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The Detroit Red Wings win the 2008 Stanley Cup


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Also, does anybody recall a team being 30 seconds away from a Stanley Cup and losing?

Nope. I don't think the Red Wings are even close to collapsing. Against Dallas they were up 3-0 (if I remember correctly) but Dallas won two games before Detroit finished 'em off. My guess is that while Fleury has been outstanding, he alone can't win this series for fhe Pens. The Penguins team as a whole have to improve a lot in order to come back from a 3-1 deficit. I still hold the Red Wings as the favourites to win this. They've been in this situation before and dealt with it, I think they will do it again.

Remember how there was a lot of talk about how the advantage shifted to the Bruins when they forced the Habs into a game seven in the first round this year? Yeah, well, we all know how that series ended. IMO the Penguins are gonna have to burn too much fuel just to get even that they won't have enough left if they happen to take this to seven games.

And having Gonchar and Malone in the shape they are in, and Malkin too, won't help the Penguins' cause.

Edited by Doktor Kosmos
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Nope. I don't think the Red Wings are even close to collapsing. Against Dallas they were up 3-0 (if I remember correctly) but Dallas won two games before Detroit finished 'em off. My guess is that while Fleury has been outstanding, he alone can't win this series for fhe Pens. The Penguins team as a whole have to improve a lot in order to come back from a 3-1 deficit. I still hold the Red Wings as the favourites to win this. They've been in this situation before and dealt with it, I think they will do it again.

Remember how there was a lot of talk about how the advantage shifted to the Bruins when they forced the Habs into a game seven in the first round this year? Yeah, well, we all know how that series ended. IMO the Penguins are gonna have to burn too much fuel just to get even that they won't have enough left if they happen to take this to seven games.

And having Gonchar and Malone in the shape they are in, and Malkin too, won't help the Penguins' cause.

I agree. The Pens have been holding on for dear life after the Wings blew their doors off in Game 1 and 2.

Turco was outstanding in Game 5 of the Stars series and got lit for 3 in the first in Game 6. Everybody thought Montreal was dead and buried

in Game 7 and won going away and the Sharks looked to have all the momentum after winning 2 in a row and were also bounced.

The only way the Pens win is if Fleury produces two more games like that, and that still might not be enough. They did require a goal with 30 seconds

to go after Fleury played the game of his life.

I can think of a handful of goalies who were credited with putting a team on their back. Dryden in 71, Parent in 74-75, Roy in 86 and 93 and Giguere in 2003.

Not one of those guys had to deal with the onslaught that Fleury has faced on a nightly basis (Maybe Dryden vs Boston in 71). In order for the Pens to win it

would have to be a Stanley Cup performance for the ages.

I have yet to see any evidence that the Pens can stop the Wings, so I expect the onslaught to continue and Fleury at some point to wilt under the pressure.

Edited by Wamsley01
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Agreed, I think the questions can finally stop swirling around him in Pittsburgh. He's finally a top-tier goalie and is becoming what everyone expected of him.

Agreed as well. Malkin appears to be another player that doesn't respond well to pressure so far in his career. I don't know if you saw the 2006 Juniors tourney but he completely dissapeared in the gold medal game against Canada and hasn't been seen since Game 1 against Philly when he had 3 points. He's had 3 points since then (including his assist tonight) and is a -3 (he was -5 before tonights game)

I was astounded tonight by how poorly he played. I'm hoping he doesn't become another Thornton, I kind of like Malkin.

He shouldn't have even been credited with an assist tonight.

Malkin threw the puck out front of the net (in a blind pass play from junior hockey no less) right to the detriot defenseman who only shot it out to the point where it was played to the side of the net and tapped in by Talbot. Possession of the puck by Detroit negates the assist to Malkin, but Bettman likes it better if the "NHL's future" players get on the scoreboard

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Am I the only one who is impressed by Darren Helm from Detroit ? The guy skates very well and bring so much energy ! I discovered this guy 2 games ago only.

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This was the first finals game I was able to watch. And I watched until the penalty, closed my eyes for just a second as I was tired and then BANG. Snooze, snooze, snooze and woke up to have missed the goal.

Darn, darn, darn......

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It's ridiculous to evaluate Malkin based on this dismal Finals. Like so many of our own Habs players, he is LEARNING. And since he was lethal for most of the earlier rounds, you have to conclude that he's just burned out (c.f. Carey Price).

I agree that Detroit has COMPLETELY outclassed Pittsburgh in every respect, and to such an extent that it's embarassing, even inexplicable. Pittsburgh has been utterly exposed as a team that had too easy a ride through the earlier rounds, and also a team of kids. Even Crosby, I have to laugh when commentators go out of their way to praise his *defensive* play. Zetterberg's basically schooled The Kid.

If Detroit doesn't win, I will be amazed.

Having said that, it's still bizarre that that great organization has had to ride Chris Osgood as their #1. He was good but hardly great last game, and you could see where, while Fleury has the capacity to stand on his head and save a team, Osgood is basically there to offer competent netminding, no more. To this day I cannot figure out franchises that build strong clubs but don't insist on elite solutions the single most important position in hockey. Detroit basically HAS to be twice as good as the opposition, at least if that opposition has a star-calibre goalie. Fortunately for them, they are.

Final thought - when you consider that Detroit has lost two major defencemen in the last decade (Jiri Fischer and the exceptional Vladimir Konstantinov) to absolutely FREAK medical conditions/tragic injury, the depth of their scouting becomes even more astonishing. Imagine if the Habs lost Markov and (say) Komisarek for similar reasons...we'd be a shadow of ourselves. An amazing organization, that.

Edited by The Chicoutimi Cucumber
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Am I the only one who is impressed by Darren Helm from Detroit ? The guy skates very well and bring so much energy ! I discovered this guy 2 games ago only.

I am too. Looks to me like the likes of Chelios, McCarty and Maltby are next in line among the Red Wings who are up for retirement. Helm, Hudler, Filppula, Lebda, Stuart, I'd rather see those guys get mroe icetime.

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Final thought - when you consider that Detroit has lost two major defencemen in the last decade (Jiri Fischer and the exceptional Vladimir Konstantinov) to absolutely FREAK medical conditions/tragic injury, the depth of their scouting becomes even more astonishing. Imagine if the Habs lost Markov and (say) Komisarek for similar reasons...we'd be a shadow of ourselves. An amazing organization, that.

Excellent point there. That's why they have been able to be a top team for so many years.

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Down 2-0 against the Wings spells a Detroit Stanley cup.

The only good news for the Pens is that Detroit has the worst type of lead in hockey - A "TUNEUP"

The Penguins bad news: Ask Babcock if he would take a tuneup lead with 5 minutes left in the 2nd, he and his players would say, "Yes"

Looking Detroit right now. Pens better muster a goal.

Detroit PP coming up

Edited by Athlétique.Canadien
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3-1. Too bad for Fleury, he tried to lie down on the puck that was behind him in the crease. His lying down motion and angle put the puck into the net. He put it in off of the belt of his pants :puke:

Edited by Athlétique.Canadien
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Finally! Over! Thank you.

Guys, I wanna know.

was the 3rd goal a bad call and Detroit player pushed Fleury. Or did Fleury lose balance on his own?

Or did he sit down and sqeeze the puck out from under him? :P

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Funny, because I watched this South Park episode with the Detroit Red Wings beating a Pee Wee hockey team to win the cup (even Mike Babcock was in it ^_^ )

When you think about it, it was a prediction because Penguins are a young team :blink:

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Thank God that stupid stereotype is dead.

Are people up in arms over this?

"I don't think anyone really watches hockey anymore."

Sadly, he's right. Bettman killed hockey. This game is probably getting watched by 3-4 million people in the US.

Try double that, the Finals had it's best ratings in years this season.

Not that I'm complaining. The better news? NHL bashers have gone silent. And for that, we have the Penguins to thank. Two separate programs that usually do their level best to bash the NHL -- Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption -- decided to take a pass. Instead of slandering hockey, both shows demonstrated rare balance and took the NHL seriously.

They had little choice. When a hockey game goes past midnight ET and more than 6 million people in the U.S. watch it, sports talk shows must acknowledge the NHL is a major league. Having listened to so many critics use the NHL as a punching bag, these Finals are a welcome respite.

Thats not the point though, one sports figure shouldn't be bashing another sport. It was a dick move.

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