BobErrey12

Not to be a smart ass, but you obviously haven't been watching Petr Sykora, Ryan Malone or Pascal Dupuis play for Pittsburgh very much. But yeah, outside of those 6 guys... we have no scoring depth.

Um, no. You read this: "Your defense obviously is better, but I think that's about the only edge Detroit has. And it's not THAT big an edge." Which you must have read the wrong way. I'm saying the difference between our two defenses isn't THAT big. Pittsburgh has done a pretty good job of keeping the crease clear, limiting the bulk of the shots we face to the perimeter and playing pretty well positionally. It's no superstar defense like you guys have in Detroit, but they're playing their system so well, it's not THAT big of an edge between the two teams.

I'd venture to guess Osgood has the same problem as Brodeur has had. (although Brodeur to a much lesser extent.) The teams Osgood has had in front of him have been phenomenal for a long time. So he's often overlooked. Now that being said, Osgood is a good goaltender. I don't think he's a great goaltender, but with the Red Wings, you don't have to be great, just make the key saves, and play sound positional hockey in goal. And Osgood does that very well.

Oh sure, I was just pointing out why you're not seeing many Flyers in front of the net this series.

You didn't see much traffic in front of the Penguins net because after the first period of game 1, Therrien made it a priority among his defensemen to keep the net clear. Every time one of the Flyers tries to camp now, Gill, Orpik, even Gonchar have been in there clearing the crease. They realized pretty early on that was how Philly scored most of their goals, and they've been pretty effective neutralizing it.

I stopped paying attention to anything ESPN or their talking heads have to say about hockey a looooong time ago. I've just heard too many of them say incredibly uneducated things about the sport.

Yeah, we've just finished a series with the Rangers and will (hopefully) knock the Flyers out in the next game. You can imagine the kind of trolls we've been dealing with from New York and Philly. Might help if you use a non-Detroit sounding screen name. Not sure about that, tho. Could be worse. At the Capitals forums, they'll let you register (so they can fill up your inbox with refuse) but they won't let you reply to any messages on their forums.

Hi there. Nice forums you have here. It's a pretty nice change after visiting the cesspools that are the Rangers and Flyers forums. (The Senators were pretty nice, generally speaking) I'm a Penguins fan following the team since 1989, but I live in Lansing, MI now. So I've been watching both teams play all season long and in the playoffs. One thing I'd like to point out is our supposed lack of experience. While it's true that Detroit has more veterans, more Rings in the room and obviously more playoff appearances among their players, Hal Gill, Sergei Gonchar, Gary Roberts, Georges Laraque, Peter Sykora and Darryl Sydor (who hasn't played in the playoffs yet) have a pretty good chunk of playoff experience between them. To a lesser extent, we're not a team full of rookies. Ryan Malone is blooming (right before a contract, shocker, I know) into a top-flight power forward this season. Marion Hossa has a chip on his shoulder about his past performance in the playoffs, and is playing excellent two-way hockey. Pascal Dupuis has been energized and is playing relentless hockey since being put on a line with Crosby and Hossa. Brooks Orpik is definately coming into his prime as a defenseman and while he's always been counted on to deliver crushing checks, he's playing much more responsible in his end. The point I'm getting at is that this isn't a matchup of youth v. experience. This isn't the 1980 Olympics. Pittsburgh has gotten where they are by being an excellent blend of players in their youth, prime, and veteran status. Now I know the regular season doesn't mean anything when playoff time comes. But it's something to think about when you consider how often "The best team from the worst conference" is mentioned. We were 9-1 against Western teams this season. Our team greatly resembles the Nashville Predators on steroids. Our top two lines of Sykora - Malkin - Malone and Dupuis - Crosby - Hossa are the likes of which Detroit hasn't faced in the playoffs yet. On the flip side, Pittsburgh hasn't faced a defense like Detroit's but it is worth mentioning that Pittsburgh has the #1 rated penalty kill and has allowed the fewest goals in the playoffs thus far. Our 3rd and 4th lines have a handfull of game winning goals between them as well. Just about everything I've said about our two teams can be said about the other. Your 3rd and 4th liners contribute. Your defense obviously is better, but I think that's about the only edge Detroit has. And it's not THAT big an edge. To those saying that Pittsburgh isn't playing team defense across the board. I honestly don't think you've been watching these guys play their first 12 games in the playoffs. Sidney Crosby bought into the defensive system, and his team hopped on board. I've noticed a lot of Detroit goals are scoring via a screening Holmstrom or other widebody. During our first game against Philly, they were filling up our crease with widebodies and scored a couple goals for their efforts. During the second half of game 1, and games 2 and 3, rarely do you see anyone occupying our crease area due to the work or Gill, Orpik and (to a lesser extent) Gonchar and Scuderi. I believe this is going to be one of the keys to this series. Pittsburgh HAS to keep the bodies clear from the front of the net. Fortunately, 6'7" Hal Gill and 6'2" Brooks Orpik are pretty good at it. Honestly, after watching both teams play extensively this season and the playoffs, it's not a good idea for either fan base to get too arrogant about their chances. This series has the potential to be the best series played in the last 20 years. Pittsburgh hasn't lost a home game in almost 3 months. I hate making predictions, because it's all a crap shoot anyways, but if there was a gun to my head, the best I could do is say it's going to take at LEAST 6 games to figure this one out. We'll see, it's gonna be a nailbiter. Penguins in 7, triple overtime, my heart explodes after the 2nd overtime and I don't survive to see my Penguins win their 3rd Cup. *sighs*