Pop the water bottle. (NHL finals) [Archive]

Emp

06-03-2009, 09:54 AM

I still have my skates in the trunk each winter. Raised on a backyard rink and outdoor hockey, and I love it. A highlight of my life was getting an award from Gordie Howe for selling a bazillion boxes of candy for my local junior team.

The Wings series with Chicago, despite the outcome, featured some really great hockey, and the Finals are feeding off that as well.

Crosby's immaturity is not going to stifle his great talent for the entire series, and I see this going 7. Youthful, less injured legs are going to keep the Pens in the game with the more skilled Wings.

A critical factor will be how Osgood hangs after Game 3. He played very well. one really bad giveway in three games. But he has to really be at the top of his game from all the pressure the Pens are putting on him. Fleury has admirably righted himself after several gaffes in the first two games.

gladdenguy

06-03-2009, 10:07 AM

I have to go with the Red Wings. I hate anything Pittsburgh and Crosby just bugs me.

wkrq59

06-03-2009, 04:11 PM

No way, eh? There's plenty of fans in the states. Take off, you hoser.

The last five minutes of this game have been amazing.

The last five minutes of the whole damned series so far have been amazing. Detroit faces a combined 6 minutes of empty net in the first two games and can't score, and Pittsburgh faces less than two minutes and gets an empty net.
And the Pens get away with almost a half-minute of too many men on the ice and a minute later tie the damned game. These next four games (if it goes that far,) are going to be fun.:D:D:D

Kahns Krazy

06-03-2009, 04:37 PM

Q, I missed the first period because I had no idea what farkin channel the game was on last night, so I missed the 6 men on the ice. When I saw the replay, I was stunned that it wasn't caught by the refs or noticed by the players on the ice sooner.

PMI

06-03-2009, 04:46 PM

I'm a Penguins fan. Where are the other NHL fans?

I asked that same question in a thread at the start of the playoffs. Of course, it was titanman's thread about soccer which I somehow hijacked.

The NHL playoffs have been amazing this year. Like DC, I rock the red, so I have no ability to pull for the Pens. Crosby is an outstanding player, but he is a whiny little bitch who can't even grow a playoff beard. Hockey is a grown ass man's sport so I don't think he makes a perfect face for the NHL, despite what Gary Bettman clearly thinks. You could make the argument that Sid has the best hand-eye coordination in sports, certainly the best in hockey. He is alway in the right place at the right time and has eyes in the back of his head and can make a great pass to anyone, anywhere, anytime. But you can still beat him up and take him off his game, although it gets harder every year to his credit. Malkin may have the potential to be the hands-down best player in the league. He has certain skills that only he and Ovechkin show on a somewhat regular basis and he is a lot bigger than Ovie, but unfortunately, he plays like a whispering eye. He is very soft for a player his size and if he would go as hard as Ovechkin does physically, it could be all over for everyone else.

To me, Ovie is still the guy who the NHL should market as its face. He is fun, flashy, high-energy, an offensive machine, and he's missing a tooth right in the front. He is a TRUE hockey player. He flies around the ice like a bullet and throws his body around at anyone and anything. He has the toughness you want and he isn't a prima dona like Crosby, who makes his crybaby-Lebron face far too often, which is not what hockey is all about. The Caps are a good defenseman or two away from getting to the top, but the Caps-Pens rivalry is one of the healthiest in sports for the foreseeable future and puts the NHL in great shape. Now we just need a real network to pick up the TV rights and we'll be rolling!

Red Wings in 5, possibly 6. The Pens will run out of gas and the Cup will stay in Hockeytown.

PM Thor

06-03-2009, 10:20 PM

When I lived up in Lake Erie, I didn't have cable, lived in an unheated house (in the spring), and could pick up Windsor channels. So I got Hockey Night in Canada every freaking night, with nothing, nothing else to do.

Thus I became a Red Wings fan.

Wings in 6. And yeah, how the NHL can justify away Malkin not being suspended was laughable. It's funny, because you know the NBA would have done the same, and many other "governmental" bodies too. So it's not just the NCAA that is a joke.

I HATE dayton.

wkrq59

06-04-2009, 02:57 AM

Kahns, the next game will be in Pittsburgh tonight (Thurs) and it will be on Versus: CH 151 on Dish and 72 on comcast and don't know what it will be on direct or on Warner Amex if they even offer Versus without charging serious extra cash.
The 6-man was a joke, and the officials who worked the game should be suspended from all further games ...Malkin not being suspended from Tuesday's game was a joke. He was given a match penalty which calls for aujtomatic suspension and if you read the made-up explanation the NHL gave for not suspending him you know whyu the Red Wings will be damned lucky to win this thing.
If nothing else, it was a reward to Mario for keeping the NHL in Pittsburgh and an attempt to enhance the market. The Red Wings should win but after Tuesday night, all bets are off.
Watch Thursday night's game closely. I can almost guarantee the Red Wings will be slapped with a "too many men" penalty even if it's borderline. And you can bet there will be plenty of questionable calls aiding the Pens. The NHL wants this thing to go at least six games. More TV money.:D

Tardy Turtle

06-04-2009, 07:47 AM

The NHL wants this thing to go at least six games. More TV money.:D

Q, you're a smart guy but your conspiracy theory is laughable. The NHL doesn't get a dime after tonight b/c the rest of the games are on NBC and NBC pays $0 to broadcast the NHL.

And while the "too many men" thing was a debacle and the Malkin situation smelled funny, where's the penalty shot for when Zetterberg covered the puck with his hand in the crease in Game 1? Watch here: Zetterberg covers puck in the crease (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVM8cBYFWfY)

Craptastic officiating? Yes. League conspiracy? Not bloody likely.

XU05and07

06-04-2009, 09:16 AM

Q, you're a smart guy but your conspiracy theory is laughable. The NHL doesn't get a dime after tonight b/c the rest of the games are on NBC and NBC pays $0 to broadcast the NHL.

And while the "too many men" thing was a debacle and the Malkin situation smelled funny, where's the penalty shot for when Zetterberg covered the puck with his hand in the crease in Game 1? Watch here: Zetterberg covers puck in the crease (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVM8cBYFWfY)

Craptastic officiating? Yes. League conspiracy? Not bloody likely.

Covering the puck...too many men...sounds like it's an even series on calls

Strange Brew

06-04-2009, 09:57 AM

Q, you're a smart guy but your conspiracy theory is laughable. The NHL doesn't get a dime after tonight b/c the rest of the games are on NBC and NBC pays $0 to broadcast the NHL.

And while the "too many men" thing was a debacle and the Malkin situation smelled funny, where's the penalty shot for when Zetterberg covered the puck with his hand in the crease in Game 1? Watch here: Zetterberg covers puck in the crease (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVM8cBYFWfY)

Craptastic officiating? Yes. League conspiracy? Not bloody likely.

Zetterberg is the biggest goon in the league. He puts Olge Olgethorpe to shame :)

Emp

06-04-2009, 10:29 AM

Backyard Champ

06-04-2009, 10:30 AM

To me, Ovie is still the guy who the NHL should market as its face. He is fun, flashy, high-energy, an offensive machine, and he's missing a tooth right in the front. He is a TRUE hockey player. He flies around the ice like a bullet and throws his body around at anyone and anything. He has the toughness you want and he isn't a prima dona like Crosby, who makes his crybaby-Lebron face far too often, which is not what hockey is all about. The Caps are a good defenseman or two away from getting to the top, but the Caps-Pens rivalry is one of the healthiest in sports for the foreseeable future and puts the NHL in great shape. Now we just need a real network to pick up the TV rights and we'll be rolling!

I agree with this 100%. Ovechkin is the best player in the NHL right now, and it's a shame that the NHL is still pushing Crosby. I think there could be a decent debate on if he is even the best on his own team. Ovechkin has done much more than crosby so far in the NHL, in my opinion. I think they should have beaten the penguins, which goes to show how good Ovechkin actually is. If the Capitals had some decent defense(a goalie) that series would have been over. Also, I believe Ovechkin had the same, or maybe 1 more point than crosby in that series, and Crosby had the much better players around him. Ovechkin has so much energy, and celebrates after every goal- he is the most entertaining player in hockey.

As for this series, I see the Wings winning it. I think the Wings are the best team in the NHL and they could win it in 5. I hope it goes 7 though because I'm not ready for the playoffs to be over just yet.

MD Muskie

06-04-2009, 11:35 AM

I am a Capitals fan as well so there will be no pulling for the Cindy Crosby and his team. Hell half that team cannot even grow a real playoff beard. It also looks like the only way for the Pens to win this series is to play with 6 men on the ice at all teams. The Wings will in this one.

bobbiemcgee

06-04-2009, 12:37 PM

[QUOTE=PM Thor;128376][B][COLOR="Navy"]When I lived up in Lake Erie, I didn't have cable, lived in an unheated house (in the spring), and could pick up Windsor channels. So I got Hockey Night in Canada every freaking night, with nothing, nothing else to do.

I was living in Toledo when Lake Erie caught on fire.....ah, the memories...

wkrq59

06-04-2009, 01:31 PM

Zetts a goon?? What are YOU smokin? He makes life hard for poor Sidney is that your def of a goon?
The Wings are the team least likely to start a fight or take a cheap shot.
Back this up please, or Im sicking Eddie Shack on ya.

Emperor, bringing up Eddie "Clear the Track" Shack reminds me of my earliest days (71-72) covering the Cincinnati Swords of the AHL, a farm club of Punch Imlach's Buffalo Sabres. My sports editor suggested I do a George Plimpton-like think by donning a goaltender's gear and being photographed in front of the net and later describing the arming for battle. Sabre players in typical fashion of the day were superstitious as hell especially about their gear.
So they outfitted me in Steve Cuddie's underwear, a brand new out-of-the-box single cup, Roger Crozier's skates, Eddie Shack's pants and suspenders, Dave Dryden's belly pad and sweater, and Crozier's mask, which wouldn't fit my face so I wore it atop my head.
My conspiracy theories about the NHL are well founded from the crooked days of the late Clarence Campbell to the present joke of Gary Bettman and his silly referees.
Yeah, the refs can't catch everything, but its' a helluva lot easier to miss a hand closed on the puck in or out of the crease than it is to miss 6 men on the ice for damn near half a minute.
Oh, and Cincinnati had that first year a wild version of Shack in Regie Fleming. That first year, when Floyd Smith took over the team from Joe Crozier, the Swords met Baltimore in the playoffs that went six games before Cincy was eliminated. Before the third or fourth game of the series, I forget which, the teams were skating in those famous circles that were tangent to each other at the redline, when Huhie Harris cold-cocked one of the Baltimore players in Slapshot fashion and a donnybrook ensued. The referee and linesmen were on the ice for warmups after that.
:D:D

DC Muskie

06-04-2009, 01:46 PM

I was living in Toledo when Lake Erie caught on fire.....ah, the memories...

Lake Erie caught fire?

MD Muskie

06-04-2009, 01:58 PM

Emperor, bringing up Eddie "Clear the Track" Shack reminds me of my earliest days (71-72) covering the Cincinnati Swords of the AHL, a farm club of Punch Imlach's Buffalo Sabres. My sports editor suggested I do a George Plimpton-like think by donning a goaltender's gear and being photographed in front of the net and later describing the arming for battle. Sabre players in typical fashion of the day were superstitious as hell especially about their gear.
So they outfitted me in Steve Cuddie's underwear, a brand new out-of-the-box single cup, Roger Crozier's skates, Eddie Shack's pants and suspenders, Dave Dryden's belly pad and sweater, and Crozier's mask, which wouldn't fit my face so I wore it atop my head.
My conspiracy theories about the NHL are well founded from the crooked days of the late Clarence Campbell to the present joke of Gary Bettman and his silly referees.
Yeah, the refs can't catch everything, but its' a helluva lot easier to miss a hand closed on the puck in or out of the crease than it is to miss 6 men on the ice for damn near half a minute.
Oh, and Cincinnati had that first year a wild version of Shack in Regie Fleming. That first year, when Floyd Smith took over the team from Joe Crozier, the Swords met Baltimore in the playoffs that went six games before Cincy was eliminated. Before the third or fourth game of the series, I forget which, the teams were skating in those famous circles that were tangent to each other at the redline, when Huhie Harris cold-cocked one of the Baltimore players in Slapshot fashion and a donnybrook ensued. The referee and linesmen were on the ice for warmups after that.
:D:D

oh wow, a Baltimore Skipjacks reference. its been a about 15 years since i have heard anything about that former team

wkrq59

06-04-2009, 02:47 PM

MD, they weren't the Skipjacks. They were something else and for the life of me I can't remember what. Hell, I even covered the games in Baltimore. They met the Nova Scotia Voyaguers who were based in Halifax and a Montreal Farm Club and lost four straight in the finals.
By process of elimination, Cin Swords, Buffalo; LA-Springfield Kings, Richmond Robins, Philadelphia; Tidewater Wings, Detroit, Cleveland Barons??, Hershey Bears, ?? Rochester Americans, Rangers??, New Haven Nighthawks, Oakland?

MD Muskie

06-04-2009, 02:56 PM

Strange Brew

06-04-2009, 08:20 PM

Zetts a goon?? What are YOU smokin? He makes life hard for poor Sidney is that your def of a goon?

The Wings are the team least likely to start a fight or take a cheap shot.

Back this up please, or Im sicking Eddie Shack on ya.

Lighten up Emp, I was joking. Hence the smiley face. Zett annoys the hell out of me as a Pens fan and I couldn't resist using a Slapshot reference in this thread.

Ovie is good but until he makes the finals, Sid has the upper hand on him. It's all about winning. However, if the Pens lose this series the heat will definately be on Sid.

XU05and07

06-04-2009, 09:12 PM

Ugg....3 goals in 5:27 (1 shorthanded) is killer...hoping for a good 3rd period

Kahns Krazy

06-04-2009, 09:31 PM

Better than the 2nd? What, a 9-2 final? :p

Q's going to have a hard time convincing anyone that two excellent short-handed chances, one converted, were the work of the NHL conspiracy.

BENWAR

06-04-2009, 10:15 PM

What channel is the NHL finals on?

Kahns Krazy

06-04-2009, 10:19 PM

Crap ass "Versus" which is Warner Digital Cable channel 162. Starting with the game Saturday (8PM), it's NBC.

The games have been great. I've done more yelling at my TV than I have since football season.

wkrq59

06-05-2009, 01:17 AM

See i learn something new everyday, I didn't know that Baltimore had a WHL, that is the league i think you are talking about correct? the Skipjacks were the AHL team for the Capitals for a long time before moving up to Portland. That is the youth in me making an assumption. I should never do that.

Nope, I'm going way back to 71-72..Baltimore was in the AHL. The Swords and Nova Scotia and Richmond, and Tidewater, and Cleveland (which went to Jacksonville in 72-73) were all American Hockey League teams.
The WHL was the old old Western Hockwey League, along with the Central League and the International League, all Class AAA minor leagues, one step below the NHL.
Now, when the original 6, Boston , New York, Detroit, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto expanded in 1968, they took in Pittsburgh and Phila, Minnesota and Buffalo, St. Louis, Oakland, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. The original 6 became 14.
Cincinnati was a farm club of Buffalo, Baltimore of that age was called the Clippers as in Clipper Ships.
After the Swords dominated the American League in 1972-73 setting all kinds of records in winning the Calder Cup, the World Hockey Association came into play with Indianapolis Racers, Cincinnati Stingers (1975-76) and Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Houston Aeros who became the New England Whalers etc. The Swords folded after the 73-74 season, the WHA folded around 1980 with the Stingers being bought out by the NHL . Cincinnati returned briefly to hockey in 1982-83 as the Tigers, a farm club of Toronto for one year in the Central Hockey League.
After that team folded hockey was gone from Cincinnati until 1990-91 when the Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League were born. They were the most successful hockey team in the minors for two years and then jumped to the International Hockey League.
When the Cyclones after a series of bad management moves jumped to the Coliseum, Jerry Robinson, owner of the Gardens, called the AHL and after negotiations with Anaheim Mioghty Ducks of the NHL, moved its farm club in Baltimore, the Skipjacks, to Cincinnati and renamed it the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. who lasted until Anaheim moved the team to Portland Maine and took the name Pirates.

wkrq59

06-05-2009, 01:22 AM

Tardy Turtle

06-05-2009, 07:59 AM

Buffalo & Vancouver were not added until 1970.

MD Muskie

06-05-2009, 08:38 AM

Oh, and for the benefit of all, Thursday night I saw a tiring older Detroit team make mistakes I haven't seen made in a long time, caused for the most part by alert forechecking and neutral zone control by the Penguins.
I still think the officiating sucks for both sides and I still think the series will go seven games, but Detroit needs to get some rest and Datsuk quickly. :D

I hate to say this, i really really do, but Pittsburgh is the faster hungier team and I think that by winning these two games at home they are going to win the series. I really hope I am wrong. If Detroit wins tomorrow then they will win in seven, but it Pitt wins in detroit then the series is over as Pitt hasn't lost at home in these playoffs.

Emp

06-07-2009, 01:08 PM

Going after Datsuyk's injured foot: all time low.

Wings have been holding their own without their best player on the ice for four games. Quality eventually rises to the top on a seven game series.

Pen fans are going to have to eat their collective hearts out when Hossa raises the cup on Pen ice Tuesday.

PMI

06-07-2009, 01:23 PM

If Detroit wins tomorrow then they will win in seven, but it Pitt wins in detroit then the series is over as Pitt hasn't lost at home in these playoffs.

They lost at home to our Caps in OT of Game 6 of the series. Too bad we couldn't hold the momentum back home.

I'd like to thank the Wings for rewarding me for my loyalty. Won a straight up bet and hit a big parlay with them and the under. Until the day dayton wins a game in Cincinnati, I won't bet against the Detroit Red Wings at home in a tie-breaking game in the Cup finals. I just won't do it.

wkrq59

06-07-2009, 09:02 PM

Buffalo & Vancouver were not added until 1970.

Oh hard shelled one, that's what I get for using an old 1971 reference book. I was trying to find the name of the Baltimore AHL club in 70-71 when the Swords started here. I can't really remember anything about that old Clippers team except that fight that Hughie Harris and Cleland "KiKI" Mortson started at center ice was straight Slapshot before Slapshot was even filmed.
And the "Slapshot" reference should have been Eddie Shore, not Eddie Shack. ""You know Fxxx Eddie Shore and Toe Blake, I got scouts out there from every club in the National Hockey League here to see the Chiefs play. "
Still the single greatest hockey movie and maybe one of the top two or three sports movies ever made.
Ah, but nothing like Old time hockey.
BTW Kahns, I would never even hint a short-handed goal involved any sort of conspiracy. It involves a helluva lot of work and some carelessness on the part of the team on the PP. Have you ever seen a team score three straight short-handed goals on the same 2-minute power play? I did, against the Cyclones one damn cold December night in Norfolk, Va. Scope. Damn those were fun teams to watch until they forgot who their fan base was.:D:D:D

MD Muskie

06-08-2009, 08:11 AM

They lost at home to our Caps in OT of Game 6 of the series. Too bad we couldn't hold the momentum back home.

I'd like to thank the Wings for rewarding me for my loyalty. Won a straight up bet and hit a big parlay with them and the under. Until the day dayton wins a game in Cincinnati, I won't bet against the Detroit Red Wings at home in a tie-breaking game in the Cup finals. I just won't do it.

you are correct sir. I guess as they say in hockey, they haven't lost at home in regulation time. anyway i really hope detroit beats them in pittsburgh again to win the cup. the only thing better then seeing pittsburgh lose the cup is to lose it on their home ice.

XU05and07

06-08-2009, 08:15 AM

you are correct sir. I guess as they say in hockey, they haven't lost at home in regulation time. anyway i really hope detroit beats them in pittsburgh again to win the cup. the only thing better then seeing pittsburgh lose the cup is to lose it on their home ice.

But then the celebration isn't as big and skating with the Cup to a quiet arena is boring

Emp

06-08-2009, 10:26 AM

But then the celebration isn't as big and skating with the Cup to a quiet arena is boring

Au contraire, mon ami. Nothing is sweeter than skating the Cup on the ice of the immature and the whiney.

If the Pens had any honor and decency about them, I would agree. But while they are young and talented, the 'tude exhibited thus far deserves its comeuppance, big time. Hey Sid, watch how to do it with class, will ya?

I bear no ill will to the fans in Pittsburgh, but too many of the players are cheese doodles.

PMI

06-08-2009, 03:14 PM

I bear no ill will to the fans in Pittsburgh, but too many of the players are cheese doodles.

If anything, it's the opposite. I'm no fan of Crosby and his whiney "I'm God's gift to hockey" attitude, but it's the Pittsburgh fans who deserve to have to sit and watch the Wings celebrate on their home ice, not the players. I'm guessing you don't have much experience with Pittsburgh sports fans if you bear no ill will towards them. For a blue collar group, they sure know how to spend their money on road trips, tickets, terrible towels, terrible hair bleach for the women, greasy food and beer.

I have some close friends who are Pens fans and we have a mutual respect for each other because we're all big hockey fans and normal, educated people. I'd be happy for them alone. But in my experience, 95% of the rest of them are loud, obnoxious assholes who talk too much and have no lives outside getting drunk and going to Pittsburgh sporting events with the sole purpose of talking/starting shit, and occasionally working blue collar jobs on the week days. They really need to see themselves on camera to fully grasp how they look to normal people in society. Must be a Pennsylvania thing I guess. I can only hope the Wings win in OT so all of those fans have to be there for the celebration rather than marching out beforehand.

Kahns Krazy

06-08-2009, 03:42 PM

Au contraire, mon ami. Nothing is sweeter than skating the Cup on the ice of the immature and the whiney.

.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that you would rather win on the road for the joy of rubbing it in the opponents face than to win at home in front of your loyal fans.

I'm with 0507 on this one, the post-championship celebration on the road might be more awkward in hockey than any other sport.

Pluto

06-08-2009, 05:37 PM

But in my experience, 95% of the rest of them are loud, obnoxious assholes who talk too much and have no lives outside getting drunk and going to Pittsburgh sporting events with the sole purpose of talking/starting shit, and occasionally working blue collar jobs on the week days. They really need to see themselves on camera to fully grasp how they look to normal people in society.

That is the exact description of 95% of tOSU and Illinois fans.

MD Muskie

06-09-2009, 09:00 AM

It doesn't surprise me one bit that you would rather win on the road for the joy of rubbing it in the opponents face than to win at home in front of your loyal fans.

I'm with 0507 on this one, the post-championship celebration on the road might be more awkward in hockey than any other sport.

I think you are missing the point here. This is all about Pittsburgh losing. For the most part i would rather have the team win the Cup at home, but since its Pittsburgh, i want them to see the Cup raised in their arena for the second straight year by their opponent. I want the league's "IT" team to know that there is a better run team out there and that having the "IT" player guarantees nothing but heartache.

XU05and07

06-09-2009, 10:07 AM

Red Wings won it on Pittsburgh's ice last year...Detroit (as a city) is going through a lot of issues right now...they need something to celebrate.

I wish they had won it in Detroit in 5...tonight they will skate with Lord Stanley's 35lb cup on Pittsburgh ice again...I hope Konstantinov makes the trip

Kahns Krazy

06-09-2009, 10:21 AM

At this point, I think Detroit takes it in 7. I'm expecting Pittsburgh to show up tonight.

Michigan Muskie

06-09-2009, 11:11 AM

Red Wings have toyed with Pittsburgh enough and I'm feeling a road victory tonight, although I really would prefer to see them hoist The Cup on home ice. Besides, very little is as exciting as a game 7. I won't be broken hearted to see the Pens win tonight just so it can happen.

I'm just looking forward to drinking some cold ones at 8:00.

Emp

06-09-2009, 02:48 PM

If anything, it's the opposite. I'm no fan of Crosby and his whiney "I'm God's gift to hockey" attitude, but it's the Pittsburgh fans who deserve to have to sit and watch the Wings celebrate on their home ice, not the players. I'm guessing you don't have much experience with Pittsburgh sports fans if you bear no ill will towards them. .

It is likely that as a Detroit native I dont have as much experience with Pittsburgh fans as you, PMI. In Detroit, there is no substitute for hating Chicago Bears and Blackhawk fans. Or Yankee fans. I do not frequent that facility paid for by taxpayers on behalf of the Brown family, wherein professional sports are purportedly played. Pro football live is a marathon of timeouts I have no desire to watch live., but to the extent the Bengals cant sell out a game with the Steelers, the huge influx of Steeler fans is the price. What Pirates fans I have met seem to be a normal range of baseball diehards and some loudmouths, but thats the case with all the Cubs fans who journey down as well.

As for Pen fans, I now live in Columbus, where they do play professional hockey, and I attend about 15 games a season. I would rate the knowledgable/obnoxious scale for traveling Pens and Wings fans about the same. Hockey fans who travel usually love the game and not just the team.

Different experiences, I guess.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that you would rather win on the road for the joy of rubbing it in the opponents face than to win at home in front of your loyal fans.

I'm with 0507 on this one, the post-championship celebration on the road might be more awkward in hockey than any other sport.

KK, I was not aware that you followed me so closely, and are so finely attuned to my pysche. I'm flattered.

OK, "Nothing is sweeter" is hyperbole. I have attended one of two such home event in the Joe in my lifetime, the luck of having a very prosperous brother with tix. Much better than watching it on TV with no cheers. As a guy who is not likely to get tix if there is a game seven this year, perhaps I was being a bit cavalier with the lucky ducat holders who may.
[I cant find my pic of me and the Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto!.]

My point is that there is in this particular case a good reason, and great pleasure, to want to see the Wings put it away in front of Crosby and Co. MD Muskie and I agree.

Emp

06-10-2009, 09:08 AM

Kahns Krazy

06-10-2009, 12:45 PM

Last night's game was a good one. I wanted a game 7, so I got that. I wanted an exciting game, and that it certainly was. A breakaway opportunity in the last 2 minutes of a 2-1 game? Awesome!

I can't wait for Friday.

Kahns Krazy

06-12-2009, 04:48 PM

It's all on the line tonight. I really just want an exciting game. I'm a Pens fan mostly because they were good when I got into hockey, and the guy that got me into it was a rabid Pens fan (which is also about how I got into Xavier basketball).

I would rather see a repeat of game 6 with the opposite outcome than a repeat of game 5 with the opposite outcome.

I'd love to see overtime. I can't imagine a more edge-of-your-seat experience than game 7 finals overtime.

Strange Brew

06-12-2009, 10:14 PM

As I was watching the game last night, the Booing of Hossa reminded me of how Dayton fans still give Mack the rasberries.

Then it hit me, there are more immediate examples of why it is nice to win on the other guy's rink/court/field. Xavier winning at the Shoe has always been more satisfying than at the Gardens or at Cintas for me. Ditto winning at UD Arena. KK, you may be right, I am a perverse contrarian.

As for the game, I gotta give it to the Pens and Fleury....they played well, seemed to play with more speed and flow, and deserved to win.

That said, 05/07, you shall get your wish tomorrow night.

Your right Emp, winning on the other guy's ice IS VERY SATISFYING!!!!! Wow, is this great. You and the other bloated ego Wings fans can cry their eyes out with Hossa thinking that this one was "in the bag". Seriously, choke on it.

Say it with me, I SUCK, THE PENS OWN ME!!!!!

wkrq59

06-13-2009, 01:52 AM

Outstanding game. My grandson is very happy. The Penguins won. He doesn't give a damn about Pittsburgh. In truth, Detroit shot its wad ingame 5 and there were a bunch of older men out there who were simply out-skated. All credit to the Pens and Fleury. My friend Mike Babcock has taken the gas for the second time in a seven-game series. :D:D

Kahns Krazy

06-13-2009, 10:37 AM

Wow. A decent scoring opportunity in the last 5 seconds of a 1-goal game is exactly what I wanted. A Pens win was even sweeter. Bunch of sore loser Detroit fans standing around booing. Boo hoo.

thefortyniner

06-13-2009, 11:30 AM

Wow. A decent scoring opportunity in the last 5 seconds of a 1-goal game is exactly what I wanted. A Pens win was even sweeter. Bunch of sore loser Detroit fans standing around booing. Boo hoo.

It really takes a special type of douchebag to boo a guy holding the Stanley Cup.

I don't care about either team (although I am happy to see Little Staal win a cup... first family in hockey?) but I stick around and watch because the presentation of the Stanley Cup is one of my favorite moments in sports.

Any fan that has ever booed during the skating of the Stanley Cup is not a real hockey fan at all.