Blue Notes

Pens come out with energy, but not playing a very disciplined game so far

The pairing of scuderi and Gill should be the Pens best defensive pairing, but it looks like they don't have the speed to keep up with the Wings attack.

Excellent call by the refs to not call the High Stick. I had to watch the replay twice to see it was Gills stick that caught him.

Zip... I'm not surprised that the Pens have no shots... MT suffles lines more than a Blackjack dealer

What was with Orpik on the second goal... he completely forgets the man and try's tpo push the loose puck into MAF's pads.

Ugh

You have to give Detroit credit here. They're totally out classing the Pens. The Pens have no answer for Detroit's superior puck possession style of play.

Should be interesting to see if the Pens can regroup and battle in the remaining two periods of play.

Pens winning the faceoff battle (56%), and outhitting (19-14)... but those are surprising statistics considering how dominating the Red Wings have been.

black n gold whats it like talking to urself

Zips actually given me a shout out and I'm enjoying reading his insightful comments about the game... so pretty good actually Matt.

What;s it like not to have anything intelligent to add to the conversation?

it wasnt a matter of intelligence it was just a question. considering i always have a problem of uve been posting too much and i am told to wait so its annoying,

Zip,

Have you ever seen that Defense up front move before? I can't remember ever seeing anyone slide the "D" ahead of the forwards into the neutral zone before... How would you combat that as a coach?

Black n Gold

Sliding the D ahead like that is a tactic used by the old Soviet Red Army and adopted in the 70s by North American Hockey ... however ... you don't see teams do that much because it takes a very mobile defense ... and a very speedy defensively responsible forward corps ... you will not see the Wings do that unless the opportunity present itself ... and if MT doesn't do something to stop the Wings from doing that ... it's going to be a long night for the Pens ... I'm wondering if Sid the Kid has even seen that done much. Takes patience to defeat ... oh ... the Caps used that tactic a lot in the late 90s too you might remember ... Edmonton and Isles of the 80s had a modified version of that.

Zip .... like the breakdown you're giving there. You and Logan should get together and do a blog together like a TV announcer crew ... you call the game in a live blog and Logan can give the commentary during stoppages. Keep it up ... like it.

Zip.. yeah it was a great bit of team work.

I have to say... I don't think I've seen a team dominate like this since the Oiler teams.

as a Pens fan it pains me to say it. But this Wings team is playing some of the best hockey we've seen in the SCF in decades.

19 Isle in NJ 22,

Thanks... I'm going to have to look that up, It does sound like something Konstantin Loktev would have innovated.

why do people take other peoples names and post under them

To the fake Black N Gold poster... I'm certainly not crying,,, in fact I'm really impressed with Mike Babcock and the Red Wings here. I wish my Pens were making a better showing... but as a hockey fan, you have to appreciate what the Red Wings are accomplishing here.

zip thanks for responding to what i said about having to wait its been like that the whole year. it gets frustrating especially when u write a paragraph thinking its gonna go through and then u have to do it all over again. i liked the live blog u guys had during the playoffs and i hope u can have it for the whole yr. if u need someone to go to go games to help run it ill volunteer.

Yeah BnG ... if you have a good puck moving defense ... you wind them up in the defensive zone during the break out ... and the forwards skateback .. winding up so they come through the neutral zone with speed this way the forwards don't start skating out flat footed. .... takes lots of precision and good defensive responsible fowards.

My teams have tried that over the years with mixed results ... LOL!!

If you followed hockey in the 70s too you'll remember Larry Robinson doing that with his defensive partners exchanging positions with LaFleur, Jacques Lamaire and Steve Shutt.

Matt, just hit the refresh (or reload) and get a new number. What happens is that someone else posts in between you getting the submission page and you actually pressing the submit button... a refresh which generates a new number normally fixes that.

Zip,

Props on the RT mention... between him and John Hiatt, who I've seen you mention in the past... there's some excellent song writing there for sure.

One of best things I enjoy about NY since moving up here almost ten years ago, is the music scene and WFUV.

I've been turned on to some great music by those folks.

Zip,

I think I saw Malkins picture on a milk carton and I think there's an Amber alert out for Sid.

Seriously though, Babcock has really shown the hockey world what a great coach he is in this series (Doesn't hurt to have Scotty Bowman as an advisor/scout either does it?).

I'm hoping things improve when the series moves back to Pittsburgh and MT gets the line matchups.

The question isn't if the Penguins are going be able to win the Cup ... the question is if the Penguins are going to score in this series ... they don't seem to be getting many bounces or able to solve Osgood .... actually .. I wonder if Crosby will finally be able to grow a playoff beard before the series ends.... things to ponder.

Then again ... this series is far from over .... the Wings can get complacent ... and the Pens have the fire power to capitalize on that.... on the other hand .. the Wings are one of the most disciplined skilled veteran teams in recent memory.

This PP for the Pens is key ... if I'm allowed to be so obvious.

The question isn't if the Penguins are going be able to win the Cup ... the question is if the Penguins are going to score in this series ... they don't seem to be getting many bounces or able to solve Osgood .... actually .. I wonder if Crosby will finally be able to grow a playoff beard before the series ends.... things to ponder.

Then again ... this series is far from over .... the Wings can get complacent ... and the Pens have the fire power to capitalize on that.... on the other hand .. the Wings are one of the most disciplined skilled veteran teams in recent memory.

This PP for the Pens is key ... if I'm allowed to be so obvious.

Forget it ... Malone with the bone head interference.

Who does everyone have in the Pens "first goal" pool. Rob Brown? Dan Quinn? Ron Stackhouse?

WOWOW!!!!! What a play from their own end ... fancy stick work .. pass and great effort for the GOAL!! See that on You Tube soon.

black n gold,

thanks for the help, but i figured out how to get around it. im an impatient person and i dont like to be slowed down. its just who i am. im always looking to go and not stop. im only 23 i dont know any better. surprising when i went to send this i got that error message.

Yeah Zip ... I'm sure having to do all that stuff live and pay attention to the details on the ice / court / field would be challenging for the most dedicated and skilled sports writer ... When I freelanced for Fox Sports doing baseball and hockey and trying to keep up with "hero" stats and team stats really takes you out of the main flow of the game.... charting games takes the fun out of covering them. I was one of the guys that had to come up with those odd stats ... like how many hits / missed hits certain players had ... and how many shots at net .. vs. how many shots were on net ... producers come up with weird stat requests.

Michel Therrien should call a time out ... and say ... OK ... who ever gets the first goal .... Free dinner on me ... Ruth Chris' Steak House .... it's come to that.

Since it *is* memorial day... can I have Michel Brière in the pool? :-)

Is it the Pens fan in me .. or did Osgood throw a left arm into Sykora as well?

Zip ... what the Blue Shirts ... and 3/4 of the league need to do in order to equal the Wings is scout and draft wisely ... the Rangers can probably score a few free agents and squeek under the cap ... but they can't just write blank checks and hope to match the Wings .... they have some good young players hitting RFA the next few years and will need to extend them ...

I'm not sure if most fans in the East are aware of this ... but the reason the Wings draft so well ... isn't luck ... it's Jimmy Devellano ... who has been with the Wings since he left the Islanders after the 82 cup ... he's the true builder of the Wings ... he established the culture that is carried on by Holland as JD now remains in the background as team VP.

Jimmy D was the backbone of Bill Torrey's management team for the Dynasty Islanders ...and he quickly got to work drafting players like Steve Yzerman.

What do the Wings do different than most other teams? They have a hugeeeeeeeeee scouting department ... and probably double and triple the amount of scouts in Europe than most NHL clubs ... they invest in player development and scouting.

It's not luck ... they also have had some of the best coaches available in hockey ... that is why the Wings don't have to finish in the bottom of the league to rebuild.

Disclaimer here .... yeah .. sure ... the Wings are my second fave team after the Isles ... but that is because of Jimmy D and the fact half the teams I've played for from youth leagues to adult leagues I wore the Wings' colors.

My team lost... but I won my Over/Under bet :-)

Props to the Wings for an excellent showing!

19Isles...
Thanks for picking up my slack here....busy paying tribute to a young lady home from Iraq.

Caught the last half of the 3rd......
Pen's look like a very frustrated team.....
Who'd a thought back to back shutouts.....and from what I've seen, Ozzie has been only moderately tested.

Did Malkin show up tonight?
I noticed he left for the locker room with a minute to go after the Sykora nonsense...

One other observation.....the officials are doing everything they can to prevent any fights at all. Unlike the regular season.

Good move from my opinion.

I thought that Pens were at least going to lose a couple of 1 goal games in this series, did not think Det was going to totally dominant. Sad to watch a team implode like Pens and lose all sense of composure. Guess that experience thing is important, so much for youth and talent. Also appears that Zeds and Datsuk are every bit as good or better than Crosby and Malkin, guess who gets more ink and pub though. Guess that Zeds and Datsuk will have to settle for the CUP. Would be nice for Pens to score, maybe at home with the puck bouncing and sticking, that should offset some of Wings puck possession game. Better shake up those lines again, kind of hard to win with nothing. Talk about your whining seems that the kid and Therrien spent a lot of time lobbying the officials, maybe they should spend more time trying to put the puck in the net. Tell me Datsuk isn't schooling Crosby, surely they need to get Crosby out there against someone else, oops they tried and he still doesn't seem to make anything happen. Guess this experience will be good for Pens for next year, they should be able to begin their dynasty next season. Only problem for the entire East is that the Wings will still be together, they may well have some dynasty talk of their own. Is it my imagination or are the WIngs more talented than Pens? So much for star power, those guys in Red seem to be pretty damned skilled.

Zip,

nice correction on giving respect to the ladies!!

BNG,

Previous thread you mentioned the rangers 67 year history and one "bought" cup etc...do you need a history lesson on the way the Habs stacked their team year after year in order to assure themselves the cup? And the bought cup is old...we had Graves, Leetch, Ricter, Zubov, Beuk, Wells, and all kinds of guys not named Messier and not making millions of dollars.

My list of draft picks was not just to show off my skills on spewing out info found on the Internet. It was to make more clear my point that you came on here with a "my team is the greatest ever" attitude and I pointed out that your team is only this good because of a decades worth of high draft picks (read between the lines: HORRIBLE PLAY) and then throw in Crosby and now you want everyone to bow down to the mighty penguins.

Detroit is scary good!!! I really like what I have seen of Stuart and wonder what kind of contract he will demand? Zetterberg and Datsyuk I believe are UFA's after next season. Kronwall is a beast on the blue line!!

And MSG,

I totally hear you on how Detroit has made the most of later round picks.

and how classy did Pittsburgh look taking shots at Franzen's head???

My honor to step in for you 505 ... I attended a memorial service for my friend's Dad (Vietnam 1970) this weekend myself ... a bit different atmospher than a tribute for an active young lady in the service .. but today's a day we honor ALL that have put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms ... active, inactive and those that made the ultimate sacrifice....
***********************
Ozzy has as you put it ... been moderately tested ... and that is mostly because Ozzy isn't really giving them much to shoot at ... he stays square to the puck .. and is in position ... it really discourages the Pens from shooting more ... especially with the Wings D ready to pounce on rebounds and turn it up ice in a flash ... So the Pens find themselves looking for the perfect play to break the ice.
*******************
I found myself questioning over and over during the Wings games these playoffs .... Justin Papineau ... Justin Papineau ... Milbury should be suspended from anything having to do with hockey for the remainder of Osgood's career.

Yeah Joke ... the DET RW have some UFA's entering the market after this season and next season .. Brad Stewart this summer ... and Franzen, Samuelsson and Zetterberg next summer ... however the Wings only have $33M committed for the 09/10 season and I'm sure the cap will probably be a shade under $60M for that season.

IMO the Rangers should stick with the core young group they have and harvest some of the players that have value that they know will not be around for a Ranger playoff run ... use them to acquire other decent young players and draft picks ... and the use that Ranger allure to snare a Franzen / Zetterberg after next season ... the Rangers will be stronger for it by not trying to go over the top this summer ... finish building the base patiently as they have the last 5 or so years.

Another thing the Redwings do that other clubs ... especially in the East don't do ... the Wings look inward ... they are less concerned about what other teams do ... and just look to build a winner with the "right fit" kind of players ... look at the Pens ... even with all that star fire power ... they look feeble vs. the Wings ... because each player makes his teammate better and more effective. Case in point .... Osgood is a good sound fundamental goaltender ... but the team makes him better by the way they play infront of him. The D and forwards feed off one another ... it's like clock work.

Wow...B and G..... gotta tell ya....

I just watched Therrien in the post game interview on the NHL Network...
He is one BEATEN PUPPY.
I kept expecting a reporter to hand him a hankie.
He did the expected, as any coach would down 2-0, and complained about the officiating BUT there was no ANGER in his demeanor.....strictly remorse...dare I say "forlorn sadness"..
Almost like ....he appeared to be anticipating the inevitable, and was NOT looking forward to the next two games.

He carried on and on about "obstruction" in the neutral zone (specifically towards Malkin) and that Osgood is a great actor and a DIVER....(Uh-huh,,,,easy there Ranger fans)
His quote was "We never go after the goalie, and we got called twice tonight".
Who r u ya kiddin Michele? (deliberate misspell)

Quite frankly B and G.......Therrien gave one of the worst post game conferences I have EVER seen by a coach that just lost two games on the road in a Cup Series.

Where was the rah-rah, it ain't over, we're going back to our house now...we'll be back here....etc etc etc?????

HE IS BEATEN.

Not the attitude I would want from a coach riding herd over a bunch of kids.

Just my opinion.

Whoops, now Crosby is on, and I think he was drinking from the same water bottle as Therrien.

Your kids are in trouble.

BTW B and G, I kinda questioned (to myself) all the RADICAL line shuffling that occurred tonight after only ONE GAME.

I think Therrien played right into Detroit's hand with that panic button being pushed so quickly.

"Obstruction in the Neutral Zone" says Therrien?

He needs to watch this........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHlEGkXB2nY

505 ~ I got the exact same impression from that post game. That was a disgusting display for a coach... I hated when Milbury did it during the Toronto series ... I didn't like it when he did it during the Ottawa series .. undermining Laviolette in the process... I don't like it when Nolan does it either.

A coach sets the tone for the team .. and he just told his team and Penguin fans that they are done.

He should of said ... we'll when we get back to Hockey Town it will be 2-2 and a 3 game series.

19 isle in NJ 22,

I here ya' - Detroit will be the model franchise for the rest of the league. I can't imagine a lot of their talent wanting to go anywhere. They seem like a team who will get their players to sign on for less just to stay and win. Very impressive.

I didn't see the post game interviews so thanks for those posts guys. Therien was saying and doing the same things during the ranger series even when they were obviously winning the series. He is always talking about what the other team is up to and how he will go to the officials about it, but is blind to what his team is doing. He honestly didn't believe Sykora ran into Osgood on purpose? He didn't think Malone and Hossa were taking weak penalties all over the ice. Hossa grabbed that guy right in front of the ref'.

I believe it was Malone who got called for a slash penalty that very closely resembled a slashing Jagr was called for. It's not so much a slash as it is laying your stick horizontally across the other players hands. I thought it was a very weak call against Jagr, but I guess it is a penalty they will be calling.

To land Zetterberg as a UFA after next year would be AMAZING...but I think our only chance would be if he and Lunqvist happen to be good buddies and Hank doesn't mind placing a call on our behalf. Off to work I go!!

This is Michel Therrien's form of 'gamesmanship'

Personally, I'm not a fan of it either. I have to say I prefer Babcocks approach, but again, it's easy to give press conferences when your team is leading 2-0 in the SCF.

Here's Michel Therrien's most famous press conference. Pretty funny now that the Pens are 'in' the SCF (Although I say that guardedly because they really haven't been 'in' this series so far).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agL3NHgb8Rk

If B&G thinks that Ranger fans are whiners, he must realize that Sid and Therrien have PHD's in this behavior, WOW. It was bad during the game to watch these two spend more time working the officials then playing the game, yet the post game comments were truly off the charts. I guess it is a shock when the officials STOP giving you the love and make you earn it. Please do not ever accuse any fan in here of whining, until you get a coach and your star to STOP! The Wings are going to make quick work of this, as the Pens have totally lost their composure and are now more worried about other things then the Wings. By the way was either of those games even competitive? You would hope that at home Pens will at least score and make the games competitive, although I think their frustration will directly lead to them being hammered even at home, you are not going to intimidate or make Wings lose focus. Even taking headshots at a guy coming off a concussion didn't get the WIngs to bite. I wouldn't want to be the Pens at 3-0 and down in gm 4 though, as I think pay back will be a bitch.

If it is so easy to give press conferences when you team is ahead 2-0 then why was Therrien still whining at 2-0 in all of those other series? Face it The Wings are better all aorund and even in the coaching area there is no comparison. Babcock gets a little fiery with officials on a specific occassion and then it is over (nullified goal in gm 1) he doesn't belabor it all night, and continue in the press conference after. One can only hope that Therrien actually pisses the officials off and gets himself on the short end of all the calls. Yet something has to be done in Gary's marketing league to get this series somewhat competitive, this has to be killing Bettman, surely he was hoping for at least 6 games. Little did he know that Pens wouldn't even score. Wow, he must be having a true fit. I would expect for the WIngs to be killing a lot of PP in Pitt, yet that may not even be the difference, they haven' had the dreaded two man advantage yet, so there may be a couple of those. I beleive that the Wings will still have to overcome some level of madness in Pitt, as the sweep would be real bad for Bettman.

:) :) :)

So great seeing the Pens get absolutely schooled by the WIngs. Especially after all the s-talking by the bandwagon Pens fans who flooded Zip's blog here with their asshattery.

I can't tell you how much glee I'm feeling by knowing these Pens fans are miserable now, and deservedly so. HAHA!!!!

msg4ever,

How's the tinfoil hat buddy?

'Gamesmanship' is practiced by nearly every coach in the NHL to try and get calls going for there respective clubs.

I'm not a fan of such tactics, so giving me a hard time about them is pointless.

I do understand why coaches and players may practice such gamesmanship, but to listen to fans like yourself incessantly whine that the league has some great conspiracy against your team, it's just amusing.

Pull up your Huggies put away the pacifier and move on to next year.

As a true hockey fan I'm disappointed in my teams performance so far in the SCF. But I'm proud that a team who's top five players average 21 years of age, has made it this far.

It's been bitter sweat watching the SCF so far. As a Pens fan I'd like to see a better showing by my team, but as a hockey fan you can't help but be impressed with the Wings mastery.

Well said B and G.....those RED jerseys bring back memories of a different team that "mastered" the international game in the 60's and 70's (until 1980).

19Isles....
Unfortunately, or fortunately, The Milbury Era was before NHL Center Ice and NHL Network so I missed a lot of the Milbury nonsense. My only access was one or 2 paragraph AP stories in the local papers.

Crying about a loss or two when the series is ongoing has never been my cup of tea.

I've always competed with a "pull your socks up" attitude.

Its been great to see the Pens get shut out for 2 games. And everyone thought that Malkin and Crosby were the ones to watch..... people really dont give Datsuyk and Zetterberg enough credit.

Black and Gold: just wondering... do you not have any Pens fans to watch the games with ? Seems kinda odd to come to a NY paper and post comments during the game. Isnt there coverage in your area ?

FYI - I love how there is no mention of the stanley cup finals in newsdays paper. nothing more than a blurb by the associated press. Instead, we have articles by that moron Shaun Powell, who never has any individual thought to express.

Zip is THE ONLY outlet within Newsday... (except for Glauber crying about Versus)..

Props to ZIp

Steve, thanks for keeping the blog going for the Finals here. I'm enjoying it. Good job.

B&G you speak out of both sides my friend, in one breath you say I am whining, (there is nothing to whine about) and then you call the Whining from the Pens gamesmanship, that is an interesting spin. If you are so man up as you say then call it what it is, WHINING and Sid and Therrien are doing a great deal of it. Amazingly you say everyone is whining (not gamesmanship) when the Pens are winning, but soon as they wear the dunce cap and go to the corner you call their whining gamesmanship. You must be a political speech writer. And I know you are going to counter with some tripe that I am somehow whining, PS I'm laughing my ass off at the performance being put forward by the Pens. Waiting for all the 1983 comparisons about Pens and the Oilers, at least the Oilers could score goals in their first appearance. Therrien and Sid are not playing gamesmanship they are freakin beggin, they work the officials the ENTIRE game, rarely have I ever seen the officials spend some much time at a teams bench. Usually coaches can't get the officials near the bench, yet Sid and Therrien get them to the bench, at the face off circles anywhere they can lobby, opps gamesmanship their way into something. WHy not just try playing the game? Or have the forgot that you need to win before you get the Dynasty Cap placed on your head. The Pens forgot something along the way, they forgot that the games must still be played and some effort needs to be put into winning. Let's hope their gamesmanship can help their play, because so far they are not putting up much resistance. By the way the ONLY dynasty I am watching is wearing Red and comes from Detroit!

PS I guess taking headshots at a player coming back from a concussion is also gamesmanship, a real class way to perform. Maybe the frustration of being dominated is simply too much. When players take as many intentional blows to one's head I would say it is done with forethought and plan. Long time sense I have seen that much lack of class. Pens ought to understand that the Wings don't need Franzen to win, yet it is niice to have that much depth. Will Roberts stay in when the Pens re-juggle the line? Maybe he is the designated take a headshot a Franzen guy. Maybe Therrien needs a 5th line, that might do it.

msg4ever,

You can't possibly believe you're comments as a fan would affect the calls of officials. Thats whining.

When a coach does it (And Bryan Murray is the current King of 'gamemanship' in the NHL), they're trying to influence Colin Campbell, Stephen Walkom, and the officiating crew on the ice.

Those individuals hear the post game comments, hear the quotes in the media and therefore may be influenced by a coach or players comments.

You, and I, on the other hand, are only fans. Fans that post on internet message boards at that. Our voices are never heard by the "powers that be", therefore we can make no claims of "gamesmanship".

Continual whining and crying like you do is simply infantile.

msg4ever, you must have a really inflated ego if you think you fall under the definition of "gamesmanship".

I really don't think you're as ignorant as you would like us to believe.

Way to let this B&G A-Hole ruin the blog Zip. Watching you guys trade song lyrics makes me want to puke. Get a room!

Look who's talking about sportsmanship? Aww little guy, are the calls not going your way? Did the big bad crappy refs finally turn their backs on your little posterboy? Aww, it's ok. We told you the fix was in little guy. No big deal, we wouldn't dare think of holding it against you. Are you sorry the fix didn't go the other way? Were you thinking the payout was going to be in Pitts favor? Did you think Buttman had anything to do with making sure the Kid was atleast at the big show? Was it to help save the NHL some face or over expose your little cry baby Sidney on M.Day.

I couldn't be happier. Hossa will walk. The Pens won't have that kind of trade deadline clout again for years. It'll be so much harder for them to throw away a season for the first round pick again with Malkin and Crosby on the team. Will Malkin spend the next 7 years under the Crosby shadow or will he walk when his time comes. I'd say the ice chickens are done for a few seasons now.

B&G,

Regardless of your hyperbole and whatever crock you put it in, whining is whining whether fans or your beloved Sid and the Coach is doing it. You enitre rhetoric on the educational value of fans vs coaches etal is serious BS and not even you could believe it, though if you do I have a Bridge in Bklyn just for you. I guess than the complaining that Pens FANS are now doing is considered whining, so be it, go to the Pens blogs and join their whining. And we will leave the gamesmanship to your beloved coach and Sid the kid, as they are not whining they are playing gamesmanship, thanks for the education and the lesson, I really DIDN"t know any of that until your provided the sanctity of your wisdom for me. THANKS!

Crosby is the biggest diver in hockey history!

The above poster is an imposter.
What kind of loser can't stand behind his words by posting under his/her own name?