Well, the Detroit Red Wings put a prompt end to all of that Game Seven talk with an action-packed 3-2 win over the Penguins on Wednesday night at the Igloo. We'll have full coverage on Thursday morning, but feel free to share your early thoughts below if the mood strikes you between now and then.
16 comments:
So so so close at the end.
Heart breaking.
Random (bitter) thoughts:
2 softies by Fluery did nothing to diminish what he accomplished the other night...but it sure didn't help us win tonight either.
Don't want to sound like a Seahawks fan, but I'll never understand NHL officiating.
Our inability to win on home ice in this series ultimately cost us.
Game 5 is still one of the top games in team history. If they re-release that "Top 10 Games" DVD set, I think they need to add Game 1 vs. NYR and Game 5 vs DET.
Hats off to our guys for fighting to the bitter end.
"Yinz Luv Da 'Guins" on YouTube was the perfect compliment to this year's playoff run.
I have a song by Marlena Shaw on my iPod now. (Think Dockers San Francisco.)
The Pens will be back next year. I don't buy into the Smizik and Cook predictions of gloom and doom. We'll sign some of our guys, and we'll lose some of our guys. And we'll make a few moves in free agency, too. Shero has proven to be a quality GM so far and I like the outlook for 2008-09 and beyond.
heads up boys
Wings were just a little bit better. They deserved to win.
Great season. Great series. And hopefully the start of something special for years to come.
thanks pens for a great season. you can call off the searchparty for malkin, although i wish he had been productive in the first four games. the better, more experienced team won, and throw in better coached team as well. that's why a seven game series is played, to separate the men from the boys, and allow both teams to compete their best. the future looks bright for this team, and losing these finals hopefully will make this team better. they sure got the " experience" we've all been hearing about.
i hate life.
is it September yet?
Thank you Pens! I was there-- right behind Fleury as that puck trickled in.... heartbreaking. But, deadhead is totally right. Let's all hope this is the beginning of some fine years of hockey in this town.
I was proud to hear the ovation the Penguins received as they left the ice. I was also proud of the (slight) applause given to the Wings upon receiving Lord Stanley. They were a better team during this series. I just wish we could have those first two games back!
Crap! Crappy crap crap crap!
Crap!
That would be the edited version, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with the FCC.
Yea, the better team definitely won this series. They kept saying it after the game, and it's absolutely true...Lidstrom is an amazing leader. This is probably going to sound like blasphemy...but right now Henrick Zetterberg is the best player in the world. He was everywhere tonight and throughout the series. His kill during the 5 on 3 in game 4 was incredible. So Sweeden is putting out some pretty good hockey players, eh?
I live in Oregon, so I unfortunately don't get to watch much penguin hockey anymore...but was it Pittsburgh's strategy to try and work for high quality shots instead of just throwing the puck at the net? Or were they trying and Detroit's defense was just too smothering?
What a great series, thank you Pens for brining hockey into my life again (much to the chagrin of the wife). I don't even care that a great NBA Finals is about to start...nice job NHL...you're awesome...seriously.
Couple things I was thinking about as I was trying to fall asleep last night:
It was amazing how Detroit played in space both offensively and defensively throughout the entire series, while constantly never giving the Pens any space. Every time the black and gold had the puck or even tried to clear the puck from their own zone, it was just congestion. Detroit on the other hand always seemed to have room.
If that 2nd goal was the dagger, that 3rd one was the guillotine. Hard to describe, but in a series played with consistently great skill, that was a fluky goal with no skill whatsoever. A lucky Detroit bounce.
it stinks that the third goal was fluky, but we were outclassed for much of this series. the wings deserved to win. however, i agree with cecil -- we're going to be great in 08-09. i trust ray shero
at least we got to boo gary bettman last nite
Let's just hope we don't go the way of Ottawa...
Also we should really try and keep Marian Hossa, and i know i'm going to get alot of flak for this, but I really don't think Malone is going to be worth the money they give him. He made is very apparent that even though he is a tough mother, he does not have the speed to play at this level.
cheers boys.
I have complete faith in Ray Shero, but after re-signing Hossa, Brooks Orpik has to be priority #2. The Wings proved that defense wins championships (sorry for the cliche).
As much as I hate to compare anything of ours to anything of New England's, I think FA's are going to want the chance to play on teams with Crosby, much like people take less money to win super bowls* (notice the asterisk) with the Pats.
I completely agree with orpik, there was a good article on ESPN about how the pens can pay a bunch of people and stay under the cap. They suggested doing group negotiations with crosby kinda pushing them...
Giving them the ol... "We got this far with this team playing together post-trade deadline...imagine what we can do after an entire season"
Face it Penguin fans, the better team won it. Heck they made the great Sidney Crosby even disappear last night.
Here's what I can't comprehend: If you surround Crosby with four guys, how's there not three guys who are open?
I will freely admit that hockey is so fast-moviing that I have a hard time understanding how some of these "systems" work, but if I were the Penguins, I would study the tape of this series very closely. They've got to solve this riddle, because God knows that every other team in the NHL will be studying how to throttle the Penguins from this "how to" manual.
If the Stanley Cup was given simply for guts and hard work, this team would have won it. Unfortunately, you have to make that flashing red light go on...
News flash: If you think the Penguins players are going to leave in mass exodus into free agency, you're crazy. They have been forged into a team that is on the cusp of greatness. You're not going to want to leave that situation. There will be many free agents knocking on our door as well. Who wouldn't want to play in the center of the hockey universe?
The NHL, like any other sports league, is a business, gang. The players' union will discourage young players from taking a "hometown" or "Cup contender" discount... so the Pens will probably only sign a couple of their free agents... and not guys who will command big dollars on the free agent market (Orpik, Malone, Hossa)... more likely, they'll keep Dupuis and Ruutu, guys with skill who work hard and play complementary roles at a reasonable price.
Sigh. I know this season turned out much better than I hoped, but I'm just numb right now, thinking about what could have been.
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