Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
Now I'm flat out sayin' it...the willy-nilly, randomless, directionless course of the puck in the last game compared to this cements in my mind the fact that the ice in Pitt is less than optimal. Kex you should know this, simply watching the way the sum***** caromed of "flat ice". I never got to play in Wilkes-Barre...maybe it's a Pennsylvania thang that I wouldn't understand...

That last cheap shot directed at Holmstrom perpetrated by Talbot was childish...almost beyond my own standards of acceptable behavior.

Let's see what happens in the third...
Nah. The Joe's ice this time of year has always been a source of complaint, any quality differences would be minimal IMO, they both suck now. Hard to keep it hard and fast in June, with 18,000 people buzzing bro. However, that should be an argue in favor of the Pens if anything, bad ice helps better defence, hurts faster, high-offence teams. Detroit can play both, but Pittsburgh sure can't. If anything I'd expect it to be a bigger problem for the Pens. Detroit lost cause they weren't as good. Nuff said. Last line change is huge in this series and gave Pitts the edge.

With Datsyuk, whole new ball game. Hockey's a funny sport. Line matchups, are so important. The absence of 1 player can throw off 3 or 4 line combinations and really do a number on a team - especially when it's a player of Datsyuk's abilities. He's better at 80% than most are at 100%. Getting him back was a huge boost, and IMO this series would already be over if he played the first 4.

Babs started him off on Zetterberg's line...took what? 8 minutes for him to set up a goal? Then he shifted him to center on his own line to shut down Malkin. Smart play.
So now Pittsburgh's kids have to play hockey against two of the best defensive forwards in the game. They'll still get their points, but not as easy and not nearly as many. More importantly, as a coach of mine used to say all time - the best defence is to keep the f'n puck 190 feet away from your net. Having that 1,2 line combo forced Malkin and Crosby to play defence, which isn't their strength.

Oh, and Hossa must have heard me because he was actually noticeable.

I think Pitts might win game 6. So much of their success in games 3 and 4 were because they got the lines they wanted on the ice at key points. Malkin and Crosby don't need much time to produce, and I'm sure they'll load them on the same line at times. If Detroit scores first, it's game over though. With Datsyuk back their shut-down is too good, too deep and Pittsburgh will be forced to take too many chances against the wrong team.

All in all this has been a much better final series this year.

Had no problem with Talbot's shot on Holmstrom - Maltby's been doing that stuff for years...I had a huge problem with the slash/trip to Datsyuk's feet - I believe that was also Talbot....you know the guy's injured, foot maybe broken? The games out of hand. Clear intent to re-injure. Should be a suspension from my seat.

How huge is the extra day before game 6 for the wings? They played 5 in 8, and even last night looked a bit sluggish at times.