I am so sad to think that the Red Wings are going to win the cup... My cousin loves the Wings and I hate it....

I will always be grateful to the Penguins for taking out the Flyers this year. You're right though, it's not over till it's over. As long as Detroit doesn't pull another one of those "Alright, we're done screwing around" games, then the Penguins still have a shot. They just need to rally together and score some goals on Osgood.

I'm quite happy with the way the playoffs have been going this year, and am so excited for tomorrow night. The Wings have played great team hockey all season, covering for each other when needed and stepping up when others falter. Aside from Hasek (thank god he got benched when he did) and Lilja (you can count on him for one serious mistake per game), this team has played to every expectation I could have, and then some.

I hope the Wings can close out the series in front of the home crowd, but I also hope for another exciting hockey game. I feel sort of bad for Crosby, with his team being down like this, because he has played his heart out all series, and all playoffs. I've gained a lot of respect for him in the past week.

Y'know, I have no real reason to bitch about the Penguins because I said they'd be Stanley Cup runners-up and that's the way the chips are falling at this point. I'd like to hope they'll win in 7 and I'll be ecstatic if they do, but they've gotta find whatever they did in Game 3 again and make it work in Detroit. It's not impossible, but we're going to pretend for the moment that it's not going to happen.

That being said, my disappointment doesn't lie with Evgeni Malkin, who's playing like he's either tired, injured, or both. It lies in the officiating, which is frequently overlooked by players, coaches, and fans in the playoffs.

The primary reason the NHL locked out an entire season was so there would be economic stability and long-term viability. The first step to changing that was changing the economics of the league up front, putting a hard cap on the league and allowing teams to buy-out contracts and cutting off a percentage of the rest. The second step was putting a more entertaining game on the ice for the fans, by cracking down on obstruction and just generally changing the way the game was to be played.

In the recent history of the NHL (e.g. since the last lockout in 1994) the NHL playoffs have been a bastion of hope for teams who would otherwise be lit up by more talented teams by all but allowing the most egregious acts of obstruction. Much to my disappointment, this Stanley Cup Final has been full of slipshod officiating in this regard and it pains me to know that the playoffs could be much more competitive if the officials called them like regular season games.

Of course, the argument against this is that the game would be slowed way down by penalty calls, but I personally would prefer to know that the teams who are given the opportunity to win are the ones following the rules and taking advantage of their opponent's lack of discipline.

Not that I'm saying the Red Wings aren't a talented team, but I am saying that with proper officiating, we would know who the more talented team is because they would be given the opportunity to demonstrate their full skill set.

I don't know dope.

Pens had a 5 on 3 to easily tie up the game last time and didn't do dick with it. I don't know if the officiating really has a whole lot to do with it.

I think the 5 on 3 is a good point, but when you play an entire season and 3 round of the playoffs being able to dump and chase and not be pinched off at the boards or impeded otherwise (read: interfered with) and then you can't in the Final, it really explains as to why the Penguins are being so widely outshot. You can't take shots if you don't keep possession. You can't get possession if you can't dump and chase. You can't dump and chase if you're being interfered with most of the time you try it.

Yeah I agree with you there. The dump and chase needs to fucking stop now.

NERVOUS WRECK. Third OT coming up.

Additional Spam:
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That was a hell of a game...I honestly thought the Red Wings had it won several times. Hell, I don't know how the Penguins pulled it off. They blew a 2-0 lead, managed to barely score with 34 seconds left in the 3rd period to tie it 3-3. Red Wings had a lot of chances in those three OTs and the Penguins couldn't even get a shot in on the power plays.

I said many times if the Penguins couldn't convert on the Power Play, Red Wings had it won. Fleury is a beast, I will give credit where it's due. That 4 minute high stick finally did the Red Wings in, we'll see you in Pittsburgh for Game 6 on Wednesday. Pens are still alive, I hope all you Pittsburgh fans are happy.

DOESN'T IT LOOK LIKE I'M HAPPY. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Gonchar came back at the right time, and Sykora made good on his promise.

Hey, that was a sincere comment man and I meant it. Pens are still in the playoffs and there will actually be something on TV Wednesday night for me to watch. It's a great day.

If the rest of the series is as good as tonight's game was (and by which I mean the Penguins win the rest of the way) then I'll be happy for DAYS.

Disappointing finish to that game. Fleury had a great game, as the Red Wings should've won a handful of times, both in the third period and overtime. I'm still confident in the team though. Next game should be a good one.

Wow, Game 6! It's not over yet! GO PENS

Man, that sucks for the third goal for Detroit. Fleury thinks he has it, puck is sliding behind him, he sits down and his ass accidentally knocks it in. Sorry Pens fans, I don't think it's gonna happen this time.

Edit: THAT was freakin close and they almost pulled off another tie to take into overtime. The fans were chanting "Let's go Pens" and "Fleury". My respect for Pittsburgh has gone up, thanks for keeping the finals interesting and thanks for knocking out the damn Flyers.

ugh, I hate being right

Well I think I'm pretty much going to be bummed out for the rest of the month....



Fuck :(

Saying it right now: Marian Hossa will be a Penguin again next season. The way he played in the postseason (especially to keep playing in the dying seconds tonight...imagine if he scored there? Penguins god for life~) was very impressive.

God you better hope youre right Dope.

I just have a bad feeling about him leaving.

BTW, I think we witnessed the first time in NHL history that a goaltender took a shit and a puck came out.

Frankly, I thought Marc-Andre warranted more of a nod for Conn Smythe than Zetterberg, though I may be biased.

Why Therrien didn't call a timeout before the last series is beyond me.

I'm not yet ready to make my excessively-early Penguins prediction for next year, but I'm sure it will be far dimmer than "Penguins in Finals". Of course, I'd love to be optimistic about these things, but going back to back is tough enough and 12 months is a long time for things to change. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if a big name from this year's team is back but traded next year (Malkin? noooooooo).

I think everyone hoped Pittsburgh would win, but the majority of us knew they just weren't good enough yet.

Also, Dope, the fact you just said Marc-Andre should have been the Conn Smythe winner? Yeah, you are biased. Because no. Goalie of the losing team? Not gonna happen.

It's a shame the number of zeros such a performance demands in the open market. With all of the players the Penguins will be trying to hold on to, fitting Hossa in will be a difficult task. The only way I can see him sticking around is if the two parties work out a discounted one year deal, so both have another shot at the Cup.

But, before I get ahead of myself with off-season chatter, I just wanted to say congratulations to the Wings for winning the Cup this year, and thank you to the Penguins for fostering such a wealth of exciting, young talent in my own back yard. I've been a fan of hockey my entire life, but up until this year I've only known limited playoff success. The two championships the Penguins won consecutively in the early nineties were a wee bit to early for me to consciously appreciate, so seeing them even get this far is a real thrill.

You can complain about the bandwagon fans all you want, but if it wasn't for all of them jumping on board in the last couple years, we'd be without a team right now. With the first wave of excitement coming to a gradual recession, the true fans will be the ones to stick around, and with the roster of young talent the Penguins have it should be an interesting next several years.

Ah, I am ecstatic. Seeing your team win is amazing, especially when they win the Stanley Cup. The Wings set the pace for the rest of the league from the start, and I'm glad they kept it up all the way through the finals. I love the team effort they all put forth, and the way they could just control a game for long stretches. I'm just as excited as I was the past couple times they won (though nothing will top 1997, for various reasons).

The Pens put up a hell of a fight, putting up wins when they were assumed dead and making a series of it after that start. I tip my hat to them, and I hope they can keep most of their team together so I can see more of them in future years.

It happened in 2003. And a couple other times.

Except it (losing goalie = Conn Smythe) happened four times in NHL history, most recently in 2003 by Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2.30GAA, 92% save, which both Osgood and Fleury bested in the playoffs). Were you under a rock when that happened?

And I still don't think Fleury carried this team enough to earn it.