZ THAT COOL OR WHAT

Just an amazing goal. And it couldn't happen at a better time.

Yep, I saw the interview where they were saying that a 2-0 lead is a 'tenuous' lead.

3-0 is tough.

Franzen down. Those fuckers.

Fucking Roberts. I swear I'd punch that SOB right now.

Total fucking cheap shot. Too bad you're not laced up Tahoe, we need someone to drop the gloves after that one.

I'd do it. In a New York second.

We should just be able to shut the ice down now, right?

Franzen going with someone.

Yes we should. Just plug up the ice and put this game away.

Wow the Pens are just hitting and almost dirty type hits every chance they get it seems.

That's just frustration now. I think though that they did take themselves out of the play a few times trying to hit. Sometimes they're looking for the hard hit more than just checking and getting the guy off the puck or taking him out of the play. It takes them out of the play and the Wings are incredible at taking advantage of that.

Lace 'em up Tahoe. Franzen's the last guy we want them to be giving shots to the head.

Thats one reason why I was never good at hockey (among many others) is I always went after someone.

This one time my coach put me in goal and this guy got the puck at the blue line and I skated all the way out there to hit him instead of staying in the net.

I wanna say that was 30 years ago now.

Here we go

Robert is the piece of shit that needs a swat

He needs to be taken on that's for sure.

A goalie checking at the blue. That's great. I had a friend growing up who was a goalie and nuts like that too. He would hack and whack and check if he could. Great goalie though when he was in the game.

I loved dealing out hits, crunching in the corner and giving it out too. It's hard to really fight with face masks on, but you can drop a glove, grab it and pull really hard to take it off while punching with the other hand. That always worked. And if you got lucky you got the facemask or the helmet off and then could get in some real shots.

Two straight shutouts. Huge.

OZZY!

I bet the first period in Pit will be the Pens coming out hitting, establishing home ice, type of things.

Every interview I've seen of the Wings, they say that we just need to stick to our game plan. don't do what Probert and Kocur would do, skate and score.

And they're right too. They shouldn't get too involved with all the stupid crap; they're owning the Pens right now and that's something to just try and take them off their game. In today's NHL you can just keep your head in the game and make them pay with goals.

And I think you're right, the Pens will come out flying and hitting next game.

Dats vs Roberts and Dats just hits him to the ice. That was fucking awesome.

Yeah it was. And it was the second time tonight that he'd gotten all over someone for fucking with a teammate. Small and quiet and shy but if you mess with one of his boys, Pavel will fuck you up.

Yeah it was. And it was the second time tonight that he'd gotten all over someone for fucking with a teammate. Small and quiet and shy but if you mess with one of his boys, Pavel will fuck you up.

He is actually leading the team in hits, so I guess its a natural progression.

Yeah, I've been amazed at how much he's been throwing his body around during the playoffs. I love it.

Someone explain this to me:

Every time the puck goes behind Pittsburgh's net and Fleury goes back to get it, he gets away with interfering with Detroit's skater that goes behind him by sticking his ass out. I see it every time, I think the VS Network notices it as well because they always zoom in on it, but Fleury never gets called for it. I say we have Drake skate by and just light him up next time he does it.

Also, I've never seen the Wings play as well as they have in that first period. It was beautiful.

I saw Steve Yzerman at the grocery store on Friday. (no Herm, though)

At least, I thought it was Stevie, he was wearing his jersey.

He did kind of give me an odd look when I kept calling him Steve and asked for his autograph (which he refused to give me).

Man, he's REALLY put on weight since he retired.

Someone explain this to me:

Every time the puck goes behind Pittsburgh's net and Fleury goes back to get it, he gets away with interfering with Detroit's skater that goes behind him by sticking his ass out. I see it every time, I think the VS Network notices it as well because they always zoom in on it, but Fleury never gets called for it. I say we have Drake skate by and just light him up next time he does it.

Also, I've never seen the Wings play as well as they have in that first period. It was beautiful.

Traditionally goalies can get away with a bit more than normal players. Refs are more lenient with them as long as it doesn't go too far. I agree with you that Fleury at times is interfering, but as long as the violation isn't too obvious he will always get away with it. Same goes for a goalie who starts whacking on a forward standing in front of his net. There are times when goalies get called for it but it's when they've gone way over the line. That's just they way it is.

As a player, as long as it's not bloody murder, you more or less let it go. Goalies are almost sacred; you never take a shot at them unless you're willing to take on the entire other team for the rest of the game, series or year. But, on occasion you will see some real hard slapshots go right for the goalie's head.

He is actually leading the team in hits, so I guess its a natural progression.

I guess you're right. Since he's such a great defensive forward I just saw his getting the body on the other guy as an extension of that. His hits were good, some real good, but not huge bone-crushers. I just never thought he had that in him. I'm am very, very happy to see I'm wrong.

EDIT: And don't forget he's always in the hunt for the Lady Byng trophy as well (something I'd forgot until my dad brought it up just now).

Someone explain this to me:

Every time the puck goes behind Pittsburgh's net and Fleury goes back to get it, he gets away with interfering with Detroit's skater that goes behind him by sticking his ass out. I see it every time, I think the VS Network notices it as well because they always zoom in on it, but Fleury never gets called for it. I say we have Drake skate by and just light him up next time he does it.

Also, I've never seen the Wings play as well as they have in that first period. It was beautiful.

I agree. I noticed one that was pretty blatent. I thought our player should have taken a dive there to try and draw one.

I saw Steve Yzerman at the grocery store on Friday. (no Herm, though)

At least, I thought it was Stevie, he was wearing his jersey.

He did kind of give me an odd look when I kept calling him Steve and asked for his autograph (which he refused to give me).

Man, he's REALLY put on weight since he retired.

Shit, I thought that was funny.

http://multimedia.detnews.com/pix/sports/2008/redwings/WingsAction/0526-dy-Redwings1045.jpg

Franzen looks like he is about to murder Malkin there.

Oh I wish that was a video.

I'm still pissed about that cheap shot on Franzen. I mean, dude has concussion like symptons and this guys suckers him from behind.

http://multimedia.detnews.com/pix/sports/2008/redwings/WingsAction/0526-dy-Redwings1045.jpg

Franzen looks like he is about to murder Malkin there.
Wish he would have. I would have laughed my ass off if he'd just drilled him in the jaw.

I agree. I noticed one that was pretty blatent. I thought our player should have taken a dive there to try and draw one.

Don't ever let Don Cherry hear you say that. ;)

Anybody read the Pittsburgh papers? I like reading opposing teams newspapers to see what they say. I have to give props to the Pittsburgh writers in being very honest about the situation and even calling out Therrien for his stupid statements.

A couple things I thought interesting that they're talking about
:
1. One of the papers would like to see Malkin and Crosby together. I wouldn't mind seeing that matched up against' Dats and Zets at all:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08149/885301-61.stm

2. The other paper suggests they try some more dump and chase; which is and always has been the fall back plan when you're not getting a lot of shots on net and good chances:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_569655.html

And yes, I have already made the decision that I'm not doing anything productive today, hence all the time on my hands. That and I'm psyched for Game 3.

I saw Steve Yzerman at the grocery store on Friday. (no Herm, though)

At least, I thought it was Stevie, he was wearing his jersey.

He did kind of give me an odd look when I kept calling him Steve and asked for his autograph (which he refused to give me).

Man, he's REALLY put on weight since he retired.



Shit, I thought that was funny.

as did I.......and from what I've seen in person, McCarty's face is the same, but when you take the pads of him he has the body of an overweight trailer trash girl

Thanks Wiz.

I'm digging the av, too.

Anybody read the Pittsburgh papers? I like reading opposing teams newspapers to see what they say. I have to give props to the Pittsburgh writers in being very honest about the situation and even calling out Therrien for his stupid statements.

A couple things I thought interesting that they're talking about
:
1. One of the papers would like to see Malkin and Crosby together. I wouldn't mind seeing that matched up against' Dats and Zets at all:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08149/885301-61.stm

2. The other paper suggests they try some more dump and chase; which is and always has been the fall back plan when you're not getting a lot of shots on net and good chances:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_569655.html

And yes, I have already made the decision that I'm not doing anything productive today, hence all the time on my hands. That and I'm psyched for Game 3.

Looks like the Pens are going to put Malkin and Crosby on the same line to get them going.


The Pittsburgh Penguins hope that putting their two top offensive threats on the No. 1 line can spark their struggling offence when they host the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena tonight for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final.

Down 2-0 in their series and held without a single goal, Penguins head coach Michel Therrien hinted that he will place centres Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin together in five-on-five situations.

...

Also, defenceman Darryl Sydor - who won Stanley Cups with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 - will dress for the first time this postseason, replacing rookie Kristopher Letang. Sydor has not played since March 31.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=239074&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main

They already have, like, 7 shots on goal in 2 games. Granted no goals, but why do they want to get things going?

They're doing fine as far as I'm concerned.

This should be fun. Do they roll them out to match Dats and Zets? Do they try to keep Dats and Zets off of them? Will Babcock try to match lines, adjust or just roll with what's been working (which is what I'm hoping he does, at least to start with).

They already have, like, 7 shots on goal in 2 games. Granted no goals, but why do they want to get things going?

They're doing fine as far as I'm concerned.

I thought this would get at least a half of a chuckle. :)

This should be fun. Do they roll them out to match Dats and Zets? Do they try to keep Dats and Zets off of them? Will Babcock try to match lines, adjust or just roll with what's been working (which is what I'm hoping he does, at least to start with).

I don't think Babs will try to match lines. Our 2nd and 3rd lines aren't that much worse defensively than our 1st line. The only matchup advantage for Pittsburgh is against our 4th line but as long as Babs doesn't put our 3rd D pairing out at the same time, we should be fine.

I do expect a constant parade of Wings players to the penalty box tonight though.

Do you mean in an NBAesque attempt to get the Pens back in the game? I really hope not.

First firkin game I get to see of this series, bout time. Vs can suck my balls or maybe my cable company can take a dip. Fuck it, one beer in.

GO WINGS!!!

Do you mean in an NBAesque attempt to get the Pens back in the game? I really hope not.
Therrien has been bitching about the Wings getting away with obstruction/interference since Game 2 ended. It is bound to get him some calls going his way.

The refs are going to look for anything that remotely looks like a penalty and call it.

Point taken. I'll just hope it's not too bad.

I've only got a couple of beers in me and the weird stuff is already happening. The guest commentator for the game on Spanish cable is the soccer coach for Real Madrid (one of the biggest soccer clubs in Europe). At least it turns out he's a huge Wings fan.

Probably could have put this in the "do you care.." thread.

LETS GO WINGS!!!

And it's on NBC, so I get it to watch the game in HD. [smilie=clap.gif] [smilie=clap.gif][smilie=clap.gif]

And it looks like you were more than just right. In the first minute? Come on.

Oh wow..........That's a penalty?

Years ago all that complaining coming back home would get you maybe a call or two but that penalty was ridiculous.

Some nifty moves by Malone there but a great stop by Ozzie.

And PP for the Wings.

the picture was better on Vs......and I hate white outs

I'd be ok with a 0-0 score at the end of the 1st. Meaning, they (the Pens)didn't grab the home ice momentum.

Roberts needs to get punched out. Where the hell's Tahoe?

I'd love too. Prolly get my butt kicked but it'd be a fun process.

What a chance by Zetty's pass to Stuart?

and now a PP.

Go Wings!

Was it Z with the pass? I thought it was Dats.

^ Probably so.

So if you guys had to rate puck handlers, where would Dats and Zetty rate? And who are the premier puck handlers in todays game?

Bad turnover there.

1-0 Penguins.

It definately sucked but its not like they beat us head to head. They still haven't done that.

Looks like the Pens have finally shown up to play.

Yeah, that was a bad mistake. It's funny, the Wings breakout is a thing of beauty but you could never teach kids to do that. The Wings are able to pass it so often through the slot and right across the slot. They're just so skillful they can move it that way. The only problem is that if you turn if over there...

We dodged a bullet there at the end. We were brutal the last 4-5 minutes of the period.

You're right on that one. I guess it was bound to happen. Let's see how we come out in the second. The Wings can definitely put it up a notch.

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Pens came to play and are skating. The Wings have to adjust, stop trying to be so fancy with the puck and get it down low near Fleury.

HOLY CRAP.................Lilja!!!!!!

Stuart and Lilja have looked prety bad so far.

And a great hit by Dats on Malone.

Power play, here's our chance.

FUCK!

oh muther fucker that was close

They have to simplify that breakout. Move the puck up and keep it out of the slot.

THAT was a bonecrusher by Dats.

How the fuck is that not a penalty when Orpik basically threw Hudler into the damn goal?

How can they argue that cross check?

Another PP for Detroit, we need a goal here.

Gotta score on this PP.

Keep grinding it out. Good chance there

FRANZEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FANZEN.l. l

Mule!!! Gorgeous move!

Oh, I loved that goal.

You Don't Mess With the Johan!!!

I'm going to go back and look at the Franzie goal at intermission but that seemed like it was all on his own.

23 (Wings) just had a good defensive play

Shit, I missed the goal. End of 2nd now.

Wings started to get their feet moving there in the last half of the period. Fun 10 minutes too.

Still a one shot game going into the 3rd. Should be a great period.

Pittsburgh is a bunch of punks. I'm sick of them trying to bully the Wings. Get out there and fuck him up.

Hey Crosby: Kronwall is coming for you.






Pittsburgh's whining is making the Pistons jealous, btw.

Wow.

Wow those were close.

Ozzie keeping us in this game.

edit nm

Franzen is getting his chances on his own, it seems.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......................

Fuck, Pitt goal.

That was a scrappy goal right there.

Wow.

How did Homer not score there?

^ thats what i was going to say, how did that NOT go in.

holy shit, i thought that was a goal.

I really wanna see a replay of that play...That looked like a sure goal.

Our spacing sucked a couple times tonight.

It hit the post, dammit!

SAMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOAL!

It's not over yet.

Who was that? sammy?

It's not over yet!

6 something left

How is that not a penalty on Gill???

Big PP here.

Damn, terrible day for Detroit.

Oh well, sweeping an opponent in the finals is a pretty tall task.

I'll take a win the next game.

As bad as we played in this game, it easily could have gone OT if our PP didn't suck so bad (Did we even have a single shot on that last PP?).

Can't wait till game 4. Hopefully Detroit will win the next one then put them away back home.

I don't think we played too horrible except for that stretch at the end of the 1st, beginning of the 2nd. We didn't play well enough to win it but I'm glad we weren't skated out of the arena. I think we needed to step of the skating; the Pens came to play and the Wings were a bit too relaxed, too much coasting to the puck instead of moving their feet. That's how we coughed up the puck for those goals.

Pens played at the top of their game and barely won. I like our chances in game 4.

I heard Homer's out for the rest of the series...anybody else here that??

From TSN:


While it was initially thought Tomas Holmstrom suffered a knee injury in Game 3, sources tell TSN the problem may be more of a groin/sports hernia condition that was bothering him just prior to the beginning of the playoffs. If the groin muscle is torn, and the Wings aren’t saying anything right now, Holmstrom could be forced out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The team's official position is that it is lower body injury and they will know more Friday.
While Homer hasn't been all that effective in these playoffs, it would still be a big loss IMO. Especially because we might have to dress McCarthy in his place. I would rather see Meech dress instead.

Well, we just got Franzen back, he can do the big body in the front of the net gig pretty well, so just put him in Homer's place.

I thought about that one too, but I don't like that solution. You'd be taking too much away from the 2nd line. I think someone like Cleary (maybe Hudler?) would be a better replacement. I think that any contributing player and/or mucker willing to get in the corners and stay in front of the net can help playing with Dats and Zets and obviously playing with those two can raise anyone's game as well. It not the same as Homer but we can still get good production out of the 1 line; especially if our two stars step it up a bit.

Holmstrom says he expects to play in Game 4

by Ansar Khan Friday May 30, 2008, 2:02 PM


Update from practice Friday: Tomas Holmstrom didn't practice Friday but said he felt much better and anticipates playing in Game 4 Saturday. He was naturally vague about his injury, but said it's not a re-aggravation of the lower abdominal strain that caused him to miss 13 games late in the season. It's some type of leg injury suffered from a hit by Hal Gill with about six minutes to play in Game 3.
Asked if he thinks he'll be in, Holmstrom said, "Yeah, that's how it looks like. It feels good.''
About the play, he said, "Gill just can-opened me up, I felt something pull in my leg. I tried to come back in the game between the commercial breaks, but it was too numb. But for sure good rest today and yesterday.''
Coach Mike Babcock said trainer Piet Van Zant told him Holmstrom is much better today than he anticipated. Babcock said if Holmstrom can't play, Dan Cleary will take his place on the top line with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk and Darren McCarty will be inserted into the lineup. He said there will be no changes on defense, as Chris Chelios will remain a healthy scratch.

Fuck! I just got home and they're down one. What the hell happened?

At least we're tied now! Nice!!!

There we go. 1-1