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[bishoptl]

Full marks to Crosby and his poon-stache for leading his team to the Finals, although certain bitter, Eastern posters on this board would have you think it was all Gary Bettman's doing.

Don't make me laugh - he's not nearly as good at behind-the-scenes machinations as David Stern. This group earned their way through the power of Jarko Ruutu and a cast of unknowns. Well done, fellas.

That said...it'll be Detroit in seven. Pittsburgh has tons of moxie but lack the experience to deal with pressure under sustained Red Wing fire. Plus Detroit has tons of Swedes and apparently that's the key to putting your team over the top in the Finals, or something.

 

[Karakand]

In Zetterberg I trust.

 

[SleazyC]

Copied from the last thread..

I think this series will be incredibly tight.

Pittsburgh has some amazing offensive firepower in Crosby, Malkin, and Hossa and the fact that they are rolling on two different lines is going to make it interesting to see how Detroit will handle playing what seems to be its strongest line (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom). On the defensive side of the game I think Detroit really wins out as their main D-unit is experienced and talented not to mention having two of the best defensive forwards in the league. Goalies I'd say Fleury has the slight edge. Osgood is playing very solid but I think Fleury is playing a bit better; course you could argue the East is weak but we'll see who is right come Saturday.

Wings in 7.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

"it'll be Detroit in seven"


O bish... How the mighty have fallen.

 

[kassatsu]

As a said in the last thread Pens in 6.

Can't wait to see those empty seats finally fill up in Detroit,

Spoiler

with Pens Fans.

 

[BigJonsson]

GO PENGUINS GOOOOO!

The DEAD THINGS will lose

 

[Sibylus]

*bandwagons Bish's prediction*

My powers of prediction have been awful these playoffs, so I might as well steal yours!

 

[purg3]

Just noticed you made this thread

Posted already in the old thread, but I'll post it again--Pen's in 7

ESPN seems to agree

EDIT - ESPN calls Penguins in 7.

Just read that article

For the record, we are 10-4 through the first three rounds and have successfully picked the Penguins and Red Wings to reach the Cup finals. All of which means nothing, but we thought we'd say it anyway. Even though the Red Wings boast a much more talented blue line (at least on paper), we like Fleury's toothy confidence and think the Wings aren't going to have an answer for Crosby, Malkin and Staal down the middle. In the end, it will be the Penguins. Penguins in seven.

This group earned their way through the power of Jarko Ruutu and a cast of unknowns. Well done, fellas.

:lol

 

[TemplaerDude]

go wings. i guess. i don't really give a shit.

 

[fallout]

I'm just making this post so that the thread will show up when I search for threads that I've posted in.

So, uh ... go pool picks?

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

GO STARS! oh wait.

 

[bean breath]

In the harshest place on earth (Shitsburgh, PA),
love finds a way.

 

[Futureman]

Pittsburgh is a nice city. Please don't call it Shitsburgh.

 

[MaverickX9]

Pittsburgh is a great city. It has all the amenities of a big city without the bullshit crime, pollution, traffic, and overpopulation that plague big cities.

 

[mCACGj]

:lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[MaverickX9]

:lol :lol :lol :lol

When your city has a real time murder tracker that details murders by exact location, type of slaying, and time of slaying - then your city sucks ass.

 

[XMonkey]

Detroit in... 6

 

[Socreges]

yeah, wings in 6

 

[Mii]

Wings in 5, after the Wings win the first 3.

Lets just get this done with so we can get back to being excited for hockey again. Maybe next year will bring parity back to the NHL.

 

[May16]

Pittsburgh is a great city. It has all the amenities of a big city without the bullshit crime, pollution, traffic, and overpopulation that plague big cities.

Dude, I'm from the 'Burgh area too, but...dude...

 

[sefskillz]

Wings in 5

 

[King_Slender]

LOL - are Pens fans forgetting about Franzen? The Wings essentially beat Dallas (save for game 1) without their best player in the playoffs. He should be back, and it'll be all over.

The Pens are the 1995 version of the Red Wings.

 

[FightyF]

Wings in 5, after the Wings win the first 3.

Lets just get this done with so we can get back to being excited for hockey again. Maybe next year will bring parity back to the NHL.

I think you're looking too much into how a few of these series have ended...to me, most teams have been competitive throughout this year.

Secondly, if you're not excited for this year's SCF...when will you be? You have some of the league's best talent squaring off each other, you have two teams that are extremely confident right now (confident to the point where it helped them edge out strong teams in their division), and two teams that roll all 4 lines and play a strong team game (and not simply depending on their all star talent).

I can't think of a better SCF matchup this year...no disrespect to other teams.

Wings in 7.

 

[sefskillz]

I'm definitely excited about it. I just don't expect it to be a long series. And to claim there is no parity in the game really is insane.

 

[Maximilian E.]

LOL - are Pens fans forgetting about Franzen? The Wings essentially beat Dallas (save for game 1) without their best player in the playoffs. He should be back, and it'll be all over.

The Pens are the 1995 version of the Red Wings.

Franzen, LOL... (everybody can score lots of goals on occasion. Rob Brown scored 40 goals being in the same line as Mario Lemieux back in 98-99... franzen is experiencing a good period..):lol

But ok, Franzen, Zetterberg and Datsyuk vs Crosby, Malkin and Hossa.

and both team has the best goalies of the playoffs.. I actually don´t know how the outcome will be. Pens have been playing a tight defense but Red wings defense is always good. It will be decided in the special teams..

EDIT:
Pens in 6

 

[SantaC]

Franzen, LOL... (everybody can score lots of goals on occasion. Rob Brown scored 40 goals being in the same line as Mario Lemieux back in 98-99... franzen is experiencing a good period..):lol

um wtf? Franzen was scoring on a furious pace 2 months before playoffs started. It just isnt a hot streak anymore. And look how detroit struggled when he went down. Franzen is good, I kid you not.

 

[Forgotten Ancient]

This is the most exciting SCF for me in years. I figured the Redwings would've done what they seem to do often and tank early in the playoffs after a great regular season, but they've managed to be really competitive. For the first time ever, my two favorite teams are meeting up in the Finals, and while I want the Wings to win, I'm not going to be too upset if Pittsburgh gets a title.

I say Wings in 6.

 

[SantaC]

This is the most exciting SCF for me in years. I figured the Redwings would've done what they seem to do often and tank early in the playoffs after a great regular season, but they've managed to be really competitive. For the first time ever, my two favorite teams are meeting up in the Finals, and while I want the Wings to win, I'm not going to be too upset if Pittsburgh gets a title.

I say Wings in 6.

same here, finally an offensive final

 

[vilmer_]

Saturday is a long ways off, but nonetheless it should be real fun boys

 

[Maximilian E.]

Saturday is a long ways off, but nonetheless it should be real fun boys

haha.. chelios.. wtf..

 

[SantaC]

to the op, crosby isn't a child anymore.

 

[worldrunover]

to the op, crosby isn't a child anymore.

He is a baby tho.

 

[Wolf]

There's a part of me, a big part of me, thats wants the Pens to win. Now, not as a bandwagon fan, not because I like some of the players in Pittsburgh or anything like that, and for sure not because of the abundance of annoying Pen fans around who bite you're hand off over any knock against the Penguins, but purely so that an Eastern Conference team can win the Cup in a year that EVERYBODY thought the West was light years ahead of them.

It would be pretty sweet to see people back track by the dozens after watching the East win it all, seeing as how "whoever made it out of the East would be smoked by any one of the 4 or 5 talented West clubs."


Well here we go, Detroit is in the final, the clear cut greatest team in the Western Conference, they should have no problem dismantling a shitty east team in 4 straight.

Can't wait.

 

[Kingpen]

Pens in 6, hoisting the cup on Home Ice where they have been absolutely dominent

 

[Solo]

Wings in 4.

 

[SleazyC]

Ticketmaster has SCF games 1 and 2 @ Detroit going on sale at 12PM today. Shame I can't go to game 1 or 2 so I hope a game 5 rolls around.

 

[ShutEye]

Even I am going to watch this final. So it'll probably last 4 games.

 

[pringles]

The Penguins have to start the series better than the previous teams that have faced Detroit.
None of them have really gotten their shit together until the 3rd or 4th game and by then it's been too late. If the Pens go down 2-0, I think they'll be sweeped.

My guess: Red Wings in 6.

 

[scissorfight]

standard prediction - wings in 6

zetterberg shorties : 1
datsyuk dangles: 99
franzen hat tricks: 1
fleury pulled: twice
malkin english: negatory
crosby dives: LOL

 

[jacket320]

GO STARS! oh wait.

Rough! :lol

Detroit is looking sharp; I was there for the slaughter in Big-D last night... and even though I joined in the chant for "Let's go Pens" after the game, I'll pick Wings in 6.

 

[SnakeswithLasers]

What a great year of SCF... can't wait to see the series unfold. Been a Detroit fan forever, but no matter what: the series should deliver.

A winner in 6.

 

[scissorfight]

i just entered a contest where you have to submit a top 10 list to win a suite for 10 at game 2 and you get to watch with gordie howe, ted lindsay, larry murphy and joe kocur.

it's a longshot of course, but how cool would that be...


franzen update: http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/05/whats_up_docs_franzens_better.html

Johan Franzen considered making the trip to Dallas to see his teammates play the Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, but ultimately decided against it. That he seems to be over the headaches that pained him for some three weeks, and that he felt well enough to contemplate traveling, is a good indication Franzen, the Wings' leading goal scorer, may return during the Stanley Cup finals, which don't begin until Saturday. Franzen has not yet been cleared to practice.

"We believed that if we could win this round without the Mule, he'd be back for the next round," coach Mike Babcock said. "He played 10 days with this, you know, so you'd like him to be back. He'll be checked out. If he can go, he'll play. We'd sure love to have him obviously. He's a huge part of our team."

The persistent headaches that have bothered Johan Franzen for nearly three weeks have dissipated, according to his teammate and close friend, Niklas Kronwall.

"Most of it is gone -- pretty damn close, anyway," said Kronwall, who dropped by Franzen's house for a visit after Saturday's Game 5 in Detroit.

I'm not a doctor, Jim, but what I do know is this: every indication suggests that Franzen has had two MRI's, has been cleared to work out, and because Babcock's gone from, "He'll have to practice for a few days to get back into shape" to, "When he's cleared, he'll play," that suggests that Franzen's doing more than simply riding a stationary bicycle. The Detroit Free Press's Steve Schrader also noted that Franzen has had a history of migraines. Add in the fact that the Red Wings' medical staff is generally one of the most cautious in the NHL, and you've got my educated guess that there's something more than post-concussive symptoms going on here.

 

[SantaC]

i just entered a contest where you have to submit a top 10 list to win a suite for 10 at game 2 and you get to watch with gordie howe, ted lindsay, larry murphy and joe kocur.

it's a longshot of course, but how cool would that be...


franzen update: http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/05/whats_up_docs_franzens_better.html

I guess there is a good chance franzen plays in the stanley cup final. What a boost for detroit, the guy is still the leading scorer in the playoffs even though missed 5 games.

 

[vilmer_]

i just entered a contest where you have to submit a top 10 list to win a suite for 10 at game 2 and you get to watch with gordie howe, ted lindsay, larry murphy and joe kocur.

OMG that would be SO sweet! I'd love to talk to Joey about the good old Bruise Brothers days

 

[SantaC]

there is a chat going on with scott burnside now from ESPN

Dan Holiday, Florida: Pens in 7?????????????????? Did you hit your head this morning? This has to be one of the dumbest things you have ever put on this site. You and Melrose go ahead and jump on that Crosby/Pens band wagon.........

SportsNation Scott Burnside: (4:05 PM ET ) Well, I thought it would be too much to take the Pens in 5, so I'm giving the Wings the benefit of the doubt.

haha he really thought about taking pens in 5? :lol

 

[vilmer_]

there is a chat going on with scott burnside now from ESPN



haha he really thought about taking pens in 5? :lol

What a farce :lol

 

[SantaC]

btw I asked this:

Lars - Sweden: What are your Conn Smythe favorites as of now?

SportsNation Scott Burnside: (4:22 PM ET ) Right now, from Detroit, I would say Zetterberg. Chris Osgood deserves consideration. He won 9 straight playoff games. He's 10-2. I know he doesn't get the respect he's probably due, but he's a big part as to why the Wings are in the final. For Pittsburgh, Crosby, other than a brief moment has been the best player in every game. Malkin has seen his game go a little more up and down, but he has also been dominant when he's been playing well. I don't think you can ignore Marc-Andre Fleury,

 

[Big-E]

For the good of hockey, the Det in 5. Crosby must not have a cup this early or the media will be on it for months. Also it will be great to shut certain people in the media up about how you need a North American captain to win a cup.

 

[SantaC]

For the good of hockey, the Det in 5. Crosby must not have a cup this early or the media will be on it for months. Also it will be great to shut certain people in the media up about how you need a North American captain to win a cup.

yeah agreed. And can you imagine the asslicking if crosby wins Conn Smythe also?

 

[Socreges]

Also it will be great to shut certain people in the media up about how you need a North American captain to win a cup.

wow, finally that streak will likely come to an end...