dont you pens fans wish you were playing the Bruins now, instead of this Carolina snoozefest?
well, the rest of the world does (probably including Canes fans!)
well, the rest of the world does (probably including Canes fans!)
Stanley Cup Picks
its always compelling if your team is playing
chaz wrote:
I don't know but i am officially a bad dad…my 5 year old son is still up with me ready to watch overtime.
I can't tell you how many of my oldest memories are of me and my father watching sports way past my bed time. Papa Stargell's World Series Grand Slam, the Miracle on Manchester, Kings vs. Flyers, Miracle on Ice, the Angels first division crown, the list goes on and on…..
You're a good father….
chaz wrote:
I'm jumping on the bandwagon with my son Henry. I'm with Detroit from here on out.
…until this. You have taught your child nothing about loyalty and being a true sports fan. Try again.
Oh gimme a break. Are you saying you don't pick a team to root for in the superbowl or world series once your team has been eliminated from contention?
And why wouldn't I pull for the Bruins? Pulling for the pens would be like me cheering on the Cowboys or Eagles after they'd knocked the skins out in the playoffs!
And why wouldn't I pull for the Bruins? Pulling for the pens would be like me cheering on the Cowboys or Eagles after they'd knocked the skins out in the playoffs!
chaz wrote:
Oh gimme a break. Are you saying you don't pick a team to root for in the superbowl or world series once your team has been eliminated from contention?
I pull for whichever team I have money riding on…and that usually changes with each game. I never bet against my teams, and I rarely bet for them on individual games (though I will at the start of the season pick them to win it all).
I do on occasion root against teams that I hate (Dallas Cowboys, NY Yankees) or players I hate (Alex Ovechkin), but rarely do I root for a team that I do not give my full faith and devotion too.
i root against teams when my team is not playing pretty much all the time. i have a soft spot for the giants just because the beat the pats
the exception is soccer where i tend to root for whoever plays a style more pleasing to the eye
the exception is soccer where i tend to root for whoever plays a style more pleasing to the eye
vansmack wrote:chaz wrote:
Oh gimme a break. Are you saying you don't pick a team to root for in the superbowl or world series once your team has been eliminated from contention?
I pull for whichever team I have money riding on…and that usually changes with each game. I never bet against my teams, and I rarely bet for them on individual games (though I will at the start of the season pick them to win it all).
I do on occasion root against teams that I hate (Dallas Cowboys, NY Yankees) or players I hate (Alex Ovechkin), but rarely do I root for a team that I do not give my full faith and devotion too.
Well then aside from the gambling part our philosophies are not too different here. Except in the rare case of a compelling underdog, I usually root for what ever team I deem to be less evil (for whatever reasons I may have).
And I too always root against the Cowboys and Yankess, as well as the Eagles. Cowboys/Eagles games are days of great existential confusion for me.
bring on the wings
that last stop by huet, with ~20 secs to go in regulation, was certifiably ridiculous.
can't wait for OT.
can't wait for OT.
sweetcell wrote:
that last stop by huet, with ~20 secs to go in regulation, was certifiably ridiculous.
can't wait for OT.
You've got that right sprawled out on his belly a pad save like he had an overhead view….
Where was Huet all year? He showed up tonight. Too bad is wasn't enough. Both goalies put on a clinic.
I'm not predicting who is going to win the cup, but I'm thrilled that this year's match up is a rematch.
As a Pens fan, revenge would be awfully nice, but I'm not holding my breath.
As a Pens fan, revenge would be awfully nice, but I'm not holding my breath.
vansmack wrote:
With all this excitement in the hometown, I hope you all aren't missing the de facto Stanley Cup Final happening out west….
I stand by my prediction that nobody will give the Red Wings a tougher time than the Ducks.
wheres julian with some hyperbolic certainty
No more Hawks :( What a way to go out, tho. It'll be nice to see Chelly and the cup together once again.
godsshoeshine wrote:I said after the Anaheim series that it'd be Wings in 11. Guess that means Pittsburgh will last 6 games!
wheres julian with some hyperbolic certainty
Pittsburgh fans have to be pretty discouraged since there team is basically Chicago with marginally better offense and marginally worse defense and the Hawks got creamed.
xneverwherex wrote:Barring injury or an appeal to the NHL, I don't think he'll get his name on it. He won't get into a Finals game unless there's an injury and he didn't play the requisite number of regular season games. It's amazing how much he dropped off in this last year. He was steadily going down the last few but completely hit a cliff this year. :(
It'll be nice to see Chelly and the cup together once again.
Julian, wrote:xneverwherex wrote:Barring injury or an appeal to the NHL, I don't think he'll get his name on it. He won't get into a Finals game unless there's an injury and he didn't play the requisite number of regular season games. It's amazing how much he dropped off in this last year. He was steadily going down the last few but completely hit a cliff this year. :(
It'll be nice to see Chelly and the cup together once again.
wow! i had no clue he played so few games this year. Such a pity! Well one can always hope!
Julian, wrote:wings in 6? i'm a little disappointed with you. maybe nervous about the injuries?godsshoeshine wrote:I said after the Anaheim series that it'd be Wings in 11. Guess that means Pittsburgh will last 6 games!
wheres julian with some hyperbolic certainty
Pittsburgh fans have to be pretty discouraged since there team is basically Chicago with marginally better offense and marginally worse defense and the Hawks got creamed.
godsshoeshine wrote:Nah, all reports say Lidstrom and Ericsson are in for game 1, and Datsyuk is probable. When I called Wings in 11, I thought it'd be Chicago in 6 and the Eastern Rep in 5. Guess the Penguins get a bonus game!Julian, wrote:wings in 6? i'm a little disappointed with you. maybe nervous about the injuries?godsshoeshine wrote:I said after the Anaheim series that it'd be Wings in 11. Guess that means Pittsburgh will last 6 games!
wheres julian with some hyperbolic certainty
Pittsburgh fans have to be pretty discouraged since there team is basically Chicago with marginally better offense and marginally worse defense and the Hawks got creamed.
I think Ross McKeon sums this up well…
I think the other point delusional Eastern Conference advocates don't want to talk about, which is a much bigger issue than Wings v Pens is the fact that the Eastern Conference, as a whole, plays a style of hockey that is simply crushed by the devotion to defense and forechecking that the West, by and large, plays. Detroit isn't just better then Pittsburgh, so is Anaheim and San Jose and maybe even Chicago.
You want to know what Malkin and Crosby put up such great numbers in the playoffs? Part of it is that they're elite players, no doubt. But another large part of it is the up-and-down, "let's beat em 5 goals to 4" style of hockey the east plays. Look no further then the top DEFENSIVE defensemen they faced in each round. The best was probably Mike Green, aka Paul "Fourth Forward" Coffey, Jr. He is not a lock-down defenseman. Philly had Jamie Coburn and Carolina had Joe Corvo. Think about that. In 2 of the 3 rounds they played, the best defensemen on the team were Jamie Coburn and Joe Corvo. Do either of those guys even crack the top 6 for Detroit? Until the Eastern conference decide to play defense-first "playoff hockey" they're always going to be the more entertaining bracket, but ultimately the losing one 9 years out of 10.
Once we get to the Pittsburgh-Detroit matchup, it?s not even as close as last year?s, which wasn?t as close as a six-game series might suggest.
The Red Wings are just that much better. And nothing illustrates that point more than removing one of the Penguins? top supporting players ? veteran scorer Marian Hossa(notes) ? and adding him to the Detroit roster. How unfair is that?
But it goes much deeper.
On defense, the Wings have finally figured a way to get Jonathan Ericsson(notes) into the top six and limit minutes for Chris Chelios(notes) and Andreas Lilja(notes). Yes, Lilja is injured, but Ericsson is a better option than Lilja or Chelios, even if it has taken longer than it should for this alignment to become a reality.
Detroit?s forwards are better than a year ago, too. No one is surprised anymore when Johan Franzen(notes), Daniel Cleary(notes) or Valtteri Filppula(notes) contributes offensively. Darren Helm(notes) and Ville Leino(notes) add speed and skill that a Draper or Darren McCarty(notes) never had. Sure, we know all about the importance of the Drapers and McCartys, but there?s enough toughness throughout the lineup to make up for a couple of stalwarts.
Chris Osgood(notes) deserves better in terms of what is written and said about him. But even if he?s not regarded as an elite goaltender, he is trusted by his teammates, and that goes a long way this time of the year. He also never seems to face a barrage that could affect a goalie?s psyche. The Red Wings just don?t let that happen.
Then there are the Pens. Crosby and Malkin are eating the Eastern Conference alive again. But neither has faced an opponent that can bring it physically. Guess what? That?s what Detroit can do, even though few talk about the Red Wings in that respect. And when we say bring it physically, it?s not so much as the highlight-reel hits as how hard Detroit makes it to win pucks, keep possession and gain the important areas of ice.
The Penguins don?t have Ryan Whitney(notes), Ryan Malone(notes), Gary Roberts(notes), Jarkko Ruutu(notes), Daryl Sydor, Petr Sykora(notes), Adam Hall(notes) and Hossa. In their place are Bill Guerin(notes), Chris Kunitz(notes), Ruslan Fedotenko(notes), Matt Cooke(notes), Miroslav Satan(notes), Craig Adams(notes), Kris Letang(notes) and Mark Eaton(notes).
It can be argued which supporting cast is better, last year?s or this. It can?t be argued that there?s something to say about stability and familiarity, especially when it?s a proven winner. And while all that works in Detroit?s favor, more of the same isn?t a good thing for the NHL.
I think the other point delusional Eastern Conference advocates don't want to talk about, which is a much bigger issue than Wings v Pens is the fact that the Eastern Conference, as a whole, plays a style of hockey that is simply crushed by the devotion to defense and forechecking that the West, by and large, plays. Detroit isn't just better then Pittsburgh, so is Anaheim and San Jose and maybe even Chicago.
You want to know what Malkin and Crosby put up such great numbers in the playoffs? Part of it is that they're elite players, no doubt. But another large part of it is the up-and-down, "let's beat em 5 goals to 4" style of hockey the east plays. Look no further then the top DEFENSIVE defensemen they faced in each round. The best was probably Mike Green, aka Paul "Fourth Forward" Coffey, Jr. He is not a lock-down defenseman. Philly had Jamie Coburn and Carolina had Joe Corvo. Think about that. In 2 of the 3 rounds they played, the best defensemen on the team were Jamie Coburn and Joe Corvo. Do either of those guys even crack the top 6 for Detroit? Until the Eastern conference decide to play defense-first "playoff hockey" they're always going to be the more entertaining bracket, but ultimately the losing one 9 years out of 10.