NHL Playoff Discussion Thread

[Guynemer]

Not only are the Red Wings up 2-0, they are up 2-0 with the following combined statistics of their consensus best six players (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Hossa, Franzen, Lidstrom, Rafalski):

1 goal, 3 assists. (Though, to be fair, they are a combined +8, so they are playing well defensively.)



Two games in which the Wings and outshot and outchanced, and Ozzie stones 'em. Two wins away from a Conn Smythe and nailing down a Hall of Fame induction...

[Asher]

Osgood is extremely good this year, and last. I don't know what's gotten into him.

[Lord Avalon]

Malkin instigated a fight with Zetterberg at the end. Is he gonna sit out game 3?

[Asher]

No.

[Guynemer]

No way will the NHL uphold that rule. Not on Malkin, and not when the game is buried on Versus where they can get away with it. Lame.

[Guynemer]

Glad to see you come around on Osgood, Asher.

[Asher]

Glad to see you come around on Osgood, Asher.

He must be hacking or something. There's no way he can be this good.

[Guynemer]

You're just finally coming to terms what we Red Wings fans have known for years. Welcome to the Dark Side, my apprentice.

That brouhaha at the end was interesting, though. The dude who speared Osgood didn't get into a scrum or anything; I'm not sure why exactly Malkin (and Satan) jumped Zetterberg.

[SlowwHand]

Go Detroit!

[Guynemer]

Christ, the NHL didn't waste any time, they've already rescinded the automatic 1-game suspension for Malkin.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=280536

[Guynemer]

Chris Osgood's career numbers in the Stanley Cup Finals to date:

10-2, 1.47 GAA, .937 sv%, 2 SHO

[Asher]

Insane. No other word for it.

[Guynemer]

The Wings can not get comfortable. They went up 2-0 last year, and the Pens came screaming back to make it a series--and the Pens are playing much better this year than last.


However, really, when you look at it, this shouldn't be such a surprise. The Pens had 3 players with over 50 points, and 6 over 40 on the season. The Wings: 8 and 11, respectively. They are just deeper, and when the top offensive threats are cancelling each other out on both sides, the deeper team is going to prevail more often than not. What's remarkable is that only one of Detroit's goals so far (Franzen) came from a player with >40 points. Fully half have come from players who spent most of the season in the AHL, one of whom had an emergency appendectomy five days ago.

NYE is right. Detroit is quite simply in their own league when it comes to player development.

[Asher]

Really is the envy of the league.

[Lord Avalon]

one of whom had an emergency appendectomy five days ago.

Fortunately, it was a laparoscopic procedure.

NYE is right. Detroit is quite simply in their own league when it comes to player development.

IIRC, for NHL goals Helm has only scored in the playoffs, and Abdelkader only in this Finals.