Crosby and Malkin... who are they?

[Sal33n 0]

I'm with you there. I often get called a homer for thinking the Penguins are a two man show.. but watching them through three separate series, I really believe that's true. Most of their goals either come from them or are assisted by them. When their team is down a man, one of those two is double-shifted. When there's a 4-on-4, they're both out there together.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, and on really good days: Staal.

Agreed

[WingsFan2008 0]

Can all you f**ktards (NBC, Bettman, Pens fans) who kiss these two on the ass now realize how all they are is hype?? THEY BROUGHT NOTHING!!!!! I repeat, NOTHING!!!! All I see out of Crosby is a decent backhand. I wonder how he practices his backhand???

They were shut down and we didn't even play that great! Give me Pavel any day over either of them! Even when he isn't scoring he is dazzling the other team with his puck handling skills, forechecking, backchecking and all around play.

Way to go Wings! (and hurry back Datsuk!!!!)

Backhand? I didn't know Crosby played tennis?

[Rocket Queen 30 1]

They're most definitely not hype. They're good players but so is their opposition. This should serve as a wake up call to anyone who's been sleeping on the Wings.. THEY are the real deal and They are some of the most talented players in the league and Hank and Pav (when he's playing) deserve just as much run as those two assholes. I'm seriously seeing nothing but ******* Crosby's sorry mug on the damn tv and then only bits and piece of the Wings. Hell they showed that stupid Lemieux interview 2ice. WTF.... I don't give a s*** if they love up on Crosby and the Pens.. so long as we get equal representation... s***.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Rocket Queen 30

[dat's sick 1,002]

I'm with you there. I often get called a homer for thinking the Penguins are a two man show.. but watching them through three separate series, I really believe that's true. Most of their goals either come from them or are assisted by them. When their team is down a man, one of those two is double-shifted. When there's a 4-on-4, they're both out there together.

70% of the Pens goals in the playoffs have included Malkin and/or Crosby.

[Ms_Hockey 0]

70% of the Pens goals in the playoffs have included Malkin and/or Crosby.

There you go. Point in check. How can anybody say they're NOT a two-man team?

[Sal33n 0]

Backhand? I didn't know Crosby played tennis?

"In ice hockey, a backhanded shot (or backhander) is a shot taken from the backside of the blade. This type of shot is often used on breakaways, penalty shots and in shootouts and is used for deking. It is a less accurate, less powerful, but more confusing to goaltenders. It is also used when a player can not pass the puck to someone who is facing the outside bend of the stick.

The setup of this shot begins with the puck on the backhand heel side of the hockey stick. The puck location at this point will be even with or on the outside of the skate opposite of the intended direction of the shot. There will be a weight transfer from one skate to the other, also in the shot direction, when shot commences. At this time the puck will slide along the blade from the heel toward the toe with the eventual release of the puck toward the net. The shooter does have some control over the direction of the backhand shot -- by pointing the stick blade during the follow through, the player can direct the action of the puck. This shot can obviously be used with a straight stick, but can have different shot results."

--Thanks Wikipedia

I am sure you were being sarcastic though;)

[Theophany 110]

Hey, what was that other team that had two big young stars but better defensive presence that we just beat in 5 games?

Oh, s'up Chicago; wanna say something to the Pens?

[thedisappearer 291]

Hey, what was that other team that had two big young stars but better defensive presence that we just beat in 5 games?

Oh, s'up Chicago; wanna say something to the Pens?

PWN'd.

[Snazzy 0]

It makes me sick to my stomach to say this.. but it's a fact:

Crosby - Malkin < Getzlaf - Perry

Ducks top lines is more of threat than these bozos.

[RockyMountainWingGal 108]

Crosby and Malkin are both excellent hockey players. The Wings just have a remarkable ability of shutting star players down. Doesn't mean C & M are all hype.. it just means Detroit is good at silencing them.

Agreed. Malkin played great. I was more impressed with his ability to escape the Wing's D than Crosby. Just because we won doesn't mean they "suck". Let's just see what happens tomorrow before we check into the overconfidence hotel (borrowing from radio).....

[Theophany 110]

It makes me sick to my stomach to say this.. but it's a fact:

Crosby - Malkin < Getzlaf - Perry

Ducks top lines is more of threat than these bozos.

I cannot agree with this at all. If we don't shut down Crosby and Malkin, they walk all over Ozzie.

We didn't shut off on Getzlaf and Perry. If we shut down on them, Pronger scores, Neidermayer scores, Ryan scores, etc.

The Pens don't have the depth that the Ducks have. There's a big difference between the two teams.

It's called "defense".

[Electrophile 3,554]

exactly.. lets enjoy the win and not get too cocky. Long way to go yet. Lets not piss off the hockey gods by getting cocky ...k?

go wings!!!

Absolutely. NO ONE should be getting cocky in even the slightest.

[Snazzy 0]

I cannot agree with this at all. If we don't shut down Crosby and Malkin, they walk all over Ozzie.

We didn't shut off on Getzlaf and Perry. If we shut down on them, Pronger scores, Neidermayer scores, Ryan scores, etc.

The Pens don't have the depth that the Ducks have. There's a big difference between the two teams.

It's called "defense".

You make no sense. First off, I am not talking about "two teams", I am talking about 4 players - combos. Getzlaf and Perry was harder for our HEALTHY team to shut down. Whereas, Crosby and Malkin were NOT much of a threat (compared to Getzlaf and Perry) after we shut them down. Also remember Lidstrom wasn't injured, Erricsson didn't just come off a surgery, and we had Datsyuk, and Getzlaf / Perry were still putting up points. Crosby and Malkin, on the other hand, just got frustrated and pretty much turned invisible.

I stand behind my stance:

Getzlaf - Perry > Crosby - Malkin

Edited May 31, 2009 by Snazzy

[ComradeWasabi 109]

Getzlaf and Perry's style of play is better suited to beating Detroit than Crosby and Malkin's. The former chip it in, cycle and use size, strength and positioning to grind our defense and scory dirty goals. Crosby and Malkin play a puck-possession style which relies heavily on passing and individual speed and skill through the neutral zone. Given the Wings' relative lack of size on the blueline, the Ducks' style of attack is more effective than the Pens'. That does not necessarily mean that Getzlaf and Perry are better than Crosby and Malkin, only that Detroit has more trouble with them.

For what it's worth, though, Getzlaf and Perry are both vastly superior in their own end to both of the Pens' stars.

edit:

Crosby and Malkin are both excellent hockey players. The Wings just have a remarkable ability of shutting star players down. Doesn't mean C & M are all hype.. it just means Detroit is good at silencing them.

Nail, meet head.

Edited May 31, 2009 by ComradeWasabi

[BewareThePenguin 1]

I am not saying that we have this in hand or anything like that. My point simply is that with all the hype around these two that they were made to look like your average joe hockey player out there tonight and we didn't even play up to where we should be. They have had a stellar cup run with 56 points between them then bam, the Wings shut them down. So did they both just happen to have a bad game on the same night or is it that the Wings know how to handle these so called super stars? I think the latter.

The Wings did a bang-up job for the most part on them. But I guess you missed the brilliant steal Malkin made to set up the only goal, or Crosby hitting the post and the puck somehow landing on Osgood's back like it was made of velcro -- not to mention the penalty shot that should've been awarded once his teammate's hand touched the puck in the crease? Maybe you should add "luck" to the list along with your other two theories.

[thedisappearer 291]

The Wings did a bang-up job for the most part on them. But I guess you missed the brilliant steal Malkin made to set up the only goal, or Crosby hitting the post and the puck somehow landing on Osgood's back like it was made of velcro -- not to mention the penalty shot that should've been awarded once his teammate's hand touched the puck in the crease? Maybe you should add "luck" to the list along with your other two theories.

Was any of that for the game winning goal?

[BewareThePenguin 1]

Was any of that for the game winning goal?

That wasn't the question -- but thanks for trying to steer the discussion in a totally irrelevant direction.

[Theophany 110]

You make no sense. First off, I am not talking about "two teams", I am talking about 4 players - combos. Getzlaf and Perry was harder for our HEALTHY team to shut down. Whereas, Crosby and Malkin were NOT much of a threat (compared to Getzlaf and Perry) after we shut them down. Also remember Lidstrom wasn't injured, Erricsson didn't just come off a surgery, and we had Datsyuk, and Getzlaf / Perry were still putting up points. Crosby and Malkin, on the other hand, just got frustrated and pretty much turned invisible.

I stand behind my stance:

Getzlaf - Perry > Crosby - Malkin

It's actually your stance that doesn't make sense.

Had we shut off on Getzlaf and Perry, they wouldn't have had as many goals (they would have still gotten some, just like Crosby and Malkin will get one or two in this series), but Pronger, Neidermayer, Ryan, etc would have scored a lot more due to lack of play on them.

As it is against Pittsburgh, we play a very tight game when Crosby and Malkin are on the ice. We don't move Lidstrom out of the crease area much and Zata sticks to Crosby like glue. We didn't do that against Getzlaf and Perry, which allowed them more room to operate. We didn't need to shut down on them because they weren't as much of a threat on the offensive end as Crosby and Malkin are.

Anaheim played a style of hockey that's extremely hard for the Wings to compete with, because they have two huge guys on the blue line feeding passes to Getzlaf and Perry. It helps that both of those guys are great at passing and great at physical play, on top of being some of the better defensemen in the league.

Pittsburgh doesn't have near that kind of ability to move the puck from their D up to their forwards. Granted they play a style that allows more goals but scores more goals, but their top two D aren't #3 and #4 in playoff points for their team (Gonchar is tied for #4 in points for the playoffs, Letang is #7).

You're welcome to draw your own conclusions, but Malkin and Crosby have easily put up the highest point totals in the playoffs thus far, and it's for a good reason.

[BewareThePenguin 1]

You make no sense. First off, I am not talking about "two teams", I am talking about 4 players - combos. Getzlaf and Perry was harder for our HEALTHY team to shut down. Whereas, Crosby and Malkin were NOT much of a threat (compared to Getzlaf and Perry) after we shut them down. Also remember Lidstrom wasn't injured, Erricsson didn't just come off a surgery, and we had Datsyuk, and Getzlaf / Perry were still putting up points. Crosby and Malkin, on the other hand, just got frustrated and pretty much turned invisible.

I stand behind my stance:

Getzlaf - Perry > Crosby - Malkin

Who are these Getzlaf and Perry guys? Honestly, I've never heard of them.

[Theophany 110]

The Wings did a bang-up job for the most part on them. But I guess you missed the brilliant steal Malkin made to set up the only goal, or Crosby hitting the post and the puck somehow landing on Osgood's back like it was made of velcro -- not to mention the penalty shot that should've been awarded once his teammate's hand touched the puck in the crease? Maybe you should add "luck" to the list along with your other two theories.

You would have had to prove that Zata's hand closed over the puck--nearly impossible to do, since the play had been blown dead and thus not reviewable.

That wasn't the question -- but thanks for trying to steer the discussion in a totally irrelevant direction.

It's actually pretty relevant. Since that play wasn't for the GWG (or even tying goal), it wouldn't have pushed the game to OT, thus the "non-call" is irrelevant.

[BewareThePenguin 1]

It's actually your stance that doesn't make sense.

Had we shut off on Getzlaf and Perry, they wouldn't have had as many goals (they would have still gotten some, just like Crosby and Malkin will get one or two in this series), but Pronger, Neidermayer, Ryan, etc would have scored a lot more due to lack of play on them.

As it is against Pittsburgh, we play a very tight game when Crosby and Malkin are on the ice. We don't move Lidstrom out of the crease area much and Zata sticks to Crosby like glue. We didn't do that against Getzlaf and Perry, which allowed them more room to operate. We didn't need to shut down on them because they weren't as much of a threat on the offensive end as Crosby and Malkin are.

Anaheim played a style of hockey that's extremely hard for the Wings to compete with, because they have two huge guys on the blue line feeding passes to Getzlaf and Perry. It helps that both of those guys are great at passing and great at physical play, on top of being some of the better defensemen in the league.

Pittsburgh doesn't have near that kind of ability to move the puck from their D up to their forwards. Granted they play a style that allows more goals but scores more goals, but their top two D aren't #3 and #4 in playoff points for their team (Gonchar is tied for #4 in points for the playoffs, Letang is #7).

You're welcome to draw your own conclusions, but Malkin and Crosby have easily put up the highest point totals in the playoffs thus far, and it's for a good reason.

A very reasoned and thought-out post. Props to you.

Some of your fellow posters could learn from you.

However, I doubt they ever will.

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

I am curious to know how having Crosby and Malkin on the ice for pratically every shift will play out with the back to back. I know the pens were down but was that good coaching, with a game the next day. Last year we heard how Malkin was tired in the finals. Is that something you want to risk, having a tired Malkin again. What if the pens are down tomorrow in the third, and they have to resort to the same thing. It all comes down to depth and because of this I am feeling confident about the 2nd game tomorrow.

[Theophany 110]

I am curious to know how having Crosby and Malkin on the ice for pratically every shift will play out with the back to back. I know the pens were down but was that good coaching, with a game the next day. Last year we heard how Malkin was tired in the finals. Is that something you want to risk, having a tired Malkin again. What if the pens are down tomorrow in the third, and they have to resort to the same thing. It all comes down to depth and because of this I am feeling confident about the 2nd game tomorrow.

Their ATOI is still ~21:00. That's actually less ice time than we give to Zata, Lids, Rafalski, Stuart, and Kronwall per game. I don't think it will be an issue.

[The Secret 304]

Can all you f**ktards (NBC, Bettman, Pens fans) who kiss these two on the ass now realize how all they are is hype?? THEY BROUGHT NOTHING!!!!! I repeat, NOTHING!!!! All I see out of Crosby is a decent backhand. I wonder how he practices his backhand???

They were shut down and we didn't even play that great! Give me Pavel any day over either of them! Even when he isn't scoring he is dazzling the other team with his puck handling skills, forechecking, backchecking and all around play.

Way to go Wings! (and hurry back Datsuk!!!!)

Crosby and Malkin are every bit as good as their hype. The experience, leadership, depth and defensive ability on our team makes all the league's super stars look average. Not much room to work with when your facing Lidstrom and Rafalski, Zetterberg, Mule, Hudler, Osgood.

[Barrie 900]

Man Malkin was lucky he just saw Kronwall at the last second. If Kronwall would have hit him, it would have been lights out for Malkin.