GreatBallsOfFire

Half the Pens team was not ready to shake hands when the line started, you can tell from the replay Lidstrom repeatedly waits a few seconds before guys continue to join the line late. Crosby was not the only one to join the line late. It isn't Crosby's fault Orpik and Gonchar started the handshake before he got there to lead it, they should have waited for their Captain before starting it. I was disappointed the way the whole handshake mishap went down also, but it is a crazy couple minutes there after winning the Cup as Wings fans know all to well, and to blame Crosby for intentionally disrespecting anyone on the Wings is unfair. Keep in mind he is only 21 and may have been a little overcome with the enormity of the situation of finally realizing his lifelong dream and lost focus for a bit there, but it was certainly not intentional and if he is lucky enough be on the winning side yet again in the future I can guarantee he makes leading the handshake a priority no matter the situation. He respects the game and all of its traditions as much as any player out there.

Amen. You are a true Wings fan. Unlike most of the other pretenders on here. Great season and a great Finals both this year and last year. Wings should hold their heads high. I'm sure you can agree the refs sucked both years unfortunately. Hossa was a huge disappointment for you guys and in the end I think you probably would've won this thing without him as hard as that is to believe. He is just a complete gutless bum and there is no way you should resign him after his performance in the playoffs and the Finals. Hopefully he never wins a Cup and rots the rest of his career in Florida or Los Angeles.

Good to see at least a couple Wings fans that can look at this situation objectively, too bad you are outnumbered 10 to 1.  The Crosby hate is as usual out of control.  It is amazing that people think he actually enjoys having to put up with the gazillion interviews he is forced to do with the media asking the same questions over and over and over anywhere he goes while trying to lead his struggling team successfully as a 21 year old captain.  It is way more a hinderance than an advantage in the long run.

The Detroit suspensions are not out of line.  These guys clearly knew the rules and decided to skip anyways, no big deal.  They deserve the rest and their team is in a spot in the standings where missing a game will not make or break their season in the least.  They understand this, but apparently most Wings fans do not.  If they were struggling to make the playoffs like Crosby and the Pens I have a feeling they would have made a bit more effort to make an appearance this weekend.  If they want to skip the game and spend time with their families even if they aren't injured that badly that is fine too, just don't cry about the 1 game suspension as a result.  They have earned the right to skip it by their superior play yet again through the first half of the year, and Holland is right to have their backs as he should also, but he probably should've added that they are fine with the rule and Lidstrom and Datsyuk will benefit from the extra game rest anyways.  Instead he kind of came off as trying to pick a fight with the league concerning the whole situation.

Bettman had to put this rule in  to try and prevent players from needlessly skipping what they view as a big night to showcase the league.  They have had too many players skip in the past for no good reason and it was embarrassing.  Everyone is making a way bigger deal out of this than it needed to be and it will be quickly forgotten once the weekend is over with.