skacore

This thread just went right over your head, you obviously didn't get the jist of what I'm saying. I was going to make this thread regardless if we won or not but I would of had to change the title You didn't think the team showed less bite this year than last year in the playoffs? The finals specifically...?

I'm not going to pick apart your individual points but basically what I want to change is the team's attitude, not specifically just picking up 1 individual tough player. I truly feel like a group of guys like Downey, McCarty, and Drake influenced last year's team, we played tougher and showed no signs of intimidation, don't get me wrong we played tough at times this postseason as well but (to me), it wasn't the same. The fact that we came up just short may or may not have been a coincidence but the fact of the matter is that we did come up short, and it's not crazy to say we were outplayed and were pretty fortunate in a couple of our wins. I want to change the attitude of the team so that Rafalski doesn't get tuned up by Corey Perry, how? I don't give a F but somehow other teams manage to keep their star players from getting their face's filled, we can't really say that this year. Talbot, a grinder type of guy, an agitator you could say, managed to score 2 goals in the Stanley Cup final game and win the Pens the cup. You can't say his toughness wasn't a factor because you could tell the way he presented himself on the ice that he felt like he ran the show, and he did! Nobody put him in his place when he slashed Datsyuk's injured ankle, or speared our (at the time) Conn Smythe calibre goaltender, the guy felt like a GOD out there. I have no proof to this and you have no proof against it, that's just my theory, and hey, he did score the 2 big goals so something gave him that little boost. There's always the debate toughness vs. skill and I don't want to start that, I don't want to sacrifice skill, I just want to add an element of REAL toughness. Players are available this offseason, I always hear that they aren't... they are... Hopefully we get it done

not to mention "tough guy" Maxime Talbot who did whatever he wanted to this series (slash Dat's ankle, spear Osgood, mock entire Red Wings' bench... score Stanley Cup GWG goal...) scores the only 2 goals in the final game... it's funny how these kind of guys shine when they feel like they are the biggest, baddest guy out on the ice? sadly..... he probably was

meh... it sucked at the time but I'm already over it... I'm just looking forward to free agency now and have my fingers crossed that the 09-10 Red Wings will be much more exciting and a much tougher team

Abdelkader 2 goals in 3 games, you're benched bro! Helm, most consistent player all finals... you're benched in the 3rd bro!

cause the injury was from blocking a shot

Chris Neil plx!!

yea i don't like it either but i guess it's something little kids and their parents can relate to and sing along or something... i wish they played a lot more pump up songs like metallica or rage against the machine w/e... but whatever

you are such a tool lol

buddy you hype yourself up more than bettman does crosby... do yourself a favour and go outside on this beautiful sunday afternoon, you're annoying and repetitive

Thoughts from skacore's Nest: I think now that Datsyuk is back the Pens are overwhelmed and outclassed just like last year, if they want to be a contender again in the future they may want to think about tanking another few years so that they can have world class players given to their franchise (again)

no I really don't think so.. I think Tavares will be a guy who gets tucked away and ignored at times but he'll always be one of the most dangeorus goal scoring threats and can single handedly turn a game around... kind of like Rick Nash, and how often do you hear about Rick Nash?

so did Fedotenko pop up in your head tonight?

I have no idea why Abdelkader was taken out of the line up either... 2 goals in 3 games and he forechecks hard and creates opportunities, he's been one of our better forwards all series long, seems like a slap in the face a bit

Pitts came out banging in game 3, as bad as tonight was... I thought our physical game was a lot better than game 3, we finished most our hits tonight, most noticeably guys like Helm (obviously), Hossa, Draper, Franzen, Cleary, Holmstrom... our D haven't been physical enough this series and tonight they just looked plain awful

I hope we get Abdelkader back in for game 5 whether it's Hudler, Leino, Samuelsson, Holmstrom, Maltby, Draper coming out, I don't really care

honestly you're an idiot just stop posting... you're whining after 1 loss and it's embarrassing

I think he's been playing well, he's trying to make things happen out there on the 4th line. I'd say he's been the least impressive out of all the rookies but he hasn't been bad by any means. I like his willingness to go into the corners and battle for the puck.

I call him Zoom

Helm could be from Pakistan and he'd still get the same recoginition that he does. Cherry has said before the fans of Detroit NEED a player like this... someone who hits to kill and never stops, gee maybe he was right? The Joe is rocking every time Helm steps on the ice.

Tim Thomas vs. someone

by the way he is not 6'0 200... probably more like 5'10 180 if I had to guess.. but he's got a nice shot and one-timer for a smaller guy

I watched all of the Memorial Cup and Piche is on Rimouski so I got to see him play 4 times. He was a point per game D man in the Q this year and that alone is impressive. He isn't very big and doubt he'll get much bigger but he seems pretty strong along the boards and is willing to take a hit or throw a hit but nothing devastating. I thought he was a little weak in front of his own net but I'm sure he can learn from guys like Lidstrom and Rafalski how to tie guy's sticks up. The fight above was from his first game against Windsor and as you can see he did alright for himself. He also took Henrique, one of the tournament's leading scorers, who already had 2 goals (I think...) off for 5 minutes in the 3rd. His only offense came in the 4th game against Windsor (lost 6-4) but he showed up when it mattered most. He ended up being even +/- which isn't bad considering Rimouski was a tournament underdog and officially were the first team eliminated. Like most young D men he has a long way to go but I like that we signed this guy, he's like a free draft pick and probably already on par with a couple of our other D prospects. A couple years in the AHL is definitely required and we'll see where he goes from there. Tournament stats: 4 GP - 1 G - 2 A - 3 P - even +/- 5 PIM (fight)

hoss-hate? dude..... you guys are so lost you don't have to hate a player to be able to recognize he's not playing to his potential... hossa has been an OK player in the playoffs before this game, but the concern is that he's not an OK player he's a star player signed for 7.5 million dollars, the most on our team... today he was an all star player it's good he came to play today, let's hope he continues playing the same way and no doubt the production will keep coming... it's a message board guys, it's ok to point out flaws in our own team's players, there feelings won't be hurt

he played so much better today than he has the rest of the playoffs, you're saying the only difference in his game today was the 2 goals? because that's wrong