OT: Wings Vs Pens Great Game
Definitely had all the makes of a playoff game this past Sunday. End to end action, high intensity and great saves from both Fleury and Howard! Damn I wish this game could of gone to a second overtime because a shoot out was not enough justification for this loss. Detroit played sloppy in the 1st and second period though. Howard stood on his head once again to stop anything else but Crosby's goal. He looked a lot like Hasek going down on his back to stop play and hold on to the puck which scares me when it's loose. Our PP has to improve if we want to make the playoffs this year because yesterday's just wasnt clicking. In the end we got a needed point true but we need to really start pulling in the wins here going into February and before the deadline. Otherwise this was a very exciting game.
MOD EDIT: Perhaps I should track how often NHL threads aren't labeled OT. This would be the 4th this week.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:49 AM ^
For that well-formulated, grammatically correct summary of yesterday afternoon's game
February 1st, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^
I actually got to go to the game yesterday, and it was a great game. I kept being surprised by the shot totals, as it didn't seem to me that Pittsburgh was controlling the play or anything. Howard played fantastic, but Detroit's offense was flat out miserable for most of the game.
And, as bad as Detroit's PP was, I think Pittsburgh was even more awful with the man advantage. I think when Holmstrom and Franzen finally return from injury, Detroit's will get better. As far as Pittsburgh goes, there is no reason for them to be as bad as they are given the talent they have at their disposal.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^
You do realize that at one point during the season they had 5 of their six starting defensemen injured right? Toss in the injuries to Talbot, Malkin at one point, Kennedy, and Kunitz they've had a tough season. Oh, and they're still in 4th.
And who is ahead of them in the standings? Buffalo is a decent team, but they'd be no where without Ryan Miller. New Jersey is playing fantastic hockey, and they deserve where they are ranked. The Capitals are certainly formidable, but I personally don't think they're the best team in the East. They play in the worst division in hockey by far and get a lot of easy points that way. They're right up there with the rest of the pack, but I wouldn't say they're far and away the best like some analysts might want you to think.
Also, Pittsburgh absolutely controlled the game for the first two periods. Detroit had a good third, but that just won't cut it. Also, I thought the Penguin's power play was pretty decent, at least relevant to what its been all season for them. They're sorely missing a big body up front. I think that's the key to fixing their power play.
February 1st, 2010 at 1:01 PM ^
I never said Pittsburgh as a team are bad. I said their PP is bad. As in 27th in the league bad. From what I saw yesterday, they were doing a poor job of moving the puck, they weren't setting up any good shots, and they seemed too eager to attempt to skate through 3 defenders to enter the zone.
I agree that Pittsburgh is still a contender. A team with a 3-deep center rotation of Crosby, Malkin, and Staal is going to be a tough team. I'm not that impressed with their defense, but it's probably better at this point than Washington.
I don't know that I would consider it so much that Pittsburgh controlled the game yesterday as it was Detroit playing like garbage on the offensive side of the rink. Sloppy passing and nonchalant play along the boards by the Wings are what tilted the shot totals, but I certainly didn't think Pittsburgh looked a whole lot better than Detroit. Granted, there were stretches where they had Detroit pinned for a bit, but it certainly didn't seem to be a 47-21 shot advantage kind of domination.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:20 PM ^
This was a great game and made me all the more sad that so much of the NHL is just lost on the stinking Verses channel that I do not have. In Hi-Def and surround sound Hockey is much more enjoyable to me then the NBA. The NHL should just take the pay cut and hand themselves over to ESPN as ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNMYAZZ is more viewable then Verses.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:28 PM ^
You must be referring to the Pens vs. Howard game, because I didn't see any Wing out there worth a damn besides Jimmy....and maybe Dats.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:37 PM ^
Cleary's a strong player but we need to have somebody who's Holmstrom's height to screen goalies to help get shots from the point in. And that person is Holmstrom.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
And the losses keep piling up. The Red Wings need to wake up and pull their heads out of their asses really fast. They are in serious danger of missing the playoffs. They don't even look like they want it lately. They were playing better with half the team hurt than they are playing now.