Red Wings 1, Penguins 2 (SO): Post Game Snipes...

• The shootout was disappointing for sure, but let’s not kid ourselves…the Wings were lucky to get a point today. The first 40 minutes of the game were far more disappointing than anything we saw in the skills competition.
• I’ve decided to stop trying to understand this team’s inability/unwillingness to show up for games. Instead of driving myself crazy trying to figure it out, I’m just going to accept it for what it is.
• I had a Qdoba burrito for brunch today. I didn’t realize the irony until I was halfway through eating it. Does Bylsma still do that before every game? It can’t be good for his waistline.
• Pierre McGuire kept saying that the game was being played with playoff intensity. He was either watching a different game or only referring to the Penguins.
• It was nice of the Wings to wake up in time for the third.
• Thank goodness Jimmy Howard brought his A-game today. Otherwise, the score could’ve been ugly. He got some help from the posts, crossbar, and some near-misses by the Penguins, but he’s the one and only reason the Wings skated away with a point today.
• Every time the third line takes a shift, I fall in love.
• Filppula missed a couple of glorious chances. It made me sad.
  
• Why would you send Jason Williams (Who?) out in the shootout before Zetterberg? I know Z’s not the greatest in shootouts, but Williams didn’t even appear to try. He shot it directly into MAF’s glove. He didn’t even have to move it to make the save. I would’ve sent Filppula out before him too, for that matter.
• Great job everyone over at the Winging it in Motown fundraiser. It was a lot of fun, even though it was weird to see Twitter so quiet during the game.
  

GP Answers:
1. Are the Wings going to have some semblance of a defense? The kind of game they played Friday night isn’t going to fly against the Penguins.
The turnovers weren’t as much of a problem today as they were on Friday. The Wings’ main issue was a complete and utter inability to play hockey for most of the game.

2. How long is it going to take for NBC’s broadcast to make Wings fans want to off themselves? Between missed goals and Crosby worship, this game is going to be filled with goodies for all of us.
I don’t think they even made it to the opening faceoff before we were all ready to mute our TVs. At least we didn’t miss any goals this time around.

3. I wrote about the powerplay sarcastically on Friday, and the Wings made me look silly by converting two of them, and scoring just three seconds after another one. Can they make that a trend so that powerplay success becomes the norm again instead of an exception?
No. They even had a powerplay chance to end overtime and couldn’t convert. That needs to get fixed. Soon.

4. The first line has been acting like a first line lately. You’d like to think that they would show up for a game like this. Will we see the brilliance from the Eurotwins that we’re accustomed to in big games?
Datsyuk and Zetterberg were the Wings’ best forwards all game, not that it took much to stand out today for most of the game.

5. The Wings got passed in the standings again. Petty desires for revenge or retribution for us fans don’t really matter anymore. The Wings need to win this one to jump back into the 8-spot. Can they do it?
Well, no. They’re now tied with Calgary point-wise, but are still in 9th place because they lose the tiebreaker.

6. I hate wondering if the Wings are going to show up before every single game. It’s been a valid question for all of this season, though. What kind of effort are we going to see from the whole team?
Hahahahaha. Don’t even get me started. It’s disgusting, it’s frustrating, it’s appalling, it’s disheartening, etc, etc, etc.

Cookies and Cupcakes for Jimmy Howard
I have this secret hope that Jimmy walked into the locker room after the game and beat every single one of his teammates with his goal stick while screaming incoherently. I’m sure that didn’t happen, but it has to be annoying to consistently be the only one showing up for games.

Darren Helm gets the Golden Facepalm
I love the guy, but you just can’t leave Sidney Crosby wide open like that. This really could’ve gone to a number of guys, though.

What I Learned:
The Office is NBC’s only redeeming quality.

2009-2010 Player Profiles: Nick Lidstrom...

OK, it’s that time of year. Hockey’s so close that you can almost taste it. By my count, there are 9 days remaining before the Wings kick off their season in Sweden (which is still entirely too many, but at least we can see the light at the end of the tunnel). In order to pass the time, I’ll be posting a player profile every day until then (in alphabetical order, because I’m one of those people). I want to make it very clear that these are not predictions, because I do not, under any circumstance, make predictions. They’re simply my thoughts on each player’s performances last season, and my hopes and expectations for them this time around. Today’s subject:

Nick Lidstrom


2008-2009 Regular Season: 78 GP, 16-43-59, +/- 31, 30 PIM
2009 Playoffs: 21 GP, 4-12-16, +/- 11, 6 PIM

Season Highlight: Being The Perfect Human.
Season Lowlight: If I were a guy, I’d probably have to go with his traumatic spearing injury, but I’m not, so I’m choosing that last-second shot in Game 7 (Warning: watching this may make you nauseous).

Last year, Nick Lidstrom was awful. He lost not one, but six steps. It was embarrassing. It was the start of a long and miserable decline into mediocrity. Or so the media would have you believe.

All of this talk of his “off” season is kind of amusing to Wings fans because he still managed to post 59 points and be a finalist for the Norris Trophy. Most defensemen would kill to have a season like that, let alone have it considered to be an “off” year. Let’s not kid ourselves. There still isn’t a single defenseman in the world who you would swap for Nick Lidstrom. If you need further confirmation of his continued excellence, think back to the Western Conference Finals and the nauseous, light-headed, self-destructive feelings that you were afflicted with when it was announced that he would be missing the game. I know, I know. It’s not something I wanted to relive either, but it had to be done.

That being said, I did notice that he wasn’t quite as perfect as he normally is. I choose to believe that that was another symptom of the generally lax defense the entire team played for the majority of the season. Thanks to the goal scorers that they lost this summer, they’re not going to be able to get by with the “offense, offense, offense!” mentality that they seemed to adopt last season. The Wings need to find a way to lock things down defensively. More than anything else, they need Lidstrom to be the captain of the defence (that’s a nod to my Canadian readers, not a typo) more than anything else.

As I’ve said before, I don’t buy into the argument that he’s at the end of the road. There’s absolutely no reason in my mind that Lidstrom can’t have several more good years and continue to challenge for (and win) the Norris. Of course he’s not going to be quite as dominant as he was in his prime, but the beauty of his style of play is that not only is it stunningly effective, but its emphasis on good positioning and stickwork eliminates a lot of the wear and tear that comes with aging. Because of the way he plays the game (with his head, not crushing checks), getting older isn’t as much of a handicap as it would be for a more physically punishing defenseman.

I really do think that this season will be a statement from Lidstrom. There’s no way he’s okay with playing through his traumatic testicle injury only to have Marc-Andre Fleury make that last-second save in Game 7. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally see Nick lose his cool this season. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

What he needs to do to make me happy: Make all of those naysayers writing about his decline look like fools.

Nothing Good...

So it turns out that only mustering three shots on goal in the first period is not a good way to win the Stanley Cup. Who knew? Also, there's apparently something about Mellon Arena that's like Red Wing kryptonite. It looks like Drew Sharp got his wish

I'm back in that valley of despair that inevitably follows any playoff loss. This one just seems worse than usual. It's worse than Game 5 last year, worse than Game 6 of the Anaheim series, worse than when our hamster died. This is just my way of saying that this is going to be another post filled with excessively angry attacks on my boys. Also, I'm never, ever going back to the Hockeytown Cafe for a Finals game again. The Wings are 0-3 when I'm in attendance during the Finals, and I want no part of it.

The afternoon started out fairly well. We visited the Spirit of Detroit statue and met this guy:

We're pretty sure that wasn't water in his bottle there, but I liked his spirit. And he made us laugh. We were pretty sad when he skateboarded away down Jefferson leaving us alone with a homeless dude who wanted us to take his picture. Then we headed over to Hockeytown and almost didn't get in. They closed for capacity at 7. The evening was pretty much all downhill from that point. We should've taken it as an omen and headed over to Cheli's.

The Stanley Cup was in the building tonight. It was within their reach. And they didn't show up to take it. It was entirely up to them to decide whether they wanted it or not, but apparently they hadn't made up their minds yet.

The first few minutes seemed alright. There were good chances both ways, and neither team seemed to have momentum. Then Zetterberg got called for goalie interference. While the call wasn't as obnoxiously bad as the one against Hudler in Game 7 of the Anaheim series, it was clearly a joke. Although I have to say that the part where Z was literally swinging from the crossbar was fairly amusing.

The rest of the first period was not worth mentioning. I didn't see the play that resulted in Pittsburgh's powerplay, thanks to NBC not bothering to replay the incident, so I don't really have much insight on it. When the Wings killed it off, I started wondering if maybe it was another statement, like the kill at the beginning of Game 5. However, the Wings finished the first having been outshot 12-3. While that stat hides a few good chances that the Wings just sent wide or had blocked, it's still pathetic. They were extremely lucky to survive the first period tied at zero. You can only live dangerously like that for so long until it comes back to bite you.

It seems like whenever the Wings get the media behind them, where everyone's praising them and saying that their victory is inevitable, they play like crap. Maybe we should be glad that the media outside of Detroit seem to anticipate failure at every turn.

It was during a commercial break near the end of the first that I looked around at the crowd in the City Theater and realized that it felt a little bit like a support group. Like AA for Wings fans or something. It didn't do me a whole lot of good, but it felt nice.

After the Pens scored at the beginning of the second, I started mentally preparing myself for Game 7. I knew that things were far from over, but the Wings just didn't look good. They showed a little bit more spark in the second, but it wasn't enough. There were a few pretty obvious interference calls that could/should have been made against the Pens. Even the NBC guys were pointing them out, so you know they were flagrant. When the national guys are going against Crosby and his annointed buddies, it's pretty safe to assume that the refs are screwing things up. Considering how much success the powerplay had during Game 5, it would've been nice to have seen it get a chance to go to work before the third period.

The Wings looked pretty good at the start of the third, but it was too little too late. Giving up the second goal was a backbreaker. I had pretty much resigned myself to three days of agony at that point. Then Kris Draper scored and gave me hope. I have to say that the Hockeytown crowd was incredible from this point on. The City Theater went nuts, and the chants started right back up. The powerplays were insane. (Is it bad that I really, really wanted Drapes to be bleeding when he got high-sticked? The rational side of me says that there's something very wrong with hoping for a man who you adore to stand up with his face looking like a red fountain, but I was seriously calling on the Hockey Gods to cause his face to start gushing.) Everyone in the theater stood for the last two minutes of the game. I don't care that the Joe didn't sell out during the regular season. The crowds and fans during the playoffs have been fantastic.

During the first half of the game, the turnovers and lack of intensity that have plagued the Wings since October came back to bite them. I thought they had worked that out of their system after Game 5, but it turns out that I was sadly mistaken. They threw everything they had at the Pens during the third period, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the hole they had dug for themselves.

Datsyuk, Helm, and Zetterberg played like crazy men again. Zetterberg, in particular, was brilliant on that play where his stick broke and he smacked the puck out of the zone as he dove to the ice. It was a relatively minor play and could easily go unnoticed, but it's just another example of how hard the man's working to win the Stanley Cup. It looked like something right out of the Steve Yzerman playbook. It might sound trite, but I just don't see Sidney Crosby making that play. And everyone knows that but for Ozzie, this score wouldn't have been close. On the Pens' side, Rob Scuderi just earned his place on the list of hockey players who make me shudder. I was surrounded by 300 people jumping up and down and screaming the the last minute of the third. I was pretty sure that the floor was going to collapse, and it all would've been his fault.

The most frustrating part of the first half of the game was that I could see the Wings doing the exact same things they had been doing during Games 3 and 4. They were making pretty passes, but only taking perimeter shots. They were "one and done" as Mike Babcock likes to say, whereas Pittsburgh was consistently able to establish control in the zone and get several chances. The Wings weren't driving to the net until the third period. It's been proven over and over again: if you get traffic in front of MAF, you will have success. Plain and simple. Eventually, you're going to get a juicy rebound that even a toddler could smack into the net.

Also, during the second intermission, the NBC guy who was doing the "you be the coach" thing was way intense. It was like he was yelling at us through the screen. We felt like we should go sit in a corner after his little rant.

Now it's down to one game to decide who gets the Stanley Cup. It's winner-take-all, and I don't like it one bit. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to age approximately 37 years. I normally would have more to say, but everyone knows what Game 7 means. Also, I'm not in a very happy place right now, and I'm going to try to sleep tonight without having nightmares of Sidney Crosby hoisting the Cup.

Oh Oh, We're Halfway There...

I said one thing before the Finals started, and I'll say it again. When they write the book on this series, the story is going to be that of Henrik Zetterberg vs. Crosby/Malkin. Sure there might be some subplots about depth, rookies, lively boards, and goalies, but the heart of the story is going to be written by the reigning Conn Smythe winner and his defensive match-ups. (If Datsyuk were playing, he'd be co-protagonist, but he's not.) And tonight continued to prove me right.

First of all, I have to congratulate Marc-Andre Fleury, who managed to go a whole game without shitting a puck into his own net. Unless you count Abdelkader's goal, that is.

Secondly, I learned a very important lesson tonight. Eating rice with chopsticks while watching playoff hockey is a really good way to nearly poke your own eye out. Or to choke. Yeah, I had not one, but two near-death experiences whilst trying to eat the nasty fried rice that was left in the fridge.

The Wings had an average start. Their first couple of shifts looked tentative, but they improved after than. Then, somewhere around the ten-minute mark, they decided that it was nap-time or snack time or time to look at Swedish porn or...something. Who knows? Whatever it was caused them to completely check out of the game. Accordingly, Pittsburgh scored their first and only goal of the game. Well, sort of. Brad Stuart made like Marc-Andre Fleury and put the puck in his own net on the PK. I spent the rest of the period counting down the time until intermission. The Wings were incredibly lucky to escape the first only down by a goal.

During that intermission, Mike Babcock, sports psychology genius, must've given one hell of a pep talk, because the Wings decided to re-enter the game. From that point on, it was all Detroit, on the scoreboard at least. Even though the Wings scored three straight goals, and held the Pens off for the rest of the night, Pittsburgh had way too many good chances for my liking. The good news is that the Wings continued to get the bounces and lucky breaks that stole the show in Game 1.

At one point, Z saved a goal by laying down on the goal line and blocking the puck. The play went under review, and accordingly, I nearly passed out from holding my breath, but my rational mind knew that there was no way they could overrule the ref's no-goal call. There simply was no camera angle that showed anything. That puck may very well have been over the goal line. Was it? I suspect only Henrik Zetterberg knows that, and I doubt he's willing to tell. Z played yet another amazing game, not that I'd expect anything less from the man. Once again, he's owned Crosby. Seriously, though. Z's been an absolute beast on the defensive side of the puck. This is how he gets his jollies. Some people get drunk, some people go sky-diving, some people live vicariously through themselves. Hank simply selects a target and completely owns said hockey player. Not only is he owning Crosby, but he seems to have gotten to Malkin, as well. I think he's inside every single one of the Penguins' heads, like Mel Gibson in that stupid movie. He knows every single one of their deepest, darkest thoughts. Such as: Max Talbot wants to have Z's children, MAF is having liposuction as soon as this series is over, and Bill Guerin is jealous of his beard. These are just a few of the less disturbing revelations that Z has come across, but I assure you, there are many, many more.

The Grand Rapids Griffins once again stole the show. Ericsson and Helm teamed up for the tying goal, with Helm winning the faceoff and heading straight to the front of the net to set up a screen. Abdelkader scored another early third period goal (this one at 2:47, one second later than his goal in Game 1). This is from A2Y, and pretty much says it all: "And meanwhile, maybe all those Pittsburgh fans were right. Maybe they can beat Detroit. But the question they should be asking is, can they beat the Grand Rapids Griffins? Justin Abdelkader and Jonathon Ericsson tonite. Abdelkader last night. Darren Helm all night, both nights. Like a frigging porn star." There's really nothing I can add to that. It has to be supremely frustrating for the Pens, what with their expectation of being able to walk all over the Wings with Dangle Dangle out and Lidstrom coming back from an injury, to find themselves being beaten by a bunch of kids who spent the whole regular season in the minors. No wonder Malkin went after Z at the end of the game.

Speaking of said fight, after a review process which lasted approximately .0347 seconds, the NHL announced that it was rescinding Malkin's automatic suspension. I'm not remotely surprised. It's a stupid rule anyway on account that it's almost never enforced. I have to say that I didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would, due to the fact that I was yelling, "Please don't break your face, or your hand, or veins in your brain!" I'd be lying, though, if I said I wasn't secretly hoping for Z to make like Darren McCarty in his classic New Year's Eve fight. Anyway, it just looked like a lot of frustration boiling over from a team that's probably played well enough to win, and yet finds themselves staring down the barrel of yet another 2-0 deficit. It would've been nice of Malkin to put his stick down before throwing punches, but at this point in the playoffs, I'll take what I can get. I've honestly never had a problem with Malkin before, but I think a little less of him now. Mostly for going after Z when he was being held back by the ref and clearly wanted no part of it. Satan tried to jump in and double team Z, but he apparently decided that it wasn't worth it. I hope I wasn't the only one amused by the fact that Malkin somehow ended up with both his and Z's jerseys attached to him.

Malkin probably shouldn't be the one who is frustrated, though. He's been in on both of the Pens' goals this series, and scared the crap out of me nearly every time he touched the puck. That's why they need Datsyuk back. They need him to work his magic on Malkin since Z's doing another spectacular job owning Crosby. The other Pens forward who consistently scared me was Miroslav Satan. I don't know why, but I heard his name called entirely too much inside the Wings' zone.

I know I mentioned Darren Helm earlier, but I really can't say enough about this kid. Kenny Holland needs to sign him to a long-term deal now while his price is still cheap. Once again, it seemed like he never left the ice. I decided that this is because he never has "invisible" shifts. Every single time he's out on the ice, he's doing something positive, whether it's forechecking, backchecking, checking, or even just skating really, really fast. Some guys have games in which you don't notice them until late in the third period, and you find yourself wondering where they've been for the whole game. Not so for Darren Helm. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ozzie played another fantastic game tonight. But for Stuart knocking that puck in, he might've pitched a shutout. As good as some of his saves were, he got a lot of help from his old buddies, the goal posts. Also, I think he's been taking puck-handling lessons from Dominick Hasek. I'm not sure he passed the puck to a Red Wing once all game. I was having flashbacks to all of the times I wanted to install a dog fence around the crease and give Dom a zap collar. I even own one now, so it would've been easy. (A dog fence, not a Hasek.)

Hossa also had a heck of a game. He knows that his psyche is on the line in this series, and it doesn't look like he wants to live with the emotional trauma that would result from choosing the wrong team to sign with. He very quietly turned in two assists.

And, just because he's so good that he often goes unnoticed/unmentioned...how about Nick Lidstrom? Two games, two goals allowed against the super-hyped Pittsburgh offense? Z gets a lot of the credit for his work on Crosby, but my God, it seems like Lidstrom's always there. Just when you think disaster is imminent, the Swede negates the play and then, presumably, returns to his hammock and Corona. Seriously. He's that relaxed. He should be in one of their commercials.

So now the series shifts to Pittsburgh, where hopefully Jean-Claude Van Damme doesn't need to make an appearance. With the Pens having the last change, it'll be harder to get the match-ups the Wings would like against the Crosby and Malkin lines. I wouldn't be surprised to see a little line-shuffling going on, but then again, Babs might not want to mess with a winning formula. I've got my fingers crossed that Datsyuk will be back, and I'm trying to work out a deal with the Hockey Gods, but I'm not all that optimistic. Filppula's done a decent job on Malkin in his absence, but, let's face it, you don't just replace Dangle Dangle.

The scary thing is that the Wings haven't played a real "Red Wings hockey" game yet this series. And yet they find themselves up 2-0 against the Penguins. If the Wings can bring their A-game on the road Tuesday/Thursday and get #13 back in the lineup, this might be a shorter series than everyone's predicting. One thing is for sure: they'll need to play better than they have been if they plan on keeping their home ice advantage. And you know that every man in a Penguins sweater is praying to the Hockey Gods that the Wings keep playing the way they have been. These two games could've gone either way, and it's mostly through good luck, some big saves, and the fourth line working its collective ass off that the Wings find themselves in this position.

The bottom line is: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and I will all be dreaming about Henrik Zetterberg tonight, but for decidedly different reasons...

You Have to Be Good to Be Lucky, but You Have to Be Lucky to Be Good...

Before I get to post-game "analysis," I have to post this quote from ESPN. I was at work at the time, so I don't know which commentator said it, and I had to get it off of the CC, but here goes: "Here's what I remember from last year's finals: Marc-Andre Fleury fell on his face prior to Game 1 and Chris Osgood didn't give up a single goal." I'm always complaining about how ESPN should cover hockey, and then their "experts" go and drop that on me. Still though, I like the sentiment. And there really is no limit to the amount of times I can watch the video of Fleury tripping off of the bench on youtube. I especially like the ones that include the kids laughing hysterically as they crouch on the ice. Oh to have been in their skates...

The first period looked fairly good. I was quite excited to see that the Wings decided to show up to play on time. My biggest pet peeve of the period (other than the turnovers) was the excessive number of times the NBC guy used the phrase, "knocked him into next week," to describe checks both past and present. Seriously. Expand your vocabulary. I'm sorry; I can't help it. I'm a grammar snob. You can tell this by the fact that I use semicolons in my hockey blog.

It looks like Z's getting revved up for another ownage of Sidney Crosby. Except for that one time Sid knocked him down at center ice, Z was all over him. I can only assume that Gary's Little Buddy is going to wake up having night-terrors remembering Z's absolute domination of him in the Finals last year. It's a shame that nobody nationally is willing to recognize just how good Zetterberg is. Oh well, he doesn't need Bettman's adoration. He's got that smokin' hot Swedish pop star girlfriend waiting for him at home.

Helm was, of course, everywhere. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he never left the ice in the first period. He's definitely earned his ice time this playoff run. Also, he's officially replaced Sammy as Mike Babcock's player-crush of the moment. Maltby also had a couple of pretty good shifts out with the fourth line. I seem to remember him generating a scoring chance off of a really good play.

And then, a little more than thirteen minutes into the first period, the unthinkable happened. Marc-Andre Fleury scored another goal with his ass. We all remember Zetterberg's Cup-clinching game-winner last year. MAF's derriere is like the Penguins' version of Brian Campbell. It's liable to go down as the series MVP for the Wings. At first I thought it was Hossa's goal, which would've made me giggle like a school girl. And just like that, the Wings were up 1-0. All was right in the world for the approximately thirty seconds before the puck was dropped again. Then, it was right back into the fetal position for me.

Five minutes later, I was back in heart attack mode when the Pens tied it up. It was off of another defensive zone turnover. You know, the kind of turnovers that have been making me pull my hair out all season. (I'm not joking. I'm almost as bald as Darren Pang at this point.) As soon as I saw the turnover happen, I yelled at the TV, "No! Those kind of turnovers always end up in the back of the net!" Then, sure enough, I was proven right. It was also nice of the Wings to stand around staring at each other after the turnover was made instead of attempting to play defense. It made for a much more interesting game from that point on.

The second period was another story entirely. Again, I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the puck didn't leave the Wings' defensive end until approximately the 18-minute mark. At least that's what it seemed like to me. The boys even managed to kill off two power plays, thus extending their streak of not giving up powerplay goals to two whole games. Bravo, sunshines. Keep up the good work. There was one moment during the first PK (I think) where I still can't figure out how the puck stayed out of the net. I went over it several times on my DVR recording, but thanks to NBC not bothering to replay it, I guess it'll remain one of the great mysteries of the world, much like the Kennedy assassination and the secret lair of the Yeti (read: not Henrik Zetterberg. The white, fluffy one who eats sno-cones. [If you get this reference, please be my friend.])

It was also during the second period when our lack of elite goaltending became a huge problem. Chris Osgood made the play of the game. Evgeni Malkin walked in on a full-fledged breakaway, and Ozzie absolutely stoned him. Seriously, kids, Geno's going to be downing bottles of vodka over that one for years. During the post-game, Mickey Redmond said it was the play of the game. I'd be hard-pressed to disagree. What's good enough for Mick is good enough for me.

Marian Hossa, for his part, played like a man who didn't want to look like a fool during the handshake line. He didn't get any points for his efforts, but he was backchecking like a beast. This is probably the most emotionally agonizing playoff series he will ever be involved in, and I have to say, it looks like he rose to the challenge. I just hope he keeps it up. Or, preferably, goes on a scoring streak of epic proportions.

Then my brother's man-crush, Johan Franzen scored what would turn out to be the game-winner. Amazingly, this one was kicked in by Fleury as he sprawled in the crease on his "tummy." Remember what I said about Brian Campbell? Someone should ask Fleury if he's secretly red-headed. It had to really sting the Pens to give up that late goal after they pretty much owned the second period. Strangely, though, I don't really feel all that bad for them.

Coming out of the second intermission, the Wings showed a lot more jump. They were rewarded with another goal when Justin Abdelkader swatted a loose puck out of the air, dropped it in front of himself, and rifled it just inside the far post for his first career NHL goal. This was the first and only time I've ever been proud to be an MSU alumnus. Then the Verizon Sounds of the Game captured his girlish squeal after he scored and ruined the moment a little. Sorry, kid. Your friends are going to be giving you crap about that one for a while. Don't worry, though. You can just remind them that you scored a goal in the Stanley Cup Finals, and they'll have no choice but to shut up. Unless, for some strange reason, you hang out with Sidney Crosby, in which case he'll probably cry and/or try to slash your foot.

I don't remember much from the rest of the game on account of spending most of my time pacing nervously, nearly choking on pizza, and scaring my poor puppy.

Some notes on the post-game coverage:
-First and foremost, Channel 4's Katrina Hancock needs to be banned from the locker room. I wonder how many of the Wings have fantasized about cross-checking her "into next week." She's always cutting other reporters off and seems to have a knack for asking inane questions.
-The best post-game comment was from Franzen when Katrina asked him about getting rested up for the game tomorrow. He responded with something to the effect of, "If you stop asking me stupid questions, maybe I can go home and get some rest."
-Jonathan Ericsson looks like a pirate. I'm just saying.
-Sidney Crosby's quote from his post-game presser, via Snapshots: "Yeah, he was doing what he always does. You know, he was giving guys lip service and things like that. And you know, I two handed him on top of the foot there as we were skating by. So he felt like it was necessary to keep talking after the game, and I thought I'd whack him and that was it." This is the Captain of your team? I'm sorry for sounding incredulous, it's just that my boys have always been blessed with stellar leadership and I hold Captains to a slightly higher standard than your run-of-the-mill hockey fan might. It sounds like the Little Buddy's unhappy because he didn't get his way tonight. Looks like somebody's going to be on the phone to Daddy Bettman complaining about the big, mean Wings not letting him score any goals. For all of the talk about Crosby and Malkin maturing since the Finals last year, Crosby sure doesn't look like he's figured out how to respond to being contained by the opposition. It's like he can't handle someone standing up to him. NHL.com even posted a news story celebrating this, saying that, "Crosby showed that sort of grit and scrappiness throughout the contest." Yes, slashing at an opponent's foot as he is skating over to congratulate his goaltender after a victory is worthy of commendation. Also, Crosby would know a little something about lip service, what with all of the practice he gets whenever Bettman's in town.
-He also, once again, failed to give Z any credit for pretty much anything he's ever done in his life. When asked to describe Zetterberg's faceoff win which led directly to the Wings' second goal, he had this to say: "Yeah, the puck bounced right over both of our sticks and ended up behind him." I guess Z didn't win the faceoff. The puck just magically bounced back to his teammates. Perhaps the Joe's faceoff circles are also super bouncy. You can understand his need for rationalization, though. He was 5 for 16 in faceoffs against Z. That's got to be driving him crazy. It looks like Hank's gotten in his head, just like last year. Contrast that to Chris Osgood's quote about his save on Malkin's breakaway: "He's got a great shot and he can make great moves. I was fortunate to get my hand on it." His self-effacement and positive attitude are common themes in quotes from all of the Wings players, and those are the reasons why so many fans here think that Crosby's nothing more than a whiny little child.
-Ozzie still looks like he's 17. Someone on Puck Daddy's Live Blog called him the Benjamin Button of hockey. I would have to disagree with that due to the fact that when he was a rookie, all those years ago, he looked like he was approximately 14. So maybe more Dorian Gray than Benjamin Button.
-I'm pretty sure Mike Babcock has lazer vision that could melt a hole right through your soul if you really pissed him off. In which case, Brad Watson's soul probably looks like Swiss cheese right now.
-I also really enjoyed Al Sobotka driving the zamboni right behind Mickey and Bernie while they were doing their post-game. Especially the look on his face. I can't really describe it, but if you Tivo'd the post-game, check it out.

And finally, it never ceases to amaze me how little respect my boys get. The sub-headline on NHL.com reads, "Lively boards played a big role in Red Wings' 3-1 win." I'm so sick of hearing people talk about the "lively boards" at the Joe. They're like that at both ends. Deal with it. And I can't help but figure that if Crosby had scored Franzen's goal, they would've described it as a great innovative play by one of the true superstars of the game. Instead, it's just a fluke goal off of a lucky bounce off of the boards. Spare me.

Stuart's goal was for sure a lucky bounce, but I firmly believe that you need those kinds of bounces to win the Cup. The Wings were getting those same bounces against Columbus in the first round. Do you remember the goal that went in off of a BJs player's glove as he tried to knock down the shot? Those are the bounces, or, as Mickey Redmond likes to say, "puck luck," that you need going your way if you want to be successful on hockey's greatest stage. I like to think of it as the Hockey Gods' subtle way of intervening. Other than the victory itself, the puck luck that went the Wings' way tonight was probably the most reassuring thing I took out of the game. It's really the only thing that will enable me to sleep tonight.

Tomorrow, the Wings will have to start out strong again. Z will have to continue his absolute ownage of Baby Boy, and Ozzie will probably need to make a couple of "elite" saves. I've got my fingers crossed for the return of Dangle Dangle, but it doesn't seem likely. The Wings survived without him again tonight, but at some point, they're going to need him to play a role in the series. Maybe all of the puck luck apparently bouncing around the Joe Louis endboards will rub off on him and he'll finally break out.