Well, the Penguins deserved to win the Cup.
The D was outstanding. they totally took away the middle of the ice from the Wings and the Wings did absolutely nothing to counter it (ie run back door plays).
Wings D was not impressive at all. Stuart made several bonehead turnovers, Lidstrom looked like he was skating in wet cement, Rafalski was all but invisible.
The bounce of the puck is certainly what decided the game as there were several occasions (not just the crossbar shot that I could not believe did not go in) that could have made a difference in the game. Lidstrom put it like a true pro with class. "Sometimes the bounce goes your way and sometimes it does not. We have had our share of times when it went our way, tonight, it did not".
I was very proud of the Wings fans. Many stayed around to watch the lifting of the cup unlike the Pens fans last year that exited as quickly as they could get out of there.
The Penguins won with arguably their best player not on the ice for almost 2 whole periods. Wings can not use injury as an excuse for sub par performances.
Cindy however, really pissed me off the way he handled himself after the game. He stayed in his own end waiting for his teammates and coaching staff to come to him to congratulate him. As far as I could tell, he did not go through the traditional handshake line even though the Wings stood there waiting for him to come through. After he ignored the fact they were there, they rightfully headed to the locker room.
Babcock made it a point to walk down to congratulate him but Cindy responded by not even acknowledging he was being talked to and a wishy washy handshake only because Babcock put him in a position that if he refused his hand, there would be little doubt about his lack of sportsmanship.
You have to wonder what is going through Hossas head today. He had a flip of the coin type of choice to earn a cup and thought he took the side that had the best chance. Could it be that he is bad luck to a team making a run for the cup? Personally, I don't believe in that kind of bad luck however, I do believe he was tenative during this entire series almost as if he was apologizing to his former teammates for bailing on them.
Two goals shy of winning a Stanley Cup. A great season for the Wings. It is too bad that the players and many of the fans will only put value on the season if they were successful in defending their Championship.
I trust Kenny Holland to make some moves in the off season that will once again make them a frontrunner to win the cup next year despite the above article claiming the cap will cut into the talent. #1 priority should be shoring up the D. They were uncharacteristically soft this year.
The D was outstanding. they totally took away the middle of the ice from the Wings and the Wings did absolutely nothing to counter it (ie run back door plays).
Wings D was not impressive at all. Stuart made several bonehead turnovers, Lidstrom looked like he was skating in wet cement, Rafalski was all but invisible.
The bounce of the puck is certainly what decided the game as there were several occasions (not just the crossbar shot that I could not believe did not go in) that could have made a difference in the game. Lidstrom put it like a true pro with class. "Sometimes the bounce goes your way and sometimes it does not. We have had our share of times when it went our way, tonight, it did not".
I was very proud of the Wings fans. Many stayed around to watch the lifting of the cup unlike the Pens fans last year that exited as quickly as they could get out of there.
The Penguins won with arguably their best player not on the ice for almost 2 whole periods. Wings can not use injury as an excuse for sub par performances.
Cindy however, really pissed me off the way he handled himself after the game. He stayed in his own end waiting for his teammates and coaching staff to come to him to congratulate him. As far as I could tell, he did not go through the traditional handshake line even though the Wings stood there waiting for him to come through. After he ignored the fact they were there, they rightfully headed to the locker room.
Babcock made it a point to walk down to congratulate him but Cindy responded by not even acknowledging he was being talked to and a wishy washy handshake only because Babcock put him in a position that if he refused his hand, there would be little doubt about his lack of sportsmanship.
You have to wonder what is going through Hossas head today. He had a flip of the coin type of choice to earn a cup and thought he took the side that had the best chance. Could it be that he is bad luck to a team making a run for the cup? Personally, I don't believe in that kind of bad luck however, I do believe he was tenative during this entire series almost as if he was apologizing to his former teammates for bailing on them.
Two goals shy of winning a Stanley Cup. A great season for the Wings. It is too bad that the players and many of the fans will only put value on the season if they were successful in defending their Championship.
I trust Kenny Holland to make some moves in the off season that will once again make them a frontrunner to win the cup next year despite the above article claiming the cap will cut into the talent. #1 priority should be shoring up the D. They were uncharacteristically soft this year.
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