June 14, The Hockey News: Best Goalie - Chris Osgood, Detroit

Sidney Crosby's counter-snub: The Red Wings left the ice early

Posted by George James Malik June 14, 2009 01:45AM

June 14, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "My intentions were to shake hands," Crosby said. "That we didn't wasn't me trying to avoid it. That's the last thing I'd want to do. By no means was I trying to avoid shaking the other team's hands. I think it's important to do that."

I will try to make this as objective as possible, but since It's my blog, I don't give a fuck if im a bit subjective.

Where to begin


The start of the SCF series. The league said that if both teams swept then the finals would start earlier. Pitts swept the pathetic Hurricanes but the Wings won a couple days later in 5 games over Chicago. This was not a sweep, yet the SCF started earlier. With Pitts barely banged up due to their easy ride up the playoff ladder coupled with a couple more days off, its no wonder it may have looked like they had more energy. Not only did they start quite early but the first two were back to back. The last time they did back to back SCF games was in 1950s, hmm... Some may say, well they won the first two games, yes they sure did, but just like the rest of the series the lack of calls.. Ill get into that in a bit....


Calls and Lack of calls... For anyone who watched the grueling 7 games of this series can see just how bad the reffing was. The first two games, granted there were bad calls on both sides, but without those lucky bounces the series would be a whole different monster.

End of Game 2. With Malkins cross check on Zetterberg and the following bullshit, where he continually hits Zet with his stick in hand mind you, while any guin hold zet.. Zet finally gets out of that and starts wailing on little bitch genny. The rules clearly state that any player given an instigation penalty with less than 5 minutes left in the game will get suspended for one game. There is NO maybe, it says WILL. Malkin clearly instigated the fight, with about a minute left in the game, and what do ya know, The NHL decided to rescind that rule.... Games 3 and 4. These games were balderdash. The guins played better in 4, but in 3 the reffing was extremely inconsistant and biased. Game 4 the Wings did "seem" a bit tired and down and out but still had a decent game.

After that the series went 2-2. This was nervewracking. At least we were able to go back home for game 5, which as we all know was a blowout. 5-0. The wings dominated and kept exposing the amateur, immature, goons that dominate the Guins bench. Penalty after Penatly. Malkin going after Franzens head, Crosby slashing Zetterberg, Talbot poke checking Ozzie. Kunitz starting scrums with nearly everybody, ya lets pick on Hudler, the smallest player we have kunitz... Even with all the bullshittery much more could have been called but wasn't. That game showed just how non deserving the penguins were of the cup.

Game 6, Where to start, we head into Mellon up 3-2 with a chance to close it out.. Yet what happens?? Penalties after penalties against the wings.... Clear intereference, hooking and goaltender intereference.. no calls. Clear late hits, no calls. Guins win Game 6. Series tied 3-3. Going to the nervewracking Game 7

Game 7. IT was at the Joe, The stats for game 7 wins for the home team is 12-2, and the home team has won the last 6 in a row. Not only that, but the couple day break was supposed to help the banged up players we had. Even injured it was a Game 7, a Game that post injuries dont really matter. You have a whole summer to heal. We came out strong in the beginning of the game, but the tables quickly turned.

Detroit didnt look like a team playing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They looked like they were already defeated.

We didnt have Datsyuk, our first in points in reg season and an amazing defensive forward for the first four games, due to an injury sustained in Game 5 vs the hawks. Not to mention Cleary was dealing with lower body injuries and Lidstrom was out for a bit with an injury. And the player who scored both goals last night Talbot, is about as classless of a player as there is, going after Datsyuks foot his first game back from a foot injury and checking Ozzie into his net.

I could go on an on about the classlessness of the Guins but I think their actions speak for themselves. Malkin had 2 goals an 6 assists in the SC series, Crosby only had 1 goal and 2 assists. Wow what an amazing player??? Not only is he the youngest captain Hes the most inexperienced and juvenile captains to be given the cup.


All Bettman cares about is the power of the buck. He doesnt give a fuck about hockey, His team, the Pittsburgh Pengoons are the face of the league (sad aint it?) and with going to a game 7 and having them havethe cup, the league benefits financially. They played a Ducks-esque style of hockey and are not the better team.


Although im not worried because supposedly Malkin wants 8.5 mil and with the cap players are gonna be moved, That was the guins first cup since 92 and last one for a very long time.. give it another 20 years.

It was over before it began.. Bettman you got your wish. Congrats on giving it to a team who didn't earn it.

Ansar's Analysis: Red Wings will win Game 7

by The Grand Rapids Press

Wednesday June 10, 2009, 10:00 PM

NHL.com's pre Red Wings-Penguins Game 6 round-up

Posted by George James Malik June 09, 2009 17:33PM

With Pavel Datsyuk's return, Red Wings will target Penguins' Evgeni Malkin

by Ansar Khan

Saturday June 06, 2009, 12:45 AM

• Darren Helm, on plays around the net: "We had quite a bit of quality chances around the net. We like to shoot and shoot for rebounds, but we haven't had too many guys going to the spaces to get those garbage goals."

Was it the 7 men on the ice for 30 seconds? or the lack of cross checks and elbows to the head? or Goaltender interference? or delay of game??

Nope.. It was all of that..


Hey Malkin you ugly douchebag, too bad Zet didnt have a chance to seriously fuck you up. and too bad the NHL is in love with the guins..

Hey crosby, you are the most overrated player in the NHL. Go fuck yourself.

Hey Bettman stop lickin guin butthole



and hey Guins fans... Way to support such a douchebag team.

I had the unfortunate displeasure of catching the end of the MTV "Awards" Show and wished I didn't.


I just saw two categories Best Comedic Performance and Best Movie.

Best CP went to Yes Man...over Pineapple Express... Fuckin Useles...


and  Best Movie went to Twilight.......Fuckin Twilight, The worst Movie I have ever seen in my life....Ever.....  That was picked over Dark Knight....Mtv you're useless


Oh and best Female Performance went to that slut from twilight.... Damn 13 yr olds are douchers...

Red Wings' repeat won't be easy, but Penguins still no match for defending Stanley Cup champions

by Ansar Khan

Friday May 29, 2009, 12:30 AM

DETROIT -- It is a remarkable accomplishment for the Pittsburgh Penguins to be back in the Stanley Cup finals after losing an all-world talent like Marian Hossa, getting nothing in return when he signed with the Detroit Red Wings last summer.

Pittsburgh is not as talented as it was last season, but it might be more dangerous and pose a tougher challenge for the Red Wings. The Penguins benefited from the experience of reaching the finals and are better prepared to win the Cup.

They are not going to get shut out the first two games like last year. NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin won't be contained as thoroughly as he was a year ago, held to one goal and three points in the series. Sidney Crosby probably won't lose his cool and need to be restrained from chasing down Henrik Zetterberg, like he was at the end of Game 4 last year.

The Penguins have a new coach, Grand Haven native Dan Bylsma, who the players responded to immediately after he replaced Michel Therrien on Feb. 15, going on an 18-3-4 run to close out the regular season.

Couple that with Detroit's injury problems -- will Nicklas Lidstrom be at full strength when he returns, as expected, for Game 1, and how effective will Pavel Datsyuk be when he eventually comes back from his foot injury? -- and the Red Wings clearly will have their hands full.

But they still will prevail. In six tough games, maybe seven. Expect a lot of close games and some overtimes.

The Penguins have narrowed the gap, but they are not at the Red Wings' level just yet.

There will be no changing of the guard. Crosby's coronation will have to wait. The Red Wings will become the first team in 11 years to defend their title.

The difference will be Detroit's depth, defense and desire.

The Penguins made significant additions, acquiring Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz at the trade deadline, a pair of wingers who provide scoring punch and have won the Cup.

But Pittsburgh can't come close to matching the Red Wings' wealth of scoring options. To have impact support players like Dan Cleary, Valtteri Filppula, Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson -- in addition to stars Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Hossa and Johan Franzen -- is amazing in the salary-cap era.

Toss in Darren Helm, who has a penchant for scoring big goals in addition to everything else he provides (speed, energy, hitting), and you've got a collection of talent that we aren't going to see in this league going forward as long as there continues to be a cap.

The Red Wings also are more talented and physical on the blue line. The Penguins have been using seven defensemen in games.

Sergei Gonchar is a fine puck-mover who provides offense, but Detroit has at least four players who can do that -- Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson, who might not be ready for the start of the series after undergoing an appendectomy on Wednesday.

And while Brooks Orpik dishes out hits, he is not as punishing as Kronwall and Brad Stuart.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid, but he hasn't been as good as Chris Osgood, who is calm under pressure, knows what it takes to win big games and is playing as well as he did last year in the playoffs. He might be his club's leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

The Penguins have another rude awakening in store for them. Eastern Conference hockey typically is more wide-open. Those teams don't play the kind of hard, tight-checking defensive game you need to win in the finals.

The Penguins will be driven, no doubt. But the Red Wings will match that desire. They often didn't display that motivation during the regular season, which isn't uncommon for a Cup champion, but they know how to increase the intensity when it matters most.

"That was my biggest concern coming into the year," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "We knew we had a great team. But the reason it's so hard to do it back-to-back is it takes hunger, determination, will, luck with injuries."

It remains to be seen how they will be affected by injuries. But they are highly driven, particularly one former Penguin.

A distraught Hossa sat on the ice along the boards moments after his Penguins lost in Game 6 of the finals last year at Mellon Arena. If the Red Wings win it again in six games, Hossa will be hoisting the Cup for the first time, circling the ice at Mellon Arena in pure jubilation.

That will be tough to take for Penguins fans who will boo him lustily every time he's on the ice, like they did during the Feb. 8 game between these teams.

They should brace themselves. Because history is about to repeat itself. And this time Hossa will be at the other end of the emotional spectrum.

To re-hash or not to re-hash the Red Wings-Ducks game six scrap? Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings move forward

Posted by George James Malik May 13, 2009 18:57PM

With fans in Detroit lamenting the fact that the NHL's referees let some goaltenders freeze pucks and others get whacked, blew a certain team offsides toward the end of the game, tossed centres out of faceoffs, and a general lack of consistency (you can listen to WXYT's Mike Valenti discuss the issues with fans here), AnaheimDucks.com's Adam Brady discussed the scrap which took place at the end of the Detroit Red Wings' 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks:

May 13, AnaheimDucks.com: That Game 7 will be packed with even more emotion that it already would have had, after what happened after the final horn last night. Actually, let's go back a couple of seconds prior to that, when the Ducks were seemingly running out the clock on a 2-1 victory with the puck in the corner of their own zone and the Detroit net empty. Instead of dragging the puck behind his net, Ryan Getzlaf tried to sling it over everyone to the other side of the rink with five seconds left, but couldn't get it high enough. It ended up on the stick of Marian Hossa, and he quickly got it to Pavel Datsyuk, who whipped a shot from the slot that Jonas Hiller just barely knocked away with the blocker. It was an enormous, game-rescuing stop that quickly got overshadowed by what transpired immediately afterward (watch the whole thing on video).

As Hossa tried to chase the puck toward the wall, Getzlaf hooked him from behind, leading Hossa to turn and shove back.

And that's pretty much when all hell broke loose. Niedermayer tried to jump in on the Getzlaf-Hossa exchange and was promptly pulled away by Datsyuk. Meanwhile, away from the action, Corey Perry and Brian Rafalski started tangling, with Perry landing about 8 to 10 blows on a hardly-fighting-back Rafalski. At around the same time, Niedermayer had enough of Datsyuk grabbing him and threw an elbow at Datsyuk's head. That was pretty eye-opening, but not as eye-opening as what occurred next, as Niedermayer and Datsyuk (two guys who never fight) started raining punches on each other. Niedermayer didn't drop his gloves, or his stick for that matter, at the outset of the fight, but it quickly all fell to the ice among the rest of the scattered equipment and orange towels thrown by fans.

Speaking of the fans, the photo [which you can see here] is as interesting for what's going on behind the glass as it is for what's developing in the rink. Take a look at the guy on the far left, an orange towel draped over his head as he's throwing rights along with the players. Meanwhile, the woman next to him seems quite amused, but she's not nearly as into it as the blonde pounding the glass with her thumbs up. And they say women don't like violence.

Even more ironic is seeing No. 25 actually trying to keep the peace. When the dust was cleared, eight penalties totaling 36 minutes were given to the two teams (including the hook on Getzlaf, which seemed pretty minor in comparison to the others). Somewhere in the fray, Todd Marchant was given a game misconduct (possibly for attempting to be the third man in on the Niedermayer-Datsyuk tangle).

"There was a lot going on. I don't know how it all started," said Niedermayer, maybe not exactly telling the whole truth. "Next thing you know, I don't know, my gloves are off. I took a couple shots. I didn't even know who it was at first. A couple punches to the face, and I guess after a couple, I figured I'll try a couple myself."

Said Niedermayer of his decision to fight, "That doesn't happen too often. You can probably tell why."

Pavel Datsyuk chose to keep a stiff upper lip when he and his teammates arrived at Metro Airport just after 4:30 PM, as the Detroit News's Angelique S. Changelis noted:

May 13, Detroit News: "I don't want to talk about this one," Datsyuk said moments after the Red Wings' team plane landed Wednesday late afternoon. "It's not my priority."

Niedermayer said after the game there was confusion.

"There was a lot going on," he said. "I don't know how it all started. The next think you know, my gloves are off. That doesn't happen too often. I took a couple punches in the face. I guess after a couple, I figured I'll try a couple."

Datsyuk, when pressed on why he did not want to talk about the fight, made clear he knew what Niedermayer said after the game.

"Why do I want to talk about it?" Datsyuk said. "He laughed it off like that, that's awesome. Ignore his (mental) game."

The Red Wings find themselves concerned with saving their season on Thursday night (7 PM EDT, FSD/FS Prime TIcket/CBC/Versus/WXYT), and the NHL provides a statistical background of the fact that three of four second-round series have reached a seventh game:

May 13, NHL.com: This year marks the first time since 2001 that as many as three Conference Semifinal series extended to seven games and matches the 1986 second-round record of three seven-game and one six-game series.

The 2007 Stanley Cup champion Ducks defeated the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Red Wings 2-1 in Game 6 at Anaheim Tuesday night, forcing their ultimate showdown. The last time the previous two NHL champions met in a playoff series that reached a seventh game was in 1991, when the 1990 victors, the Edmonton Oilers, defeated the 1989 champion Calgary Flames in a 5-4 overtime thriller.
...
The 2007 Stanley Cup champion Ducks defeated the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Red Wings 2-1 in Game 6 at Anaheim Tuesday night, forcing their ultimate showdown. The last time the previous two NHL champions met in a playoff series that reached a seventh game was in 1991, when the 1990 victors, the Edmonton Oilers, defeated the 1989 champion Calgary Flames in a 5-4 overtime thriller.

NHL.com's Craig Button pointed out the following...

May 13, NHL.com: Todd Marchant winning 54.5 percent of his faceoffs means the Red Wings' vaunted offense has the puck a little less.

And the Macomb Daily's Bruce MacLeod asked Red Wings statistician Greg Innis for a few pertinent statistics, noting that Chris Chelios leads the Wings in most Game 7s played...

May 13, RedWingsCorner: Ten Red Wings have played in a Game 7, led by Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom with five games of experience each.

1. Chris Chelios (5) '85, '86 & '87 with Montreal, '95 with Chicago & '02 with Detroit.
1. Nicklas Lidstrom (5) '92, '93, '94, '96 & '02. All with Detroit.
3. Kris Draper (3) '94, '96 & '02. All with Detroit.
3. Marian Hossa (3) '02 '03 & '04. All with Ottawa.
3. Chris Osgood (3) '94 with Detroit, '02 with N.Y. Islanders & '03 with St. Louis.
3. Brian Rafalski (3) '00, '01 & '03. All with New Jersey.
7. Brad Stuart (2) '00 & '02. Both with San Jose.
8. Tomas Holmstrom (1) '02 with Detroit.
8. Andreas Lilja (1) '02 with Los Angeles.
8. Kirk Maltby (1) '02 with Detroit.

And he adds the following to the mix:

This will be the 19th time the Red Wings have been involved in a Game 7. Their record is 11-7. In Game 7s they are 10-4 at home and 1-3 on the road. This will be the 6th consecutive Game 7 the team has played at home. Their last road Game 7 was in 1991 when they lost to St. Louis 3-2.

Of their 18 Game 7s, five have gone to overtime. The Wings are 4-1 in those O.T. games. They are the only team to win a Stanley Cup in overtime of a Game 7. It happened twice: 1950 and 1954.

The Windsor Star's Dave Waddell spoke to the Red Wings' players about their tomorrow's game, and Henrik Zetterberg suggested that the Wings simply need to play like the Red Wings to succeed...

May 13, Windsor Star: "We knew it's going to be a tight series, so it's not really a big surprise it's going seven games," Detroit centre Henrik Zetterberg said. "You don't get that opportunity as often, especially the chance to do it at home. It's good for the fans, just got to go home and play a solid game and we'll have a good chance of winning.''

Brad Stuart suggested that the Wings have little to no "home ice" advantage:

"I don't think it's going to be a big advantage unless we come out and get the crowd going, use their energy to feed our energy," Detroit defenceman Brad Stuart said. "We can't get complacent thinking we're at home and things are going to be easy.''

Dan Cleary simply doesn't know what to expect, for good reason...

"Game 7, you never know what's going to happen,'' Cleary said. "It's going to be my first Game 7, I'm excited. We have to have a good start.''

And Pavel Datsyuk insisted that his overall struggles--he has yet to score in 10 post-season games--matter little if the Wings can earn a win tomorrow:

"If we win, it's fine," said Datsyuk of his drought. "We have lots of chances, need score. Looking forward Game 7 back home, our fans help us. I'm always close but I need scoring. I never give up.''

As for the scrapping?

"I felt some guys took liberties on certain players that are aren't known to fight," Cleary said. "Rafi doesn't fight, Pav doesn't fight, Niedermayer doesn't fight, either.

"I think both teams are going to forget about it. We're just going to go out and be hard on them. We play between the whistles. You got to take a punch sometimes in the playoffs. Hopefully, the ref will call one and get a break on the power play. The key is stay disciplined and focused.''

Before they left, Nicklas Lidstrom and Dan Cleary spoke to the Orange County Register's Al Balderas about using their home-ice advantage when necessary:

May 13, Orange County Register: "It's something you want to have," Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom said. "That's one of the reasons you battle so hard during the regular season, to gain that home-ice advantage in a series. We feel comfortable going back home and playing Game 7 at home."

The Ducks made the Sharks' home-ice advantage melt away. Now they'll try to do the same against the defending Stanley Cup Champs.

"It's going to be fun," Wings' forward Dan Cleary said. "It's going to be tight. It's going to be two teams that know what's at stake. I think both teams have proven they can win on the road but we've also proven we're a good home team. It should be a good atmosphere."

But Balderas started his story with this quip...

What happened to all of that talk about ending the series in six games? What happened to all of that chatter about taking a Game 7 mentality on the ice for Game 6? The Red Wings spent part of Monday afternoon talking about the danger and unpredictability of Game 7s. As a result, they said, it was vitally important to end the series in six games. Then they went out and got their wings handed to them.

If Tuesday night's performance was indicative of the Red Wings' Game 7 mentality, they should have stayed at their Disneyland Resort hotel instead of flying back to Detroit.

As bad as things went on Tuesday, the Red Wings on Wednesday were among the few people on earth who can fly into Detroit and actually enjoy the view.

And ended it with this:

If the Red Wings turn in another clunker like they did Tuesday at Honda Center, that destination could be a vacation spot.

According to the Red Wings' website, Paul Devorski and Marc Joanette will referee tomorrow night's game, with Steve Miller and Jean Morin working the lines.