Nightfall

Gotta hand it to the Pens, they wanted the game tonight. They wanted it badly. Our defense and special teams really need to get clicking because you can't win games giving up a power play goal and a shorthanded goal. The our defense sucked it tonight allowing those odd man rushes and weak side goals. Talk about disappointing. I said this series was going 6 and I stand by that. Winner of game 5 wins the cup a vast majority of the time.

The Penguins defense is just what I expected Detroit to look like. I wonder if Detroit was forced to wear black today.

Its turning into an interference fest out there. Holmstrom got away with one there.

Why worry about it? Nothing I can do about it. All I can do is watch and root them on the best I can.

Franzen with interference there....got away with that one. Nice save by Ozzie. We have no defense tonight, Ozzie may as well play well.

95% of the fans here are bandwagon fans. Lame bandwagon fans. Allow me to point out a few to you.

Wow, what a passing play.

95% of the Wings fans on this forum never will. Its all the refs fault why the pens are winning according to them.

Are we blaming the refs yet for giving the Pens a 3-2 lead? They did give us the power plays this period.

Complete ineptness on special teams and defense.

Wow, complete ineptness on defense.

Its more convenient and easier to blame the refs or the league than "your" teams shoddy play. When the Ducks eliminated us back in 2007, there was no shortage of people who blamed the refs. Nevermind the fact that we played like crap when we needed to play superior. I would expect no shortage of blame going around to the refs this year if we lose. I use the quotes around "your" because there are pens fans on the LGP forum that believe that they are being conspired against as well. So no matter what, I guess the league or the refs are conspiring against one of these two teams. They just won't tell us which one.

I was addressing everyone in general, not you specifically. I apologize for the confusion. As for your suspicions, there are a lot of conspiracy theories out there from Flight 94 being shot down to the US Government detonating the twin towers. Occam's Razor fits in perfectly in this situation. I suppose you can believe the refs are out to get us if it makes you sleep better at night. Just know if the Wings do lose this series after being up 2-0, the Wings will be the ones to blame. Not the refs or the league.

Why would someone insult me by calling me "captain obvious" when I wasn't pointing to him in specific? I know, two wrongs don't make a right....but still....pretty petty going both ways. I apologize. So TSN reporting on hearsay is proof?

Since when did I point to you specifically moron? As for your suspicions, do you have anything to back them up? I mean, you have to have some proof other than a linesman looking at a player on the ice.

I see no reason why Neidermayer shouldn't be captain. Course, its not up to me, its up to Yzerman. He is after all very well decorated and a veteran defenseman. He has won 4 Stanley Cups, a gold medal in the olympics, a memorial cup, etc. The guy is a leader and knows how to win.

Its obvious that some Wings fans have nothing else better to think about or do in between games other than think about conspiracy theories. I suppose no one has even considered the fact that the Wings lost game 3 on their own with shoddy defensive play and lack of intensity in the 3rd period? Not to mention a bad goal that Ozzie gave up that went 5 hole on him and he wasn't even screened. No, its easier for the fans here to point to conspiracy and pass the blame. What a joke.

I agree. Versus is just fine for the broadcast. The officiating has been just fine. Stop whining.

This is an excellent post. I do agree with you. Its simply amazing when you ask a Wings fan how well games 1 and 2 were reffed, they will say "just fine". When you ask a Pens fan the same thing, they will say "horrible". Game 3 is the exact opposite. You aren't going to make anyone on one side happy unless they are winning 20-1 and have 30 power play opportunities. The common Wings/Pens fan sees every penalty on the opposing team but none on their team. So everyone bitching about the reffing after a loss I take with a grain of salt. These people are not hockey fans. They are biased Wings fans, which is not a bad thing necessarily, but annoying to those of us who are Wings fans but also hockey fans. The hockey fans enjoy the game and while we want to see our team win, we know that the Pens are a good team and that the puck can bounce for you or against you. No game is a certain win or loss. Anyone can win on any given night. The Wings underperformed in that 3rd period. It time for the Wings to concentrate on Game 4.

It would be nice. If you find such a forum, let me know. This forum has become a wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

I doubt they will sit Abdelkader. He has 2 huge goals so far in this finals series. If anyone sits, it will probably be Leino and Maltby. Unless Babcock feels the need to have a better penalty killer in so he does sit Abs and keep Maltby in.

I am hoping his lack of production was a direct result from his injury and his time away from the game has helped him heal up. Still, having Datsyuk in the lineup is better than having a 4th liner like Leino or Maltby thats for sure. If not for his offensive ability, but his defensive ability as well. Datsyuk backchecks like a fiend and he is a +4 with only having 1 goal and 6 assists. I can also hope that he comes back and has a lot of energy. He also breaks out of his offensive slump and really provides a spark to this team. I am also hopeful that he comes back in Game 4.

I don't think Mitch Albom would say "sphincter" Seriously though, that post is excellent. It really rings true.

Turnovers are another thing we can't blame the refs over. The Wings are shooting themselves in the foot more often than the Pens, but you have to agree that the Pens are outhustling the Wings for those opportunities. The Talbot breakaway when we coughed it up in the slot last night was disgusting, but he got that opportunity because he outworked our defense for it. Yes, we are trying to do that but it hasn't equated to goals yet. Our luck will turn around eventually, but we have to start doing better in our own end first.

I had the privilege of having a few friends over to my house to watch the game last night like I normally do. Last night, I had a couple pens fans and a couple Wings fans over. I was typing on my laptop to the LGW Forum members at the same time. While it was fun having them over, my wife and I both agree that it was a ***** fest. Seems that the Pens fans and the Wings fans just bitched about the non-calls all night long. Whenever a Pens player dropped, the Pens fans would yell at the TV and vice versa. It got pretty tiring after the game was over and I was glad to get them out of my house. Point is that there was a lot of missed calls on both sides. The last penalty on Big E was a little weak, but I am a Wings fan. There were more than a few occasions when I saw the Wings running interference, hooking, slashing, and diving. Heck, the first call on the Pens when Cleary got hit from behind was really weak. Cleary embellished it thats for sure. At the end of the game, the Pens fans didn't complain about the reffing too much while the Wings fans are livid about it. Even on this forum, the first two games were "just fine" while game 3 was "awful". Ever notice how the reffing sucks when you lose and the reffing was ok when you win? The refs didn't hand the Pens this game, the Wings did. The first Pens goal should have never happened if the Wings defense wasn't total crap on that play. Gotta get someone on him and thats what happens when you leave someone all alone in the slot. The second Pens goal Ozzie probably wants back as it went five hole on him and it was unscreened I think. I wasn't in net so I don't know for sure. The third goal the Wings were gassed and couldn't clear the puck. Got to hand it to the Pens for a really well executed power play. Personally, I am sick of the LGW Forum community bitching about the reffing and hearing all the "conspiracy" theories. Here is something that people here probably haven't thought of yet.... The Pens are a great team. I bet only about 10% of the forum members here even acknowledge that. The rest like to blame the refs and the NHL conspiracy for the wings downfall instead of giving credit where credit is due. If the Wings lose this series, I bet 90% of the LGW Forum would say it was the refs that screwed us out of getting the cup instead of acknowledging the fact we were beat by a better team. It really gets tiring to see a community of fans rooting for a team I enjoy watching just get all bent out of shape over nothing. I know the fans here like to point out the LetsGoPens forum and all the horrible fans they have over there. Guess what? The fans with the same mentality are over here too and its disgusting and stupid. I apologize for the rant here, but I expect a little more from the LGW Community. Maybe I am delusional.....