Cern

When you get a free ticket to the finals it generally helps a bit against a team that actually needed to work, sure.

Gotta love the 'Wings are old' argument when even a casual glance at the roster shows that this year Detroit is younger and faster than it was last year.

You still haven't won anything. Perhaps you should take some basic math before calling other people stupid. Arrogance goes both ways.

You're neglecting the Wings' scouting and prospect development. Prospects spend ages in development but they make damn sure that the ones that make the cut are going to be able to fill the gaps that would otherwise emerge when you have guys enter the NHL late. Will Datsyuk be putting up the same kind of numbers in a couple years? Probably not, but we have guys like Helm and Leino that are being groomed to take their place at that point anyway. The Wings' management is very much a generational process, it's inaccurate to throw in age as a factor since it isn't just about Datsyuk and Zetterberg, it's about making as sure as possible that their kind of play can last beyond them.

You kidding me? The Penguins' excuses for games 1 and 2 completely took the cake. At least our excuses are based on the players themselves, I've heard Penguins fans blame everything from the boards to the Wings cheating by giving Pittsburgh faulty sticks - everything BUT their players.

In a funny way, it seems like that computer simulation thing might end up being right. They said that the presence of Lidstrom and/or Datsyuk could be what determines who wins this thing, and we've been sorely missing Dats thus far.

Uh, the positives? Helm'll be playing permanent minutes next season, I guess...

I'm missing my brother's graduation for this game SO THEY BETTER WIN T_T

instead of just watching it on CBC...?

thankfully VS is a non-issue for me...

Apparently it's retractable

We lost because of our PK. That's it. A tighter game with the man down could have been the difference between a 4-2 loss and a 2-1 win. Expect the PK to be much improved with Datsyuk and Draper back.

Yet again a fan of an Eastern Conference team fails to learn that DEFENSE wins championships. The Ducks didn't win their Cup by blowing out the opposition with goals, they smothered their offensive threats and grinded out one-goal wins.

Sounds like Zetterberg is doing his job perfectly. Now we just need Datsyuk back to be the same kind of neutralizing presence against Malkin.

Penalty killing has been our one and only real achilles heel these playoffs, and it finally came back to haunt the Wings last night. The Pens can't score without Crosby or Malkin's involvement, but they for the most part have also had trouble scoring unless they physically outnumber the Wings; a tighter PK could really have been the difference between a 4-2 loss and a 2-1 win, one-sided officiating or not. All the more reason Draper and likely Datsyuk being back for game 4 will be HUGE for Detroit. Even if the two of them aren't lighting the lamp, they'll go a long way in helping to patch up that one glaring weakness.

...hm, touche

Another thing to note is that the outdoor screening of the games in Pittsburgh is apparently sponsored by VS. They say something like 2000 people go to the thing, which absolutely pales in comparison to when something like 10 000 people showed up outside of HSBC Arena for the 07 ECF, but they always seem to like to make a big deal about it during broadcasts, even though attendance at the Joe outnumbers the arena and the outdoor screening combined. Funny that they don't ever have something reciprocal set up in Detroit...

I get the stuff about him possibly being rusty, but I wouldn't take the .5 points a game thing lightly. Pittsburgh's top defensive players can't simply ignore Datsyuk, otherwise he IS going to start lighting the lamp. Merely having him in the lineup is huge, now those bottom defensive pairings are even more snakebitten against Detroit's second and third lines. To say nothing of his role on the penalty kill.

You know what I *REALLY* want to see? A dynasty of the Penguins losing the SCF. Just a good five to six years in a row where they climb all the way up to the top of the East only to get completely creamed in the most important series. Ideally at the hands of Detroit of course, but my god the blueballing of the sports media would be the most satisfying thing ever.

I'm not gonna skim through that whole Penguins Board thread, but this one absolutely takes the cake:

Yeah, they nicknamed him The Brick Wall. That said, it's because he just kinda stands there...

NHL has rescinded the instigator suspension. GEE, NEVER SAW THAT ONE COMING.

Radiohead experiments with their music, though :X

At least Crosby has the decency to stick around for post-series handshakes. Apparently Lebron James stormed back to the bus the moment he lost tonight.

Uh, Hughson IS announcing the finals.