BlueMonk

Actually, most of the press corps was making it the talk of the game. In fact, his effort on that PK was being touted as the kind of thing that's symbolic of what players need to do to win the Stanley Cup. It wasn't the worst thing anyone ever said, I agree, but let's not kid ourselves; it was meant to take away from what Zetterberg did, which is kind of lame.

Penguins 14, Red Wings 1 Asked what the Pens' strategy for dealing with Detroit forwards taking position in front of the net is, defenseman Hal Gill replied, "Cheap, dirty cross checks to the face and punches to the head. Wait, is that microphone on? I mean, taking the body and playing good, clean, physical hockey. Yeah." In lieu of a press conference, Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien instead spent 40 seconds just crying in front of reporters.

Obviously, I want Homer to play. But if McCarty plays instead, then at least if the Wings are getting blown out, there's a chance Mac will punch Roberts in the face. That wouldn't make up for the sting of losing, but it would take the edge off it a little bit.

Bad example.

Chelios is not going to play unless someone is injured. Any word on Homer? He looked pretty shaken up and didn't take another shift after the hit by Gill.

My thoughts exactly, Matt. I felt the forwards on the halfboards shot less in game 3 than either of the other 2 games, and it's not like they were shooting much in those games, either. That's the shot they're being given, they need to take it. Go to the net, screen the goalie, hope for a rebound and be there to poke it in if you get one.

How much it impacted the outcome of the game is up for debate, but the ice surface was surely poor tonight. Pierre was standing right at ice level and they were discussing it matter of factly on the NBC feed.

Great game, not the result I was hoping for. I figured the Pens would win this one and they played a lot better. The Wings were sloppy with the puck and had less energy. But that's what happens on the road. The ice surface at the Mellon was not good tonight. The Pens played it safe near the end and that led to a lot of chances for the Wings.

I expect the calls to go against the Wings tonight. I'll be shocked if they don't, frankly.

I'll be surprised if one doesn't find its way to the ice tonight. It's incredible how resourceful, or crazy, some people are when it comes to this.

Does anyone else think it's hilarious that this obstruction tag is being hung on the Wings? 4 or 5 years ago, it was the obstruction teams that stopped Detroit from scoring goals in the playoffs. Wings fans lamented how teams like the Ducks and Flames had defenders climbing on the backs of the Red Wings and mugging them out of the playoffs. The Wings were the high flying team that deserved to score more but couldn't because the hooking and holding was robbing them of a chance at the Cup. Now, here they are, finally going deep into the playoffs, and... they're the ones now being accused of obstruction. Irony.

Fleury should have a clear, unobstructed view of the puck all night.

If only the guy could catch a break once in a while.

Burnside strikes me as pro-Wings if anything. He wrote a scathing piece on Mario Lemieux yesterday that drew a firestorm of angry responses.

For sentimental reasons, if the Wings go up 3-0 in the series, I'd love to see Aaron Downey play in game 4. That's not the smart hockey decision, but man, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't love that.

Mac isn't playing well at all, the Wings aren't going to dress him.

I don't know if he'll do it or not, but I think it's worth a try. I mean, one good line scoring a single goal would be an improvement over what they've done with their talent spread out over the first two games.

I think it's mostly wishful thinking on the part of hockey fans, because it would signal a kind of renaissance for the league in terms of popularity and marketing. Look, all the people who were in favor of a salary cap have to understand that a symptom of that kind of economic system is that teams can't keep all their stars. The Pens have a window of opportunity here, but it's already going to close a little after this season when they have to make choices about who they're going to keep. The challenge will be to get a winning tradition going that makes players want to stay and take a hometown discount. That breeds a winning culture that puts team before individual concerns like money and statistics. If you can manage that, you have a chance to be successful for a long time. You need look no further than the Red Wings for the template. Or the New England Patriots in the NFL (having illegal videotape doesn't hurt, either).

Local issues have nothing to do with this, the fact is the Wings are a huge draw on the road and Detroit fans fill the seats at visiting arenas. There are Wings fans all over the country, not just the ones who make the trek from Michigan.

Penguins 18, Red Wings 2 With the series shifting to Pittsburgh, Detroit forward Johan Franzen was again the victim of countless cheap shots to the head by the Penguins. When asked why the team was so blatantly targeting Franzen's head, Penguins forward Gary Roberts explained, "It was just a misunderstanding. We didn't find out until after the game that coach was talking about being physical in our home arena when he told us to 'hit 'em hard in the Mellon'." Asked what he needed from his team in order to win game 3, Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said, "Better crying from Sid. Look, we're not getting the whistles and our captain needs to step it up. Just having red, watery eyes and a runny nose isn't enough. We need convulsive sobbing, like when a person very close to you dies. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs and we need Sid to leave everything on the ice. I'm talking about all of his bodily fluids, especially."

It's a weak move. Wings fans pop up in arenas everywhere. Phoenix did something like this to keep the crowd from exceeding 50% Wings fans, but that's a different kind of problem. I read that Pens fans got ahold of a code that was reserved for Wings season ticket holders that allowed them to buy tickets at a discount. It got posted on a Pens message forum and word spread quickly. Look at Toronto and Montreal. When they play each other, there's a huge contingent of fans from the visiting teams in their arenas. It adds to the whole experience, IMO. To go out of the way to prevent it is lame.

I completely disagree that the fear of getting punched in the face doesn't affect players. It does affect them, and they don't like it. Intimidation is a part of hockey. Toughness is about more than hitting someone or fighting, though. The ability to take the hit but still make the play is an underappreciated aspect of toughness. That's what a lot of the Red Wings have and yet it gets overlooked because they're not dropping the gloves. I do take exception with what Grapes said about Datsyuk, by the way. Dats has been a warrior and he has shown the kind of toughness that a team needs from its leaders to win. I almost started a thread about this, but I'll just post it here instead. I heard Boomer from XM 204 Home Ice last night talking about Datsyuk's play in these playoffs. He was gushing about what a great hockey player Dats is, and how he hits and doesn't back down from physical play. He said if Datsyuk was from Saskatchewan, he'd be hailed as a Brendan Morrow, heart and soul kind of player. He even said Datsyuk and the word leader are never used together in the North American press, but they should be, because Datsyuk is leading his team by example. I agree, and I'm glad someone said it. Props to Boomer. I have to give my man Grapes a big thumbs down for his dismissal of Datsyuk.

I just want a Red Wing to come out in Game 3 and punch Roberts in the face. Is that so much to ask? I don't think so.

That was actually E.J. Hradek.