HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Lol. Let it sink in folks. Those of you that cheered for Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby beat Lidstrom, and went back to the finals before Datsyuk/Z and insult to injury also won the Conn Smythe. Yuck. I wanted them to win for Cullen. 1 55fan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shocky2002 36 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 16 Pens = 08 Wings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Bettman read the wrong name. It was Kessel. 3 Hockeymom1960, NerveDamage and xtrememachine1 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kickazz 5,459 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 (edited) I wanted them to win for Cullen. A good reason. The only positive for me was Kessel winning it. But I'd never root for Crosby. He was a ****** to Lidstrom and very classless. Edited June 13, 2016 by kickazz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 16 Pens = 08 Wings No. Their forward group may be stronger, but our defense and goaltending was a lot better. Same with coaching. Wings in 5. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kickazz 5,459 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 16 Pens = 08 Wings Not a chance. We would have wrecked them on all accounts. From coaching to goaltending to physicality as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shocky2002 36 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 (edited) Not a chance. We would have wrecked them on all accounts. From coaching to goaltending to physicality as well. We win in 6. Im just saying that the runs are similar. Both teams were labelled soft 'chokers' based on the previous couple of playoff seasons, come in and dominate every opponent with pure puck possession and basically no physicality. Edited June 13, 2016 by shocky2002 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 I wanted them to win for Cullen. Didn't he already win it before? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toby91_ca 620 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 They got the Conn Smythe right. Kessel had 3 more points, but Crosby was by far the more complete and more important player. I honestly thought Kessel would win it, but didn't think he should. Sometimes you wonder if they just look to who had the most points and not pay attention to the games and watch closely. I thought Crosby was way more dominant later in the playoffs than he was early on, but the points seemed to follow the opposite. Cullen won in 2006 with Carolina 1 DRW Dominance reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kickazz 5,459 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Cullen won in 2006 with Carolina Lol for some reason that finals year is just completely blocked from my memory. 1 NerveDamage reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Hopefully Blash was watching these games. Speed kills, no more slow garbage clogging the lineup next year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shocky2002 36 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Hopefully Blash was watching these games. Speed kills, no more slow garbage clogging the lineup next year. you mean Zetterberg because he's the one (allegedly) calling the shots Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacksoni 418 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 you mean Zetterberg because he's the one (allegedly) calling the shots That's not the way we conduct business. You forgot Kronwall backing Z up, that's more like it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeftWinger 5,129 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Pittsburgh has never won the Cup on home ice. Although they had a chance in the 1995 Finals before the game was interrupted by terrorist attacks in OT of game 7. I'm confused. 1995 Cup Final was Detroit v. NJ. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mckinley25 679 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 I'm confused. 1995 Cup Final was Detroit v. NJ. Not sure if you're joking, but I think they're referencing the film Sudden Death. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xtrememachine1 795 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Lol. Let it sink in folks. Those of you that cheered for Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby beat Lidstrom, and went back to the finals before Datsyuk/Z and insult to injury also won the Conn Smythe. Yuck. Crosby has a much different personality now than he did then. No more whining or sucker punches (although him and Thornton went at it pretty good). No more acting like a petulant child. He's not perfect, but he's light years ahead of where he was when he played us, in terms of maturity, which is one of the reasons I was okay with them winning it this year. 16 Pens = 08 Wings While the Sharks were getting good pressure on the Pens last night, I noticed that a lot of their offensive pressure was a result of good passing. That's one way to get around relentless forechecking. Pass that puck around and wear them out, they can't move as fast as a pass. Then I thought, about the '08 Wings and how ridiculously well they could control and pass the puck around. If the '08 Wings played the '16 Pens, it would still be a good series, but the Wings would take it. The Pens wouldn't be able to do what they did throughout these playoffs against that Red Wings team or really any Red Wings team for that matter. Hopefully Blash was watching these games. Speed kills, no more slow garbage clogging the lineup next year. Hopefully everybody remembers this next year when they start complaining about how we have too many "soft players" and we need to get bigger. Bigger equals slower. Not sure if you're joking, but I think they're referencing the film Sudden Death. Film? Y-You mean... that wasn't... real?? 3 55fan, Mckinley25 and NerveDamage reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 The one comparison you can make between the 2016 Penguins and 2008 Wings is in puck possession and the shots on goal disparity between them and the opposition. The biggest difference is the Wings won the Presidents trophy and dominated the entire season. Pittsburgh didn't get hot until they fired their coach. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jacksoni 418 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 The best team in the finals won the Stanley cup, no doubt in my mind at least. I may not like it but that's just the way it is. I do agree that we could learn a lot by looking at the Pens, both in regards to System, something they have done very nicely since the coaching change, but also attributes within the system, most notably speed, and speed at the right place and the right time. They have managed to put the right players under the right circumstances in the finals, to me it showed almost always against them Sharks. If Blashill could pick that apart and incorporate something that works for our players I would imagine we'd look a lot nicer next season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Speed doesn't mean anything if the sticks are being held by guys that can't score. We've built our system on speed as well. However, guys like Nyquist or Tatar have been underwhelming in the playoffs and guys like Helm or Glendenning can't be counted on to score goals. Pittsburgh didn't have a lot of useless players on their roster. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toby91_ca 620 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Speed was a huge factor, but at the end of the day, their depth was just too much (which is not something you would have thought at the begging of the year). The Sharks were putting all their effort into stopping Crosby's line, but then you had to worry about Malkin as well...didn't leave much left to consider their 3rd line with Kessel. Kessel was brought in to play with either Crosby or Malkin of course, but having him on the 3rd line seemed to work out nicely. Crosby and Malkin have already proven they can produce with mediocre players, it's nice to think about adding a sniper, but why not boost a 3rd line? Cullen on the 4th line was a very useful player as well...very solid player, not a lot of offense, but some, but very responsible in several other areas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankgrimes 1,836 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 (edited) There is no magival let's copy the most recent cup winner formula because the Wings don't have any of the things the Pens have like best player in the world (Crosby), Letang playing like a Norris winner, Elite center in Malkin, top goaltending and one of the best snipers in the game.. Also can't copy the Hawks, Kings for the same reasons..we all know how to get these players... The best team one and deservingly so, Crosby wasn't my first choice but he is a deserving winner guy flat out killed the sharks with his end to end rushes. People thought the Sharks were fast - which they are - but the Pens are even faster. You counter that playing a more physical type of game, forecheck hard and hit everything that moves..because the sharks were never able to match that speed. Edited June 13, 2016 by frankgrimes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free_Candy 38 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 (edited) In one respect, the comparison between the 08 Wings and 16 Pens is correct -- not on paper or matchups -- the 08 Wings were probably the strongest roster in recent memory. But the 16 Pens won in very similar fashion in the series: held serve at home, split on the road, were unable to win the Cup at home but did win it on the road in game 6. The Sharks also reminded me of the 08 Pens in terms of lack of experience showing, especially in the first 2 games. You guys know as well as anyone -- there is hockey, then there is playoffs hockey, and then there is Cup Finals hockey. By the time SJ found their legs it was too late and probably not enough anyway. I was pulling for Phil to win the Smythe, just because the guy really put up with a lot of crap and got snubbed by USA hockey, and I liked the idea of him getting the last laugh. But I don't think the media was willing to buy into that, though I doubt he cares about that at this point. In many respects, an often overlooked dark horse in my book, at least how valuable he is to the team -- is Letang. He really is like a rudder for the team and the Pens often follow suit with how he does in a game, and they struggle a great deal when he's not in the lineup. Edited June 13, 2016 by Free_Candy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plopster 136 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 I thought the Sharks created chances, they just couldn't capitalize. A lot of errant passes or just flat missing the net in the pens zone. The pens being good and fast wouldn't let them spend much time in their zone after that. It's really about being fast enough to get to pucks and making the smart plays to keep it to keep up the pressure. Honestly that first goal against them shouldn't have happened. Terrible goal to give up at home in that situation. Right under his arm. Little things add up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 One thing I wish the Wings would learn is how to block shots. The Penguins did a lot of that not just this year but in 2009 as well. Our team needs to stop collapsing and refusing the block shots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joesuffP 1,746 Report post Posted June 13, 2016 Ya pens shot blocking was a huge key to the series. Anytime sharks got some extended pressure nothing was getting through to the net Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
