If anyone would have predicted the Detroit Red Wings would be up 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals getting ready to depart for Pittsburgh and Mellon Arena, I probably would have said I thought so.
But if anyone would have predicted the Red Wings would be up 2-0 with game scores of 4-0 and 3-0, I would have said you're out of your mind.
Game 2 saw more of the same for the Red Wings, who controlled the puck and shut down Pittsburgh's vaunted offense. Game 2 also saw Penguins coach Michel Therrien complain and complain about the Red Wings.
He discussed how Chris Osgood loves to dive, and how he ruined more than one Pittsburgh power play: "Osgood was diving, he's really good at diving, drawing penalties. He hurt our power play," Coach Therrien said. "It's really tough to generate offense with that team. They're good at obstruction. It's going to be real tough. If the rules don't change, they're just good at obstruction."
The Red Wings are nothing more than a bunch of cheaters in Michel Therrien's eyes. He mentioned towards the end of his postgame interview that Nicklas Kronwall also leaves his feet occasionally when he hits.
So let's break this down shall we?
They have a bunch of clutching and grabbing forwards, defensemen that can't help but leave their feet when they hit, and a goalie who flops around like a fish out of water? I guess when you're standing on the opposing bench it may look as such.
I won't lie, some of Kronwall's hits look as though he leaves his feet. The referees haven't called him for charging however. The play with Ryan Malone getting called for goaltender interference was a bit questionable, but when Petr Sykora bumped Chris Osgood behind the net, Osgood was going down either way. You don't bump the goalie after he dumps the puck regardless.
You want to talk about dirty plays? Enter Maxime Talbot, you know, the Penguins forward who failed in his attempt to sleufoot Johan Franzen, fresh off his six-game hiatus.
Or how about Captain Graybeard, Gary Roberts, punching Franzen in the face as he skated by near the Penguins blueline? Or maybe
Roberts picking Pavel Datsyuk out of the scrum to throw punches at him?
That is all the Penguins can do at this crucial point in the series: take cheap shots and hope to spark some life in this team that can't seem to do much of anything.
Game 2 also saw Sidney Crosby complaining to the referees more times than I can count on both hands. I understand that calls may not be favorable, and they may be frustrating, but play the game.
Chris Osgood is on fire, if you haven't noticed (The only way you wouldn't have noticed is if you don't have cable or you live under a rock).
He leads all playoff goaltenders in GAA with 1.38, Sv% with .939, fewest losses with two, and is tied for first with Marc-Andre Fleury in wins with 12 and shutouts with three. Osgood has allowed fewer goals [20] in 15 games, than Washington's Cristobal Huet allowed [22] in seven games.
Johan Franzen returned for Game 2. He made an impact, assisting on a very pretty goal scored by Valterri Filppula, which put Detroit up 3-0.
Secondary scoring has been very key for the Red Wings so far in the series.
Mikael Samuelsson, who only had 11 goals during the regular season and two goals thus far in the playoffs, scored twice in Game 1. Dan Cleary scored a shorthanded goal in Game 1. Brad Stuart started off the scoring in Game 2 with a slapshot that went in off of Fleury's stick.
It is so huge for Detroit to have players like these stepping up and scoring. When that happens, it takes the pressure off of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, and Franzen. Zetterberg and Holmstrom have both scored so far in the Finals as well.
Cliche time, I know, I'm sorry. But it appears as though it's now or never for Pittsburgh. They look to turn things around back home in Mellon Arena.
Hopefully Evgeni Malkin will come back from the invisible state he played Game 2 in. They will go back home to the drawing board and look to find a way to get through the superb defense of the Detroit Red Wings.
One last thing: I understand that the officiating may not be at its best, in your opinion. You may believe you see the opposition cheating at every stage in the game. You may think they are out to get you, but for God's sake you're an NHL coach. An NHL coach who has gotten his team to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Take responsibility for what has happened in the first 2 games. Don't blame the refs. It's not like they're the ones who've blanked your team twice in a row. They haven't put up seven goals to your zero.
The Red Wings have though. They will continue to do so, because what they are doing is working right now. Working very well.
So if you're a Pittsburgh fan, look forward to a lot of clutching, grabbing, and obstruction in the neutral zone, what should be open ice charging penalties on Nicklas Kronwall, and Chris Osgood to flop around in his crease the whole game begging for a call.
If you're just a hockey fan in general, look forward to good playoff hockey. You know, the kind with no excuses, just a fast-paced, intense game that most every hockey fan can't help but enjoy.
Looks like the Wings proved me wrong when I said Red Wings in six.
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4 months ago
Pittsburgh should be embarrassed, not just that their team trying to goon it up last night but because they weren't even very good at it.
Roberts going for Franzen's head was shameful, as was the slewfoot and the goalie running.
As for the reffing, there is little you can complain about when your team hasn't scored a single goal in the series.
4 months ago
Bad officiating happens but the best teams find a way around it and still manage to win. Whining and complaining isn't the answer and if these were close games, then it'd be easier to swallow (that the officiating played a role in the outcome). These are blowouts and it just looks bad to whine about the officials when your team is coming up empty. Time to focus that energy (that's being used to complain) into something more constructive - like how to score on Osgood.
4 months ago
Agreed for the most part, but Osgood was diving. He's been making a habit of it.
4 months ago
Name me a goaltender that doesn't dive when hit.
from 4 months ago
budaj, kolzig, emery (he'll just hit you right back), tomas, rask, ellis, khabibulin, johnson, sanford
a lot of goalies don't dive when hit. osgood dives all the time, crosby dives all the time, its a weapon. it draws the penalty. but to be perfectly honest, its dumb. its becoming much like basketball. the slightest bump and players go flying 30 feet in the opposite direction.
4 months ago
How dare Pittsburgh whine after the reffereeing the Rangers and Flyers experienced in the rounds early. Just goes to show that they truly are a bunch of whiny, little goons. It enxtends from the head coach right to their players...
4 months ago
this series is over. wrap up another stanley cup. if you can name me a goalie that doesn't flop around like a greenhorn on the cornelia marie, ill show you a goalie that sits the pine. patrick roy boy made a living of it and so did grant feur, so lets not get carried away and say ozzie is doing something shameful. just like we expect a punter to flop when the wind blows strong enough, so will the goalies.
4 months ago
?
4 months ago
First let's address the Franzen-Roberts "punch" last night where it was a finish on the clean hit, he's playing the puck and finishing a check. Go back and look at video tapes of hits and you'll see. Cry me a fucking river, he came back from a concussion if you can't handle a contact sport go play some tennis. The "goalie running" let's look at those, even your own Detroit fans were saying Osgood was diving. Go ahead and name me a time when Fleury's dove this series, can you please do that for me. Malone didn't even touch him and Osgood fell trying to clear Malone out. The play behind the net Osgood extended his arm to make contact with Sykora. The call on Malone in front of the net changed the complection of the entire game, Pittsburgh's down 2-0 on a Power Play in the third. You score, cuts it too one goal with plenty of time left in a NHL game, but the referees blew a call leading to a game sealing goal 4-on-4. The way the finals are at right now Pittsburgh trails the Red Wings by a game and the officials by a game.
Also, on a totally side note the 1-4, 1 and Box, Trap whatever you want to call it makes hockey extremely boring to watch and the league needs to find a way to make teams change it. Thank you New Jersey for starting it and ruining the integrity of the game.
from 4 months ago
You know what, you're right. Now that I think about it, the Wings are just a gutless bunch of Europeans with an Academy Award winning goaltender. They can't take any sort of physicality and wilt in its presence. They play boring hockey, blah, blah, blah.
You sound like a Penguins fan, and if that isn't the case, you must be a direct relative of Michel Therrien, so when you're at the family reunion, tell him to untwist his panties before the postgame press conferences so he doesn't come off like a poor sportsman who will simply not take responsibilty for getting outplayed.
4 months ago
First let's address the fact that you're a whiner, sucker, baby. Now that that's out of the way, what were you saying? Oh, that's right, nothing. Which is what you'll be saying when the Red Wings win tomorrow night and nail the coffin shut.
4 months ago
i am very surprised kronwall doesn't get suspened. i bet the league will watch his hits more closely next season. i've watched quite a few red wings games this season, and kronwall leaves the ice numerous times.
also, osgood needs to grow a pair. take the dallas series. he gets whacked with a stick going, what? maybe 35 mph into the chest. and those sticks are light. he can stop a 95 mph frozen chunk of rubber hitting his chest and be fine, but a quick tap from a stick and he is down for a 10 count. and sykora's hit? sykora is not a big guy, he is not going to lay you out. a run into the shoulder and once again, osgood is on the ice for the count. could he have moved out of the way? umm, yeah, he is staring right at sykora coming that way.
other than those two, detroit is a great team. pittsburgh needs to do something with that second line. malkin and his wingers haven't accomplished anything in the past 2 games. move staal up either on the second or the first line to help generate something. malone needs to just chill. i can't even name a team that one the stanley cup short handed. it will be interesting to see what happens wednesday night in pittsburgh.
4 months ago
My dear dasfsdf. Hitting someone from behind in the head is gutless, regardless of the outcome. "A finish on a clean hit?" That's BS. As for Osgood, he plays up the hits, but you've got to be one dumb player to angle around the back of the net when the opposing goalie is clearing the puck. If you look at Sykora, he angles into Osgood and raises his shoulder. He put himself in the position to get the whistle. It was stupid and dangerous. As for the trap, to compare what the Wings are doing to what New Jersey did during the clutch and grab days is a stretch. The Wings are not clutching and grabbing, they are cutting off lanes, and quite getting back into position before Pittsburgh has figured out where the puck is. Furthermore, I can show you time and time again when Crosby is carrying the puck into the Detroit zone with no Pen to pass to. Instead, he's surrounded by 4 Wings. That's trapping? No, that's just a young kid playing one-on-one hockey. Why don't we just give Crosby the puck and let him skate in unopposed?
4 months ago
Wow...this is a fun little convo here eh? Glad i could be a part of it. Osgood is doing what he needs to help his team. Every goalie dives at some point, but Ozzy like many before his does it often and well. Oh well, big whoop who cares? Its a huge problem in hockey but the NHL cant even enforce the rules it has, let alone make them more strict to divers.
Detroit fans, get out the champagne, the series is done. Pittsburgh fans don't be sore losers, it makes you looks stupid. my Ducks lost in the first round and i didn't complain about anyone but my own team. I hate the wings, but lord knows they're good.
4 months ago
Totally off topic, but did anybody else see Datsyuk drop Roberts in that scrum hahaha
from 4 months ago
When I saw him and Datsyuk I was laughing when Datsyuk was giving him the business.
4 months ago
Detroit is playing flawless hockey at the moment. To complain about officiating looks absolutely stupid because even if all of it is true (and I'll admit that Ozzie flops a bit but not much else), the Wings would still be winning handily even with a couple calls being changed. They are KILLING the Pens with superior hockey, a seemingly greater desire, and passing like I've never seen. As far as I know, none of those things is illegal. Honestly, anything can happen back in Pittsburg, but the way the last two games have gone, I fully expect this one to be over quickly.
4 months ago
I called this one with my buddies about a week and a half ago - Wings win games 1 and 2, Pens win game 3 at home, lose game 4 because they're burnt out, and go back to the Joe to get demolished in a 5-game series win for the Wings.
Goes to show that European players CAN play with intensity and passion come playoff time. Just gotta draft them low haha :)
from 4 months ago
Haha, I can't wait for Don Cherry's take if that's the case and Wings win in 5. It'll be backhanded compliment after backhanded compliment.
Oh, and Barry Melrose will tell you he's had the Wings all along.
4 months ago
Hahaha
4 months ago
Hahaha
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