i think gorg is either drunk as a monkey or really really stoked

I think Game 5 is more of a must-win for the Pens than the Wings. Think about it, the Wings are tough at home, and won the first 2 games there. If the Pens steal game 5, then they can bring it back home to Pittsburgh and clinch there. If they lose game 5, then it’ll hopefully be back to Detroit for Game 7. It’s up to the Pens right now to take control. Can they exert their will on Detroit? I’m super pumped to find out.

But I thought the wings were so deep;)

dont count on that major team change. although it will be intresting to see if hossa signs with them should the loose

Nah, Detroit will still be around. They have a lot of talent signed. However, they won’t be able to put a complete team on the ice (see Flyers). They’re going to lose a lot when Lidstrom retires or becomes ineffective. And they very little room to sign free agents. They’ll be effective, but not as good as they are right now. This is the year for the Wings to win it.

mark eaton. dude looks like an ostrige

He’s already very good at controlling the puck in the offensive zone (he draws a ton of penalties because he’s so big and strong), but yeah, he doesn’t have great hands yet (seems a little rushed often) and he does chase the play. A few more years…man, he can be so good.

I still don’t think he reads the angles very well in the offensive zone, and the game seems a little fast for him at times…but he’s only 20! Obviously he’s never going to have Crosby’s instincts, but he can become really, really good.

Eh, part of me wants to say it’s because he is a third liner and doesn’t get near the scoring chances than if he was on a first or second line. However, my observations come from when he does have scoring chances. Staal’s not too intimidating with the puck. He has an average shot at best, and he needs a lot of space and time to come up with something creative. If you give Sid or Geno a phone booth to work in, and tell them to come up with a scoring chance in 1/10th of a second, they’ll show you 100 different ways to beat a goalie. If you give Staal the entire faceoff circle, and then go get him a cup of coffee, by the time you come back he might have come up with a few interesting things to try.

Not to rag on Staal. He just doesn’t have offensive dynamo in him. I’m absolutely sure he’ll improve with age and consistently be a 20-30 goal scorer. I just would be incredibly surprised if he ever nets more than 35 goals in a season. What’s he’s naturally good at is being a responsible, two-way center.

once he matures hes going to be a killer player

Exactly. And he’s already pretty damn good at TWENTY!

They are really pesky. Still, when you play a game with that much more speed than your opponent, the bounces off the boards are only the worry of the goalies. Hopefully, Flower has some film to catch himself at the Joe, otherwise, I just hope the Wings don’t remember how they played through the first three games.

I don’t know the stat, but I certainly feel like turnovers were on our side.

Also about Karma: Daniel Cleary, I know you may think you’re Evgeni Malkin, trying to get something over at the end of a game to start up your team heading home, but on Brooks Orpik? That failed miserably. I assume it be some kind of, ’I’ll show you,’ or, ‘it won’t be like this come Game 5,’ kind of thing, but when you’re trying to do that, be sure to come out on top of it. Orpik took him down and got a little noogie in there. It was kind of a nonsense thing, so much to the point I don’t think many took the guy seriously when he did it. That’s where we are, and that’s where they have fallen. Take this hot puck into the Joe, and melt the ice with it. It’s going to be the game of the series, no matter who you root for.

I hinge it on the Game 5 performance of the Red Wings. This series will go as far as they want it to. They can either play like this again in Detroit, and end it in 6, or play the way they had through three games and make it to your Game 7 for, what could be, the best Stanley Cup battle ever….at least in my time, but that’s because it always use to be about Detroit verses Colorado ;-)

I knew NOTHING about hockey games until Miami got the Florida Panthers. I worked with a guy who explained the rules to me and then they had that miracle run I think in 1996 or 1997- I watched the games and saw the series between them and this black and yellow team that was flying around and exciting to watch (if you ever suffered through an old Panthers Devils game you know how much of a snooze fest that could be). So I learned about them and been a fan ever since. Second hockey game I ever went to Mario was awarded a penalty shot against the Beazer and made one of those crazy I have the puck behind me goals. Hooked ever since I tell ya :-D

here’s the thing, as an athlete, you can’t admit being roughed up in the middle of a series, even if that’s exactly what is happening. Pittsburgh had a glorious 6 minute run where they forced the Wings into turnovers leading to odd man rushes, and absolutely spanked the Wings.

But the Red Wings can’t say that in an interview, lest that germ of doubt start creeping in.

You know how hockey is…last round, the caniacs among us were spitting venom at the Pens, saying all the same things…but you go through the handshake line, and reality hits, and the players will be gracious, if the Pens do end up winning….

didnt get any cred from the flyers or caps either. the canes team and thier fanbase were just about the only fans to say you out played us. intresting

We all celebrate it in our own way. It’s all good. Nice to see fans of other teams just having good discussions on here

split himself in two like an ameoba