I'll start by restating my comparison of the Pens to the 1983 Oilers - they got manhandled by the Islanders to learn what it took to win a cup, then went on to win 4 of the next five. The Pens have a crapload of UFA's on their roster (I've heard as high as 14, but haven't bothered to check, so if that's off I apologize). That's going to be difficult to keep that roster together, but if they can...
JimK - side note in reference to your Red Army comment - apparently some of Ozzie's helmets were obtained from the Red Army team by a connection the team masseuse had with them. Maybe he's channelling Vladislav Tretiak from the 80's?
On to the games. First, the wings defense has been sensational most of the time, though Lilja had a typical screw-up with his wipeout, fortunately the Pens didn't capitalize. Not the first time Lilja has done something like that, won't be the last this series I'm sure. If there's a weak spot in the Wings D, it's Lilja. When the Pens have had their scant chances, Ozzie has been phenomenal, though in fairness, the Pens have blown a few chances.
Game 1 - the Holmstrom call was wrong. Period. Watch the overhead view on tsn.ca - Fleury skated out of the crease, and the stick wasn't in between his legs until he came out of the crease. In regards to the comment about Homer being called 6 times in the regular season, I saw all six. Two were good calls, one was blatantly wrong, and the other three were... shall I say, marginal calls at best.
Regardless, the Wings pretty much shut down the Pens with some great penalty killing. If the Pens convert on one or more of those early powerplays, the game takes on a different tone entirely. Overall, the Wings just outplayed them. The low shot total by the Pens in the 2nd and 3rd is illustrating how strong the Wings' blueline is, and the commitment of their forwards to backchecking. Draper's shot that hit the left post, rode the crossbar, then hit the right post was one of the craziest post shots I've ever seen.
Game 2 - Filppula's goal was a beauty, scoring despite the hook which would have been called. Again, the Pens blew a few chances, but not getting their first shot on goal until they had a PP in the second half of the first, was very telling. If the home ice line changes don't help the Pens with the matchups, they're in deep trouble. I noticed Sid whining to the ref several times, and Therrien's postgame comments, while an obvious attempt to take the heat of his underperforming (to put it mildly) stars, came across as one of the biggest examples of gratuitious whining by a coach in years. Your team was outplayed, own up to it, make the adjustments, and take care of it on the ice if you can.
The shot by Roberts on Franzen's head was cheap and classless. Admittedly one could make the argument that Laraque should have been in the lineup, then his hit would have had more impact, but then again, Laraque, while a heavy hitter, doesn't take the cheap shots. Sykora's run at Ozzie was out of line, but not unexpected at that point, and I'll agree that Ozzie embellished the run by Malone a bit, but no more than any other goalie would have. I hate cheap play by any team, and I'll be very disappointed if either a Wings player is injured by a cheap shot or the Wings feel forced to retaliate and take a cheap shot on the Pens. Note that clean open ice checks are NOT cheap shots. And, if a player does not leave his feet to initiate the his, it's not cheap. In many cases, a player is off his feet after the initial contact due to the momentum of the check - that's fine, regardless of who's delivering or receiving. Leaving your feet before initial contact is cheap.
And, in the sweet irony department, after the late hit on Zetterberg, it was none other than Pavel Datsyuk who stepped in. That's right, the two time defending Lady Byng winner, and current nominee for a threepeat was showing team toughness sticking up for a teammate. Not too shabby for a guy who was only 4th in the league in scoring during the regular season. Pavs also led the Wings in hits for game 1 as well. I'm not trying to take a cheapshot at Crosby here, but the comparison between Pavs and Sid is pretty striking - Sid has a whiner reputation (well earned), while Pavs is breaking the stereotype that Lady Byng winner = sissy.
