The official 2007-08 NHL Season discussion thread.

Post by **B. Stinson** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:48 pm

Taloncarde wrote:If I have to see that Mike's Hard Lemonade commercial again...

Jesus Christmas that commercial was beaten to death...

It went from kind of funny to 10 years old after just the first game.

Qikdraw · Post by **Qikdraw** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:19 pm

Go Pens!

I've never liked Detroit, less now that Osgood can't own up to hitting Ribiero. Be a man and own up to it! Just say you were trying to slow him up, by making him avoid the stick, but that you didn't mean to hit him in the face with it. Sorry but Osgood is a putz. Good goalie, but a putz. Ribiero should not have hit back, but if I was just hit in the face with a stick, I'd be widdled too. I think the NHL made the right call on that though.

I think Detroit will probably win it, cause they have a really good team this year, but I'd rather not have them win it.

Qikdraw

Post by **Shadd666** » Thu May 22, 2008 12:14 am

Taloncarde wrote:If I have to see that Mike's Hard Lemonade commercial again...

I sometimes have the opportunity to watch games from US channels (you know, cable, friends who have cable, etc etc), and i sometimes just fall asleep between periods because i'm too bored of your ads. Sure, the fact that the games start late during the night here doesn't help, but still! It starts with about 3 TV breaks per period, plus tons of ads during intermissions, and all of it with only... hem... 10 different ads during the whole game? In France, we may not be good in hockey, but when we have sports on TV, there is absolutely NO ads DURING the game (or a movie, etc)! Those TV breaks just look like a heresy. And at least we've got some diversification concerning the ads... darn, we're even talking about deleting ads on public channels actually!

Back on topic... I disagree that the NHL made the right call in the Osgood/Ribeiro affair. One little fine for both of them and that's all? Afterall, it wasn't so dramatic... Just sticks thrown where they had absolutely no mean to be. One in the head, the other in the chest... What's wrong with that afterall? A fine is enough, right?

Wrong. Wrong. And wrong again. Those acts don't have their place in a hockey game. Plain and simple. Especially for repeted offenders like Ribeiro. Do you really think that they'll care about "a few" thousands of dollars when they make millions every year? Come on! This is just ridiculous. A suspension should have been a strict minimum, especially for Ribeiro. Because, for Osgood, true or not, he might have been really just protecting the puck. Ribeiro was clearly and deliberately looking for a cheapshot, especially since the game was over when he hit Osgood. Nothing new here though: the NHL is weak when it comes to discipline players, and they won't make any significant sanction until Ovechkin or Crosby are severly injured by a cheapshot, that's to say when the NHL business will take a hit. Before that, don't expect any real sanction (unless they fire Bettman and hire someone barely competent, but we're not on the way to see it soon).

But well, this is already the past, and the past is dead, so we'd better focus on the future... Which is the Stanley Cup Finals. I don't know who will win... Detroit has an impressive team once again, and seems to have some post-season success this season, contrary to the last few years. They've got tons and tons of experience (Chelios anyone?), and still have a will to win, as it may be the last NHL season for some of the veterans, who'd like to end their carreer on a positive note... On the other side, the Pens really surprised me all season long. The fact that their youngsters would be better than last year was an evidence, but i never expected them to perform so well so quickly. And they learned to win without Crosby, as Malkin had a stellar season that i personnally expected for next year. The addition of Hossa has been a huge boost and seems to be a bigger one as games are flying and he is finding some chemistry with his new teammates. Fleury is finally really showing why he has been drafted 1st overall a few years ago. The defense is way more solid than what should have been thought (although Hal Gill is pretty slow... but he is doing a good job so far). Finally, both teams have been really strong all playoffs long at home (Pittsburgh is still unbeaten at home)... But it's the Red Wings who have the home ice advantage. It might be a decisive advantage, but the Pens have the tools to counter the (not so) Dead Things. The worst ennemy of the Pens may not be Detroit though, but the pressure. This young team reaches the Finals for the first time, and it will be interesting to see how they handle their first meeting with such a big pressure on their shoulders. For Detroit, pressure shouldn't be an issue...

My pronostic is Detroit in 6, although i'll be cheering for the (no longer baby) Pens.

Post by **batdad** » Thu May 22, 2008 4:28 am

Sorry folks...what Osgood did with Ribeiro happens in every single game at least once. He put up his arm and tried to interfere with a forechecker who was set on smoking Ozzy's dman. It is the one tactic a goalie has left to help out his teammates.

Now...that being said..Ozzy got his stick up too high and clipped him. But what the chicken Ribeiro (remember flopping on the ice in OT a few years ago in MOntreal) did after??? No excuse. I said it before and will say it again...Ribeiro is a dufus who should have been suspended. And one day he will do something as stupid as Marty Havlat and his kicking or Chris Simon and his stopping. Chicken poo piece of rubbish.

as for the finals...who cares..

Detoilet Dead Things vs Pittysville Flightless waterfoul. The Nhl is so smart they have game 1 going up against Pistons-Celtics. Yep..should be a great audience for NBC that nite. Ugh.

Will at least be better than a paint drying Dallas team with a "winner" like Modano on the team. Man this guy has to be close to retiring...Float, fly by, float. Brutal playoff performance.

Post by **B. Stinson** » Thu May 22, 2008 4:48 am

The Nhl is so smart they have game 1 going up against Pistons-Celtics. Yep..should be a great audience for NBC that nite. Ugh.

Actually, games one and two will be on Versus. ...So you can take any expected NBC audience numbers, and cut it in half... then in half again two more times to get to Versus' potential numbers.

Post by **archibalduk** » Sun May 25, 2008 11:49 am

Not a good start for the Pens.

I was expecting more from them, to be honest. The Wings had nearly double the number of shots as the Pens. It should have been five - Lidstrom's goal was perfectly valid in my opinion. Holmstrom did nothing wrong.

It's so good to be able to watch the NHL again! I bought myself a PVR (or Digital Video Recorder - it's called different things in different places) in time for the final. I haven't had anything to record the hockey all season so it's fantastic to be able to start watching it again

Hypnotist · Post by **Hypnotist** » Sun May 25, 2008 7:03 pm

Game 1 really surprised me. Crosby and Malkin were virtually invisible the whole game. About the only time I heard their names called was when they got their penalties. I figured that Detroit would win, but not that convincingly. My only explanation would be the lack of playoff success experience in the Pittsburgh room. I was looking at some stats and the Pens only have a total of 4 cups on their roster (Sydor x2, Roberts and Sykora), plus their overall youth. Detroit has more than 20 cups in the room, plus 2 Selke finalists and a 5x (prolly 6) Norris winner.

Another horse-carp call on Holmstrom again. Fortunately, the Wings used it as motivation this time rather than a let-down like the Dallas one. Fleury was partially out of the crease, Holmstrom had a Penguin draped over him and the puck beat Fleury high-blocker and Homer's stick was on the ice. Oh well...

I only hope that these refs are getting their playoff privileges yanked as a result of these terrible calls.

Qikdraw · Post by **Qikdraw** » Sun May 25, 2008 7:44 pm

That game sucked. The Pens better get their act together. I stopped watching it about halfway through the 3rd period, Detroit was all over them. Bleh.

Detroit has a very strong team, its going to be very hard for the Pens to beat them. Its an uphill battle pulling a 300lb mother-in-law behind you. Its just not pretty.

Qikdraw

Post by **Shadd666** » Mon May 26, 2008 4:37 pm

No question, the Red Wings run over the Pens in game 1. Hypno already mentionned the 23 Cups for Detroit vs 4 for Pittsburgh, but there was another interesting stat: over 1,900 playoff games for the Red Wings, against just over 600 for the Pens. Experience, are you there?

Tonight's game 2 will show what Crosby and Malkin are made of. They were nowhere in game 1, except sometimes in the penalty box. They need to step up if they want their team to have a real shot at the title. Everyone knows it. They know it. But the Red Wings know it too, and could use their experience to prevent such things to happen.

If the Wings win tonight, it's nearly over. If the Pens win (which i both hope and doubt), this series may become interesting...

Kekkonen · Post by **Kekkonen** » Tue May 27, 2008 1:35 pm

Shadd666 wrote: If the Wings win tonight, it's nearly over.

Nearly, but not quite. The Pens just set themselves up for not one but two must-win games at home (I'm sure they don't want to go back to the Joe down 1-3). At this point, it's going to take a lot for the Pens to pull off those two wins. I couldn't watch the game last night, but when you lose the first two games by an aggregate score of 0-7, you got reason to worry. If you want to put a positive spin on it, this is Crosby's (or indeed Malkin's) first chance to stake a claim for hockey immortality; if he leads his team to two consecutive wins with, say, two three-point games after those two shutouts in Detroit, this could still be a series to remember. However, I've got this nagging feeling that somewhere out there, there's a corpulent female wondering whether it's next Saturday or next Monday that she'll be needed.

Post by **Shadd666** » Tue May 27, 2008 4:38 pm

Before thinking about winning the Cup, the Pens should think about winning games.
Before thinking about winning games, they should think about scoring goals.
Before thinking about scoring goals, they should think about taking shots / creating scoring opportunities.
Before thinking about taking shoots, they should think about entering in the offensive zone.
Before thinking about entering the offensive zone, they should think about not making brutal giveaways in their own zone.

Hmm... Seems like they have way too much things to do in way too few time...

Red Wings win in either 4 or 5 games.

Taloncarde · Post by **Taloncarde** » Tue May 27, 2008 4:54 pm

Before thinking about entering the offensive zone, the Pens need to think about getting the puck
Before thinking about getting the puck, the Pens need to think about stopping the Wings before they get past the blue line

etc

The wings are playing great this year, they are doing the same plays through the neutral zone to create speed that they did to Colorado and Dallas, and no one seems able to stop them.

Qikdraw · Post by **Qikdraw** » Tue May 27, 2008 6:06 pm

Shadd666 wrote:No question, the Red Wings run over the Pens in game 1. Hypno already mentionned the 23 Cups for Detroit vs 4 for Pittsburgh, but there was another interesting stat: over 1,900 playoff games for the Red Wings, against just over 600 for the Pens. Experience, are you there?

I don't get how since Detroit has won 23 cups, or 1900 playoff games as a team, that is means Detriot has more experience. Unless the players on Detroit were present for all 1900 games or 23 cups. Sure its fact the organization has won that, but not the current players. If organization experience counts how is it that the Ducks, Hurricanes and Lightning have won cups?

The players that are playing, that have playoffs experience, are the ones that count.

Having said that Detroit will win the cup, although I don't want them to, and deservedly so. They are the better team.

Qikdraw

Kekkonen · Post by **Kekkonen** » Tue May 27, 2008 6:35 pm

Qikdraw wrote:
Shadd666 wrote:No question, the Red Wings run over the Pens in game 1. Hypno already mentionned the 23 Cups for Detroit vs 4 for Pittsburgh, but there was another interesting stat: over 1,900 playoff games for the Red Wings, against just over 600 for the Pens. Experience, are you there?
I don't get how since Detroit has won 23 cups, or 1900 playoff games as a team, that is means Detriot has more experience. Unless the players on Detroit were present for all 1900 games or 23 cups. Sure its fact the organization has won that, but not the current players. If organization experience counts how is it that the Ducks, Hurricanes and Lightning have won cups?

The players that are playing, that have playoffs experience, are the ones that count.

I'm pretty sure that is exactly what Shadd was referring to. I don't know how many cups the Red Wings franchise has (but I'm pretty darn sure it's not 23; the Habs have 24 which is the record by a clear margin), but I do know that the Penguins franchise has exactly two Cup wins.

Post by **Shadd666** » Wed May 28, 2008 2:35 pm

Yeah, the numbers i mentionned are not the franchise numbers, but the totals of every players in both rosters. So when you combine the numbers of Cups won and the number of playoffs games played by each member of both teams, you get those numbers.

That's how the Pens got 4 Cups rings, despite the fact that the franchise won the Cup only twice, back in the early 90's.

Qikdraw wrote:The players that are playing, that have playoffs experience, are the ones that count.

True. And as mentionned above, that's exactly what the numbers mentionned were showing

So it's 23 Cups to 4, and 1900+ playoffs games to 600+... And that's a huge difference!

Then experience is just a part of the equation, but obviously can't explain everything on its own. A guy like Chelios is probably the most experimented guy on the ice in those Finals, but clearly not the biggest difference maker.

Qikdraw · Post by **Qikdraw** » Thu May 29, 2008 7:04 pm

Shadd666 wrote:Yeah, the numbers i mentionned are not the franchise numbers, but the totals of every players in both rosters. So when you combine the numbers of Cups won and the number of playoffs games played by each member of both teams, you get those numbers.

That's how the Pens got 4 Cups rings, despite the fact that the franchise won the Cup only twice, back in the early 90's.

Ah ok. I'm an idiot then. lol My appologies.

I'll go curl into a quivering fetal ball now.

Good game last night though. Even though I missed the last period.

Qikdraw

inspector84 · Post by **inspector84** » Thu May 29, 2008 8:57 pm

Canucks' Luc Bourdon dies in crash..
This is so..I don't know what say.Would do anything for his family right now if I could.Guy was only 21,and had a great future ahead of him...

Wow...So sad..

Post by **archibalduk** » Fri May 30, 2008 8:14 pm

Qikdraw wrote:Good game last night though. Even though I missed the last period.

Qikdraw

The third period was the best of the series so far. It really was end-to-end stuff. I think they went something like 7 or 8 minutes without a whistle being blown by the ref. It was the most entertaining game of the series. And how neat was Frantzen's goal?!

Even though the Pens picked their game up, I really can't see them winning this - the Wings, in my opinion, are playing more like champions than the Pens. I think the experience really is giving the Wings the upper hand. Even if the Pens do end up losing, the experience their young players will gain from the Playoffs is invaluable. If the Pens can keep these core players in the long term then I think they'll be very successful in the years to come. Having said that, I'd love to see them win this time round.

Post by **Shadd666** » Sat May 31, 2008 3:14 am

Pens had the desperation for game 3, fearing to be down 0-3. Now that they've won a game, part of this desperation is gone, even if they're still clearly in danger. They'll still have the public support, but not that much desperation. With all the factors in the green, they hardly won 3-2. One of those factors is going down now... And the Wings still don't seem to make a hard effort... I mean, they play extremly well, they work hard, but they don't seem to be at their maximum level of effort. They still have some more gas to deliver if needed. At least, that's the impression they are giving to me. And i wouldn't be surprised to see them deliver part or all of this gas for game 4 in order to take a 3-1 lead before going back home and conclude the series.

That being said, the Pens are taking a lot of experience in a short time. First playoff appearance and first playoff game won last year for Sid and co, and this season the Finals! The progression is big and fast. If they can re-sign Hossa and keep their main structure, they'll be absolutely scary next year!

Hypnotist · Post by **Hypnotist** » Sat May 31, 2008 4:57 am

Shadd666 wrote:... they'll be absolutely scary next year!

With the experience they are gaining and IF they can keep their core together, the Pens are going to be scary for many, many years to come.

Post by **Shadd666** » Sat May 31, 2008 11:57 am

That IF is pretty important though

But with the salary cap going up like crazy year after year, i see no reason for them not being able to keep their core players some more years...

Post by **archibalduk** » Sat May 31, 2008 6:21 pm

Wow, you should read this article on ESPN about referee Dan O'Halloran and how he was shot when he was 18

Post by **Shadd666** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 4:49 am

Very nice article you found there, Archi

Post by **archibalduk** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:57 pm

So who thinks this will be over in game 5? I can't see the Pens going to the Joe Louis Arena and winning now

I didn't really notice Crosby in game 4. To be honest, there's only been one or two games this series (maybe games 2 and 3) that I have noticed him. Hossa, on the other hand, has put in some decent performances.

Post by **Shadd666** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:06 am

No doubt in my mind that Detroit will close the series monday night in front of their fans. Crosby is totally under control. He emerged in game 3 to lead his team to the win, but felt back in the Red Wing's defense in game 4. Hossa is doing his best, but he has not enough support and therefore become nearly useless because he is the only guy who annoys the Wings. Malkin has been totally transparent all series long so far. Really disappointing, after the season he had, and his first 3 rounds in those playoffs. Fleury is doing his best to keep his team alive, but he receives very few help. Then, the will to win is clearly on Detroit's side. They always finish their checks, always battle for the puck, always put a stick, a skate, a leg, anything, to block shots. The Pens hesitate to make the checks (except Orpik), easily give up on pucks, and don't block that many shots. Just look at game 4 goal by Lidström, where Malone should clearly have block the shot if he decided to go down... but he didn't and Detroit tied the game at 1-1, came back into the game after allowing a bad goal, and finally won the game. The Pens are totally outworked in every area. Yet they are not ridiculous, and the games are pretty close when you look at the final scores. When you consider the huge difference in terms of experience, that's already a solid perf from Pittsburgh. Not enough to grab the Cup this season though.

For game 5, i expect a huge pressure from Detroit at the start of the game, just to say "hey, this is OUR Cup, and we want it NOW!" With too much pressure on their little shoulders, the Pens explodes for a while and the Wings take a solid lead. Pittsburgh finally manages to find some composure and put some pressure, but Detroit manages to handle the pressure, and Osgood makes a few needed key saves to secure the win. Lidström lifts the Cup, and bye bye everyone, see you next year! That's the way i see things coming, but well, we'll be fixed tomorrow/tonight (it's 2am here right now, so...)