BlueMonk

The Pens had more PPs, Detroit's Hart finalist forward didn't play, the Wings are dealing with a lot more injuries and the compressed schedule hurts Detroit more. So a Pens fan complaining about the boards or puck luck is going to fall on deaf ears here.

WHOO HOO!!! Big win getting game 1. I honestly just wanted to see the Wings get a split at home with this brutal schedule. They at least have that now. The Pens played a solid game after the first period. The Wings sat back quite a bit, but that may have had something to do with the score. Still, the Pens controlled the 2nd period a bit too much. Tremendous game again by Helm and seeing Leino assist Abdelkader's first playoff goal like that was amazing. What a 4th line! The Wings' PK and defensive stance when Pitt pulled Fleury for the extra skater was textbook tonight. Very solid effort.

Hearing Jim Hughson overpronounce "Valtteri Filppula" will make it all worth it.

I'm not sure how much should be made of the Pens "playing the Wings even over the last four games" last year. The problem with spending too much time on that is it isolates those games as if they existed in a vacuum. But they didn't. The Wings were up 2-0 in the series and that impacts the way the rest of the series is going to be played. Teams with a lead in a series have a natural tendency to play with less urgency than their opponent, who has their backs up against the wall.

I always prefer CBC, but I can't get their feed in HD, so it will be NBC most of the time. I'll switch to CBC for intermissions and extended coverage, though.

Here's another interesting stat. Earlier this season, I compiled statistical rankings of all teams from 1980-2008 and how their regular season numbers correlated to postseason success. Of the 28 teams, below are the number of teams that won the Cup based on where they finished league wide in the standings, based on points. So 10 teams that finished 1st overall won the Cup during that period. 2 teams that finished 2nd, etc. 1st = 10 2nd = 2 3rd = 5 4th = 2 5th = 3 6th = 3 7th = 2 9th = 1 The Penguins in 2009 finished 8th in the standings overall. No team that finished 8th has won the Stanley Cup since 1980. Only one team that finished below 7th - the 1995 Devils, who finished 9th - has won the Cup during that period. And that was the shortened lockout season. So recent history is very much on Detroit's side.

Hehe, only on LGW can we take a quote from an opposing player praising one of our team's players and start a thread bashing him for it.

It's pretty tragic, really, just how happy this news makes me.

I'm still trying to find a link to this. Anyone?

Is this really true? I can't believe that....

Take those comments with a grain of salt. Kane is American, and we already know Babcock hates American players.

Yeah, McCreary is noticeably on a higher plane than most NHL officials. Whenever I don't notice the refs, he's the guy on the ice. They made a phantom call on the Hawks in the 2nd period but overall it was a solid effort by the refs.

WHOO HOO!!!! HELMER!!!! Great win for the Wings. Helm was huge tonight. The goal is obviously the heroic moment people will remember, but his PK was a thing of beauty. The crowd coming to its feet in acknowledgment was so awesome. Cleary continues to come up with the big goals and that line was dangerous all night. Ozzie was freakin' outstanding. On a night when the Wings were minus most of their best players, he came up huge. Too bad the reward isn't a ton of rest for the Wings. I'm not thrilled about the back-to-backs, but hey, at least they're both in Detroit. GO WINGS!!!

Well, I have only watched one period of the last two games. I'm out of state, but I'll be back in time for game 5. Man, it's worse hearing about stuff like Lidstrom being out when you're not able to turn on the news or log on to find out what the deal is. I finally got back to the hotel to catch up online, but it was pretty scary. Glad to hear it doesn't sound too terrible. Anyway, good to get one in Chicago and hopefully have a chance to close out the series in game 5. Two days off between games doesn't hurt.

[spoof]I was reading that the Chicago Fire Department has an unusually high suicide rate. Hahahahaha!! Your firefighters are killing themselves! Hahahaha! Chicago firefighters are leaving widows and fatherless children behind!1!! LOSERS!! LOL!1!! Hey kid, where's your dad? Huh? What's that you say? He's dead?! HAHAHA!!! PWN3D!!! Let's start a chant: "PUT DOWN THE GUN! PUT DOWN THE GUN!" HAHAHA!!![/spoof]

Roenick is a career loser and an idiot. Whether what he says is true or not (and he's told bald faced lies before, so it may be complete b/s) is besides the point. He's trying to create controversy and ingratiate himself to the Blackhawks by stirring the pot. Chelios isn't playing because he's too old to be a top 6 defenseman on a Stanley Cup contender in the middle of a playoff run.

Interesting fact: The last team to win the Stanley Cup without home ice advantage in the SCF was Detroit in 1996-97.

Yeah, Malkin with a crazy goal there.

Doesn't it seems like the Penguins forwards score a LOT of goals from that exact spot?

Yeah, you can't deny the kid's a ridiculous talent.

I've been complaining all year about the Wings not being able to clear the zone. Sometimes, it feels like they're the worst at it of any team in the league. Watching that last Carolina attempt, I've decided to stop complaining.

Nice!

As fun as they are to watch, the Canes really do look like a 6 seed most of the time.

Carolina's power play is painful to watch. What an awful attempt that was.

I saw one of these done in Columbus, and they must have had 20 fans who didn't know anything about hockey. In this one, they kept using interviews with just a few fans over and over. I'm betting the really clueless fans were hard to come by