Winged Scooter 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Burnside is a DOPE! Not because he predicted Pittsburgh to win, I really believe it will be a good tight series, I seriously doubt we see anything less than six games. Burnside is a DOPE because predicting the Pens to win in SEVEN on the Wings home ice, is MORONIC!! Ain't gonna happen! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gizmo 21 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 The more the experts underestimate the Wings, the better in my opinion!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThreeRiversFan 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Quoted for truth my friend. The schedule the last few years has been crap. I hate playing 32 games against teams in your own division. I am glad that is getting paired down. At the same time though, the finals this year will be interesting because both teams have not played each other since exhibition. I bet both sides are wondering what the heck is going to happen because its uncharted territory thats for sure. I couldnt agree more I have much respect for the Wings...their players..and their scheme.... The 1st two games will be an excercise in who can adjust to who..... I cant wait!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 The D's ARE comparable and here is my proof: Lids >>>>>>>>>>>>> any two Pit defenders you can put on the ice Ralf >> Gonchar Kronwall > than all their D men except Gonchar Stuart > see above Cheli > Gill (watch the wings forward fly by this guy, I swear he has cement in his shoes) Lebda < only Gonchar, Orpik, Whitney Lilja = Hal Gill, if Hal Gill was a Red Wing, after he wiped the spooge off of his pants, would be sitting in the press box, no way he cracks this line up! Lilja, Meech, Lebda would all be starting D-men on that team. Letang is highly overrated mainly due to the fact that he scored a couple of really nice SO goals, other than that I see him as a liability, often times he is out of position, and if Dats and Z ever happen to be on the ice the same time as this guy watch Dats keep him on his hip like he does so many other D-men. See I compared the Defenses thus they are comparable! Dallas D is a fair amount better than Pit, not a ton but a significant amount. I would even wager that Col D is better. MAF and the top 2 lines will have to shoulder a very large load in order to beat the wings!! No offense to MAF, he is an up and coming superstar, however the wings just disposed of one of the best Goaltenders in the league, MAF is not at that level yet. If he wins this series he would be vaulted into that class, but I have a hard time seeing that happen through my red glasses! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Evenly matched teams. Of course I hope the Wings win, but being that we never play Pitts, who knows how it's giong to go down. I think we have the edge in defense, and I feel that Zetterberg and Datsyuk are better all around performers than Crosby and Malkin. Pitts' depth is going to be a problem, but their defense won't be able to hold back our offense, either. I'm betting we see a lot of 5-4 type games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NeverForgetMac25 483 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Melrose picked the Wings tonight on the Sportscenter recap if it's any consolation. Seriously though, can't really blame Burnside. Pitt has a helluva team with a ridiculous amount of offensive, probably a little more capable than the Wings in terms of a balance standpoint if possible, and the two defenses are pretty even. Their only question is in goaltending I think, but that is far from an achilles heel. I highly doubt this series will end quickly and it'll probably be an offensive slugfest. The series could honestly go either way and the teams are almost dead even in terms of talent and capabilities I think. Actually, it is! Melrose only jumps on the Wings bandwagon when they are about to win the Cup. Thanks Barry! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlakChamber 8 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Of course, if Burnside had predicted the Wings would sweep and win each game by 10 goals, there'd be a post about how smart he is Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Based on what? I hear people make this comment all the time, but I'm not sure I agree with it. East has the best individuals. West has the best teams. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hank 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Melrose picked the Wings tonight on the Sportscenter recap if it's any consolation. Seriously though, can't really blame Burnside. Pitt has a helluva team with a ridiculous amount of offensive, probably a little more capable than the Wings in terms of a balance standpoint if possible, and the two defenses are pretty even. Their only question is in goaltending I think, but that is far from an achilles heel. I highly doubt this series will end quickly and it'll probably be an offensive slugfest. The series could honestly go either way and the teams are almost dead even in terms of talent and capabilities I think. Great analysis. I agree. The Wings have an edge in defense but not much of one. The Pens D is very underrated. The Pens also get a nod in offense. Their top 2 lines smoke ours. Especially if Cleary continues with his drought and Franzen can't go for the finals. This is the biggest concern for either team, IMO: Pens - Goaltending. MAF has been terrific but he's still prone to ugly goals. And will his youth and inexperience be a hinderance to his performance? The same could be said for the rest of the team. They could get caught up in the moment and suddenly be down 3-0. Wings - The Pens play a very aggressive style. It doesn't matter if they're up by 1 goal or 6, they come at you with all 5 players. And they have some very big top 6 forwards - Malkin, Hossa, Malone, Staal. On top of that Crosby might not be big but he's not scared to go anywhere on the ice and he'll bang too. Then there's their checking lines. All of them can skate, love to hit and can provide offense from time to time. All of us will know Maxime Talbot very well before this series is over. The Wings have always had fits trying to combat an aggressive forecheck. The Pens will not only provide this style of play but with offense to boot. Saying all of that, I truly believe the Wings will win in 5. They'll be 5 very close games, but the Wings defense and experience will prevail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BewareThePenguin 1 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) Oh my GAWD someone had the nerve to pick the Penguins -- arggghhh meltdown time! For those dismissing the Pens -- regardless of Detroit's skill, they have NOT faced anything like Pittsburgh yet. As someone here said, the Pens' top 2 lines blow away the rest of the NHL. Their overall talent is unsurpassed, so you won't have the usual automatic advantage there. If anything here's the key -- the Pens came into their playoff infancy last year, and had no idea what it was all about. They learned fast after getting dumped even faster. They've clearly taken the next step. But not the last, the championship step, which is the biggest. Detroit's been there, they've got the PhD. So have the Pens come all the way, or is there yet one last class before they earn their degree? We'll see. Doo bee doo bee doo. And of course -- Beware the Penguin. Edited May 20, 2008 by BewareThePenguin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zenway9 1 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 The more the experts underestimate the Wings, the better in my opinion!!! I agree, let everyone pick Pittsburgh...I know better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duck Guy 86 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) $20 says that this series will be like last years SCF when everyone was saying HAHA ducks cant stop the unstoppable line of heat, alfie, and spezza they are going to get creamed!!! and look what happened with that.. Edited May 20, 2008 by Duck Guy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bad Vlad Forever 1 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Remember when a bunch of people from ESPN predicted Colorado in 6 and 7? I realize the pens aren't the avs, but I just love that the media at large has underestimated the Wings this entire playoff season, and make excuses for the other teams we've beaten. Keep on bringing the hate ESPN. I love it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Datsyukgrl_in_ATL 0 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Ya, he picked the pens to win, whatev. But he really thinks it will go to seven games then? Come on, a game seven at home with a vetern team? If he's going to pick the pens, then at least pick em to win in 6. You gotta like the best home team this year in a game 7 for the CUP!? right? doesn't add up to me... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuckeyeWingsfan80 209 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Consider the source...Burnside...'nuff said.... Serious question...you guys did not score a ton of goals on Dallas.....do you seriously think Dallas is better than the Pens defensively? Have you watched the Pens this post season at all? This series goes either way....I will submit that your defensemen may rank higher than ours....but there is much more to defense than just the D-men Do not underestimate the Pens defensively They scored 4, 2, 5, 1, 1 and 4 goals in each of the games against Dallas. By my math that is nearly 3 goals per game even with two games that they only scored 1 and Marty Turco stood on his head (and Detroit had 3 goals waived off)... I love you trolls, you don't know what to say so you try to flame.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Of course, if Burnside had predicted the Wings would sweep and win each game by 10 goals, there'd be a post about how smart he is Sad but true....sad but f**king true. It's not like the guy predicted a Penguins sweep or Penguins in 5. He's picked the Wings before. If people would just get past their OMG ESPN IS SO HORRIBLE bias, they'd actually see that picking somebody to win in 7 games probably yields that the teams are close to even on play, and it will be a TIGHT SERIES. Again, with as closely evenly matched as these teams are, you could easily bounce back and forth 50-50 on your selection to where picking either team is fairly realistic. Not everybody that picks or chooses against the Wings automatically makes them an idiot. It's pitiful to see such fan responses in here this playoff year towards people that might actually go against the Wings where their claims are fairly legit and realisitic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,804 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 I hope this dumbf*** knows that it's almost impossible for a team to win game 7 on the road. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, in fact it happened in the NBA last night, but to predict that is just downright stupid. Burnside is an idiot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 I hope this dumbf*** knows that it's almost impossible for a team to win game 7 on the road. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, in fact it happened in the NBA last night, but to predict that is just downright stupid. Burnside is an idiot. Philadelphia beat Washington this year in a game 7 ON THE ROAD. It's definitely possible for a road team to win game 7. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dallas27 7 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) Philadelphia beat Washington this year in a game 7 ON THE ROAD. It's definitely possible for a road team to win game 7. Sure it's possible. In any other arena other than Joe Louis. Wings in 5. Too much hype for the Pens (from a marketing standpoint it obviously isn't enough for Bettman), MAF is young and the Wings will expose it. Osgood is still Rodney Dangerfield. Shut down ZDH. Crosby and Malkin are going to make Lidstrom, Zetterberg and Datsyuk look like they haven't played the game before. Yada yada yada. Same ol' song and dance. Heard this three other times in the past couple months. Wings have outclassed everyone in their path, the Penguins will be no different. Edited May 20, 2008 by dallas27 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Sure it's possible. In any other arena other than Joe Louis. Nope, it's also possible to do it in JLA as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dallas27 7 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Nope, it's also possible to do it in JLA as well. Whatever floats your boat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,804 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Nope, it's also possible to do it in JLA as well. That hasn't happened in a long time. In fact many Finals have gone to game 7 in recent memory, and the home team won each game. Obviously this Burnside character doesn't know as much about history as he should. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 Whatever floats your boat Just trying to play middleman for the obnoxious doom-and-gloom and/or obnoxious arrogant posts that make the Wings sound indestructible. The Wings are no more/less invincible than the Penguins, and vice versa. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 That hasn't happened in a long time. In fact many Finals have gone to game 7 in recent memory, and the home team won each game. Obviously this Burnside character doesn't know as much about history as he should. And you throw away history when each game is played. The outcome is determined on the ice or playing surface, not in a sports forum or newspaper. A great home crowd definitely helps and is a factor, but you have to ultimately beat the other team on the playing surface to win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dallas27 7 Report post Posted May 20, 2008 (edited) Just trying to play middleman for the obnoxious doom-and-gloom and/or obnoxious arrogant posts that make the Wings sound indestructible. The Wings are no more/less invincible than the Penguins, and vice versa. Not game 7 at the Joe. The Wings, having a couple recent Stanley Cup trips, I think would know how to close the deal at HOME on a GAME 7 during the Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins, already being a young team and having no cup experience, one could assume would most likely fold. But discount that and play the middleman, it's very admirable. Edited May 20, 2008 by dallas27 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
