2008 Playoffs: Wrapping Up Game 6 And The Finals

The better team won. Let's just get the clear from the start here. The Detroit Red Wings are your 2008 Stanley Cup Champions thanks to their 3-2 Game 6 win in Pittsburgh. The Penguins gave it all they had, but they were flat for most of the game and two (really) bad goals did them in. They made a game out of it with Marian Hossa's late deflection goal, but it was all for naught as Chris Osgood made one final glove save to seal the deal for Detroit.

Detroit was the better team in this series, but the Pens did themselves in by playing so poorly in the two opening games in Detroit. As good as this Penguins team was, they were not going to be able to take four out of five from this Red Wings team. Hats off to the Wings, they earned it.

My other random musings:

• The Pens were really flat for most of this game. They were losing just about every race to a loose puck and they weren't going to beat Detroit playing like that.
• That third goal for Detroit (the Cup clincher) was one of the most painful things I ever watched. I could easily throw Brooks Orpik under the bus for not dealing with the loose puck in the crease, but he was trying to protect his goalie and I'll never fault a player for that.
• I am legitimately happy for Brian Rafalski. Red Wing or not, I really like him as a player.
• I feel completely opposite about Johan Franzen. He's the guy I really learned to hate during this series.
• Nice of Kris Draper to take a run at Sergei Gonchar from behind early in the game. Isn't this the same team the whined about Gary Roberts going after Franzen in Game 2?
• The refs were terrible tonight from start to finish. I'm not saying that as a Penguins fan either, but just as a hockey fan. The NHL officials really need to get it together.
• Evgeni Malkin finally had the kind of game we had all been waiting for. Better late than never I guess.
• For about the last 10 minutes of the game I kept telling myself over and over "Ron Francis in Game 7 against the Islanders". Marian Hossa almost made my wish come true. Complete with the brilliant deflection on a wrister from the point. Almost...
  
• I wouldn't be shocked to see these two teams battle for the Cup again next year.
  
• The next few weeks are going to be real interesting for the Penguins as Ray Shero and company begin to deal with their glut of free agents.

The Conn Five

1. Henrik Zetterberg
2. Sidney Crosby
3. Marc-Andre Fleury
4. Johan Franzen
5. Chris Osgood
   

2008 Playoffs: Wrapping Up Game 5 Of The Finals

Just wow. That's about all I can say. We are just minutes removed from Petr Sykora's triple overtime goal and all the pressure in this series is now squarely on the shoulders of the Detroit Red Wings. The Penguins are back in the Stanley Cup Finals in a big way and they are heading home for Game 6. For the fourth game in a row, many of these young Penguins will be playing in the biggest game of their lives. At some point they just get used to it and get on with life I'm sure.

My notes on Game 5:

• When his team needed him the most, Marc-Andre Fleury was at his best. MAF's contract demands probably just got bumped up a little bit. Again.


• Huge performance by the Penguins defense tonight. After losing Sergei Gonchar the 5 remaining Penguin blue liners circled the wagons and took care of business. Ryan Whitney in particular was outstanding as he led all skaters in ice time and left it all on the ice.
  
• People will be talking about Sykora calling his shot for years. That was the stuff of legends.
• Evgeni Malkin picked up an assist on the winner. Could that be the start of something big?
• It seems like forever ago but... Max Freaking Talbot!!


• 30 minutes ago I hated Jiri Hudler. Now he's possibly my favorite Red Wing ever. Nice stickwork there joke.
• It has been said many times but it still holds true, nothing around beats playoff overtime hockey.
  
• Game 6 can't get here soon enough. The Igloo is gonna be rocking!

The Conn Five

1. Henrik Zetterberg
2. Sidney Crosby
3. Marc-Andre Fleury
4. Johan Franzen
5. Chris Osgood
   

2008 Playoffs: Wrapping Up Game 4 Of The Finals

This sucks. I don't even feel like writing about this game, but on the off chance someone is expecting me to... This loss hurts. A lot. Games 1 and 2 didn't sting too bad because I knew there was a really good chance that the Pens could respond with a pair of wins on home ice. Now that the Pens lost the pivotal Game 4 it feels like someone walked into my house and slapped all three of my kids. I couldn't feel worse right now. I'm not giving up on my Pens, but I'm also smart enough to realize that the odds of beating this Detroit Red Wings team three games in a row, including twice at home, are pretty slim. I guess I'll just have to channel my inner Lloyd Christmas on this one because a least there's still a chance...

My observations on Game 4:

• Nothing is going right for Evgeni Malkin right now. You really have to feel for the big guy. Hopefully he comes out of this a better player somehow. In the meantime, he really needs to be taken off the point of the power play. His bad decisions at the blue line are killing the Penguins right now.
  
• Tonight's broadcast by NBC was almost VS. quality. And no, that is not a compliment in any way. The intermission with Ron Francis in particular was a joke. Here you have one of the best players in NHL history on set and the idiot host asks him if he "remembers" winning the Stanley Cup. How's that for insightful? Why not ask him if he remembered to put socks on this morning too?
• Marian Hossa was excellent tonight, but he needs to get in to support the puck faster on the power play. That said, if the Pens had won tonight his first period goal would have become a part of Penguins lore.
• Mike Babcock has a very Al Bundy quality about him if you ask me.
• The refs really let Detroit get away with a lot in this game. I wouldn't go so far as to label the Red Wings a dirty team, but they sure hit from behind a lot. It's hard to blame them though if the refs are going to continue to let them get away with it. Not to mention the whole Dan Cleary shooting a broken stick at Sid thing...
  
• That 5-on-3 gone bad will be giving people nightmares for years.

The Conn Five

1. Henrik Zetterberg
2. Sidney Crosby
3. Chris Osgood
4. Johan Franzen
5. Marc-Andre Fleury
   

2008 Playoffs: Wrapping Up Game 3 Of The Finals

Well, it took three games, but we finally have ourselves a series. The Pens stepped up as they returned to the friendly confines of The Igloo and responded with a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings. Maybe this will be enough to shut up some of the NHL media about how Detroit is the best team ever and the Pens' dynasty is over before it even got started. Pittsburgh came out tonight playing the way they should have from the drop of the first puck. Granted home ice played into their success, but they were simply better. All the little things I said they were doing wrong after Game 2, well they were doing them all right tonight, and it paid off.

Here are the rest of my thoughts on Game 3:

• Sid was simply a beast tonight. He had played well in Detroit, but he was on another level tonight. He showed why he is hands down the best hockey player on the planet.
• Darryl Sydor looked really rusty tonight, but that is pretty understandable. He got better as the game went along and as much as I love Kris Letang, he will probably be a steadying presence on the blue line for the remainder of the Finals.
• Where would Detroit be without Johan Franzen? He has been their most effective offensive player since getting back into the Red Wings lineup.
• Brooks Orpik was out of his mind tonight. He brought a level of physicality that Detroit just can't match. Especially in the third when he was hitting everything in a white jersey.


• Gary Roberts was back to being Gary Roberts.
• I could go on for hours about how much I love the way Tyler Kennedy plays hockey. If you're lucky, someday I will.
• Chris Osgood may have a pair of victories in the Finals, but tonight Marc-Andre Fleury became the first goalie in the Finals to win a game.
  

The Conn Five

1. Henrik Zetterberg
2. Sidney Crosby
3. Marc-Andre Fleury
4. Chris Osgood
5. Johan Franzen
   

2008 Playoffs: Wrapping Up Game 2 Of The Finals

Well, it seems like we've been down this road before. Once again the Penguins rolled into Joe Louis and walked out with a bagel for their efforts. As with Game 1, I wasn't terribly impressed with Detroit in Game 2, but they still deserved to win. They took advantage of a handful of Penguin mistakes, and that was the difference in the game. Also like Game 1, the Penguins played horribly. I don't know if it is nerves or what, but they are really sucking it up right now. I'm talking about the little things like making clean passes, pulling the puck off the boards, and getting the puck in deep at the blue line.

Here are my other observations from Game 2:

• I said it before and I'll probably be saying it again Wednesday night, but Niklas Kronwall is a dirty hitter. He had two big hits tonight. One was a blatant charge, and the other was his more traditional elbow. Sooner or later one of these has to get called.
• Chris Osgood is a joke. It is comedic to see him flop around like he was shot at the slightest hint of contact. Let alone the fact that the refs let him initiate contact and then hit players on the other team with a goalie interference call (see Ryan Malone). Someone needs to take a real good run at him and show him what it is like to really get hit. That brings us to...
• Johan Franzen. What an embarrassment. I would never wish for a player to get injured, especially when we're talking about head injuries, but if that guy is going to collapse in a heap and play dead five seconds after getting nudged at the blue line then he deserves what is coming to him. Someone on the Pens really is going to go upside his head if he continues to pull that crap. At least (for once) the refs weren't buying what he was selling.
  
  
• Tyler Kennedy is everything you could want in a hockey player. If every Penguin forward had played as well as TK in the first two games we would be heading home with a split at the very least.
• I'm assuming Evgeni Malkin left his game in Pittsburgh. Which should be a good omen for the next two games right?
  
• Hal Gill and Pascal Dupuis were both awful tonight. There's no other way to put it. They both really need to pick up their games in a big way.
• No more VS. broadcasts!!! (Just thought I'd end on an up note.)

The Conn Five

1. Chris Osgood
2. Henrik Zetterberg
3. Marc-Andre Fleury
4. Pavel Datsyuk
5. Sidney Crosby
   

2008 Playoffs: Handicapping The Conn Smythe Contenders

As we get ready for the Stanley Cup Finals to get underway on Saturday night, I thought this would be the perfect time to look at who are the front runners for the Conn Smythe Trophy on both teams. Both the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins have been led by their biggest stars in the post-season, but there have also been some unsung heroes on both teams that I feel should get some recognition for their tremendous play thus far.

I am going to list my top four Conn Smythe candidates for each team below. Once the Finals begin I will include a Conn Smythe Top 5 when I recap each game. This will be a dynamic list that will obviously reflect the ebb and flow of the series as it plays out.

Detroit Red Wings

1. Chris Osgood
2. Henrik Zetterberg
3. Pavel Datsyuk
4. Johan Franzen

Notes: I give Osgood top billing here because he really turned things around for the Wings in their first round series against Nashville. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are pretty much a coin flip at this point. The bottom line is that the Wings would be lost without them both. Franzen would be much higher on the list if it were not for his injury. It will be interesting to see if the Wings get him back for the Finals or not.

Pittsburgh Penguins

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Marc-Andre Fleury
3. Evgeni Malkin
4. Sergei Gonchar

Notes: It was a tough call for me here between Sid and MAF. I still don't think MAF has gotten his fair share of the credit for the Penguins' performance thus far. People seem all to eager to declare him the weak link in the Penguin chain, but not give him his due as he continues to outperform every other netminder in the NHL. Geno could be leading the pack here if he hadn't gone quiet in the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals. Gonchar has been unreal all post-season and does not get near the amount of credit that he deserves. He has been an anchor for the Penguins at both ends of the rink.

NHL Team Of The Month: March 2008

Okay, it's back to business! It's almost playoff time, can you feel it? In the meantime, here is my last Team of the Month for the 07-08 season. Enjoy!

• Center: Johan Franzen (13 GP, 14 G, 4 A, +6, 12 PIM, 8 PPP, 6 GWG)
  
• Right Wing: Jason Pominville (14 GP, 8 G, 11 A, +7, 6 PPP)
  
• Left Wing: Alexander Ovechkin (14 GP, 14 G, 12 A, +17, 12 PIM, 9 PPP)
• Defense: Dion Phaneuf (14 GP, 3 G, 9 A, 24 PIM, 6 PPP)
  
• Defense: Brian Campbell (15 GP, 2 G, 13 A, +10, 9 PPP)
  
• Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (11 GP, 9 W, 1.44 GAA, .951 SV%, 2 SO)
  

Comments:

• Franzen had 6 game winners in March! It almost got to be a joke.
• Pominville has really come into his own as an offensive force in Buffalo. He and Derek Roy have been outstanding in the second half of the season.
• Ovechkin has Caps fans thinking playoffs. They may have to win the division to make that happen, but they play in the Southeast so that's not exactly out of the realm of possibility.
• I don't know what else to say about "The Dion" at this point. The guy may be a bit of a diva, but he can flat out play. Should be a Norris finalist for sure.
• Brian Campbell has been a great addition for the Sharks. That trade really could not have worked out any better for them in the short term.
• MAF has been playing out of his mind since coming back from the high ankle sprain. He has been the backbone of the Pens and has them sitting atop the East. He should be fresh after all the time he missed and he is peaking just as we head into the playoffs. It's pretty much the best case scenario for the Penguins.