Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[Optimus Prime]

Puck You! Puck Yeah!

[Youtube]V3ihQsX3XyA[/Youtube]

[Optimus Prime]

I'm in LA for business and managed to get Sharks / Kings tickets for game 6! My liitle brother with a broken arm standing next to the Greatest athlete to ever play North American sport.

[Tony G]

That doesn't look like Bo Jackson

[Optimus Prime]

Great game, impressive atmosphere.

The Los Angeles Kings became the ninth team in NHL history to rally from down 0-3 in a series and force a seventh and deciding game, topping the San Jose Sharks 4-1 in Monday night's Game 6.

Curiously, they became the second team in four years to do it against the Sharks, who are doing absolutely nothing to kill their reputation as playoff chokers, choking away a 3-0 lead like the chokiest bunch of chokes that ever choked.

[Optimus Prime]

Three game 7's tonight, wow!

ION......
The TSN.ca Rating is an efficiency rating based on per-game statistics including goals and assists -- weighted for strength (ie. power play, even, shorthanded) -- Corsi, adjusted for zone starts, quality of competition and quality of teammates, hits, blocked shots, penalty differential and faceoffs. Generally, a replacement-level player is around a 60, a top six forward and top four defenceman will be around 70, stars will be over 80 and MVP candidates could go over 90. Sidney Crosby finished at the top of the 2013-2014 regular season ratings at 87.12.

[Optimus Prime]

NHL League MVP Finalists announced.

This is a slam dunk. Crosby led the league in scoring and did so by 17 points. He was used by Penguins coach Dan Bylsma in the most difficult minutes and dominated by any metric. His offensive and under-rated two-way contributions allowed the Penguins to dominate the Metropolitan division despite a rash of blue-line injuries, and a lack of forward depth.

Crosby will win and should win. It's really just a race for second after that.

Rayn Getzlaf finishes 2nd, Claude Giroux takes the Bronze.

[WingsFan]

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Southern California is in hockey heaven.

The Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks will meet in the second round of the NHL playoffs this weekend, taking their Freeway Faceoff rivalry into the postseason for the first time. "People have been waiting a long time for this," said Ducks forward Emerson Etem, who grew up rooting for the Kings in his native Long Beach. "It's huge for the game down here."

And it's huge for the Los Angeles sports scene, which has never experienced a matchup quite like the series that begins in Orange County on Saturday night.

[WingsFan]

What a game out west! Crazy !! Another goal (wth) scored with the goalie pulled. L. A. Kings this time with .07 in the game, then they win in OT. The Ducks have to be kicking themselves after this one.


Getzlaf got caught cherry picking (and coasting much like the Mule) in OT, try some back checking, not a soft 2 handed cross check in the back next time!

[WingsFan]

This is a slam dunk. Crosby led the league in scoring and did so by 17 points. He was used by Penguins coach Dan Bylsma in the most difficult minutes and dominated by any metric. His offensive and under-rated two-way contributions allowed the Penguins to dominate the Metropolitan division despite a rash of blue-line injuries, and a lack of forward depth.

Hows that working in the real season (playoffs)? for Cindy - not so good, hasn't scored a playoff goal in nine games (dating back to 2012-13). Jeremy Roenick said the NHL has figured out Cindy in the playoffs - be physical and hes nothin but jello pudding!

[Optimus Prime]

LOL! Seriously Packy, you're much smarter than than that and actually watch the games.

Since the Kid joined the League in 2006, no active player has more playoff points than Crosby.

Sid's season?!? Won the NHL Art Ross scoring championship while I might add up to 15 of his teammates (starters) were on long-term IR, he basically carried the entire Team on his back, over 600 injury games lost by the Pens most in the NHL. That's why he will win the HART trophy as the most valuable player in the League yet again.

Should add the Selke Trophy to his case, game #3 against Columbus, always plays against the opposition's best defenders, Corsi rating off the scale, 23 minutes playing-time, his line had 10 scoring chances while they surrendering just 1. Pretty tough for Columbus to score while Crosby has the puck on his stick, hence the series win, (How did Paul & Hank makeout?)

Drawing the best defenders every game opens scoring opportunities up for other teammates, hence Malkin's hat-trick.

At 12M a year, he's averaging a point a game and not far off the scoring pace, expect Crosby to find another gear and soon!

BTW, while the entire League was shutdown, Crosby and Team Canada added another Gold medal and true World Championship to their list, total world domination!

As for JR, priceless.....not only does he routinely refer to Crosby as the BEST PLAYER in the World, Roenick averaged 3.58 points per playoff season over his last 17 years, he should not be throwing stones!!!

[Optimus Prime]

QUOTE=WingsFan;871369What a game out west! Crazy !! Another goal (wth) scored with the goalie pulled. L. A. Kings this time with .07 in the game, then they win in OT. The Ducks have to be kicking themselves after this one.

Getzlaf got caught cherry picking (and coasting much like the Mule) in OT, try some back checking, not a soft 2 handed cross check in the back next time!



Wings' season tanks, Hank & Paul finally pass on World's after they stick Ilich with the bill. Flyers refused to let Giroux join Team Canada, btw...it's called common sense.

RBTW....Crosby starred at his first world championships, putting up eight goals and eight assists in nine games in Latvia in 2006.....just 18-years old.


I'd rather focus on the positive regarding Getzlaf, sets up the tying goal with a brilliant pass, in today's game only Crosby can do this which makes Ryan G. the 2nd best player in the world at the moment.

As for the Mule, he's a simple journeyman jackass.

http://www.thescore.com/news/494728

[Optimus Prime]

Monster of a game tonight against the Rangers!

The series vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets, thought there was a chance Crosby might be gassed after carrying the Penguins in an MVP-worthy campaign:

Not only has Sidney Crosby played a lot of games, but he's also played a ton of minutes. Crosby spent a total of 1,757:47 minutes on the ice during the regular season, the most among NHL forwards. At even strength he played 1,374:25, the second most in the league behind Toronto's Phil Kessel, who only averaged 20 seconds more per game than Sid.

Crosby took 1,887 faceoffs in the 2013-14 season, which was almost 100 more than second place and hundreds more than most other top centers around the league. All that concentration, strength and punishment of slashing sticks can also ever-so-slowly add up over each and every game. Especially as the games get more and more important.

[WingsFan]

Check that - 12 games now since cindy has scored, almost game time!

I was at game 3 and watched the Mule up close, he's not the player he used to be before the concussions. Still holds Red Wing record for goals in a playoff year.

[Hannibal]

Franzen needs to retire, but unforunately, he's probably going to stick around and collect a paycheck as long as possible. It would be nice to have that cap space.

[Hannibal]

Cindy is not having a great playoff year. Zero goals, -5 so far. With all of the love that Crosby gets, it's easy to forget that Malkin is the guy with a Conn Smythe and the largest single season playoff point total of the past 20 years. His 36 points in 2009 is a mark that won't be surpassed in a long time.

It's a shame about Crosby though. There's absolutely no question that the league is better off with him succeeding instead of the Penguins playing in lots of 2-1 and 3-0 games. The NHL is the only major sport where scoring superstars are likely to disappear when the stakes get the highest. It is the only sport where the stars shine the dimmest the closer that you get to a championship. It's why the NHL will never even climb back into fourth place in American sports. This year is definitely helping so far though. Scoring through yesterday sits at 5.84 goals per game, up an entire GPG from the utter catastrophe that was the 2012 playoff season. Not so coincidentally, there have been something like 20 blown 2 goal leads and an unbelievable number of games tied in the last two minutes. Even professional wrestling doesn't script that much drama.