Stanley Cup Finals Preview

To be honest, I should just pop in a DVD of last years finals to show a preview. We all know who won that series. This year however has brought many injustices to the Detroit Red Wings.

First of, the finals were pushed up to "keep fans interested". We all know that the only people watching the Stanley Cup finals are the 1000's of Wings fans, and the 100's of Penguin fans. They will watch no matter what, the rest of the American population doesn't even know who Sidney Crosby is. You would think, o this goes both ways, FALSE....Pitt has young legs and no injuries, the Wings are more "seasoned" and played their last game missing their captain and best player, Nicklas Lidstrom, their top scorer Pavel Datsyuk, top face-off man Kris Draper, and our best defensive rookie Jonathan Ericsson. Chances are that Ericsson and Lidstrom will play, but at what percent?

I would just like to say one thing...Wings fans bitch for a reason, the NHL hates Detroit, they want Sidney Crosby to win a cup more than they want to breathe....Gary Bettman is an ASS!!!

Now to the preview:

Top 2 Line Forwards:

Pittsburgh: It is hard to deny that Pittsburgh is extremely talented up front with their top 2 lines. With Sid and Evgeni Malkin both leading the playoffs in points the NHL realizes the powerhouse we have on the ice. Aside from those two you have Jordan Stall, who has impressed not only me, but many Wings fans (hint hint Ken Holland), he plays gritty and is a great face-off guy and also great penalty killer. Other contributors are more of role players, but Pittsburgh spreads the wealth in their lines....just get the puck to the top 2 and you're good enough.


Detroit: Detroit is talent heavy all over their roster, but it is no more evident then on their first line. When healthy, Detroit has been playing Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom on line 1. On line 2 they have Valterri Fillpula, Marian Hossa, and my favorite, "The Mule" Johan Franzen. Dan Cleary is sometimes thrown in the forray, but this is generally our top two lines. This line doesn't have the firepower of Malkin or Crosby, but they have a more well rounded lineup. Our 2nd line has been amazing in the playoffs and I believe when on top of their games that Datsyuk and Zetterberg are the best duo in the NHL.....Casual fans disagree....


EDGE: W/ PAV - Detroit W/O PAV - Pitt

Defense:

Pitt: The Eastern Conference is not known for their strong defense, and I believe Pittsburgh is no exception to the rule. The top d-man for the Penguins is Sergei Gonchar, and he is great, hell of a point scorer and great defensively also. After him you have goon Hal Gill, Kris Letang whom is prone to mistakes, Phillipe Boucher, Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi, and Mark Eaton. These men mostly just fill up space as they cannot contain any offense the Wings throw at them, I promise.


Detroit: What else is there to say about the Wings defense except amazing. Best D-Man ever, Nicklas Lidstrom, linemate Brian Rafalski, a great scorer that is rarely out of position, knocking guys unconscious we have Nicklas Kronwall, scaring forwards world wide, his Bash Bro Brad Stuart, the amazing rookie Jonathan Ericsson (6-4 Giant of a man) and Speedster Brett Lebda. Our Defense is amazing with the puck and keeping you off the puck. This is no contest

EDGE: Detroit by Landslide

Goalie:

Pittsburgh: Marc Andre Fleury played better in last years playoffs and we know how that ended up. In all seriousness though he is a talented goalie. He is the future of goalie in Pitt and will frustrate more shooters than shooters frustrate him. He will have to be sharp because we will sling many pucks at him (Just ask Christobal Huet). He is quick and has the potential to be a difference maker in the finals.


Detroit: The Wizard of Oz has been amazing in this years playoffs, any new news. Osgood scared many fans going into the playoffs, but knows when to turn up the heat apparently. He leads the playoffs in GAA and has made many amazing saves on his way to the top. We will see Ozzie at his finest, or we will go home.

Edge: Detroit

Wings Cruise in Game 1

Cleary a Star in Series Opener

The road to the Stanley Cup for the Detroit Red Wings is taking a stop in Chicago and today marked the first of four victories needed to get into the finals. Welcome to your doom Chicago. A 5-2 victory in game 1 makes all they naysayers realize that there is no beating the Detroit Red Wings.


The action started on a goal from the Blackhawks, but was largely due to an error by Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood. Not to be outdone though Daniel Cleary scored the first of his 2 goals a few minutes later. This goal sparked the Wings and they never looked back.

The scoreboard didn't get lit up in the 2nd, but "The Mule" Johan Franzen did manage to finally poke a puck in the back of the net after many spectacular saves from Hawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. Khabibulin made many saves, but stopping 42 shots from the Wings is a tough task.

The 3rd saw the Hawks close the gap with a power play goal from Kris Versteeg. Although the scoreboard was tied, Detroit was still outplaying the Hawks and put a puck in the back of the net via Mikael Samuelsson on a pretty shot. Next up was a deflection from Daniel Cleary for his 2nd goal. The 5th goal came when Henrik Zetterberg put a puck in the empty net.

This all happened on my birthday...it was an amazing gift. Thank you Mike Babcock and thank you Wings.

Cleary Looks much better in a Red Wings Uniform

Number 18

18) Tim Thomas (Goalie, Boston Bruins)

For those of us in Flint, MI...(All of our readers as of right now) Tim Thomas is as local as they come. He played his high school hockey at Davison High School (The rival school of the high school I graduated from). Tim Thomas was a no-name in the NHL until the 2007-2008 season in which he took over for injured goalie Manny Fernandez and posted some solid numbers (28-19, 2.44 GAA, and a 921 save percentage) and got the attention of coaches all over the league. Thomas was drafted in 94 by the Quebec Nordiques but didn't see his first NHL action until 2002. From 94-02 Thomas played for; Birmingham Bulls (ECHL), Houston Aeros (IHL), HISF Helsinki (Finland), Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL), Detroit Vipers (IHL), AIK Solna (Sweden), and Karpat (Finland). Finally Boston gave him a chance in 2002.

Thomas would not be in the top 20 if it wasn't for his amazing campaign this season. He led the league in the two most important stats for goaltenders (933 save percentage and a 2.10 GAA) and led his Boston Bruins to the 2nd best record in the NHL and the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In my eyes, he should easily win the Vezina Trophy and will make all Flint hockey players proud.

Number 19

Ryan Getzlaf (Center, Anaheim Ducks)

At number 19 we have a man that no Detroit fan wants to see on the ice for a long time, if ever. Ryan Getzlaf is one of the Ducks young guns, he's big, tough, and knows how to score. He is a scary man to see for any defenseman and gives the opposing coaches nightmares. He is what some might refer to as an "Old School" hockey player, as he is not afraid to drop the gloves, he is overly physical and he knows all the dirty tricks, not to mention he is only 24 years old.

If we look at his stats truthfully you don't need to look hard to find out his dominance, in this year's post-season Ryan Getzlaf has 18 points in 13 games putting him as the 4th most points so far. He also had a career year with 91 points and has managed 39 or more points his entire 4 year career (he only played 57 games his rookie season and still had 39 points).

Statistics do not tell the whole story for a player of Getzlaf's skill set. He also led the Ducks to a cup in '07 and is a giant of a man at 6'4" and 220 lbs. He aggravates and intimidates all those that dare oppose him and has become public enemy #1 in more than a few arenas. As hard as it is to acknowledge a Duck in my top 20, Getzlaf is just too good to deny.

Wings Win...Wings Win

Wings win close one in game 7.

Detroit is moving on to the Western Conference Finals for the third year in a row, but it did not come easy. The Anaheim Ducks never let up for a second, and we had to show the world why we are the defending champions earlier than suspected. Game 7 was no different than the rest of the series as it was a nail biter down to the very last moment of the game. Fortunately, the Wings left the Joe Louis Arena with a 4-3 victory in Thursday's game 7.

The First period was riddled with some penalties, but when Detroit had to kill off a 5 on 3, they shined bright as can be and only allowed 1 shot. Coming back from that, Johan Franzen shot the puck at the net, and an uncovered Jiri Hudler deflected the puck in front of the net to bring the score to 1-0.

The second period started with a bang as Darren Helm showed the world what I already knew...future stud. He used his speed to create a break-away opportunity and put an amazing shot past Jonas. The Wings were looking at a dominant game 7 win and were just not letting up....until Teemu Selanne made a great play off of a rebound to cut the score to 2-1 midway through the 2nd. Not to be outdone though Mikael Samuelsson scored his 3rd goal of the post season 2 minutes later. Detroit was pressing with more shots at Hiller when a bogus penalty was called against Jiri Hudler for goaltender interference (he was hit from behind into Hiller). This led to a Corey Perry goal, which shortened the lead back to 1.

The third started and both teams looked desperate and were both playing their best hockey. The Red Wings got a scare when 7 minutes into the 3rd Bobby Ryan scored to tie the game up at 3. Not to worry because a goal came from....Dan Cleary??? Yes you heard it right, our savior in this series was Cleary as he poked and prodded at a puck until it went by Hiller with 3 minutes remaining, giving Detroit the eventual go-ahead goal.


This series was tight and this game only magnified that. The Ducks are a bunch of goons, but they are damn good at it...too bad they have to play the Wings to get to the Cup. I think we will see them come back strong next season. GO HOME BITCHES!!!

BLSPORTS TOP 20 Players in the NHL #20

The NHL top 20 will kick off with.....

20) Marc Savard (Center, Boston Bruins)

This pick may come as a surprise to some of the “casual fans”, but to the hardcore hockey fan there is no denying what Savard has been able to do for the Boston Bruins in the last few years. In the last four regular seasons, he has accumulated 359 points in 320 games.

The Reason that Marc Savard seems to be overlooked a lot is because he is not that flashy 50 goal scorer that NHL fans love so much, but he is a play maker extraordinaire compiling 60 or more assist in each of his last four seasons. Boston Bruin fans love having him around because he knows how to find that open man, and win games.

So next time you watch a Boston Bruins hockey game, watch for number 91, because he will be on the puck, making defenders look stupid with some of his amazing passes.

Ducks Drag Series Out

Last Second Save Helps Ducks Win Game 5

Look in the dictionary for the definition of a hockey goon and inside you will see the Anaheim Ducks roster. They are a great team with a ton of talent, but love relying on brute strength and size rather than skill. I am not much a fan of that GOON tactic, especially when playing a skilled team with no enforcer on the roster, like the Wings.

In Game 5 the Wings seemed to be flat for 50 minutes. They seemed uninspired, undetermined, and just zoned out of the game through 2 and ½ periods. The Ducks first got on the board early in the second period when Ryan Getzlaf poked in a rebound 3 feet from the net on the power play. The Wings didn’t seem to want to engage with the big man down low and ended up paying for it The Wings had a couple unsuccessful power plays in the 2nd and could just not seem to put anything past the everlasting bunny Jonas Hiller. The 2nd goal for Anaheim came on yet another deflection in front of the net, this time by youngster Corey Perry. He deflected a shot from Getzlaf to put the Ducks up 2-0 at the end of the 2nd.

The next period belonged mostly to the Wings, but not because the Ducks weren’t trying. Thinking the Ducks would sit back in the 3rd period would have been a mistake. The Ducks stayed aggressive throughout the entire game, and it finally cost them when Johan Franzen scored a power play goal late in the 3rd. Sadly, it was too little too late. The Wings put shot after shot at Hiller in the last 3 minutes but could not seem to break the barrier known as Hiller. With 15 seconds left, the Ducks turned the puck over in the zone and Marian Hossa ripped a laser at the net that Hiller made an amazing save on.

This save ignited a riot on the ice as every player from every team seemed to get into a fight. The most memorable was watching Pavel Datsyuk try to fight Scott Niedermayer, the fight was complete bullshit as Niedermayer still had a helmet with a visor on as he was punching a helmetless Datsyuk. Pardon my French, but FUCK THE DUCKS. Game 7 will be interesting as I expect the Wings to come out hungry, and I pray that the Wings recall Aaron Downey, or Darren McCarty for game 7 to beat the shit out of Chris Pronger. Viva La Revolution!!!