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Thoughts on Game 5 SCF (4-3 3OT loss to Pittsburgh)
-- Just an absolutely great game (with a bad outcome). If a national audience didn't enjoy that game, then there's no hope for hockey. Sergei Gonchar returning from injury was a classic moment.
-- Chris Osgood looked very shakey. Marc-Andre Fleury looked better than he ever has in this series. I'm not sure what was going on with Osgood. Hopefully it was a one-game blip. He had trouble catching the puck, keeping his position and left out way too many rebounds. And getting caught cheating off the post on the tying goal was bad. If Ozzie's on his post, the Wings would have the Cup today.
-- I'm disappointed in Johan Franzen's last shift in regulation. He didn't get the puck out of the defensive zone, leading directly to Maxime Talbot's goal. Franzen had an excellent opportunity to clear the zone, but he looked like he was tranquilized. He didn't clear the zone against Anaheim last spring in a key moment.
-- The Red Wings acquitted themselves well except for Talbot's tying goal. They're clearly the better team in this series. But I don't believe that the best team always wins in a best-of-seven format. For those of you who like baseball history, this reminds me a little of the 1960 World Series where the clearly outmanned Pittsburgh Pirates beat the NY Yankees in seven games, getting blown out in Yankee wins but managing enough one-run victories of their own to be champions ... well except that I think the Wings will win this series. Big difference there.
-- Jiri Hudler played a strong game and it's a shame that he was in the penalty box on the winning goal. His stick wouldn't have been high if he wasn't so tired. No excuse though.
-- Darren Helm is awesome. That kid played a magnificent game.
-- I like how Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg centered their own lines in overtime. I'm curious to see if coach Mike Babcock will do that in Game 6.
-- Chris Osgood looked very shakey. Marc-Andre Fleury looked better than he ever has in this series. I'm not sure what was going on with Osgood. Hopefully it was a one-game blip. He had trouble catching the puck, keeping his position and left out way too many rebounds. And getting caught cheating off the post on the tying goal was bad. If Ozzie's on his post, the Wings would have the Cup today.
-- I'm disappointed in Johan Franzen's last shift in regulation. He didn't get the puck out of the defensive zone, leading directly to Maxime Talbot's goal. Franzen had an excellent opportunity to clear the zone, but he looked like he was tranquilized. He didn't clear the zone against Anaheim last spring in a key moment.
-- The Red Wings acquitted themselves well except for Talbot's tying goal. They're clearly the better team in this series. But I don't believe that the best team always wins in a best-of-seven format. For those of you who like baseball history, this reminds me a little of the 1960 World Series where the clearly outmanned Pittsburgh Pirates beat the NY Yankees in seven games, getting blown out in Yankee wins but managing enough one-run victories of their own to be champions ... well except that I think the Wings will win this series. Big difference there.
-- Jiri Hudler played a strong game and it's a shame that he was in the penalty box on the winning goal. His stick wouldn't have been high if he wasn't so tired. No excuse though.
-- Darren Helm is awesome. That kid played a magnificent game.
-- I like how Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg centered their own lines in overtime. I'm curious to see if coach Mike Babcock will do that in Game 6.
posted by Chuck Pleiness at
10:12 AM
7 Comments:
i disagree. over 7 games, the better team wins. it is possible for the better team to get hammered in any given game but to win 4 (and in the Pens' case, 3 in a row)that team would be the better team because a team is not just the sum of its parts physically but also mentally. if the pens come back on us, they are the better team when accounting for physical AND mental strength.
i just don't see the Wings losing 3 in a row here but then this team has its share of playoff failures that have yet to be exorcised with a Cup.
I do believe that the better team wins most often in a best-of-seven series, but not always. That's all I'm saying. Mathematically, the better team is more likely to win a best-of-seven series than a best-of-five, but likewise a best-of-nine identifies the better team more often than a best-of-seven. There's nothing magic about best-of-seven. It just fits well for TV.
If you really want the better team, make it best-of-a million and one.
All that said, I'm with you ... I don't see the Wings losing three in a row.
-- I agree Ozzie and Mule did not come through on the tying goal, but also noted that the puck went right through Lidstrom's legs on its way to Talbot's stick.
-- In the "unsung heroes" category, I think Lebda also stepped up his play in Games 4 and 5.
-- I also liked when Babcock juggled the lines. I hope he does so again in Game 6 to create four rollable lines and doesn't worry about what Therrien does. As Babs has said many times, "We need to do what we do."
What did you think about some of the calls from last night? I couldnt believe the Pav tripping call...and calling goalie interference from the neutral zone in OT...come on. I dont think we lost the game because of missed calls, we had our chances, but it almost looked to me like the refs wanted this to go back to Pittsburgh.
Although we lost, hands down one of the best games ive seen...well worth the money spent.
Great post, love the Pirates comparison
I just want to make a comment here. I've been a Pens fan for 35 years. And I haven't really read any Detroit Red Wings blogs during this series until tonight. What I read on the Pens blogs was that the Detroit fans were being crybabies, they were blaming the refs, they were 'scared' of the Pens winning the series...etc. I'll tell you what though, this is the 5th Red Wings blog I've read tonight regarding game 5, and I have seen nothing but intelligent, insightful, thoughtful analysis in each post (comments are always another story). Heck, I've even read proper credit to the Pens where credit is due. I guess what I'm saying is that it's easy to be a hometown fan, not so easy to be a fan of the sport. I've always had high respect for Detroit fans, but let's just say from my short survey of Wings fans' opinions of an epic game, you've solidified that respect.
Thanks steelbenny. I've got a lot of respect for the Pens. They're the only team I've seen with forwards who are fast and strong enough to alter Datsyuk and Zetterberg's games.
One bone to pick with you though ... this is the fifth blog you read? Not the first? jk
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