YoungGuns1340

In my opinion, our PK has looked a lot better than our numbers suggest. But the numbers don't lie. Even if we have an awesome penalty kill for 1:55, theres still those 5 seconds where somebody can score on us, and in most cases, teams have capitalized on the few mistake we make on our PK. To answer the question, I think our PK is the biggest "key" () to this series. Namely, because we've allowed a PP goal in practically every game, and specifically as it pertains to this series, its probably going to see a lot more work. I can't imagine going through a series against the Pens where we're only killing penalties 2-4 times. Add to that the fact that Crosby and Malkin will be on the ice for the majority of that time, and its a pretty big deal. Both guys average about 6 minutes per game, so we're looking at having Crosby and Malkin on the ice for the equivalent of 3 total powerplays.

You'll have to wait til Game 4.

If I believe it, it makes me feel better. So I'll believe it.

I like Mexican food and speak Spanish. Crosby looks like a Mexican with his "beard." I'm pretty sure theres a compliment in there somewhere

Detroit had just won the cup, and they had just 2 UFAs to come to terms with - Stuart and Lilja. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, had Orpik, Malone, Dupuis, Conklin, Ruutu, Eaton, Laraque, and Hall to re-sign. Hossa had no idea what Pittsburgh was going to look like. He had every idea not only what Detroit was going to look like, but what Detroit could do with the lineup they had. There weren't ANY question marks with Detroits roster (or reputation, for that matter) while question marks littered the Penguins roster. All you have to do is understand that fact, and it makes PLENTY of sense as to why Hossa waited AND the reasons he gave for leaving. I could just as easily say a) he waited because he wanted to have a better idea of what kind of team Shero was going to put together b) he announced on the way out that the Wings had kept their entire cup-winning core, whereas the Pens didn't But of course, that would shift the blame to Shero, and would blow up the Benedict Hossa argument.

If I were a hockey player, my main goal would definitely be to win a cup before I retired. Could you imagine the feeling of retiring without winning the cup? I'd be eternally depressed. Hossa had an opening. Detroit had just won the cup, and they had 90% of their team locked up for next year. He got money, and he essentially got an out clause: If Detroit went into the s***ter, he didn't have to stick around. He used his smarts on this one.

Just a quick economical question, but you are aware that those aren't two different things, right?

I'm pretty sure you just described Mikael Samuelsson to a T.

I love it when people call the basics of hockey keys to winning a game. If you want to look at the keys to this series, its pretty simple: Hope the Refs don't hand powerplays out to the Pens like candy on Halloween, if you're the Wings. Hope that the refs make tons of calls for you, if you're the Pens. 72% penalty kill + Crosby Malkin on for the majority of their PP opportunities + plenty of PP opportunities for the Pens in all = bad news.

These are keys to every series. This post offers no insight whatsoever.

Fedotenko scored more goals in 2004 playoffs than himself, Staal, and Kunitz combine atm...

How would this be anywhere close to the most exciting series ever?

Who cares if they aren't living off the PP? It still doesn't change the fact that 6 minutes per game with the man advantage is going to skew your offensive stats. If you were to reduce Crosby and Malkin's PP minutes down to 3.5 per game - still more than any of our forwards play - Crosby would have 24 points, and Malkin would have 23. Great stats? Yes. But lets not pretend that Malkin and Crosby are working with the same tools as everyone else.

Haha I love it. "Crosby and Malkin are so dominant offensively. 28 points a piece. How do they do it?" Explanation: Crosby gets 5:48 per night on the PP, and just 11 second on the PK; Malkin gets 6 minutes per night on the PP, and just 5 seconds a night on the PK. How did I not know that? Here I am thinking Crosby and Malkin are going nuts offensively, yet here they are seeing 2x as much ice time on the PP as any of our forwards.

I'm glad theres a thread on this guy. And just to be clear, Lebda has played well for a while now. In fact, throughout most of the playoffs, especially as we've gotten deeper, hes really elevated his game.

Thats just journalism. When Burnside takes jabs at Hank scoring goals on the EN, he's saying that Zetterberg really hasn't scored many big goals, or tough goals. And theres no denying that. While EN goals have their place in terms of importance, you would expect last years Conn Smythe winner to be dominate at both ends of the ice. Anyone who has watched the playoffs this year knows that while Hank is putting up points, he hasn't been particularly dangerous in the offensive zone. Hank is my favorite player, but he definitely needs to take his offensive game to the net level in the Finals. He isn't the only one either.

As I've stated before, my opinion of Filppula has, and still continues to be, that his skill-level is exaggerated. In fact, my opinion is based much less on stats than of the product we all saw on the ice this past regular season, and through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. Filppula has skill, but his decision-making is poor with the puck in the offensive zone more times than not. Lets not forget how many times he made the wrong decision with the puck in the first 2 rounds, just weeks ago. I'm not denying the fact that Filppula has been playing well, and he has made some great plays in the offensive zone as well, but I'm not going to concede that hes reached a level that we should all expect he'll maintain. Hes picked up over half his points (8) against Chicago. I'm not taking anything away from him with that, but its still a small sample size. Bottom line: I'd be much more willing to engage in this conversation if it were halfway through next season and Filppula had maintained a similar (not 8 points in 5 games similar) level of performance as we've seen in the playoffs. Also, when it comes to Cleary, here's an interesting fact I didn't know, so maybe you didn't either. Outside of the fact that Filppula sees more ice time than Cleary does (only by 11 seconds per game, though), Filppula actually sees more PP time than Cleary: Cleary PPTOI/g: 0:19s Filppula PPTOI/g: 1:14 In fact, throughout the playoffs, Cleary hasn't even seen 4.5 minutes total on the PP, whereas Filppula has seen nearly 20 minutes on the PP. So while Cleary's role may be more important in the playoffs, it hasn't gotten any bigger.

Haha. Nice try. I love how I'm a "hater" because I didn't buy into the ZOMG FLIP IS DA BEST FORWARD BZIDES DAts N Hanky!!!!! Filppula is playing well right now - theres no denying that. But that doesn't change anything that was said earlier in the year, when he struggled to break 40 points and couldn't pot more than a dozen goals. My response to Filppula "lovers" has always been that his skill-level is exaggerated on this board, and until he show offensive prowess on a more consistent basis (and an ability to score goals) it will continue to be that way. Lets not forget that Cleary has 14 points, too, and that Datsyuk, statistically speaking, has been a 3rd line grinder so far these playoffs, not even able to break the top 7 in forward scoring. Meanwhile Helm has more goals than Holmstrom and Lebda nearly as many points as Kronwall. This hasn't exactly been the type of playoff run that is indicative of the greater talent of our players on the ice.

And Rafalski has an NTC. So does Cleary. And so does Stuart.

Actually, the more folks have to defend the way the NHL operates, and attack the conspiracy theorists, the more idiotic they look. Every single day theres new fodder for conspiracy theorists. That far outpaces anything that indicates the NHL isn't biased towards the Pens, or isn't biased towards anyone in particular.

Advice? Yeah. Don't bother. Wings in 4. Totally kidding. Wings in 3.

HELM!!!!!!!!

Why even bother? Everyone knows Hossa only scores in Game 4s. Although, I'd be happy to eat these words.

Somebody tell Franzen hes in danger of losing Conn Smythe votes, if it comes to that.

How did that even get in?