Great, great game! Big nod of approval for Pittsburgh's effort, tonight. Hard-fought, fast-paced, and well-executed on both sides. Crosby had a fantastic individual effort... Fleury made some great saves, as did Osgood... great stuff all around! Good goals by Crosby (x2), Franzen, Hall, and Samuelsson. That's the sort of hockey I love to see!
Well done, Pittsburgh!
Sadly I missed the first two periods due to praise band rehearsal, and I have yet to see any highlights, so your recap is appreciated. What I saw of the third was better overall effort by the Pens and the Wings trying to kick it up into top gear a bit late. Both goalies had some great saves. The Hall goal, while arguably a bit fluky, was, imho, the result of a hard second and third effort by a grinder who burned the Wings quite a bit when he played for the Predators. The last change seemed to make a big difference in the matchups and the face-off circle. I'm disappointed in the loss, but it was a good hard-fought game in the third.
My hope is that Holmstrom is okay. I thought that was a pretty rough move on him in the later stages of the game. It was good to see that the referees were at least watching after Homer a little bit, though. Normally you can pretty much decapitate the man, and the refs don't care. Would have liked to have seen the last one called, though.
It should have been called. It was far worse than Kronwall leveling someone and having momentum pull him off his feet. No excuse not to, but I can't comment on the officiating overall since I didn't see the first two periods.
That said, in the first couple of shifts, Maltby got away with a very, very late hit on a Pittsburgh player... can't recall whom he hit, but it was easily four or five seconds after the player made the pass. Definitely should have been called. I'd like to see a different angle replay on the big hit he dished out near the end of the game... seemed to me like he was up a little higher than he should have been; might have left his feet, which should be called, too. Can't say for sure on that one, though, as the only view I saw, his skates were well obscured by the boards.
Didn't see it, but if that's the case he should have been called for it. The one in the third I couldn't tell, but I also thought he was a bit high, but the skates were obscured. I'd like to see the reverse angle to make the call.
As far as Crosby goes, I again thought he played great. I know a lot of people say quite a bit that he's a diver and a whiner and whatnot. I've never really watched him all that much, but from what I've seen in this series, it seems rather unjustified. Keeping in mind that he's not even 21, I say he handles himself very well, at least in the interviews I've paid any attention to. Like a lot of hockey fans, I grow kind of weary of hearing his name all the time, even in games that Pittsburgh's not a part of, but he's clearly a very talented guy.
What I saw he played well, that's all there is to be said. You've got to give credit where its due.
Can't say I'm too disappointed with the loss. The Wings held in there 'til the end, which is all you can ask for in a losing effort. Great to see Franzen get a very strong goal. And dang it, Samuelsson's making me look bad, here. I warned you guys before the series that he's pretty frustrating to a lot of Wings fans, but he certainly hasn't been in this series.
Good summary. Sammy is finally starting to hit the net with his shots. Imho, it's a welcome change from his hard shot off the glass, big rebound picked up the other team.
Seems to me that Lilja has worn out his welcome, again. He actually played pretty good for a few games, but these last two have been awful for him. I'm thinking Chelli will be in for the next one. Rafalski wasn't up to snuff tonight, either, but he's more often than not on his game. Stuart made a great, great play on Crosby early in the game to prevent him from getting a clear breakaway, but then he made a bad play coughing it up in the defensive zone... oddly enough, to Crosby. ...
Actually, you're being too kind. If Cheli can't play, I say bring up Kyle Quincey or Derek Meech. Lilja's wipeout was a big reason Hall was able to muck and get that third goal. Rafalski was due to have an off game, he's not Lidstrom
He'll rebound and be back to form.
It really wasn't a great night for the Wings' defensemen, but hey, that's what happens when some really talented offensive players are on their game enough to make some really talented defensemen look bad. Full credit to the Pens'.
Again, you're dead on. Give the Pens credit for a great game.
A couple days off, and we're back to it on Saturday night. No matter the result, if it is as entertaining as tonight's game, I'll be glad. Would like to see the Wings come away with the win, if possible, but if not, well, then we've got ourselves a series, haven't we, fellas?
It's a series already. I will ask this, not having seen the first 2 periods. By no means am I trying to take away from how the Pens played. Were the Wings coming out as if they thought they had the series in hand and eased up a bit like in the first three rounds or did the Pens force them onto their heels. The one big criticism I have of this Wings team is that at times they seem to lack the "killer instinct" - if you've got the other team down and your foot on their throat, you don't let off, you push down and push down HARD to finish them off. That to me is the biggest difference between the '97 and '98 team and the recent years.
