How many chances did the Pens have in the third? Geez... Thought on the game?

Question

1.) Hossa was the best player on the ice tonight.

2.) Malkin should be benched if he doesn't have the confidence to shoot. He doesn't have the confidence to shoot.

3.) If you can't score on an extended 5 on 3, when CAN you score?

4.) Zetterberg is the best defensive forward in the league.

5.) This thing is still a series, regardless of what either teams fans say...another quality game tonight, and the Pens looked OK for the most part.

6.) The Wings are faster, more composed, and don't even HAVE a panic button... kudos to a well played game, and series.

7.) The refs....as much as I want to say they missed a lot of calls (Malkin coming in on Osgood, pulled down) the game was rather fairly called, and thats always nice.

8.) The matchup between the pipes is amazing.

...your thoughts?

Kudos to the Wings, and their fans... you've got an amazing team... the passes are crisp, the descision making is insane and I swear a supernatural force coerces bounces to go in your direction.

Answer 1

Malkin admitted last week that he is exhausted.

Red Wings fan here saying Hossa was great but Zetterberg was better. The Pens would have won but for Zetterberg's defense from the first period on, and he was magical during third period 5-on-3. How many times have the Pens been met at their OWN blue line by the penalty killers on a 5-on-3? You can only do that with Lidstrom and Zetterberg type players on your roster.

Orpik was minus 2 with no shots, just zeros across the box score. He was embarrassed by Helm and was hardly the guy you saw on Wednesday. Note his ice times:

Wednesday: 23:27

Saturday:       17:23

Therrien pretty much benched him after being on ice for both Detroit goals. He was way out of position when Lidstrom shot. And then what Helm did to him was downright embarrassing.

Answer 2

Thanks for the Kudos :)

Well played game on both sides, but like when the series started I said experience beats inexperience every time.  During the 5 on 3 the Pens were looking a little too anxious on the bench, while Detroit remained calm and composed, even after giving up the early goal. There was no panic in this Red Wings team tonight.  Also Babcock OUTCOACHED Therrian in every aspect of the game.

Gonchar- I'll take Gonchar and Malkin.  BTW wasn't Malkin the player who got the Pens this far?

Answer 3

A classy Pens fan...awesome! You have a pretty solid list of things already, hard to expand much on that. Hossa showed up, I thought that Zetterberg was the best player skating tonight though. Agree with the Malkin assessment....the kid is too good and I wonder if someone on the Wings got in his head during the first game, he was outstanding up until the finals. Kudos to Super Mario for the way he handled Fleury from the moment they drafted him, most teams would wreck a kid like him out of desparation. I am really glad to see the last 2 games played so tightly...that is how a great Cup final should be!

  I expect more of the same in game 5 and regardless of how this series plays out the Pens and their fans have a lot to be excited about in the future. The mix is there, much like the Wings, they need more experience in pressure situations but talent wont be an issue.

   I being a Wings fan have to feel pretty confident that they will hoist the Cup this year but Pens fans should be proud of their team as well. I remember a fairly young Wings team in '96 that wasnt quite ready....'97 they were more than ready!

Good luck the rest of the way but regardless you have a great group of players and the future finally is looking good with the guys you have and the new barn being built....great time to be a Pens fan (we have been very fortunate with the Wings...they have done a great job building and keeping this franchise among the elite)!

Answer 4

Zetterberg was the best player on the ice. He may not be putting up big numbers, but his main job is to slow down players like Crosby, Malkin, and Hossa. Would you say he is doing his job?

I don't see how Pittsburgh can look more nervous during a 1:37 5 on 3 than Detroit. Detroit was calm and composed, and Pittsburgh looked frantic.

Answer 5

Detroit in 5 now...they have demonstrated that they are a complete team....tremendous work ethic, puck support and possession, defensive play in their own zone, clogging neutral ice, preventing the Pens from attacking with speed consistently, defensemen who join the attack regularly and wings who backcheck ferociously, and solid goaltending.....they are a pleasure to watch, and by the way, I'm a Pens fan.

Pittsburgh gave it their all, but they are matched against a superior team. Detroit's second goal was a short sider that may have fooled Fleury, but those are the shots that must be kept out of the net in a tight game like tonight.

Malkin is not playing with the same intensity or drive as he did prior to the Flyers series.

It's easy to criticize and say that various Pens players did absolutely nothing in this series, but I think it's more of what Detroit is doing to prevent them from contributing more, rather than laziness on the Pen's part.

Answer 6

Thoughts,

1. Sykora did absolutely **** all this series.

2. Malkin did absolutely **** all this series.

3. Marc Andre Fleury gave up S****y rebounds.

4. Ty Conklin should get a chance.

5. We are ******.

Answer 7

Detroit was so composed tonight.....I was in awe of them.

Answer 8

I agree.

Answer 9

Good summary.

I would disagree w/ point 1 though, Hossa may have been the best Pen on the ice, but Zetterberg was the best player on the ice for either team. He was possessed!

The Pens did play well, the Wings just played better. Don't mean anything by it other than the fact.

Again, calls were missed on both teams. there could have been more penalties called on Pitt too. But that's what made the game so good, the refs let them play!

When the Pens couldn't score on the 5-on-3 it was pretty much over.