Third Man In

Screw it. It's no more 'Mellon Arena' than Pine Knob is 'DTE Energy Music Theatre'.

lol esteef! Although I must say, your post made me nostalgic for the Penguin's logo from the '90s

The Eastern Conference has pretty much an entire division of teams that would be good candidates to move west to allow the Wings to move to the East. I'm really glad the Pens stayed put. After seeing Winnipeg-->Phoenix, Hartford-->Carolina, Quebec-->Colorado (even though Denver's a good hockey market), and expansion to Tampa Bay, Miami, and Nashville, teams like Pitt and Edmonton staying put was a victory for hockey fans.

I'm pretty sure I'm in.

Welcome, Pens fans! Good to play a good hockey city in the Cup Final. This will be more fun than the Flyers in '97 and the Caps in '98, and certainly more fun than the Canes in '02 and the Devils in '95. Not ragging on your post overall, but I take issue with these two parts of it. The Wings gave up quite a bit fewer goals than the Pens in the regular season and have played an outstanding defensive game for 13 years. They have two Selke nominees, a former Selke winner in Draper, and with perhaps the exception of Anaheim the best top four defencemen in the league (However, I do think Pitt's top four are underrated). Yes, the Penguins have a slightly lower GAA so far in the playoffs, but I don't think that all things considered that qualifies them as having the better team defence. But anyone expecting Ozzie to be the Wings' Achilles heel hasn't watched him play nearly enough this year. (Which is understandable as the Wings and Pens play once every 27 years. Thanks Bettman!) Ozzie led the league in GAA, started the All-Star game, and has sent three teams packing who thought he would be the Wings' Achilles heel. Fleury might outplay Ozzie, but Ozzie won't cost the Wings the series. But absolutely yes. Like I said in a different thread, the Pens became legitimate Stanley Cup contenders not when Malkin stepped up in the absence of Crosby or when they acquired Hossa, but when they learned to play great team defence in February. Their defence is very, very good, and it clearly frustrated the Flyers in the last round. Here's to a great series!

Yep! Oh wait. I think you meant: Go Ozzie!

Let's say Turco did say "Not bad for a backup." Could he have not meant it as a compliment? He surely recognizes that Ozzie has accomplished a lot this season (league-leading GAA, All-Star game starter, Jennings trophy in the regular season; 10-2 in the playoffs and a trip to the Cup Finals) for a team that did view him as a backup until game 5 of the Nashville series.

You lost to the Avs this year? How did you manage that? The Wings were 8-0 against them, playoffs included. Just kidding, of course! The Pens didn't become legitimate Cup contenders with the rise of Malkin or the addition of Hossa. They became Cup contenders in February when they learned to play team defence, and this makes them a formidable opponent. Pitt and Detroit are 1-2 in GAA these playoffs, and it's no coincidence they are the teams squaring off in the Finals. The Pens are also rested. This should be the Wings' sternest test. A lot rides on Mule. If he can play and picks up where he left off, than the Wings can match the Pens up front. The Wings have a solid edge on defence, and while Fleury is a legitimate Conn Smythe candidate in goal for the Pens, Ozzie's been every bit as good and has been here before. Then, it's experience vs. youthful exuberance.

I'm with WingsForever. As long as the effort is there, I'm never disappointed in the team, even if the results aren't what we--and they--would like. It is so hard to get this far in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So much can go wrong (injuries, bad breaks, bad calls, hot opposition goaltending, etc.) that we should all feel incredibly fortunate and incredibly proud of this team for making the Cup Finals. Yes, we all want to see the Wings win the Cup, and we'll all be disappointed if they don't. But would that make the season or the team a disappointment? No way.

The Stars had a really, really impressive run. They were horrible for awhile after the Richards trade and were in danger of being the Ottawa of the West. Yet they put it together, knocked out the Ducks and the Stars (so many peoples' pick for the WCF) without the benefit of home ice, and then showed a hell of a lot of heart this series when they could have meekly packed it in after falling down 3-0. Morrow was a beast these playoffs. Turco proved himself for the second playoffs in a row. And the fans in Dallas really did themselves proud to the end.

Unbelievable effort. Way to step up Drapes and Drake, Dats and Z, and Ozzie, when it counted most! Way to put the Stars away in their own rink! Way to shut it down the last ten minutes when the Stars were giving it all they had! Way to play like Champions!

Thanks for fixing your sig!

Hey RWNW, too bad you all couldn't make it--VIB16, ELN, FUUFNF, and myself had a great time Saturday. We even made VIB16 put on three jerseys at once. Nothing like a little peer pressure to make everyone else feel good. We're hoping to do it again (VIB16's foot and the Red Wings permitting), so hopefully you can make it next time. Just no Mule shirts until he's back in the lineup.

Let's Go Red Wings! :clap: :clap: Let's Go Red Wings! :clap: :clap:

GO WINGS!

I'm feeling it too, HockeyCrazy3033 and FinWing. The Wings are gonna come out ready for this one!

I'm not into the predictions, but I'm all into the positive energy threads! Go Wings Go! Go Wings Go!

Flip's playing. He hasn't practiced for two weeks, but he's playing and will center the second line. Lils makes some poor decisions with the puck, but he's also a great shot blocker. There's a reason he's on the ice for 5-on-3s. I understand people's reservations about him, but if he's in the lineup, Go Get'em Pain Train!

Let's Go Red Wings! :clap: :clap: Full 60 minutes tonight, boys. No less. Come out flying like octopi. FINISH THEM! :octo: *splat* :octo: *splat*

He's had a nagging leg injury for much of the playoffs. Since last round he hasn't been practicing every time. It's part of the reason his production's been down (as Cleary dropping 15 lbs of muscle and wearing the face mask is part of reason his production's down).

Nothing major, but I like the change. Splitting up Z and Dats didn't do much against Nashville, so I wouldn't like to see it for the entire game unless Babs tries it to start the game and it clicks. Huddles gets more of a chance on the second line, while Sammy (yes, Sammy) with Drake and Drapes gives the third line more of a scoring punch--maybe Drake or Drapes can punch in a rebound from one of Sammy's shots off the glass or even the rare ones on net. On the back end...I don't think swapping Lils for Cheli is going to make the difference in this one.

Congrats, servo!!!! Babs is on the same page, so I thought I'd reiterate: "Guys, we directed 58 shots at the net yesterday," Babcock said. "They directed 28. Let's not make things bigger than they are or smaller than they are. We had clear-cut opportunities that didn't hit the net. That's being too fine. Pound it off the goalie and shoot the rebound in the net." Go Wings!

Implied by 3. Amazing how pucks find holes (and the back of the net) when you fire them instead of aim them. This goes for Sammy as well, who finds holes in the protective net above the glass.

Good. He shaved the beard and touched the octopus. That should cover it.