Seconded and you aint kidding!!!!! It goes without saying that Scuderi saved that game for Pittsburgh. Under a minute left with Osgood pulled and Fleury out of position thereby vulnerable to a rebound shot -- enter Scuderi with his THREE incredible saves protecting the open net. In any other sport that's an ESPN top ten play for weeks. Speaking of Fleury: talk about sweet redemption for him. He got completely chewed up Game 5. Plenty questioned his poise and ability to respond to that kind of beating. Well, he responded alright....and not the way some suggested he would. P.S. Have we heard Marian Hossa's name once all series? I swear the only the reason I even noticed he was out there is when he touches the puck and the fans go apes*** and boo the hell out of him. (Knock on wood, of course, if you're a Pittsburgh fan. Just saying....)
Game 7 tonight...Even if you don't follow hockey, it's an F'n Game 7, winner take all... I think Red Wings win, but I'm hoping the Pens do...or at least show up and make it competitive...
The last 5 minutes of the first period was fun, it was quite choppy before that, hope second period is free flowing.
The Penguins continue to impress me. It's not just Malkin and Crosby, either. They are playing great two-way hockey as a team and working their asses off. The Red Wings rarely get outworked but that has been the case for much of this series.
I don't think its the Pens that are playing better, its Detroit that's not playing like themeselves. They really weren't going to the shoot and crash the net game they flourish in, they started doing that in the last 4-5 minutes of the second. I'm hoping they make a game of it in the third period. I want the better team to win, plus Detroit has gone through so much crap with the auto sector crash, want them to have something to celebrate about.
The better team usually wins in a 7-game series. You almost always here fans of the losing team saying "the other team didn't win, we just didn't play our game" but there is almost always more to it than that. There are many reasons why the Red Wings don't appear to be playing their game and not all of those reasons have to do with their shortcomings. The other team surely deserves some amount of credit. All this is coming from a life-long Caps fan, who should dislike the Penguins over the Red Wings if anything.
This series has made me a huge fan of Hockey. Always been just a casual fan, not really watching many games but keep an eye on scores and standings here and there. I can't believe I have deprived myself from a great sport. Not really sure who I am a fan of, but always liked Redwings and NJ Devils. Who are the classy teams in Hockey?
The Pens have really grown in this series. After losing 2 in a row to start the series, they have won 3 of 4, and are 20 minutes away from winning 4 out of 5 against a really good Detroit team. The backchecking of the forwards has been awesome the last few games, and especially tonight. Except for the last few minutes of the 2nd period, the Penguins backcheck hasn't allowed Detroit to set up their game. If Fleury can make a few big saves this period, they could do it.
Almost an identical description to what happened in the Pens-Caps series. Of course, Detroit is better competition but the 0-2 start, then winning 4 out of 5, the backchecking, Fleury coming up big late in the series, etc...
I haven't watched an NHL game in 10+ years but I am glued to this. The butterflies are swirly in my stomach.
I guess some of that has to be good coaching by Bylsma (sp). The team is able to adapt strategy mid series. Good coaching, and good buy-in from the players.
I very much agree and was actually thinking that even though I didn't specifically mention it. I have to believe Bylsma is a big factor. What the Pens are doing is more than just out-talenting teams (which is almost impossible to do to a team like Detroit). They are playing a smart brand of two-way hockey as an entire team, from their best players to their worst, and they are working their asses off, looking extremely motivated. It completely looks like Bylsma has implemented something and the players have bought into it. He deserves plenty of credit.
