xtrememachine1

This was the same argument last year. "Yeah, the Pens haven't seen a defense like the Wings, but the WINGS haven't seen an OFFENSE like OURS!" You would think living in a city with the Steelers, you would know that DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS. I said it last year, I'll say it again this year. The Wings have a great defense and will prevent Crosby and Malkin from dominating the way they have. The Pens need Crosby and Malkin to play like they did against Washington and Carolina and it isn't going to happen.

I've watched the Pens all year and you're right, they're not a two man show, they're a three man show. Crosby, Malkin and Fleury. Fedotenko isn't good despite his strong play as of late, Talbot is awful offensively, Guerin comes and goes. Scuderi has been good defensively, can't argue that. Yes, the series went whisker of going the full seven, but it was also 34 seconds away from being wrapped up in 5. How soon we forget.

I haven't agreed with a lot that you've posted, but I think you're 100% right here. The Pens have a lot of heart and hunger for the Cup this year. If they're going to win it, its going to be because they simply want it more. To do that guys like Guerin, Fedotenko, Satan, Talbot, Staal will have to play above their usual standards. I'm not questioning Detroit's heart but a team that hasn't won the Cup will always be hungrier than a team that just did.

This code is already all over Pens boards and blogs, so we can expect to see a lot of disappointed Pens fans throughout the ENTIRE series.

I know a lot about the Pens. They have a franchise goalie that can play phenomenal one night then give up 4 softies the next. If he could stay consistently on his game he'd be one of the best in the league. Their top line is Crosby, Kunitz and Guerin. Crosby finally has a complete line, but I don't think its better than last year when they had Hossa with Sid. Malkin is basically on a line by himself this year. Instead of Sykora and Malone, he has Fedotenko and Talbot/Satan. All three of them (Fed, Talbot, Satan) are lousy with the exception of a big goal here and there from Fedetenko and Satan. Jordan Staal is the third line and is supposed to be the shutdown guy, although the Pens put him on Ovechkin in round two and Ovie killed him. The fourth line is a bunch of warm bodies used to fill out a lineup. Lately, its been Craig Adams, Satan and Crosby (11 forwards, 7 defensemen) The defense is okay, but none of them are complete. Gonchar is great offensively, but mediocre at best on defense. Scuderi is a pretty good shutdown defenseman, but is a nightmare when he has to move the puck. As long as they're in the right role, they're fine, but if someone gets caught out of place, like say Hal Gill in too deep, anyone can blow right past him. Crosby, Malkin and, to some extent, Fleury have been carrying the team, but they're no where near being as deep as they were last year and any Pens fan that tells you otherwise is lying to himself.

PWNED

Saying he wanted to go to the team with the best chance to win the Cup was probably a bad idea, but the Pens were clearly not as good as the Wings, they fit his style of play better, he knew Therrien was a crap coach, the Pens were losing free agents left and right because Crosby, Fleury and Malkin were or were about to eat up a ton of a space under the cap and if he signed with the Pens, they would essentially become the Lightning, a few big stars, no depth. It was the smart thing to do if he wants to win a Stanley Cup and I don't blame him for it.

You are my hero lol

Thank you!!!

Hardly the weakest opponent and even if they were, the Wings were the 2nd seed. That's the point of doing well in the regular season. ... and much better than the Caps Ask the Flames or Canucks if that team was a pushover. The Hawks look bad, because the Wings are THAT good. Ugh, you're one of THOSE people. The kind of people that don't understand the term "rental player". Hossa was a rental. He helped the Pens make it to the Finals and then left. That's all that was expected from him. There's lot of players that are rentals. Wayne Gretzky was a rental for the Blues in 96. Did the city of St Louis burn his jersey when he left for the Rangers? GET. OVER. IT!

You're right the NHL is about CROSBY MALKIN CROSBY MALKIN CROSBY MALKIN... or so it seems with having them jammed down everyone's throat by NBC and VS. Also, this is a Red Wings message board. You're going to read A LOT about the Red Wings. If you don't like it well that's just too damn bad for you. Wow! Where to start here... have you ever heard of a guy named Gordie Howe. lol Or did you just start watching hockey last month?

As someone that has to deal with Pens fans all year long, I can tell you from experience that they don't have respect for the Wings and the way they talk, you'd think the Pens won the Cup last year. They're making the same arguments as last year, "We have the two best players in the world, we're gonna win." Its lame and it shows a severe lack of hockey knowledge. Now don't get me wrong not ALL Pens fans are like this, but there's a lot of them (ones that'll be on this board) that think hockey season starts in Feb (after the Steelers) and know NOTHING about hockey and get pissed when you tell them they're wrong. Its just the way it is. At least in a month, you won't have to deal with them, while I'll have to deal with them year round. Fun fun lol

Yeah, I watched the same series. I watched a rookie goalie make every glove save an adventure and give up too many soft goals once he was finally broken. Considering Ovechkin was pretty much the caps only source of scoring, the Pens STILL couldn't shut him down and he scored 8 goals in 7 games. The Wings don't have an Ovechkin, but they have MANY good scorers, plus, unlike Ovie, they can play defense. Yes, the pushover Caps. They're not a playoff ready team. I said that last year and I'm saying it again this year. When it comes down to it, they're a good regular season team, but they don't have the balls for the playoffs... yet. As for "pushover" Columbus, that's what happens when you do well all season long, you get a high seed and face a team like the BJ's. Although, facing a tough goalie like Mason and a strong defensive team like Columbus isn't exactly a cake walk. The Wings made it look easy because they're like... good or something. I don't know. Our second round opponent won the Cup two years ago and has a very tough defense and hot goalie to go along with it. Now we're playing a team that's just as good as the Pens were last year. Tough young defensive team, tough experienced veteran team that won the Cup not that long ago and an up and coming powerhouse. Yeah, we REALLY lucked out huh? lol

Yeah, they gave up 5 goals in one game, an elimination game. Before that Columbus had 2 goals in three games. So no, no panicking. But as a Pens fan, you should be worried that if you're giving up 4 goals to Carolina, what will Detroit do? A lot of the Caps games were high scoring too, so it wasn't like it was a fluke either. Washington was a second seed because they play in the weakest division in the league. No, not many players can compare to Ovechkin in the West, but Ovechkin is the only difference between the Caps being a playoff team or a lottery pick team. Ohhh and that ONE guy pushed it to 7 games. Yes, the Pens just played in a 7 game series too, but the Canes are coming off their second straight 7 game series and it was against the number one seed, not the pushover Caps.

As impressive as the Penguins have been, they did give up 4 goals in this playoff game. The word from the hockey knowledgeable Pens fans is that they're worried about that and are saying that if they play Detroit like that, Detroit will murder them. True enough. Defense wins championships and the Wings have by far the best defense left in these playoffs. And as impressive as the Pens have looked in the playoffs, who have they played? Philly Flyers - They've OWNED that team for the last 3 years. No defense, lousy goaltender Washington Capitals - They've owned them since they came into existence. No defense, rookie goalie. Carolina Hurricanes - Played two OT filled 7 game series'. No defense, worn out goalie. Logically, IF the Wings would play the Pens again, it SHOULD be no different than last year.

Are you guys ready to laugh out loud? http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/psh/..._2009_playoffs/ Read the comments afterwards. Freaking hysterical lol

OMG, this thread is killing me

I like the one comment... (actually by a Wings fan too)

I'm kind of torn on this. Hossa will be expensive, but with Lidstrom's $7.4 mil contract on the verge of expiring after next year, I would hate to see someone who fits our system perfectly, like Hossa, leave the team. On the other side of that, as stated before, the Wings depth is more important and we can't lose that. We would essentially give up an entire line to keep Hossa. Maybe the right move is to let Hossa walk, keep our depth, then in the next offseason when we have some of (or all of) Lidstrom's money available we sign someone else that can fill the hole left by Hossa. If Hossa was scoring goals in this postseason, it would make this decision so much easier, but could you imagine not having Hudler, Flip and Sammy and have Hossa playing the way he is right now. Yes, backchecking is important and Hossa is doing it extremely well, but someone has to score the goals. We would not be this far without the goals scored by Hudler and Sammy.

Zetterberg, Cleary and Lidstrom have been great in this playoff season, but Franzen is the MVP so far. It seems like everytime the Wings need a goal, he gets it. And every time he scores, I just think to myself, "$3.9 mil cap hit for life. Whooo hoo!"

"Its over! Turn out the lights. Lets get the bulldozers in here and turn this place into a parking lot!" Major League II

Here's what they say in Pittsburgh about the Wings: (2009) "They throw the puck down Holmstrom's pants and launch him into the net." - It used to be Primeau, now its Holmstrom. (Always) "Osgood? Its more like Osbad. HA HA" (2002) "All the Wings are old and they have NOTHING in the minors. I can't wait to watch them get beat down by the league after all these old farts retire. It'll be so sweet!!" (Hasek on the Sabres in 2001) "We beat the greatest goalie in the world!!" (Hasek on the Wings in 2002) "He's so old and way past his prime!" (1996) Fedorov in the Nike ad when he gets run over by a zamboni - "YEAH!! Run over that stupid Red Wing! I could watch that all day!" (2008) "What do the Wings have? All these old guys. Maltby, Draper, Chelios. We have Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Scary Gary, Big George Laraque, Max Talbot..." (2008) "If we had shown up for the first couple games, we would've EASILY won that series" (2009 after first playoff loss to Ana) "I heard Hossa was going to sign with the Ducks in the offseason because he thinks they have a better chance of winning the Cup. HA HA" (2009) "I want to play the Wings again so we can get our revenge on them and Hossa!" That's all I can think of right now, I'm sure I'll hear a ton more IF there's a rematch this year.

He'll play next year, then sign a 7 year deal worth $14 mil, play the first two front loaded years and retire.

:banana:

Yeah, my Dad too. My brother is probably the biggest die hard Pens fan in the world and he wouldn't talk to me for a month after the Finals last year. lol