Game 7: Penguins 2 Red Wings 1

Thanks Red Wings for a great season. It is clear to me after 7 games how evenly matched these two teams were, and someone had to win. It was Pittsburgh. In this game, they were slightly hungrier, determined, healthy; and Fleury made some big saves in the 3rd. How will Detroit fans handle this humbling loss? I honestly thought I would be livid and furious if they lost tonight, but I've learned that several Stanley Cup celebrations and many Bells Oberon beers are a great combo to appreciating a good game. Now we look forward to next season. The young guys on the Wings who got to experience this run will be hungry next year, and should contribute to another playoff-ready team.

The NHL scored big on this series in my opinion. Now, anytime the Wings and Pens play in the next few years, it will be a highly-watched, media-savvy game, which the NHL needs. How about three years in a row in the finals? We'll see you next year?

Game 7: 2nd Period

Well.......

Pittsburgh looks better and is playing better. That sucks that the play that resulted in the first goal should have been icing against the Pens, but you can't argue the fact that the Pens are ALL OVER the Wings. There have been countless times where the Pens have caused offsides and turnovers by the Wings. In one sense, this game is similar to last year's game 5 where we were down heading into the third and rallied back, but is Pittsburgh really gonna let them back in at the Joe again? That's about all I'm holding onto. Luckily for me and my neighbors, I'm not as fired up about this as I thought I would be. It's basically because of how clear the Wings look outmatched at this point. One more period to go?

Game 7: 1st Period

We started to gain momentum on Pittsburgh until that penalty on Brad Stuart. What a stress-filled penalty kill that was. There were three different times when I expected to see the puck in the back of the net. We did have a couple of nice chances on our shots as well. We gotta come out flying in the second.

GAME 7

All season long I have made casual mentions about how spoiled we as Wings fans are, and, no matter what happens in this series, we should be satisfied that we got to see another great run.

Then this whole Game 7 thing happened.

And now I realize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch your team hoist the cup at home in a do or die match in which a loss would mean watching someone else hoist the cup in your home.

And I don't think I'd care for that too much.

So to do my part in aiding the Wings, I'm staying home tonight. The last 5 times I have been at the bar to watch a game during these playoffs were all Wings losses. The only win was the insane 6-5 victory over Columbus in which the Wings didn't play too well.

2 days of buildup is enough. I have many beers (thanks to my lovely lady), chips and pizza and a knot in my stomach.

This is going to be one memorable night, albeit good or bad.


GO WINGS!!!!

Game 6: Penguins 2 Red Wings 1

What a nail-biter in the 3rd period. Until the 3rd, Pittsburgh was by far the superior team from the moment the puck dropped. Both of these teams have done a good job of feeding off being at home, and now the pressure is on the Wings to put it away on home ice Friday night.

That's what I'm worried about...

Are the Wings really going to come out and play like they did in Game 5 again? I'm expecting a much more confident Pittsburgh bunch, similar to the Pens we saw in Game 1 and 2. I expect Osgood to be there with big saves, but the Wings need to control the pace from the puck drop and make sure that Pittsburgh doesn't get too confident too early. This has been a great series to watch in my opinion. If you're a fan that still doesn't understand how the NHL works now, and that officials make inconsistent calls game after game, then this has been a very frustrating series to watch for you.

I'm expecting a 3-1 or 4-2ish game. And I plan on watching this one at home because the Wings have lost their last 4 playoff games that I watched out that the bar. In fact, the only win I didn't watch at home was that crazy ass 6-5 game against Columbus. It is clear that I am the sole deciding factor after all.

Game 5: Red Wings 5 Penguins 0

What can I say? The Red Wings are a completely different team with Pavel Datsyuk in the lineup...even at 80-90%, he was a huge impact. In the first three minutes, the Pens seemed to be all over the Wings. Then Datsyuk made a huge hit on someone (I forgot who), the crowd erupted, and it seemed to turn the whole game around. Marian Hossa just can't buy a goal. He was all over the net and had a lot of good chances that either went off the post or into Fleury's glove. Crosby and Malkin were AWFUL in this game. They both looked undisciplined, shut down, and took a lot of silly penalties. I still think Pittsburgh is going to be a completely different team in Mellon Arena. I'm predicting overtime in this one.

Game 4: Penguins 4 Red Wings 2

The Wings did a lot of good things in this game, but the mistakes they did make were the worst possible ones at the worst possible times. You just can't do that against a hungry team like Pittsburgh; and on the road. Pittsburgh shot themselves in the foot in 1 and 2, Osgood was better, and the Wings won both games. Detroit did similar in 3 and 4, Fleury was better, and the Pens won both games. Now we're setup for what I think is going to be a series for the ages.

Game 3: Penguins 4 Red Wings 2

The gameplay was excellent in this one. It's been a little bizarre how, in all three games, the team that looked the best on the ice lost. There's been a lot of buzz about the officiating in this series, but it hasn't bothered me at all. Not even the fact that the Pens scored on the powerplay late in the third. The way I see it is you're going to be shorthanded some time or another, so kill the penalties. The Wings didn't. The NHL has created this atmosphere of fans bitching about calls and non-calls every game because of their ridiculous tightening of the rules over the years, and now that they're letting them play everyone is noticing everything that's been missed.

I was stunned how well the Wings responded to the first goal, and how well they played in the second. Fleury made some big saves this time and set up his team for success in the third. Game 4 is gonna be a great one. Hopefully Datsyuk will be back to add to the defense. Hopefully people don't freak out too much if the Pens tie the series (yeah right).

Notice I didn't mention the too many men non call (until now)? It didn't have a huge impact on the outcome of the game!

Game 2: Red Wings 3 Penguins 1

LOL! The game of hockey amuses me sometimes, especially when they decide to have back to back games in a hard-played Stanley Cup Final series. It was a completely different type of game than last night, and the Wings looked absolutely gassed in the second half of each period.

BUT THEY WON THE GAME!

There is no doubt in my mind that anyone pulling for the Pens is about to slit their wrists right now, as they've watched their team play 120 minutes of good hockey against the Wings and lose. It definitely doesn't help that when the Pens do get chances, they get robbed by Ozzie or misfire. But it's not an excuse for Pittsburgh.

Don't tell that to NBC though......they did nothing but make excuses about goal posts and officiating for the Pens. I remember in Game 5 against the Ducks, the Wings hit 4 goal-posts on great chances. And what did they do? They ended up scoring 3 goals and won the game. That's what great teams do, they win the game. Where is Pittsburgh's depth while Guerin and Crosby are failing to capitalize on opportunities? They don't have a Justin Abdelkader apparently.

The refs were letting each team get away with pretty much everything, and it's been great to watch. The only reason we're talking about the Hossa non-call is because the Wings actually capitalized on their chance following a non-call. Unfortunately, NHL refs have been calling so much this year, that every non-call is being looked at in this series since, all of a sudden, the refs are keeping the whistles in their pockets.

Game 3 is going to be difficult for the Wings. I can't fathom the Wings going up 3-0 in this series, and there is no way Pittsburgh is not going to be fired up for this one. Then again, who knows the way these playoffs are going. It's been great!

Game 1: Red Wings 3 Penguins 1

Well, I'm definitely pumped that we were able to take Game 1 of the series, but I'm a little skeptical as to how Game 2 is gonna go. Ozzie was brilliant, but he had to be a little too brilliant at times. Pittsburgh looked like they were taking it to the Wings for a great deal of the second period.

I don't buy the "bounce of the boards being lucky" business, however. Everyone knows that the Joe has some active boards, and Fleury was way to slow to react on the first two goals. He definitely got outplayed by Ozzie tonight. Pittsburgh let that first goal happen by failing to clear the puck out of the zone twice in a few seconds, then the Wings capitalized.

How about Abdelkader stepping up and making a big play in the third! The depth continues to amaze me. It will have to keep shining if we are going to let Pittsburgh get 30 shots on us. We'll see how tomorrow goes on a back to back night. Should be interesting.