Penguins fan here

[JayUp88 1]

Welcome

[Kira 451]

My family is from just north of Pittsburgh, so I have kind of a connection to that area. My great aunt (rest her soul) was a die hard fan of all the teams there.

I'm not sure what to say. You made the Sens look stupid (but the way they were playing, hell, even Boston would have done that), and took the Rangers out (for which I thank you), but you haven't really been tested. If you come up against us, you better bring your best and then some. I have a really good feeling about this one.

Good luck against Philly.

[Wing Fanatic 3]

Welcome aboard! I too want to wish you luck with Philly. If it comes to a Wings-Penguins final (which is looking pretty likely), it will be a good series. I tend to agree with everyone else though, your team, although very good, just does not have the depth that you would need to beat Detroit. The Wings are firing on all cylinders right now and would be very difficult to defeat. Either way, here's to you guys beating Philly!

P.S. Tell your guys not to play dirty and not be disrespectful like Dallas is now. It only makes us play better!

[union drone 0]

Welcome to the boards! The Pens are a scary team. Sid and Malkin are scary good. Hossa is always a threat. There is a good supporting cast. The team has been on a great run.

What will happen in a Wings-Pens final? Hard to say. I think that the Wings have the edge based on playoff experience, team defence, and puck-control style of play, but it is difficult to say what will happen when two Juggernauts collide.

[gowingsgo 3]

Pens, Flyers, I really don't care although I prefer the Pens. That would be good for hockey to get the young Pens v the Wings. I think a lot of people outside of Detroit don't realize the type of defense we have and how we shut down other teams attacks. I'd love to see us matchup v an explosive offense like Pittsburgh's.

[irishtemper14+25 11]

welcome man, and i like all of the players on your team for the most part....MA Fleury, Malkin, Roberts, Sykora, Staal, even Georges LaRoque i dont mind but i just dont like your team all because of who the cpt is

[Z and D for the C 712]

I can't wait for this series, it'll be a great one.

[HkyTwn 5]

Hello, Red Wings fans. My first post here. First, your team has been really impressive the last two series. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Franzen have looked scary at times. Osgood is solid. It's still early to tell if the Pens will be in the Finals, but your team is on its way unless they get abducted while in Dallas.

I just wanted to see what your general opinion of the Penguins is. From a Pens point of view, we are ecstatic to have a very talented, young team that is extremely confident considering the miniscule playoff experience we have compared to your team. Malkin, Hossa, and Fleury are playing the best hockey of the season. Our fans are more than annoyed with the ''Crosby is a whiner, diver, crybaby, etc'' talk. The same goes for talk about the Pens getting preferential treatment from the officials. That couldn't be further from the truth.

I noticed some of the posts on here underrating the Pens defense. One guy said we gave up tons of goals to the Senators and Rangers. I guess he doesn't know the Pens have the lowest team goals against in the playoffs. But, enough of that.

Well, good luck to your team from this point on...unless they play the Penguins.

First of all, welcome to LGW! Enjoy your stay & I hope you stick around even if the series doesn't happen or when the series is over!

I want to say that we know where you're coming from when you say you're sick of hearing that the officials love the Pens. We get that too in the west. We also get the excuses, but they're less about crybabies (though the Nashville fans went to town saying that Cheli was a whiner) and more about playing tired teams and being old or something.

I think the reason that people say bad things about the Pens defense (at least here, probably not in other places--in other places it's probably because they don't know enough about the Pens) is because they're comparing it to the depth of the Wings' defense...which is insane.

The Pens are my second favorite team and my first favorite in the East, so this match-up (if it were to happen) will be crazy for me (I won't be able to talk to my Pens' friends). Some of your offense scares me (not the 5-on-5, but the PP), but I think if we're able to shut down your power guys then we can take this no problem... just as long as we keep our head in the game. If it would be against anyone else, I would root for the Pens because it's a great opportunity for them to build in this city...but obviously I want my Wings to have that cup. And, I must say, I want more than anything to shut up all of the fairweather "omfg Crosby and the Pens!" fans that have popped out of the woodwork (where did they come from?). A lot of them (like any group of fairweathers from any team) don't know a damn thing about hockey and the way it works.

So, good luck in the series! I hope you stick around and chat with us!

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Hmmm.... well:

Malkin is an aboslute beast. He attracts so so so much attention from the other team but you just can't afford to put too much attention on him since last year's hart winner is sitting on the second line! That's the most frustrating thing about the Pens- they've got so much talent.

While the entire Pens defense has been playing tightly and well above expectations I don't think they have the talent or mental toughness on the back end to survive a real sustained onslaught. Yes they've played well in the playoffs, but I'm not sure how well they'd do after having given up a few bad goals. Know what I mean?

The one thing that the Pens truly lack is a strong 'team defense'. Staal plays an excellent 2-way game but Malkin and Crosby's defense is pretty much limited to remembering not to cheat too much up the ice (ok- that's an exageration, but you get my point). The key here is that the line for line match-ups favour the wings simply because our forwards are just so defensively responsible. I'm giddy at the idea that Datsyuk and Zetterberg are so damn responsible in their own zone AND can put up so many points!

Detroit's other main advantage is Holmstrom and Franzen's play infront of the net. It seems like the Pens tend to have trouble clearing players from infront of Fleury. Look for the Wings to cause some serious consternation there...

Honestly- the Wings are lucky this is the first deep run for this Pens team... because I really think you've got a sick group of talented kids that will be Detroit's #1 cup threat for the next 10 years. If the Wings were in the East I'd say this has the potential to be a Detroit-Colorado situation- two big dogs with tons of talent that bite at each other all year long

Here's to a good series and another cup in hockeytown!

P.s. Don't mind some of the homerism you'll see on these boards- many, many of the fans here are intelligent and insightful posters. Every forum on the net attracts the other type of poster...

[VM1138 1,921]

I never liked Pitts. I don't know why, maybe it's because I didn't like Lemieux.

But a Detroit-Pitts finals would be absolutely awesome.

Pittsburgh scares me, but I do wonder a bit if they're deep enough. And those little mistakes they do make from time to time will be capitalized on by the Wings. Not to mention Crosby will be neutralized (or at least limited) by playing against our top line, and Malkin against our second.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

I've been waiting for this matchup for a month now, right around the time I knew we'd play Colorado and Dallas, which are two teams I knew we'd sweep.

This, however, won't be as easy a matchup. Their powerplay might be the best the league has seen since the Penguins teams of the early 90's. They have several lines that can score, and unlike Dallas and Philly, they're a team that won't settle for anything short of the Stanley Cup. They're young and hungry.

With the injury to Franzen, I'm worried about our secondary scoring against these guys. Also, we don't ever play them, so the matchups are kind of hard to predict. This is going to be a tough series, especially if Pittburgh gets many powerplay opportunities. I still think, however, that our defense is way better than theirs, and that should be the difference.

[cs6687 0]

Hey, Wings fans. Your team is probably the best team in the NHL at transition and making teams pay for their mistakes. Dallas seems to prove that two or three times a night. The one thing you would notice from the Pens is they don't need a lot of chances to score. Dallas does not have the finishers the Penguins have. No disrespect to Franzen, but the Pens also have more secondary scoring than the Wings. Every Penguins forward has a goal in the playoffs except Tyler Kennedy, who is a beast on the forecheck. Staal, Max Talbot, Jarrko Ruutu, and Gary Roberts all have game-winning goals in these playoffs.

Also, if you want a very entertaining, funny, and informative Penguins site, check out http://thepensblog.blogspot.com/

Edited May 13, 2008 by cs6687

[IceMunkee 15]

Nice topic.

I was just talking about this with a friend. I am not saying I am a Pens fan but I do enjoy watching them all season. The biggest thing about pit is they have two strong scoring lines, which I don't feel the Wings have seen yet. Although let me give the boys the benefit of the doubt and say they have shut down pretty well. On the same note Pitt has not seen a defense like ours. Fluery has not seen an offense like ours and with the goalie destroying capabilities this post season, I don't think Fluery can stand up to it. I mean they can say what they want about fluery shutting people down all day. They said the same about Ellis, Theodore and Turco. We lite them up pretty good. It will be a good series, if it comes to pass. Laroque (spelling) scares me though. I can't imagine Mac fighting him.

[deker 0]

Hey, Wings fans. Your team is probably the best team in the NHL at transition and making teams pay for their mistakes. Dallas seems to prove that two or three times a night. The one thing you would notice from the Pens is they don't need a lot of chances to score. Dallas does not have the finishers the Penguins have. No disrespect to Franzen, but the Pens also have more secondary scoring than the Wings. Every Penguins forward has a goal in the playoffs except Tyler Kennedy, who is a beast on the forecheck. Staal, Max Talbot, Jarrko Ruutu, and Gary Roberts all have game-winning goals in these playoffs.

Also, if you want a very entertaining, funny, and informative Penguins site, check out http://thepensblog.blogspot.com/

Hi CS!

Have to admit, although I've been a big time lurker to this forum, I finally decided to start posting to respond to your comment here! First off, I should say that after the Wings, my (distant) second and third favorite teams are the Habs and the Pens (and all three of which I have jerseys and T-shirts which I wear when not watching the Wings). I'd have been in hockey heaven if the Pens were playing the Habs instead of the Flyers!

As for secondary scoring, of our forwards, only two don't have goals in these playoffs: Dallas Drake and Kirk Maltby, and in Malts' case, that's pretty much because he didn't play until this series. Both are also awesome on the forecheck, and I believe both have nailed Mike Ribeiro pretty well at least once this series. Not that that's your concern, but it makes me feel pretty happy to mention that.

Contrary to popular belief, Pavel Datsyuk does not have a game winning goal. Ours come from Franzen, Zetterberg, Jiri Hudler, Kris Draper and Nick Lidstrom.

In a lot of ways, these two teams can be mirror images of each other. Assuming it comes to pass, this could be one of the greatest series in recent memory.

[Albeh 1]

Malkin is a monster, if the two teams meet indeed, Wings are gonna have to shut him down.

So were Lindros and the Legion of Doom. Until they met Nicky.

Edited May 13, 2008 by Albeh

[lomekian 201]

From a wings perspective I'd prefer to play philly as I thik they are for the taking despite their toughness, but from a spectator perspective, wings vs pens has got to be the best possible outcome.

youth vs experience

attacking superstars vs league's best defense

European Superstars on both teams and the great canadian hope

I also think it would be a tight series which I would back the wings to win in 6 or 7.

Mind you need 3 more wins between us, so despite the seeming inevitabilit yof it lets wait and see

[Nero 20]

I am worried about the East because I don't have any regular season data to build confidence on so I am not sure what to expect. However I am plenty confident that Detroit would be able to come out on top against Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

[Yemack 1]

If we are able to solve Fluery, no Malkin nor Crosby will be able to fare against our team.

If not, then we have a series.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Welcome to the forums

You ask what I think about pittsburgh?

I think they're a great team and they're only going to get better with experience, but this isn't their year. Yes, Crosby and Malkin are good, but the Wings will be matching lines, which means they will be up against two of the greatest defensmen in the game in Lidstrom and Rafalski, two Selke trophy finalists in Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and even throw Holmstrom into the mix to ruffle a few more feathers. Not only is this singularly the greatest defensive line in hockey, but its also an offensive powerhouse, whether its against the opposition's shut down units, their top line, or any combination that has been thrown at them all year.

That means theres going to be an even greater emphasis on secondary scoring for the Pens. Which means getting through the likes of Kronwall and Stuart, our physical powerhouses. Yes, they have defensive lapses, and neither are for certain Nick Lidstrom, but they do the job, and they do it well, and when it comes down to pure defensive skill, I think both are underrated. Then when you throw a handful of veteran shutdown forwards (with more playoff experience than the Penguins entire team) like Draper, Drake, and Maltby into the lineup; then that six foot net behind Osgood (who currently stands undefeated in the postseason with less than 1.5 goals allowed per game) is starting to look like its behind a brick wall.

And thats assuming Franzen doesn't play. When Franzen has been playing this postseason, he has been singularly the best offensive individual in the league. And he won't be on a line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg, because there's already plenty of offensive prowess on that line.

I'm not going to lie, though. Pittsburgh has definitely come through in the postseason and far exceeded my expectations. I wrote them off as a first round upset. Pittsburgh stomped on the Sens. Then I wrote them off as a second round upset. The Rangers hardly slowed you guys down. And I wrote them off to loose to Phily. Right now the Pens are leading the series by two. You definitely have a lot of talent on your end, and you'll probably test Detroit moreso than any other team has, but when both teams play at their best, I don't think the Penguins will stand a chance.

[SnipeShow 0]

pittsburgh is great but will not be able to hang with motown 5 on 5 because of our depth and great two-way play.

[Datsyerberger 279]

If we are able to solve Fluery, no Malkin nor Crosby will be able to fare against our team.

If not, then we have a series.

If this series with the Pens and Flyers has been any judge, the solution to Fleury has been jamming up the front of the net and picking up rebounds and deflections. Of course, that's not something we do well at all.... >_>

Flyers have been absolutely blowing on picking up on that.

[Chaldean 0]

The Pens might even have a more talented team then ours, but in the end experience is gonig to matter alot, and I just think the Pens youngsters are going to flop. I can see this Pens team winning 2-3 Stanley Cup in the next 10 years. There really great (and so damn young!)

[Mikeal 60]

/welcome

If it happens great! It will be exciting and good for hockey. Honestly I thought the fliers would bring a more entertaining physical game to that series....(But i picked the pens to win in 5 so lose one it might mean 100 bux for me)

[theman19 47]

the current pens roster reminds me alot of the 83 oilers. That was the year they lost to the islanders for the last of NYI's cups. Edmonton had dominate players all day, but the islanders had the experience adn taught Gretzky and company a valuable lesson. I'm willing to bet that's how this is going to play out, we're going to teach the pens how to win stanley cups by how Jersey taught us in 95' by kicking there ass defensively.

[Hiei 192]

Defence wins Championships.

Red Wings in 5.