2008 Stanley Cup goes to...

[Shawn Lutz]

Detroit did have rust timing wise, they missed a lot of passeds and played sloppy in their own end,they'll be better Saturday as will Dallas. Its going to be a lot closer series that people think imho. I think the Wings can take them down and advance..they can also take down Philly or Pens in east as well

[Shawn Lutz]

Does being in the crease mean anything anymore? I thought they took that rule out.

Flyers/Pens tonight! Get Flyered up!

it does NOT matter. Its a no harm no foul kinda thing. on the same token you can have goaltender interference regrdless if the player is outside the paint or not. I personally thought Hommers goal should have been disallowed because of it but they can't call everything and I'm sure Tippett whining like a school girl about it will give the refs eagle eyes going forward

[Rupe]

Pens take game one, but Philly generated enough opportunities to have had a shot at winning it. Pitt's D really stepped up after allowing the first goal. I thought the officiating was fairly one-sided in Philly's favor...several high sticks were not called and Upschall got away with a blatant dive in the 3rd. Made no difference in the end but I hate weak calls.

Malkin seems to just get stronger as the playoffs progress...he was on fire tonight.

[CharvelRocker]

Discount Malkins bogus offside score. Discount the power plays as the Flyers failed to score. Discount both teams played crappy. And what do you have? Biron SUCKED. I would of pulled him after that 3rd goal. I thought the calls were fair, and the Pens got there make up call at the end of the game. Even if Malkin had been called off sides, the pens still had 3 goals that were awful. Nothing "on fire" about Malkin; I could of scored on those shots.

[Rupe]

[CharvelRocker]

You must be to used to MAF in net to tell a good night for a goalie from a bad one. Let's see you laughing when Biron finishes turning back into the stonewall he has been the Flyers freight train your Pens

[Rupe]

I wasn't laughing at the win, I was laughing at you take on the game. Although I'm a Pens fan, I felt that I gave a fairly unbiased opinion of the game (which, by the way, seemed to be the same opinion as the commentators as well as the guys that I just heard on the Hockey Network).

3 goals that were awful??? Sykora made a beautiful backhand move and then went top shelf, completely deking Biron...it was an awesome goal. Crosby put a clean shot past him that was created from a turnover..that's just good hockey. And both of Malkin's goals went in clean...a quick wrister and a close up slap shot. I don't think there's a goalie in the league that's going to stop a 90+ mph slapshot from 15' out if it's headed for some empty net...nobody could react that quickly, a stop would have been pure luck. Biron positioned himself well but he can't cover the entire goal mouth.


Of course you thought the calls were fair...they all went your way. How can you say its fair when not once but twice a Pen got hit in the face with a high stick and nothing was called, while Upshall takes a dive after barely being touched and Whitney is off to the box? Late in the first, Crosby gets held against the boards by two guys away from the play and nothing was called (the commentators saw it as did the fans). Ultimately it had no effect on the game but it still sucked. And what makeup call are you talking about??? There was nothing of the sort. The Upshall shove after the whistle that tuned into a scrum? With under 2 minutes to go? Are you kidding me?

Finally we come to Malkin. He's not on fire even though he had two goals and an assist tonight and leads the league in playoff scoring even though the Pens have played the fewest games. Yeah, I guess that's just mediocre play And watch the replay on Malkin's second score...he was not offside. The only reason he was even behind the play is that he hadn't yet recovered from the hit that Richards laid on him against the end boards.

Give me your Paypal address...I'll send you a few bucks so you can buy a clue Seriously, I think this is going to be a great series and I suspect I'll be the one bumming after a loss in the future, but you have to stop seeing the game through orange colored goggles.

Here's to a kick ass game 2 on Sunday!

[Bengal]

Rupe,
I need to buy a clue, can I send you my paypal address?

Kidding. That was a great line.

My take on Pens/Flyers Game 1 was the same as yours.

[Razor]

I honestly think the Pens have the edge in goaltending too. Really, would you rather have Biron's 2.72 GAA and .914 SV % or Fluery's 1.76 GAA and .940 SV%?

I thought I'd just repeat myself to make sure it sinks in.

[Rupe]

Rupe,
I need to buy a clue, can I send you my paypal address?

Kidding. That was a great line.

My take on Pens/Flyers Game 1 was the same as yours.

I would be glad to help you out but appears that you already have one

[CharvelRocker]

Biron was not well positioned. Sykora's goal was solid. The rest were totally stoppable. He's been getting too liberal outside the net the past few games. Despite that, he has not come out to take off the angle.

I consider the penalty calls payback for the 7th game of the season series, which was a disgrace. Was it Hossa who got the stick in the face? I'd like to see another angle, as it almost looked like it could of been his own stick, but Vs.'s coverage is beyond awful. I don't give two craps what fans at the Wachovia Center think or how they look. The makeup call was one of the extra's thrown on. I think Hatcher got a double minor. I'm not sure what the exact call was. Either way, is bull crap as he spent the whole scrum up against the boards.

I'm talking strictly in this game as to Malkin being on fire. Even if you give him that second goal, which was a laser and onside goal, the other one was way offside. And I mean by a good yard or so. It was blatant. That said, Biron should of had that easily. Also, the Pens were really sloppy with being offsides yesterday.

And MAF has had to face doormats. Ottawa was horrible, and playing as bad as the Flyers played last year. MAF also had to play a so-so New York team with a Jagr who didn't do crap until the last two games. He was also just average in those last two games. Coincidence? Biron has had to face Ovechkin and the Caps, and a pretty good Montreal team as well. He still has one of the better GAA's of the playoffs. Let's see McAndre McFlurry face those two teams, including the Caps for 7 games.

I do think though Game 2 will be a much better indication of what the teams have. Biron is your makeup factor for the loss of Kimmo Timonen. If he doesn't pull through, the team is screwed. Jones is subpar, and the fact he has a good plus minus is a fluke IMO. Modry, Smith, and Hatcher are smart, but slow. Kukkonen is pretty uninspiring as well. Braydon Coburn is very similar to Kimmo, but he lacks experience and that unnatural ability to control the puck and keep where you need it. Personally, I would rather see Parent play than Kukkonen, as I feel he is the better dman. He has to get experience somewhere, and at this point, the Flyers might as well "go for broke". Not like anyone expects them to win the Cup. They shouldn't even be here.

[Rupe]

I'm with you to a point but we'll have to agree to disagree on a few items. By the way, I just saw another replay of Malkin's first goal (I thought you were talking about the short-handed goal...my bad), and he clearly kept his back skate on the blue line thereby remaining on side.

[semagic]

detroit wins at home again... up 2-0 in the series. riberio may recieve a suspension for a late game slash to osgood's chest protector... osgood will recieve an oscar for selling the call (he put the butt end of his goalie stick to riberio's jaw as he skated by the net, riberio swung his stick to osgood's chest protector and osgood acts like he was shot) never mind he took pucks to that same area all game and seemed to be fine ) hopefuly the league office will look at the whole incident... and treat it as he started it and it policed itself.

game 3 monday 7:00 on versus.

[Bengal]

Yep, Osgood started it, no doubt about it. Then acted it up. But it's hockey. The dude can't swing his stick, he should have swung his fist.

Zetterberg is a fuckin' stud, no doubt about it. Very fun to watch.

This series is getting ugly. I love it.

[semagic]

Yep, Osgood started it, no doubt about it. Then acted it up. But it's hockey. The dude can't swing his stick, he should have swung his fist.

Zetterberg is a fuckin' stud, no doubt about it. Very fun to watch.

This series is getting ugly. I love it.

i agree 100%... to me an encouraging sign was turco started making stops again(sorry the two detroit goals were soft) and dallas started winning more faceoffs in the third. game three is a huge game, must win for dallas.
like i said hopefully the league office will either let it go or suspend both players for the stick work on each side. i forgot why i dislike the wings so much, now i remember bring it on