Red Wings

[Drew]

His handshakes would back that theory up.

[Drew]

I turned off the tube as soon as the clock hit 0:00. I imagine that handshake line was really hard for Hossa? I swear he played like he was apologizing to the Penguins for leaving them.

Dude, why not watch? Even as a fan on the losing end, there were a few smiles in there, watching them celebrate.

[Newbomb Turk]

that was fun... it beat the shit out of 0-16 .....

[chemiclord]

Dude, why not watch? Even as a fan on the losing end, there were a few smiles in there, watching them celebrate.

The crowd was also, for the most part, respectful, which I was glad to see. I had worries that it would be a bit... mean spirited.

[Rocky Bleier]

Dude, why not watch? Even as a fan on the losing end, there were a few smiles in there, watching them celebrate.

Can't do it. I work up a real hate for the opposition. I remember Brad Park said he couldn't shake hands afterward, because he'd just spent 60 minutes trying to kill the other guy. I totally get that.

Wings need to get more guys like Cleary and Helm who like to hit and go in the corners. Draper and Maltby aren't as effective anymore. Let some of the floaters go.

[chemiclord]

I do think it is time for a youth movement.

I understood wanting the "core" veterans to earn #5, but it looked pretty clear to me that the likes of Draper and Maltby were really struggling just to keep up. It wasn't that they didn't want to win, but that they just simply had lost too many steps over the years.

I can't fault the decision necessarily, but in retrospect, I think it was the wrong choice to play them over younger guns like Leino and Abdelkader. Those two had really played hard and were winning a lot of the "hustle" plays; they should have been rewarded for that.

Hossa, honestly, didn't disappoint me. He played well, he really did. Sure, he only had three assists... but Crosby only had three points this series as well, and I don't think anyone is talking about him belonging on a milk carton. The Penguins looked really driven to keep him off the scoreboard and away from the Cup.

[spdrcr557]

Can't do it. I work up a real hate for the opposition. I remember Brad Park said he couldn't shake hands afterward, because he'd just spent 60 minutes trying to kill the other guy. I totally get that.

Wings need to get more guys like Cleary and Helm who like to hit and go in the corners. Draper and Maltby aren't as effective anymore. Let some of the floaters go.

I hear ya about not wanting to watch after we lost, I also build up a hate for the opposition.

I agree on getting more guys that show some fire, I think we fucked up by taking Abdelkader and maybe even Leino out. Both of them especially Abs looked very hungry when they played unlike Drapes and Maltby who just didn't look like they had much left in the tank.

[Rocky Bleier]

Holland need to get some bangers up front, some tough defensemen who will go in the corners, and Osgood's future replacement.

[Drew]

The crowd was also, for the most part, respectful, which I was glad to see. I had worries that it would be a bit... mean spirited.

Yeah, they were booing at first, but the boos trailed off, and the class appeared. I was proud of Hockeytown.

[chemiclord]

Some interesting info:

Pittsburgh scored first in 5 of the 7 games, obviously winning 4 of them.

Really... you can spot a team like Pittsburgh the lead that often and expect to win the series.

[froot loops]

that sucked

[chemiclord]

And Froot, ever concise, sums it up quite nicely in two words.

[froot loops]

Bottom line was the Penguins were a whole lot better defensively in the last two games than the Wings. I found Maltby and Draper to be pretty good throughout the series at what they had to do. That doesn't mean some of the younger players can't replace them but Draper was pretty good in game 6, Maltby was good defending Crosby when he was on the ice.

Brad Stuart is going to have a long summer.

[chemiclord]

On the contrary, I thought Maltby was awful. He didn't really instigate anything, and he certainly wasn't a scorer.

Draper won faceoffs, but I'm trying to think of any offense that came off those faceoffs. It usually just led to dump ins and the Penguins rolling back up the ice on offense.

I'm not doubting that they wanted to win. Nor do I think that the team just didn't try. Nor do I think it was necessarily a bad choice to bring out the veterans that had been there before. I fully acknowledge this is a hindsight observation. In retrospect, I feel the Wings would have been better served running with the GR guys they called up.

[Drew]

Nine times out of ten, you go with the veterans, but this might have been the 10th time. Lieno and Abdelkater, along with Helm brought the youthful scrappiness. They were getting to the pucks the old guys couldn't get to anymore.