Red Wings

[THE STEE]

how do you think he keeps his tent up?

[Rocky Bleier]

It certainly wasn't a shaky call like the Datsyuk interference call in the 2007 Ducks series.

May 20, 2007. Last minute and a half of the 3rd period. Well behind the play. Leads to a fluke goal off Lidstrom's stick. Selanne backhander wins it in OT. Ducks go ahead 3 games to 2. Yeah, I vaguely remember that one. :-)

[DanO]

"Didn't cost them anything at the time? They should have had a powerplay. Not too long afterward, Pittsburgh get a PP and scores. It cost them plenty.

Other than that, I had no prroblem with the officiating."
-----------------------I agree with that FCR.

GO LIONS "09" !!!!!!!!!

[Newbomb Turk]

The stick to the head of the wings leading scorer seemed like a missed call too.

I am still trying to figure out how Pronger got onto the ice..............

[Fraquar]

Pens got their 1 win, now it's time to send them packing for the offseason.

[DanO]

Yep.

GO LIONS "09" !!!!!!!!!

[Rocky Bleier]

Stanley Cup: Consistency would be nice

Ken Campbell of The Hockey News


PITTSBURGH ? Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said all the right things for public consumption when he was asked about the Pittsburgh Penguins not being called for too many men on the ice during a crucial time in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final.

But as he walked away from the podium, he could be seen muttering, ?Twenty-one seconds! Twenty-one seconds!?

That?s how long the Penguins played with six players on the ice, all the while cycling the puck in front of two referees and two linesmen who missed the entire thing.

All of which is excusable, but barely. What drives people to distraction is how obstruction can go unpunished by both teams countless times during the game, then get called midway through the third period, the way it was on Jonathan Ericsson, which led to the game-winning goal.

Isn?t it supposed to be different? In the new NHL, wasn?t an infraction in October supposed to be treated the same way as one in the Stanley Cup final?

All the players and the coaches want is consistency because they have a remarkable ability to adapt to any situation. Their attitude is to either call everything or nothing, but be consistent with it.

That, of course, flies in the face of everything the new NHL is supposed to represent. But old habits die hard, both among referees and players.

?It?s two great teams in the final and you want to let those teams play,? said Penguins winger Maxime Talbot. ?You don?t want the game decided by power play, penalty killing.?

As long as that kind of attitude exists, expect more of the same in the NHL playoffs, where a penalty is a penalty, except when it comes to the playoffs.

But, hey, we shouldn?t be surprised that the NHL has trouble following its own edicts. After all, if the league had followed its rulebook, three-assist man and difference-maker Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins wouldn?t even have been in the lineup for Game 3 in the first place.

[Rocky Bleier]

Messier: Use the 'D' word in describing Wings

By John Kreiser - NHL.com Columnist

PITTSBURGH -- The dynasty is one of the NHL's most exclusive groups, reserved for only the greatest teams in hockey history.

Mark Messier's Edmonton Oilers, who won five Stanley Cups in a seven-year period from 1984-90, are a member, as are teams like the New York Islanders of the early 1980s, the Montreal Canadiens of the late 1950s and late '70s, and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the late 1940s and early '60s.

Circumstances in sport change, and we may never see a team dominate the NHL the way these clubs did. But Messier feels the dynasty door could be about to swing open for a new member: the Detroit Red Wings, who are two wins away from their fifth Cup in 12 years, including what would be back-to-back titles if they can close out the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 Final.

"I don't think five Cups is negotiable nowadays, because you only have a certain window of opportunity now. I don?t know what the criteria is for the word 'dynasty,' but you'd certainly have to say they'd be close to being called a dynasty now," Messier said of the Wings, who won Cups in 1997, '98 and 2002 before knocking off Pittsburgh in last year's Final and lead 2-1 this year going into Game 4 Thursday night at Mellon Arena. "They've had too much success for too long not to be called a dynasty in the making. If they go on to win this year, it wouldn't be a stretch to call them a dynasty.
Messier is most impressed by the way the Wings' management has been able to deal with the changes in the way the game is run. Detroit won its first three championships in the pre-salary cap era, but has remained among the NHL's elite while working under the new financial rules.

"If you date back to when they won the first Cup in '97, they've got a 10-year run going," he said of the Wings, who swept Philadelphia that year for the franchise's first championship since 1955. "It's pretty impressive, especially with the challenges with the salary cap and not being able to draft high. Getting players to come in and play and replenish year after year -- it's an amazing job.

"It's hard to keep your nucleus together due to the salary cap. Add on the parity of the League -- and you only have so much money to spend -- you have to make decisions on players you have to keep to remain competitive." Messier cited the Ottawa Senators, who built a strong team earlier in the decade but never won a Cup as a team whose championship opportunity came and went, and noted "that's going to be the norm more often than not. That's why Detroit is such a tremendous story from an organizational standpoint."

The Wings are annually among the NHL's highest-scoring teams, but they don't come close to putting up the kind of offensive numbers that Messier and his teammates did during one of the highest-scoring eras in League history. How would Messier and those Oilers try to put the clamps these Wings, who rely on skating, speed and puck possession?

"Trying to slow them down wouldn't have been our problem, because we obviously skated so well," he said. "It would have been a great matchup against that team."

More important than offense and skating, he feels, is the ability to keep the puck out of the net. It's a lesson he concedes didn't come without some pain -- specifically, being swept by the Islanders in 1983.

"What we learned when we played the Islanders was that we had to play a much better team game -- defensively, from a team concept point," he said. "That's where we really turned the corner as a team; we learned to play defense. We learned how to keep the puck out of our net. In playoff hockey, goals don't come easy. If you're allowing four or five goals in the playoffs, your chances of winning are slim.

"We learned to play defensively, even though we were a high-powered offense, we saw we had to sacrifice some offense to shut the door defensively."

Messier likened the lessons his teams learned from those Islanders to what the Penguins are going through now. Pittsburgh sometimes looked awestruck during last year's six-game loss to the Wings in the Final; they've looked much more mature this year, even though they're down 2-1 in games.

"I definitely think they're ready mentally this year," he said. "They're more prepared physically. I think (Evgeni) Malkin alone is stronger this year, ready for the grind of the long season. They lost (Marian) Hossa, which hurt, but here they are again.

"The problem they have is that they're playing against a team that's an amazing organization. They've won before, they know how to win -- and instead of getting older and a little banged up, they're getting younger and stronger while remaining at the top. They are up against a team that's nowhere near ready to relinquish the title."

But cheer up, Pittsburgh fans. Whether it's this year or somewhere down the road, Messier sees a Cup in your future.

"I believe that winning a championship for any player or any team really kind of validates you as a step above the rest. I know Pittsburgh is trying to do that, and I have no doubt they will, whether it's this year or whenever," he said. "There's no question with the balance they have on their team, they are going to win a Stanley Cup."

[Newbomb Turk]

the Wings run started in 94-95, not 96-97 ..........

heck, they won the Presidents Trophy back in 93-94

[Malto Marko]

I was thinking the same, Deac. They are not taking into account the years they got there, (or to the Conference Finals) but did not get the cup.

[SeattleLionsFan]

I think the Wings D is underrated. They don't outmuscle a lot but they sure seem to shut teams down pretty good.

[Rob32909]

Awesome Justin Abdelkader video clip - http://roblogpolitics.blogspot.com/s...%20Red%20Wings

[Tom]

I'm surprised they're benching Abdelkader for Draper. I think I'd rather see Maltby or Leino taking a seat.

[Drew]

Pens on the PP.

[Drew]

Pens score late in the penalty