Jake Ryan

can you find this with sound? The Nature Boy! This guy is awesome.

Ossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssgoooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooood! Ossssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssgoooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooood!

No No No!!! I didn't disappear, brother! And I don't mind the ribbing. I will eat my crow when the situation calls for it. And right about now, I agree with you. Time for a knife, fork, and napkin for me. Good win last night, BTP. The Pens played a solid game, and unlike many around here, I think they won fair and square. A lot of non-calls on both sides, but when it boils down to it, I'm happy that the officials have been super consistent (2-3 power plays for each team each game). You guys beat us by a power-play goal late in the third and then put in an empty netter. The Red Wings weren't humiliated last night. They were barely beaten. I can't wait to see the Wings jump on the Penguins in the first period tomorrow night and get out to a 3-0 lead. You are going to see our "Explosion" game tomorrow night, and you're not going to like it. Too bad we didn't win last night, cause I REALLY wanted to see the Red Wings hoist the cup on the 2nd ice surface they own in the playoffs. Wings in 5!!!!!!

NOOOOO. You got it all wrong. Datsyuk was the reason the Wings weren't doing well against the Ducks. Remember? This injury is a blessing in disguise. You HAVE to break up Datsyuk and Hossa. Hossa should play with Maltby and McCarty. And Datsyuk should be on the Samuelsson - Holmstrom line. Get those 2 non-skill players down on the 3rd and 4th lines. Double shift Holmstrom on the top two lines. That's the way to go, brother. Seriously now. Get Dats and Hoss back together, but get Helmer or Flip up there with them and not Holmstrom. Watch what happens.

I'd rather see Draper replace Holmstrom.

My problem with Bettman is that he's not taking the actual GAME any further.

I'll let the Pens fans have their moment in the sun. It's not like they won the cup last night. Want to know what they really did? They beat us by a power play goal called during a moment of the game where there shouldn't have been a call. Then they put in an empty netter. So after playing poorly, the Red Wings lost by 2 goals, one of which was an empty netter. Yah, over 7 games, odds are we're going to lose one. It's hard for any hockey team to go undefeated. I think the Red Wings will come out an play a solid game 4 tomorrow. What I'm not going to do right now is start blaming the officials or our team. Although the call on Ericsson was borderline considering earlier events, the refs have been really consistent so far in this series with their lack of calling penalties. Whether or not that hurts the Red Wings or helps them is another discussion, but for the first time, the Red Wings and their fans can pretty much plan for the way the games are going to be officiated = 2 to 3 power plays a night for each team. That was the only thing that had me nervous at the start of the series. I thought the officials might take the games out of the Red Wings' control and give Pittsburgh opportunities that they shouldn't have (see lame 5 on 3s from 2008). So far, that has been minimal or non-existent. We have a series at 2-1 that is about to go to 3-1 tomorrow night. Look for a Red Wings performance that has you comfortable by the end of the 1st period. I think they are going to take a 3 - 0 lead in the first and never look back. Lets Go Red Wings. Hit it hard tomorrow!

Do you think they should give the linesman added responsibility of calling penalties in the neutral zone? That would be interesting. I think it's weird that the linesman can only call certain things. Imagine if a few of the referees in football couldn't throw penalty flags and one of the guys halfway across the field had to come in and call a facemask he really couldn't see. That would be ridiculous. The NHL needs to have the linesman watch the garbage in the neutral zone and the referees watch the attacking zones. That would lead to more consistency.

Do you think they should give the linesman added responsibility of calling penalties in the neutral zone? That would be interesting. I think it's weird that the linesman can only call certain things. Imagine if a few of the referees in football couldn't throw penalty flags and one of the guys halfway across the field had to come in and call a facemask he really couldn't see. That would be ridiculous. The NHL needs to have the linesman watch the garbage in the neutral zone and the referees watch the attacking zones. That would lead to more consistency.

There will be no asterixes put on the cup this year that have footnotes of this nature: * Got all the lucky bounces And there will NEVER be such a thing. The Penguins need to accept reality. We are better than they are. That's the bottom line.

He's OUT. No more Datsyuk talk until next year. The Wings are rolling. Why change the pattern?

Individual Awards for Crosby!!! Yay!

The only thing people are losing is the HHO. And they're gaining a new HHO. The Helm Hard-On is in effect. I wouldn't be surprised if the Penguins fans cheer when Helm gets the puck. The Detroit crowd is in love with this guy. Go Nightmare!

The Wings only have one style of hockey they cannot adapt to, and that's goon hockey. The Ducks measure up well against the Wings because of that style of play. If the penguins play run and gun and the refs are going to call the games loosely, the Wings will get away with as much stickwork in the neutral zone as the whistles allow. If the refs call the game tight, the Wings will back check harder and open up their offense. The Pens are delusional if they think they are getting jobbed out of calls. Their players blatantly hook Hossa, Zetterberg, Filppula, and Franzen all over the ice. The refs could easily call 10 penalties a game on the Penguins if they were calling the game tight. 2-3 power plays for each team per game is just the kind of game I like to see. The "FLOW" of the game seems perfect with that.

Has anyone noticed how freaking good this team is!!! We've got a 5th line that could play on any other team! Cleary-Zetterberg-Franzen Hossa - Datsyuk - Filppula Hudler - Helm - Abdelkader Leino - Draper - Samuelsson Maltby - Kopecky - Holmstrom Damn. Just Damn. How Holland managed to get this cast of forwards together is just plain wizardry.

Swedish Mojo.

If you were going to pick one player to mark the Dynasty the Red Wings are in right now, who would it be? Yzerman? Lidstrom? Datsyuk? I think Yzerman is the guy that will be remembered during this 15 year period of dominance, but it probably should be Lidstrom. Who do you associate with this era and who do you think you will associate with it in the future?

Good Point. I guess you gotta celebrate while you got the chance.

Yah, or how about a 5 on 3? The Pens had 2 of those last year. Would be nice to see a Wings 5 on 3 for a change.

Game 3 is ours. Lets Go Wings.

How do you not play Draper over Holmstrom if Draper is healthy. That's what I want to know.

He has been on all the Cup teams, hasn't he? That's pretty good!

"Lidstrom over the line. He shoots. Blocked. Malkin tries to backhand it out of the slot. IT HIT BOUCHER AND DEFLECTED INTO THE NET! The Wings Win! The Wings Win! The Wings Wiiiiiiiiihhhhh......Wait a minute. The Ref is going to make an announcement. Let's listen in..... "'The Play has been deemed "Cheesy" by Detroit, so we're waiving off the goal. Overtime will continue with a face-off in the Pittsburgh zone." ........Wooooo. We just got done watching the replay, and yes, the goal was very bush league. Bad foul-up by Boucher, and the Wings don't want to win like THAT. Let's get back to overtime hockey now!"

Word.