Recipe for a Stanley Cup Finalist.
Take a last place team add a #1 draft choice teenaged Goalie named Marc-Andre Fleury, sign high priced young top draftees like the phenomenal 20 year old Sidney Crosby, teenaged center Jordan Staal (actually 19) and prolific scorer and playmaker 21 year old Yevegni Malkin. Then throw in some crafty vets like Marian Hossa, Sergei Gonchar, Peter Sykora and Pascal Dupuis to go with your one real vet Ryan Malone. Then spice it all up by bringing in a defensive minded coach like Michel Therrien who pledged to protect his young goaltender and presto you're going to the Stanley Cup finals..Just like that..
The key to the turn around apparently is Crosby with Fleury and Malkin not far behind.
What a hockey team they have in The Steel City..
wil..
Take a last place team add a #1 draft choice teenaged Goalie named Marc-Andre Fleury, sign high priced young top draftees like the phenomenal 20 year old Sidney Crosby, teenaged center Jordan Staal (actually 19) and prolific scorer and playmaker 21 year old Yevegni Malkin. Then throw in some crafty vets like Marian Hossa, Sergei Gonchar, Peter Sykora and Pascal Dupuis to go with your one real vet Ryan Malone. Then spice it all up by bringing in a defensive minded coach like Michel Therrien who pledged to protect his young goaltender and presto you're going to the Stanley Cup finals..Just like that..
The key to the turn around apparently is Crosby with Fleury and Malkin not far behind.
What a hockey team they have in The Steel City..
wil..
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Take a last place team add a #1 draft choice teenaged Goalie named Marc-Andre Fleury, sign high priced young top draftees like the phenomanal 20 year old Sidney Crosby, teenaged center Jordan Staal (actually 19) and prolific scorer and playmaker 21 year old Yevegni Malkin. Then throw in some crafty vets like Marian Hossa, Sergei Gonchar, Peter Sykora and Pascal Dupuis to go with your one real vet Ryan Malone. Then spice it all up by bringing in a defensive minded coach like Michel Therrien who pledged to protect his your goaltender and presto you're going to the Stanley Cup finals..Just like that..
The key to the turn around apparently is Crosby with Fleury and Malkin not far behind.
What a hockey team they have in The Steel City..
wil..
Just amazing that about 16 months ago we thought that this team was headed for Kansas City or Quebec.
Pittsburgh - Detroit would be exactly the series the NHL is looking for, two very good offensive teams with loads of young talent playing an up and down game.
Take a last place team add a #1 draft choice teenaged Goalie named Marc-Andre Fleury, sign high priced young top draftees like the phenomanal 20 year old Sidney Crosby, teenaged center Jordan Staal (actually 19) and prolific scorer and playmaker 21 year old Yevegni Malkin. Then throw in some crafty vets like Marian Hossa, Sergei Gonchar, Peter Sykora and Pascal Dupuis to go with your one real vet Ryan Malone. Then spice it all up by bringing in a defensive minded coach like Michel Therrien who pledged to protect his your goaltender and presto you're going to the Stanley Cup finals..Just like that..
The key to the turn around apparently is Crosby with Fleury and Malkin not far behind.
What a hockey team they have in The Steel City..
wil..
Sorry, I had to laugh at that. They are far from being "defensive-minded" and Detroit will prove that if they make it to the Finals. Not saying Pitts won't win the Cup, but Detroit will be the toughest competition Pitts will ever face..
FYI - only two teams in the Eastern Conference (Rangers and Devils) allowed less goals than the 216 the Penquins allowed this season.
Sure they move the puck and attack (why not they have the firepower now) but this team is a long long way from the 2005/06 version of the Pittsburg Penquins that allowed 316 markers and last year's squad which gave up 246 goals during the regular seasons.
wil.
Sure they move the puck and attack (why not they have the firepower now) but this team is a long long way from the 2005/06 version of the Pittsburg Penquins that allowed 316 markers and last year's squad which gave up 246 goals during the regular seasons.
wil.
Like I said Michel Therrien pledged to protect his rubber shelled young GT before the season and he did.
He put together this group:
Sergei Gonchar
Brooks Orpik
Hal Gill
Darryl Sydor
Robert Scuderi
Kris Letang
Plus he created a tuff and gritty 4th line to shore up the defense when needed.
Today the Penguins improved to 9-0 in the playoffs in games where they have a lead after two periods.
The Penguins have outshot the opposition in 11 of their 14 postseason games.
Out of the ten playoff games Sidney Crosby has recorded a point in, nine have been multi-point games.
The Penguins needed only 14 games to reach the Cup finals. They are 12-2 in the postseason and 8-0 in ancient Mellon Arena, the NHL’s oldest arena but one that will see at least one more Cup finals before the Penguins move.
The Quins led 3-0 in all three series, losing only twice, once in Madison Square Garden, 3-0 on May 1st and once last Thursday, 4-2 in Philadelphia. They quickly avenged both losses.
wil..
He put together this group:
Sergei Gonchar
Brooks Orpik
Hal Gill
Darryl Sydor
Robert Scuderi
Kris Letang
Plus he created a tuff and gritty 4th line to shore up the defense when needed.
Today the Penguins improved to 9-0 in the playoffs in games where they have a lead after two periods.
The Penguins have outshot the opposition in 11 of their 14 postseason games.
Out of the ten playoff games Sidney Crosby has recorded a point in, nine have been multi-point games.
The Penguins needed only 14 games to reach the Cup finals. They are 12-2 in the postseason and 8-0 in ancient Mellon Arena, the NHL’s oldest arena but one that will see at least one more Cup finals before the Penguins move.
The Quins led 3-0 in all three series, losing only twice, once in Madison Square Garden, 3-0 on May 1st and once last Thursday, 4-2 in Philadelphia. They quickly avenged both losses.
wil..
And Detroit has allowed only 184 this year, lower than the 199 in 2006/07 and the 209 in 2005/06.
Pittsburgh has played better defensively in the last 3 months or so, but don't fool yourself into thinking that they are somehow " defensive " minded. They have always been an offense first team and it will always stay that way.
I know you didn't compare Pittsburgh and Detroit's D, but Detroit unanimously obliterates them...
mtx
You need to win another game first but that should happen if not in game 6 then in game 7.
FWIW - I am a lifelong Bruins fan who goes back to before Bobby Orr was a rookie. I go back to the real 6 team NHL when hockey was hockey but that is another story.
I do enjoy seeing teams turn it around like the Pens have done, so I started following them some.
Not to mention I have a serious hatred of the Flyers that dates back to the 1974 Stanley Cup playoffs, when Bobby Clarke and the old Broad Street Bullies stole game 2 at the Garden and beat the Big Bad Bruins in 6 games for the Cup. The B's have not been that close since.
The Red Wings I have never liked or disliked much either way. Usually they are favored over whoever they are playing and if I am not wagering anything on the game I root for the dog to win, human nature, I guess.
BOL. in the finals, wil..
You need to win another game first but that should happen if not in game 6 then in game 7.
FWIW - I am a lifelong Bruins fan who goes back to before Bobby Orr was a rookie. I go back to the real 6 team NHL when hockey was hockey but that is another story.
I do enjoy seeing teams turn it around like the Pens have done, so I started following them some.
Not to mention I have a serious hatred of the Flyers that dates back to the 1974 Stanley Cup playoffs, when Bobby Clarke and the old Broad Street Bullies stole game 2 at the Garden and beat the Big Bad Bruins in 6 games for the Cup. The B's have not been that close since.
The Red Wings I have never liked or disliked much either way. Usually they are favored over whoever they are playing and if I am not wagering anything on the game I root for the dog to win, human nature, I guess.
BOL. in the finals, wil..
HinesWard86
My problem is I live in Costa Rica and only get an occasional Sunday Afternoon game on the network affiliate we get here on cable. We get the Denver, Co feed for NBC, CBS and ABC. So to be honest I have to read most of what I know regarding who is playing and who isn't especially on defense where players don't get much ink.
I follow the game scores and re-caps and sometime read the Pittsburg Post-Gazette Sports page. That game today was on locally but I have been working like crazy today so I had it on but just listened like a radio.
wil.
My problem is I live in Costa Rica and only get an occasional Sunday Afternoon game on the network affiliate we get here on cable. We get the Denver, Co feed for NBC, CBS and ABC. So to be honest I have to read most of what I know regarding who is playing and who isn't especially on defense where players don't get much ink.
I follow the game scores and re-caps and sometime read the Pittsburg Post-Gazette Sports page. That game today was on locally but I have been working like crazy today so I had it on but just listened like a radio.
wil.
I gotcha wilheim, was just trying to help.
I don't think they are going to beat Detroit, that defense has not been tested yet. Fleury has been fucking remarkable though, only flaw I have seen in his game is he's a little slow moving side to side and sometimes his stickhandling is a little shaky.
No doubt that Detroit will be a healthy favorite but in the over 50 years I have been watching hockey stanger things have happened.
Ask the 1971 Bruins. They had the top 4 scoreres in the league plus Bobby Orr changing the way the game was played before our eyes and a goalie named Ken Dryden came along, a rookie with the hated Montreal Canadiens, he stood on his head and the Habs knocked off the defending champ Bruins in the Eastern semi's in 7 games and went on to win the cup again that year.
The Bruins came back the following year and beat The Rangers in 6 games behind Orr, Phil Esposito and co. to win the last Cup they have seen to this very day.
1971/72 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.
wil..
Thankfully I'm not a Detroit "fan"...I'm just cheering for them even though my heart says Pittsburgh wins the Cup...it would be freakin' awesome to see DET choke a 3-0 lead again (so they can continue to be labelled as playoff busts haha...and plus, they were one of the only two teams to ever choke a 3-0 series lead in NHL history).
FWIW, I'm a lifelong Devils fan who goes back to 94-95 playoffs when the Devils swept Detroit as huge underdogs. Since then, the Devils have won two more Cups from solid defense and goaltending mostly inspired by Jacques Lemaire, someone who I truly consider "defensive-minded". I guess that's why I felt so compelled to reply to your post. Therien's team might be playing good defense right now, but he is far, far, away from being defensive minded. When you talk about defense, the first thing to pop up into your mind is usually NJ, Dallas, Minnesota, Boston. Those are the true definition of " defensive " teams. The last thing anyone would think is Pittsburgh but I do admit, their defense has improved A LOT since December.
Detroit is a hard team to hate because they are so much alike my beloved Devils. Or "were" anyways. Both teams are full of hardworking non-selfish team and role players (Hasek maybe not so much LOL), both teams have consistent regular season success in times with and without adversity (i.e. even when the big names retired or left for free agency, both teams still continued to succeed), both teams have awesome drafting and scouting abilities that undoubtedly contribute to their amazing successses (just look at all the homegrown rookies that have been developed into amazing superstars - Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Rafalski, Neidermayer, Gomez, Elias, Parise, Madden, Brodeur, etc. just to name a few), both teams are well respected and feared (NJ not so anymore sadly), and both teams are as close to a dynasty as you can get (NJ not so anymore sadly) as they both combine for 50%, or 6, of the last 12 Stanley Cups!
Pittsburgh has a great team and I think they'll win the Cup in 7 against Detroit but there's no way I could root for them. Not just because they are divisional rivalries, but because there are teams you " want " to win, and then there are teams that you " really want " to win. Meaning sure, it would be awesome and fun to see the league's most exciting players in Crosby, Malkin, Hossa win their first cup together because they're so young and good...but then there's also the other team that deserves it just as much just for being the veterans, just for being there year in and year out, owning the league for a decade even when the game has changed and names like Yzerman and Fedorov fade away....I guess it's just hard for me to cheer for a team like Pittsburgh, a team who is solely built on #1 draft picks after tanking for a few consecutive seasons compared to a team like Detroit that hasn't had a #1 draft pick in what, 15 years?
