Brian,

I don’t think any team that is down 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals and without a goal is above getting frustrated and having a few players lash-out.

Good point. Frustration is understandable. However, there’s a difference between starting scrums after the play and Roberts’ slug to the head of Franzen. That’s not frustration, that’s a lack of class, even if it was only momentary on Roberts’ part.

Osgood played it up by falling over and staying down to draw a penalty/scrum. Hasek’s antics with flopping must’ve brushed off on Osgood.

You forget that it happened at the side of the net. Sykora did put his shoulder into Osgood and had a fair amount of momentum backing him up. So the contact wasn’t strictly a minor brush. On the replay, you can see Osgood step on the side of the net to try to regain his balance. I’m not denying that Osgood embellished and would have fallen anyway, but what he did was not Hasek-esque. He effectively tripped on the net.

Like there hasn’t been whining in every series this playoffs, and you’ve never whined about officiating after a game…everyone complains about officiating to some extent, especially after they lose.

My point there was that the Pens should be worrying about themselves at this point, not the officiating. They aren’t playing like they should be and can’t pin that on the referees. I’d just like to see some more honesty from Therrien, because he’s not doing his team any favors by shunting the blame elsewhere.

It’s one thing to complain about the officiating when it’s actually been a problem, but I honestly don’t think it’s been an issue for just one team here. If there’s a problem with it, it’s that they aren’t letting either team just play. Already there have been too many penalties in this series and Therrien wants more? Please!

I don’t know whether you’re trying to insinuate that the Pens are not a team and/or are individuals playing pond hockey but people aren’t bored because of the team play of the Wings.

No, I’m not insinuating that the Penguins aren’t a team. I just think the Wings are playing together as such a cohesive unit that people are disappointed. They want to see superstars like Crosby and Malkin stand out and take command of the series. That’s where my reference to pond hockey comes from, this desire to see individuals take the lead.

Would you be enjoying this series if you weren’t a Wings fan?

That’s a difficult question to answer because I can’t draw from prior Finals that have seen similar dominance. I’d like to think I’d appreciate a team’s skill and ability even if it meant a series was one-sided, but if I were predisposed to disliking that team, I’d obviously not enjoy it. That’s at least part of the problem here, as most people who aren’t Wings fans already don’t like them.

Sarah,

Seems like it’d be much more exciting to see two teams running on all cylinders than an equally matched display of mediocrity.

Exactly.

Well, the man who guards the Cup 24/7 talks about that and more…By the way, Teemu Selanne currently holds the Stanley Cup drinking record.

http://www.maxim.com/StanleyCupStories/articles/25808.aspx?src=tst

About the cheap shots on Franzen: Did anyone else notice Malkin going after Franzen during the scrum at the end? Watch a video, any video, of it. You’ll see Malkin slowly skate towards the group as if he doesn’t really want to get involved. Then Malkin notices #93 with his back to him, so he decides to jump on Franzen. Franzen would have none of it though, and knocks Malkin down and almost punches him.

If the situation was different, I probably wouldn’t have made anything of it. But given the two cheap shots to Franzen’s head earlier in the game, it seemed like Malkin was going for a cheap shot himself. I guess I’m the only one who noticed it, as I haven’t seen anyone else mention it anywhere yet.

Hockey = NOT a game

/simply fed up with people not being called for the most heinous of injury intended fouls. This “game” is worse off with people like Pronger and Roberts and Bertuzzi and Simon….
//disappointed with Kronwall leaving his skates too
///it’s playoff fever Brian, I’ve got it bad!

“When you can’t get anything else going, the last resort is always roughing the other team up a bit.”

Yeah, if you’re dirty and classless. Just cause a lot of teams do it doesn’t mean it’s right. It never works anyway. Once a team loses composure, there’s little hope for them. Ask all the teams that are playing golf right now about that.

“And it’s Therrien’s job to get after the refs if he thinks it’s going to get them on his side the next game.”

Actually I think it’s Therrien’s job to inspire his team. If he were smart he’d be trying to get them to play better, rather than feeding them excuses.

Crosby seems to be the only one in the interviews who doesn’t go pushing the blame every which way he can Unfortunately, for him, despite all the attention he gets, nobody actually listens to him. They just torture him about his scruffy boy-beard and take his picture.

Honestly I never heard Therrien complain about the officiating anyway, on the contrary, I thought he was saying that the Wings were playing within the rules, but he still slapped that nasty ‘O’-word on there anyway:

“They’re good on obstruction. It’s going to be tough to generate any type of offense, if the rules remain the same. So it’s the first time we’re facing a team that the obstruction is there, and we’re having a hard time skating to take away ice.”

So apparently, there is absolutely no obstruction in the Eastern Conference. Hmmm… And the rules must change or no one will ever score against the Wings. It’s a wonder we didn’t just shut everyone out all season… Okay, I’m exaggerating, but tell me it doesn’t seem like he’s grasping at straws. They’ve never played a team with obstruction before? They’re in the same division as the devils for pete’s sake! Granted, they’re not the same team that played a flawless “trap” years ago, but still. That’s just a silly statement to make.

Is he seriously whining about the rules that Gary has spent years implementing specifically for players like Crosby? Oh, I hope Gary doesn’t hear his ungrateful babble. That would probably break that miniature basketball in his chest that pumps his blood.

“I myself have been BOTH a Wings fan and Pens fan at different times”
Dude, I wouldn’t brag too about being a side-swapper if I were you…

“I’m hoping the Wings see the greater good and let up.” How about hoping the Pens find their composure and give the Wings a go of it. Would it really be exciting to see the Wings playing half-heartedly just so Pittsburgh can keep up? Seems like it’d be much more exciting to see two teams running on all cylinders than an equally matched display of mediocrity. I don’t think it’s the Wings who make games boring, it’s their opponents.

Oh, and nice speech there Scott - I kept having flashbacks to those ‘My NHL’ commercials after the lockout… “The skillful warrior…” They were sorta creepy, but I liked the idea anyway. Maybe you should be in advertising…

Sykora threw the hit; Ozzie did his job and made sure the Refs saw it. His veteran moves are making sure the Refs see when he gets bumped.

Therian can complain all he wants, and the sad thing is that it will effect the game. Homer will lose goals, and Ozzie will be a “Diver” and get penalized for it. Just seems like a lot of effort that could be put into making Malkin realize that he’s not tired, and instilling a little heart into his team.

I forgot who it was, but someone pointed out that the Penguins play like they are happy to be in the finals, and Detroit plays like they want a cup. The Pens have a hole to climb out of, and they’re going to have to earn their wins with hard work.