Heroes of Hockeytown

Game 3, but you're absolutely right. He's right near the play the whole time and essentially watches as Leino takes it to the net and Hank buries the rebound.

On the other hand, we witness Crosby floating lazily on the backcheck, not taking Pavel Datsyuk or Dan Cleary or the passing lane in between, on Cleary's opening tally last night. He hasn't really impressed me with his two-way play to this point.

I don't disagree.

Caught the highlights again... Here's a good example of the difference between Hank and Sid. Watch Crosby "back check" on Cleary's goal. He's standing there like an idiot, six feet from either Pavel or Dano, takes neither, doesn't get his stick in the passing lane. Just floats back there. Awful.

Hank has had an absolutely tremendous Finals, just enormous, and if the MVP were for just the Finals I'd be tempted to say Hank, but for the balance of the entire playoffs, including plenty of great work in Round 4, Oz is still my man.

He was great, and played a truly wonderful game. He obviously is not 100% and can't skate like he wants to, it was noticeable, but that's not what he's all about. Guts and heart for days.

He was a huge part of tonight's game to put the Wings on the brink. Flip's goal was massive and he made a stellar pass to set it up. He's been invisible at times but he was all in tonight, and that matters.

Zetterberg is who Crosby wants to be when he grows up.

I have no idea what he was doing below the goal line, but I'll take it.

At the dizzying height of my rage, I wanted to chase Rafalski out of town and never have to look at him again, after that abominable Staal gaffe in Game 4. A goal, assist, and one perfect stickless defense later (why couldn't he do that the other night?!) and I'll let him come back out of my doghouse. As if it needed to be said: Hank and Pavel > Sid and Malkin. What a massive game from them and Ozzie, who not only got the shutout, but made a very heads-up play to Hossa on Flip's goal and got the assist for that too. Bravo for a well played game all around. They're right back at where they were last season. Let's finish this Tuesday.

so i herd u liek cleary

With all due respect to Dano, because he has had a tremendous playoffs, but he hasn't had much of an impact in this series on any front. Both have been in on the same number of goals. Leino set up Abby for his first one, and Hank for his Game 3 tally. I love Draper to death but I don't know how he could be more effective than Abdelkader was in his 5-6 minutes, but I expect Kris in regardless.

That's a much better record than I was anticipating. The only one anyone ever remembers is the Ducks disaster.

Home team keeps the streak alive. Looking for a big game today from the team, the fate of the Stanley Cup more or less rests on it.

Brian Rafalski inviting Jordan Staal to take a penalty shot on Ozzie is what happened. I'm still fuming about that display of incompetence. The Wings had the lead, a power play, a chance to put the game more or less out of reach. And that goal came at the worst time in the worst possible way. The Pens surged massively after that, and the Wings had no chance to recover. If Rafalski does his job and, you know, makes any effort to stand in Staal's way and easily negate the play, I bet the Wings win.

Back from up norf, very belated rage incoming: ******* Rafalski. His non-play on the Staal shorty cost the Wings the game. What on Earth was he thinking?!

Day after post-mortem: I was afraid this might happen. I was not really feeling too good about this one, for whatever reason, and it went down more or less as you might expect. The Wings seemed to play a good game and had lots of pucks at the net, but if it don't go in it don't count. Although Kronwall was being a useless screening pylon to Ozzie on the Letang goal that he made no effort to block, that one seemed pretty stoppable. Everything that needs to be said about the Too Many Men fiasco has been said, I assume... The good news is Hossa will score twice tomorrow and the Wings will win.

Blaaaaargh @ Phaneuf picks. That jackhole is overrated. I can hella get behind Duncan Keith though. AO up front, not sure who I like in net. King Henrik and Cam Ward are both pretty solid picks, though.

Just usin' your logic, guy.

I guess that Lidstrom guy is a hack too, seeing as the Wings were batting a thousand without him on board.

The important difference being the Wings finished their series in five games, which usually allows for a moderate rest period, whereas the Pens had to go the distance, which never affords that opportunity.

And we shall name him Mike Green...

The most blatant, obvious non-call-for-the-sake-of-drama in the history of the league... that game was ******* over. /rage

First goal was a good goal. Huge scramble around the net, pucks just as likely to go in off your own guy as much as theirs.

So that it doesn't rebound back into play. He wouldn't know it was going to hit the post until after the fact. I'm sure he would have tried to get his pad on it if he had seen it in time.