OT: Let's Go Pens!!!

[ratter]

I'll give credit where it's due - the Wings are the champs and the team to beat. To be the best you gotta beat the best, like Ric Flair used to say.

 

[yngzaklynch]

I'll give credit where it's due - the Wings are the champs and the team to beat. To be the best you gotta beat the best, like Ric Flair used to say.

Well the Pens have certainly added talent. Added experience. A better coach with a better style. So yeah the Pens are a better team with a different style. I like the Pens chances.

 

[mrp5150]

... [T]he Wings are the Yankees of hockey.

Please elaborate. This should be interesting.

They're a historic team that wins all the time and everyone hates outside of where they play.

 

[Gino]

... [T]he Wings are the Yankees of hockey.

Please elaborate. This should be interesting.

They're a historic team that wins all the time and everyone hates outside of where they play.

Huh. I'm actually quite surprised that you gave this answer. No argument there. I guess some Pittsburgh fans actually do think before they say stuff...

 

[AmpliFIRE]

To be the best you gotta beat the best, like Ric Flair used to say.

WOO!!!!

 

[bstaley]

Huh. I'm actually quite surprised that you gave this answer. No argument there. I guess some Pittsburgh fans actually do think before they say stuff...

Hmmm...I'm not sure if this is a personal dig at me or most Pens fans in general but I'll try to take the high road. I would not however think Wings fans in general should lay claim to being the world's greatest hockey fans. I watched game 7 of Wings versus Anaheim and saw many empty seats in your arena. Meanwhile the Pens have had 100+ straight sellouts. Seems like a good portion of Wings fans only want to show up if the Cup is in the house maybe? I dunno.

My honest assessment of this series is this...
Coming into the playoffs I thought there was no way in hell the Pens could compete with the Wings if they should happen to meet again. The Pens lost Malone and Hossa, while the Wings gained Hossa. The Pens seemed to have gotten worse while the Wings got even better.

After watching 3 rounds I do believe the Pens are better than last year. Malkin was non-existant last year and both he and Crosby are at an entirely different level from a year ago. I think J. Staal is much better along with a few of the other young guys. Scuderi has really come into his own as one of the top defensemen in the league. Last year Crosby had Dupuis and Hossa but this year has Kunitz and Guerin, and Guerin is having his best playoffs ever. Having Satan as a 4th line guy makes our 4th line a legit scoring threat since Crosby and Malkin are double-shifting. I like that we have added some guys with Cup rings and Kunitz was just with Anaheim who beat the Wings in 2007 so maybe he has a little insight on what needs to be done against them.

The Wings are at least as good, if not better with the addition of Hossa. Their depth is unreal. They keep rolling line after line of world class talent. They did however look pretty worn out versus Anaheim towards the end and barely got by them. I think the main factor could be that after so many years of playing till June and having a very short offseason, the older bodies are wearing down which I think is reflected in some of the injuries they have right now. I think the Pens gained a ton of experience in their beatings last year and hopefully won't make as many of the "rookie" mistakes again.

The new coach Bylsma and his new system in Pittsburgh really seems to play to the strength of our talent. Therion seemed to force his system at all costs. The Pens need to be an attacking team and Therion really didn't play that way. When we finally opened it up in the 3rd game of the series last year we were already down 2-0 and there was no way we were catching you guys.

Last year the Wings were a definitively better team and while I do think the gap has narrowed a great deal they are probably still a better team and should be favored. If we can come out of the first two games in Detroit with a 1-1 split I like our chances. I think a longer series benefits the Pens and if the Pens are gonna win it, it will probably take 7 games to do it, but nothing would surprise me. My "official" prediction would have to be. PENS IN 7.

 

[Gino]

Huh. I'm actually quite surprised that you gave this answer. No argument there. I guess some Pittsburgh fans actually do think before they say stuff...

Hmmm...I'm not sure if this is a personal dig at me or most Pens fans in general but I'll try to take the high road. I would not however think Wings fans in general should lay claim to being the world's greatest hockey fans. I watched game 7 of Wings versus Anaheim and saw many empty seats in your arena. Meanwhile the Pens have had 100+ straight sellouts. Seems like a good portion of Wings fans only want to show up if the Cup is in the house maybe? I dunno.

No, I don't do half-hearted personal digs. It was just a playful little dig for no reason other than digging. I have no need for the internet back and forth of "my team is better than your team", really unless something completely asinine is said. Just like throwing little things out there every once in a while.

I agree with your assessment of Wings fans to a degree. Personally, I know that my friends and I are all die-hard fans and definitely not the fair weather variety. I've never understood why we're called Hockeytown other than the fact that we have an incredible team. More people like our abysmal Lions than the Wings. If we were never called Hockeytown again, I wouldn't care. As for the empty seats, that always pisses me off. However, Michigan is experiencing probably the worst part of the recession right now with something like a 15% unemployment rate so I think in general people aren't spending too much money on entertainment. Also, as bad as this sounds, going to games isn't as exciting to some Detroit fans because we've been that good for over 10 years. We're used to winning. In fact, some people expect us to win. Comparing your home sellouts to our attendance is apples and oranges, quite frankly. Honestly, I'm jealous.

I think it'll be a good, tough series, despite my overall lack of enthusiasm over a rematch. Wings in 6. Again.

 

[TTripp]

Detroit's a hockey machine. If Pittsburgh tries that "let's stand around in our own zone and let them make pass after pass and have Fluery pull our clams out of the fire when they finally take a shot" style of defense against the Red Wings, then it'll be a short series.

 

[bstaley]

Huh. I'm actually quite surprised that you gave this answer. No argument there. I guess some Pittsburgh fans actually do think before they say stuff...

Hmmm...I'm not sure if this is a personal dig at me or most Pens fans in general but I'll try to take the high road. I would not however think Wings fans in general should lay claim to being the world's greatest hockey fans. I watched game 7 of Wings versus Anaheim and saw many empty seats in your arena. Meanwhile the Pens have had 100+ straight sellouts. Seems like a good portion of Wings fans only want to show up if the Cup is in the house maybe? I dunno.

No, I don't do half-hearted personal digs. It was just a playful little dig for no reason other than digging. I have no need for the internet back and forth of "my team is better than your team", really unless something completely asinine is said. Just like throwing little things out there every once in a while.

I agree with your assessment of Wings fans to a degree. Personally, I know that my friends and I are all die-hard fans and definitely not the fair weather variety. I've never understood why we're called Hockeytown other than the fact that we have an incredible team. More people like our abysmal Lions than the Wings. If we were never called Hockeytown again, I wouldn't care. As for the empty seats, that always pisses me off. However, Michigan is experiencing probably the worst part of the recession right now with something like a 15% unemployment rate so I think in general people aren't spending too much money on entertainment. Also, as bad as this sounds, going to games isn't as exciting to some Detroit fans because we've been that good for over 10 years. We're used to winning. In fact, some people expect us to win. Comparing your home sellouts to our attendance is apples and oranges, quite frankly. Honestly, I'm jealous.

I think it'll be a good, tough series, despite my overall lack of enthusiasm over a rematch. Wings in 6. Again.

Cool. After the first two stinker games from the Pens there were stretches in games 3-6 that was some of the most exciting back and forth hockey I've seen. That's what I'm hoping for.

 

[bstaley]

Detroit's a hockey machine. If Pittsburgh tries that "let's stand around in our own zone and let them make pass after pass and have Fluery pull our clams out of the fire when they finally take a shot" style of defense against the Red Wings, then it'll be a short series.

Agreed. Let's hope the Pens learned their lesson from last year.

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

The last Detroit game you all have to admit was unreal. Their puck control, passing tape to tape, neutral zone control etc was beautiful to watch. They absolutely made Chicago look foolish! They are hitting on all cylinders right now!

 

[bstaley]

The last Detroit game you all have to admit was unreal. Their puck control, passing tape to tape, neutral zone control etc was beautiful to watch. They absolutely made Chicago look foolish! They are hitting on all cylinders right now!

Detroit made them look like kids, and that was without two of their big guns. I think game 3 was a last gasp for Chicago. My original prediction was Wings in 5 and it looks like that will hold true.

One thing the Pens have going for them lately is discipline. They are taking VERY few penalties. They'll need to keep doing that. Chicago had a meltdown and look what happened.

 

[mrp5150]

The Pens are an entirely different team from last year. You can't even compare them IMO, they're SO different with Byslma it's ridiculous. Mike Therrian hockey was all about pissing around with the puck and taking a shot every 5 minutes. Byslma has the Pens attacking and playing so aggressive. Obviously Detroit is a great team, but if they beat Chicago, I say Pens in 5. They're pissed about last year and they know what's up now. Also, I'd rather have the wily vet Billy Guerin and hard hitting Chris Kunitz than sissy ass Marian Hossa. Crosby with Kunitz and Guerin is a far better line than Crosby with Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.

 

[drs448]

the pens are a different team this year, much more aggressive and with more experience
hossa will eat his words
pens in 6 at home

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

I find it hard to believe that the Pens know "what's up", about winning the cup. They know only being a hot team 18-something and 4 since getting a new coach, that's it. Still have to be able to compete with 4 lines of the highest "team talent". Not two guys of the highest individual level talent. I am sick of NBC,VRS and everyone else poster child promotion of Sidney, and Malkin. If they are not playing out of their minds they can't compete against most teams and surely not Detroit. If they are on, then its a great series, but they are a two star team. I know they have more players but not at the skill level and experience level that Detroit has. Yes they have players but Detroit is 4 lines of a team.

 

[bstaley]

I find it hard to believe that the Pens know "what's up", about winning the cup. They know only being a hot team 18-something and 4 since getting a new coach, that's it. Still have to be able to compete with 4 lines of the highest "team talent". Not two guys of the highest individual level talent. I am sick of NBC,VRS and everyone else poster child promotion of Sidney, and Malkin. If they are not playing out of their minds they can't compete against most teams and surely not Detroit. If they are on, then its a great series, but they are a two star team. I know they have more players but not at the skill level and experience level that Detroit has. Yes they have players but Detroit is 4 lines of a team.

Jeff, you forget that we added some guys who recently won the cup and a guy who beat Detroit in the process (Kunitz). As far as them not being able to compete unless Crosby and Malkin are playing at the highest level, I ask you to review last years finals in detail (I have
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Stanley_Cup_Playoffs
You'll note that Malkin never even scored a point until Game 5. I'll give you that the first two games you guys smoked us. What you are forgetting is that the next FOUR games were all one goal games and we split those. You guys make it seem like we don't even belong on the ice with you. What I am trying to say is that most will agree that the Pens are better talented and more experienced than last year while the wings are roughly at the same talent level (considering them a year older and pretty banged up).

Those were a nice two goals you put up against a backup goalie last night!

Anything can happen man...anything can happen.

Hey, one of my buddies got 16 tickets to Game 7 in Detroit. If for some reason it makes it that far and I am able to go is it cool if I swing by the shop and meet you guys?

 

[Jeff Hilligan]

I find it hard to believe that the Pens know "what's up", about winning the cup. They know only being a hot team 18-something and 4 since getting a new coach, that's it. Still have to be able to compete with 4 lines of the highest "team talent". Not two guys of the highest individual level talent. I am sick of NBC,VRS and everyone else poster child promotion of Sidney, and Malkin. If they are not playing out of their minds they can't compete against most teams and surely not Detroit. If they are on, then its a great series, but they are a two star team. I know they have more players but not at the skill level and experience level that Detroit has. Yes they have players but Detroit is 4 lines of a team.

Jeff, you forget that we added some guys who recently won the cup and a guy who beat Detroit in the process (Kunitz). As far as them not being able to compete unless Crosby and Malkin are playing at the highest level, I ask you to review last years finals in detail (I have
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Stanley_Cup_Playoffs
You'll note that Malkin never even scored a point until Game 5. I'll give you that the first two games you guys smoked us. What you are forgetting is that the next FOUR games were all one goal games and we split those. You guys make it seem like we don't even belong on the ice with you. What I am trying to say is that most will agree that the Pens are better talented and more experienced than last year while the wings are roughly at the same talent level (considering them a year older and pretty banged up).

Those were a nice two goals you put up against a backup goalie last night!

Anything can happen man...anything can happen.

Hey, one of my buddies got 16 tickets to Game 7 in Detroit. If for some reason it makes it that far and I am able to go is it cool if I swing by the shop and meet you guys?

I feel they are a great team. I guess I should have been short and sweet and said there is no way they have figured out what to do as a team in one year. They are a team of great spurts! Yes Pens are becoming a better team. Yes Detroit is a bit better Hossa addition, but they still are the grail of talent as a team. You take any of our top 6 and they are the Sidney on any other team. Here they are just part of the team with the greatest balance of talent. Sure stop buy if in town..we are 12 miles north of the Joe...so it's gonna be a bitch getting here! BTW pre amps will be ready in 1-2 weeks.

 

[yngzaklynch]

You take any of our top 6 and they are the Sidney on any other team.

You're telling us that if the top 6 from Detroit go to another team they are going to put up the numbers he has? That they are going to have the same impact on the ice that Crosby has? I can't see that.

 

[ratter]

You take any of our top 6 and they are the Sidney on any other team.

If by 'Sidney' you mean top scorer, top guy, captain....no.

You mean a Jiri Hudler would be the top guy over a Ryan Getzlaf? Or a Jerome Iginla? Parise? Staal? Richards? The top guys on their teams? You're dreaming. And Samuelsson?? He couldn't park Sid's car.

And this is what annoys me about Detroit fans. They think their entire roster is made of gold.

They are the best team in the league, for now. They're also beatable.

Pens in 6.

Hossa's probably already got his house packed for his next move. Him and his 6 goals. Pffft...

 

[mrp5150]

You take any of our top 6 and they are the Sidney on any other team.

This is fucking hysterical. Are you serious?