P. Marlowe

Isn't it a replica of the Cup that is given to the players and the real one's in the Hall of Fame? I might be wrong but I thought that all the trophies given out in the NHL are replicas to prevent the original ones getting broken or lost.

This is one of those rumours that usually start this way: Interviewer: You're looking for a new coach now. How about Mike Babcock? Ottawa's GM: Yeah. Why not? The rumour's already alive before anyone asks Babcock about it. I don't even think anyone took it seriously enough to ask the coach about it, as this rumour was given birth by journalists who needed something to write about.

Oh...

He's the announcer of Versus. It seems that NBC turned into Versus now.

I think it was hilarious how after he said that grinned a little and then quickly hid his smile.

Too bad all we can do is watch replays. We never get to inside the players' heads. You can never know if what happened was acting, or did it really hurt or if the player just stumbled. Franzén fell in a strange way that's for sure, but I suppose he was hurt. What happened with Osgood is that it looked to me that he collided with Sykora, stumbled on the net and maybe hit his head. With Ribeiro slashing Osgood it seemed that it shouldn't hurt much, but who knows. I will never know what really happened and because of that I don't even try as it's worthless. Some players (Forsberg, Crosby and Ribeiro for example) have reputation of being divers, but I don't know should they be conserned about that. Reputations are strange things and I don't know what they even matter.

That second line sounds good. I wonder if they fit in the same line though as in the past both Cleary and Franzén have played same goalie screening roles in their lines. It will be interesting to see what happens. I just hope that Franzén will play in the game two.

If you want to think statistically, then winning a game in the finals is importantish. If your team wins a game then you need to win 50% of the other games to win the cup. If your team loses a game then you need to win at least 67% of the other games.

This thread is giving me a concussion.

I like this mostly because a little while ago there was an article about Avalanche possibly signing Red Wings' assistant coach Todd McLellan as their head coach. http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_9238407

If was the coach of Penguins I would gather my team and tell them to run. Seriously, just like you wrote, I think they should play their own game in an aggressive and energiziced way and use their offensive speed. I think they have less chances to win if they let Red Wings make their fisrt move. On the other hand Red Wings might have an advantage if they let Penguins strong offense run into their strong defense and then strike back. I'm writing this with my tongue in my cheek, as I haven't followed Penguins much and even if I've followed Red Wings I understand that tactics aren't that simple things. As I've written before, I can't wait for saturday when the games actually start.

That would be goodish if not great. Projected forward lines: Datsyuk - Zetterberg - Holmstrom Cleary - Franzén - Filppula Drake - Draper - Samuelsson Maltby - Helm - Hudler Maybe Babcock puts Cleary back to the third line to create three lines with crease presence. Just like the lines were before Franzén got scratched. That would bring Samuelsson back to the second line. I wouldn't mind as that line played well when Franzén was healthy. Still, Franzén is "doubtful" for game one. I can't wait for saturday to see what happens.

Yes, that was a strange one. I'd like to know what was that "inside source" where it came from.

Babcock seems to be hinting Franzen has a foot injury of some sort. He used to be quicker. Anyway, I hope he'll dress for the game one even if he's just 90%.

Amen. That's why I can't wait for the games to start. After all these days it's funny to remember that nothing that matters has happened between Red Wings and Penguins yet.

Perhaps. I didn't notice much of cheapshotting though. Ribeiro slashing Osgood in game one and Morrow's late check on Lidstrom in game six were the only ones that I remember. Besides that there were smaller things coming from both teams. McCarty propably had a problem with his temper just like Holmstrom had. Players with their experience should know better. Luckily their penalties didn't decide the series. I don't know how you can say Stars' players cowards. All I noticed that they played the game in the similar fashion that Red Wings did, just not as well.

Well written. Samuelsson scored 23 goals two years ago and in the three seasons he's played in Red Wings he's posted 0.6 points per game. I think that makes him a fairly good player considering that he does defend too. Second line winger could be better, but also could be much worse. All this childish criticism is exaggerated and makes the critisizers look stupid. Of course it would be nice if Hudler continues to play this well, so Samuelsson can stay in the third line. Still Red Wings are in the finals with him in the team. It's interesting though that in the last three seasons his shooting percentage has gone 12.3, 7.4 and 4.4. Every season he's been shooting more and scoring less. Didn't Stars' defenseman outskate Samuelsson and poke the puck away from him in the breakaway? It's hard to hit the net if you don't have the puck. The Defenseman was faster that time and there can be many reasons to that.

Nice to see that someone else has noticed that Lebda has played rather well lately. He's used to be the target of criticism here, but I think he's solidified his spot as a number six fefenseman over Lilja. Him bringing the puck to the zone have resulted to couple of goals in the last two rounds. I can't really say I'm expecting anyone to step up. I'm just eagerly waiting what happens when the games start. I'm happy with the way Red Wings are playing when they are motivated. One of the few things that bother me is McCarty's unnecessary penalties. If Franzen doesn't come back McCarty will most likely still get time in the 4th line. I don't really mind that he can't skate as fast as others as he could balance that with playing smart. What I do mind is that he's taken penalties in each of the last four games and three in the last one. I don't think in any of those situations there were a threat of getting scored on and neither were they mistakes. He's been mostly harmful lately. In his first 11 playoff games this year he got only one minor penalty so he know's how to not take them too. Maybe he's getting tired. It will be interesting to see if McCarty will get resigned as he's a fan favourite, but he has a hard time making the line-up. Of course it could be that this is only the beginning if his comeback. If he's motivated he could spend summer working really hard for the next season and continue on the 4th line.