Cern

Are you seriously going to expect me to say that Fleury is a better goalie than Turco? This guy carried his team to series victories against the reigning SC champion and the team largely expected to win this one, then bit the bullet when down 3-0 and make the Wings begin to sweat. Fleury faced up against a dud Senators team NOBODY expected would get anywhere, a Rangers squad that has no defense to write home about, and a Philly squad with its two best blueliners out of the running. Yeah, you're damn right I seriously think that Dallas is better than the Pens defensively; Dallas didn't get a free ride to where they ended up. Next you'll be telling me that the Flyers were a tougher challenge to the Pens than the Stars were to the Wings. You're very right; and I don't see any of that 'much more' element to defense on Pittsburgh. I don't see any Selke winners/nominations on the Penguins. I don't see a goalie capable of singlehandedly stealing a series on the Penguins. Heck, I don't see any defensemen in and of themselves that look like hall-of-famers on the Penguins. Lets face it, Pittsburgh has made wonderful use of its explosive offense and embarrassingly mismatched series to cover up the inconsistencies of its blue line - one that has let even Ottawa get in some goal streaks - and the media have jumped at the opportunity to label it as 'good defense'. It's definitely better than what they had two seasons ago, but these constant allegations that defensive matchups are 'equal' or 'marginally close' to a team like the Wings' is absolutely laughable.

Gatorade ads featuring a shootout that never actually occured, at that.

the slippin' and the slidin' and the divin' and the cryin' Cuz that's what the PENGUINS!... are all about! Eeh eeh eeh!

Or put laxatives in Crosby's gatorade...

I would never wear an EDGE jersey anyway. The replicas feel incredibly cheap and I hate that huge RBK tag sewn onto the bottom.

Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Unless the competing defense/goalie has been absolutely spectacular (Note that Ottawa, NY, Philly, St. Louis, and to a slightly lesser extent Dallas didn't do that in your examples) failing to get even a single goal after 60 minutes of play demonstrates a team that simply dosen't have the will /mind / desire to get the job done. Malkin's pathetic penalty shot in game 4 against NY comes to mind.

I obviously can't speak for everybody, but I for one never called for a Wings sweep/near-sweep. I never predict round numbers in the first place because it always results in ridiculous numbers being shouted out. It should be obvious that Detroit will have a bigger challenge with Pittsburgh than any other teams they've faced, and that the case is vice versa as well. But you also can't deny that the media has absolutely SATURATED the entire league in terms of marketing and sports commentary. I've encountered even Pens fans who are sick and tired of every single sports update on the evening news revolving entirely around Crosby's status. You mention respect towards Zetterberg, Datsyuk, etc etc, but for all intents and purposes nobody gives those players anywhere close to the kinds of considerations doled out to Sid. If anything the image the media in its near-entirety has given is that it's the Wings who are wasting their time even bothering to suit up, and ultimately that voice easily drowns out the voice coming from some small fan forum. The point being made here is that the gap between Pittsburgh's offense and Detroit's defense isn't as wide as Detroit's offense is to Pittsburgh's defense. Hell, if ANY team in the league has a back end capable of solving Croskinssa, it's the Wings'. That imbalance could very well prove the determining factor in this series because lets face it, Fleury is no Turco, and the Wings have been able to solve Turco.

No, getting shut out means you tanked. Let alone getting shut out against Biron.

Playing against a Sens team a peewee girls team could have sweeped? Sorry, having Sid shoved down my throat at EVERY opportunity humanly possible by every advertiser and sportscaster in the league is sapping my respect if not for the franchise as a whole than definitely for him. Particularly when Ovechkin is a shoo-in for all of the silverware Crosby won (and is so without nearly as much help from his 'supporting cast'), does so with more on-ice charisma and passion, yet constantly gets shoved into Crosby's shadow because the NHL's front office would rather kill themselves than let a Russian be the face of the league. All of the talent with none of the selling-out.

And the entire time Sid was out Pens fans were masturbating furiously at how Pittsburgh is a team of mutant supermen even WITHOUT him. Which one is it?

Seems to me the key to solving Pittsburgh's scoring depth is making Crosby's life miserable. His numbers are indicating that he can only dole out the assists. Cover a goal-scorer and you can shut him down. Cover a playmaker (with Detroit's league-topping defense, I should add) and the entire line he's sharing the ice with collapses like a house or cards.

Funnily enough, I think it's the Wings with that philosophy in hand. Every sportscaster in North America has barely stopped short of coronating the Cup to Cindy right here and now. Detroit? Predictions split with Nashville, predictions split with Colorado, practically awarding Dallas the 33 Year Comeback the second Game 5 ended, too old, too European, too complacent in the post-season to get the job done. If I was on that Wings roster I'd be fed up with it year after year, and now that they're this close to getting the top prize I think they're going out to prove everyone wrong.

Has EVERYone completely forgotten that there are players called 'defensemen' whose JOBS it is to shut down offense? Detroit's blue line definitely has the kind of depth to frustrate Croskinssa, to say nothing of the abilities of their defensive forwards.

Well, when the CFs began I figured that Pittsburgh would have an easier time than Detroit getting the series win since Biron is no Turco. Thankfully for us, Fleury is no Turco either.

I say that in true Disney movie form it'll go to Game 7, then someone will discover a long-forgotten loophole in the NHL's rules allowing select players from every team Pittsburgh has defeated to suit up for then. With three minutes to go, game tied, Wings Flyers Rangers and Senators will attain a Captain-Planet-esque fusion, resulting in a slapshot so hard it sends Fleury smashing through the plexiglass behind him.

I'm offering a hand tomorrow by wearing my vintage winged wheel shirt under my dress code. I have work tomorrow but working at a golf course is pretty cushy - I'll probably be able to watch most of it anyway.

Fixed. None of the teams Pittsburgh faced had any kind of defensive lineup to write home about. Detroit does.

?

In all fairness, it's not like Osgood has been stealing games for us. He's been doing what needs to be done but it's impossible to discount the contributions of the defense backing him up.

I have to wonder if the Wings are, though. They don't sound angry about their losses, just... complacent. God forbid, I think Cherry might have been on to something when he talked about the Wings needing more soul in their game. My finger's hovered over the button but I'm not about to press it until game 6's aftermath.

In any case, both instances of it happened in the Eastern Conference, not the west.

Guh, a video clip of that is going to be in next year's dictionary entry for 'stupid penalty'

As I mentioned in another thread, my hand is hovering over the panic button but I'm not about to press it until after game 6 has come and gone. I think a bit of a lineup change is called for, get Zetter and Dats on different lines maybe.

Well, in all honesty I was expecting a series to be made of this match up - it just seems to be rearing its ugly head later than I was assuming it would. I'm not sure what to make of all this right now. My hand is hovering over the panic button but I'm not pushing it until Game 6 has come and gone. The Wings have obviously been able to solve Turco before, they're more than capable of doing it one more time. They just need to start playing more angry hockey instead of more frustrated hockey.

I savour every Pitts loss, especially now since we didn't seal the deal in Dallas. The first period highlighted the inconsistency of Pittsburgh's blue line and goalie. If Philly can get moments like this (hell, even the Senators had these at times) where Fleury lets in strings of goals, Detroit is going to eat the Penguins' defense for breakfast.