Oh how SWEET it is! Lidstrom and Osgood proving critics wrong, Zetterberg and Datsyuk becoming dominant forces in hockey, the Wings re-affirming their status as THE elite team in the league....just fantastic.
LETS GO WINGS!!!
Michigan against the SEC: 20-5-1 (7-3 in bowl games)
Ladies and gentlemen, the following public service message is brought to you by your friends from D-Generation X, who would like to remind each and every one of you that if you're not down with that, we've got two words for you... Crosby and the rest of the Penguins served notice with their Matt Hardy-esque "WE WILL NOT DIE" attitude over these last few nights. They are for real, and their time in the sun WILL come. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when... and it'll probably be sooner rather than later.
But the better team won on this night. And while Osgood deserves all the credit in the world for helping Detroit get back to the top of the mountain... this Sabres fan pines for the fact that the great Dominator's likely last stand in the NHL came with him a forgotten whisper in the wind on the Red Wings' bench. Haek deserved better, alas.
No matter. Hope springs eternal and next fall will bring the next great chance for Buffalo to get to the promised land. And Pittsburgh will prove to be a formidable foe.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; June 18, 2006) While the switch from Cena to RVD should alleviate some complaints, the inevitability of the belt's return to Cena (note where Summerslam is this year) and the poor initial showing by the new ECW are enough to keep the indicator where it is for now. The pieces are in place, though, especially on RAW, for improvements to be made to the IWC's psyche in the near future.
Awesome post. I fully agree on the Pens, they are going to be in the Eastern Conference Finals every single year from now on, if not the Stanley Cup Finals. They're getting one soon.
But absolutely the best team won. The best team should've won Monday, but that's a moot point. Osgood, until that game, was by far the MVP of the playoffs. The team was struggling against freaking Nashville until we switched Hasek out for Ossie. And it IS a sad note for Hasek's career to possibly end on...but don't forget, he left last time to sell t-shirts in Europe. So it's not really a sterling after-ice reputation anyways.
What Buffalo did in the offseason this year was nearly criminal. As a true hockey fan, I can only hope they recover next year and can contend with the Pens. Both franchises have great fanbases and it can only make hockey better for all such cities (*coughsHARTFORDcoughs*) to flourish.
Michigan against the SEC: 20-5-1 (7-3 in bowl games)
Beautiful run by Detroit. Full marks across the board. If they can maintain a good chunk of this roster and coaching staff, and the same discipline, they're going to be pretty scary for the next few years. Maybe someone will figure out how to beat them, but my suspicion is that if you build a team to beat Detroit, you're going to have trouble with other teams.
As for Pittsburgh, I firmly believe they'll win one, too. The way Malkin came on last night when Crosby got smoked bothers me, though. At the trade deadline I predicted to my boss that Pittsburgh will win a cup in the next few years, but that one of Fleury, Crosby, or Malkin won't be there when they do. I'm not sure Malkin is capable of playing his consistent best on a team with someone like Crosby. I'm not saying it's Kobe and Shaq, just that he doesn't seem to be able to step up his game when there's another top-tier player around.
If I were the Pens management, I'd try to get Hossa to take less money for a Cup run (maybe an incentive-laden deal), keep Malone, and shop Malkin to get some veteran leadership (Gary Roberts didn't cut it on the ice; maybe he was better in the dressing room). Malkin's value is never going to be higher than now, and the chances of Pittsburgh being able to afford him, Fleury, and Crosby on an ongoing basis is slim.
(I will now go into witness-protection-style hiding from the wrath of Shapiro)
I got some opinions on that but I'll put it in the other thread so as not to sidetrack from Detroit winning. All the best to those guys, obviously they're a phenomenal team. I am so very proud of my guys for the way they battled back after the first two games.
I didn't dislike any Wing except Osgood, who should've been consistent and flopped backwards when he was handed the Cup. It's nice that Lidstrom can end the jingoism about how teams with Euro captains can't win the Cup. And Babcock is a cool guy.
I remember the media types predicting doom and gloom for the Red Wings when the NHL instituted a salary cap. As much as I hate them as an Avs fan, it's good to see the Wings prove them wrong.
All times... EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST-ROUND MATCHUPS M1 WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. WC2 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS Game 1: Thu. @WAS 7PM Game 2: Sat. @WAS 7PM Game 3: Mon. @TOR 7PM Game 4: 4/19 @TOR 7PM Game 5: 4/21 @WAS TBD * Game 6: 4/23 @TOR TBD * Game 7:...