Free_Candy

If you guys get back to the finals, you might get your wish. I think that's a higher likelihood to me than Detroit/Washington. Aside from the Pens, to me Boston really seems like one of the more complete teams out of the east. I like the way they're built, they just seem more built for playoff hockey at this point in time than Washington is. They were pretty banged up by the end of the series with Carolina and probably made some mental errors in their estimation of the Hurricanes, but I don't see them making the same mistake twice.

Well, I tend to think intentions warrant how much something is really worth extensive complaints over, but I'm not going to push the issue anymore.

Um, no, I was talking about him supposedly being the "savior" of the league. (sorry, the quote got messed up) As for the rest of it, I thought the handshake line was pretty hasty. I think the Pens should have waited for Crosby or one of them should have grabbed him so the rest of them could line up behind him to organize it a little better on our end, but I don't think anything was deliberate. I think a Wings fan I talked to compared it to Crosby being a bit like a kid at his own birthday party not paying attention and the other guys were in a hurry to get off the ice, so it is what it is. At 21 he's the youngest ever to raise the cup so, unfortunately he doesn't have the same veteran poise as Lidstrom yet, but it's not like he took the cup, gave people the finger, and skated off. Hopefully Lidstrom and Crosby can shake hands in Vegas.

Oh please. I expect nothing less from someone out of the Rangers camp like Fischler. They're our biggest Atlantic Division rivals besides Philly and already hate Crosby, especially Fischler. So let's not act like this guy writes objective journalism. People are making wayyyy too big of a deal about the handshake thing. Do people really think he was unsportsmanlike, or is it just out of resentment because it's Crosby? I don't think he did anything deliberate to disrespect the players. I thought Lidstrom handled it very well and had a response that was very fair and objective. It's annoying for people that are sick of Crosby, so yes a Penguins cup does have negativity follow it in that respect. But in general if people stop watching hockey over it, then I have to question just how passionate they are about hockey in the first place and if those are the kind of fans hockey needs. As far as people outside of Pittsburgh, in my experience the response to Crosby is mixed. Some like him, some don't, some are indifferent. You just can't generalize. The so called "antics" of Crosby are no different than anything a lot of other players do, but he gets so much exposure people notice it more. The thing about Crosby is that he was in the position of being the first marquee talent to enter the league right after the lockout, and I think the league got too carried away with it. But I don't know how much of that is Crosby's fault himself, though. If he would have been less accommodating and shunned the media, he would have been heavily criticized for that as well as being unwilling to try to help the sport of hockey. The position he was in was pretty unique so it's hard to say what is the "right" way for a guy to handle it. If people want to say he's too vanilla in his interviews, the league markets him too much, and they're sick of seeing him, I'm not going to argue with that. But for someone to shun hockey over one player, well that's really petty.

I think Zetterberg would do just fine against Ovechkin. Quite frankly the Red Wings would eat the Capitals alive. Caps have talent and could very well win a cup in a few years but for now, you limit Ovechkin there's not a lot to them. The reason why they took the Pens to seven was only because Varlamov stood on his head. Most of their forwards don't play a gritty two-way game, their defense needs an upgrade and they have not learned the mental aspect of competition deep in the playoffs. It would be 2008...hell even 1998 for you all over again, like a sweep or five games.

I think the whole handshake thing is much ado about nothing, and I thought Lidstrom handled it very well. Bragging about how many cups you have as an original six team compared to a team that was formed in the late 60s is kind of douchey. If you want to brag about the fact that you have 4 cups in the last 40 years compared to us having 3, that's fine. But the whole "City of Champions" is the Pens/Steelers thing for this year, much like the Pirates and Steelers in 1979. At least that's my take on it.

Hey I've been a long time lurker and I have always liked the Red Wings but just wanted to tap the hockey stick and give my respects to the Wings and their fans. I think Detroit and Pittsburgh actually have some similarities as blue collar fanbases go. Naturally I had some grumpiness last year about some of your fans -- but after the Pens played Philly and Washington, I remembered that, actually, Detroit's fans in general are pretty good.

It's actually clever what the Ducks did playing with the classic goalie mask/duck face, but their mascot looks very, very constipated.

Well, those that want revenge and to meet the Pens now understand how we felt all last year. I don't know how likely a three peat finals will be, but you never know. It would be kind of boring in a way, it would be nice to see some new blood in there but I think both the Pens and Detroit have talented cores and smart GMs and neither teams are going away. I think some of the "next dynasty" talk for the Penguins is premature, but we won't just fall apart, either. People thought we were going to fall apart after last year's finals as well. One thing is for sure, if it's Detroit vs. Washington next year you bet your ass I'll be rooting for Detroit.

Pens fan coming in peace. Hey now, I like our little ice cream box skating penguin, thank you very much. I think it can be refreshing to have an unusual animal like Ducks or Penguins as a mascot. To me sometimes Tigers/Panthers/Bears and other growly snarly things gets kind of old, but that's just me. Penguins don't play hockey, but neither do most animals last I checked (except the big stupid bipedaled ones) They're associated with coldness or ice and it's an alliteration with Pittsburgh so I don't think it's that weird. No penguins in Pittsburgh? Last I checked, tigers and lions aren't native to Detroit, either. We all have them in zoos so good enough. I think Anaheim's coming from the Disney movie was pretty stupid, but I liked the Duck mascot with the University of Oregon. I think the Sharks have a great mascot and concept. Red Wings and Blackhawks are among my favorite logos (besides, yes, our skating penguin for my own homerism and nostalgia's sake). I also like Calgary. Worst logo on my list is Buffalo because they have changed their logo a couple of times in recent years but should have left well enough alone. It's a slug.