Games 1 & 2: Whose shat don’t stank?

If you are a hockey fan who placed any bets on this year’s East and West Conference Finals, you must be one happy camper. Well, assuming you aren’t like me when my favorite team is still in it—I turn into a huge homer. Although, this year I made an attempt at being realistic and unbiased. A lot of good it did me (see predictions for Round 2). Anyway, the Penguins and the Red Wings both lead their respective conference final series at 2-0. I picked these two teams to go to the Stanley Cup Finals, so I’m pretty much thinking my shat don’t stank right now. However, I may be getting ahead of myself a little bit here. I know better than to make an idiot move and, oh I don’t know, go double-or-nothing on these games. There are a couple of “what if”s in these series that are making me hesitate a little bit.

The Game Twos
Pens vs Flyers—Evgeni Malkin scored two goals in Game 1 and was all over the ice making plays and creating opportunities. His one goal in that game was simply because Mike Richards had left him wide open, and Malkin took advantage, going one-on-one with Martin Biron. In Game 2, Malky didn’t get so lucky. Everytime he came near the puck, he was leveled with some sick body check. I love Malk, but I couldn’t help but say dang to a couple of them. The Flyers learned from their mistakes in Game 1 and stuck to him like glue, sometimes putting three guys on him at a time to disrupt what would’ve been an easy play had only two guys been there to stop big Malky. Not to mention, Richards had his turn in redeeming himself against his mistake of leaving Malkin open in Game 1—he intercepted the puck in a pass by Malkin to go one-on-one against Marc-Andre Fleury and ended up tying the game at two a-piece late in the second.

The Flyers also managed to up their game, much to the appeasement of fans. They limited the number of shots the Pens had on goal and increased their own. Both finished with about the same number of chances in Game 2 (at around 35); not only that, but the Flyers seemed to maintain steam until part way through the third making sure not to use all of their energy in the first half of the game, unlike in Game 1. Bodies were all over the ice—and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t mostly Pens players getting hammered into. The Flyers played incredibly hard and looked like a team worthy of the Pens’ challenge (well, until Biron shoved Jarkko Ruutu down—it was hilarious, but the frustration on the Philly side of things was evident at that point). Regardless, the Flyers were a whole new team and were contenders to win up until the final seconds.

Wings vs Stars—First of all, what’s on everybody’s mind here? Chris Osgood and Mike Ribeiro. Of course everyone is to assume I will take Ribeiro’s side without question because I hate the Wings. But cheap shots are cheap shots, and I don’t let rivalries come into play when determining blame for that. However, Osgood is completely at fault. I can’t believe that after reviewing the tapes he wasn’t charged with something. Ribiero is not an aggressive player to the point of being compared to a Sean Avery or a Claude Lemieux; he doesn’t just go after a player for the sole reason of going after the player. Osgood butt-ended Ribeiro with the end of his stick, and Ribeiro came after him with a slash across the chest/arm/lots of padding (which Ozzie sold to the refs). Apparently, Ozzie was trying to defend Nicklas Lidstrom, or so he says—I say hogwash. It was a cheap shot because the Wings didn’t dominate the game. Check it out (you can see Osgood’s shot in slow motion when the commentators start chit-chatting):

At any rate, the Wings are hurting without Johan Franzen. Having won 4-1 in Game 1 and only 2-1 in Game 2, the Stars clearly started playing hockey. Marty Turco stepped up by making 32 saves, there was increased aggression (obviously), and there was another player other than Brenden Morrow to score. Maybe it was well needed rest after the fourth OT win against the Sharks in Round 2, but the Stars were a whole new team. If they want to win, they have got to find more opportunities to score on Ozzie. Heck, they need to create those opportunities to score against Ozzie (he had a mere 17 saves, with one going in the net).

Home Sweet Home
Pens vs Flyers—Everything changes at home (well, with the exception of the Avs last round. I swear, I’m getting over it). Home ice is a greater advantage when teams are from the same locale. If you’re a PA hockey fan, you’re either a Pens fan or a Flyers fan; with some fans of the Capitals, Rangers, Devils, and Islanders thrown in there no doubt. Regardless, the majority are home-town fans. Pens fans definitely helped their youngins at Mellon Arena these past couple of games. In Game 1, the Pens faced a 2-1 defecit and came back to win the game. In Game 2, the game was all tied up with the possibility of it being anyone’s game. Even up until Jordan Staal’s goal on the empty net with seconds left in the third, I was completely ancy wondering who would come out the victor. However, the Pens fans never gave up. All you could see was a sea of white towels twirling about and chants of “Let’s Go Pens!” being echoed throughout the arena. The fans kept the momentum on the Pens side from the beginning of the game to the end—despite the fact that the Pens looked to have lost some of it whenever the Flyers tied it up. I don’t expect the Flyers fans to be any different. If anything, I expect them to be even more encouraging for the likes of Richards and Biron and more annoying to anyone on the Pens bench.

Wings vs Stars—Dallas will be the opposite of Philly. No doubt Dallas fans can be obnoxious, but not to the point of Philly fans. What will happen here is the absence of the “HockeyTown” fans. The Stars will welcome the change, but the Wings could suffer. Ozzie will definitely get boo’ed after Game 2 still fresh in the minds of all Stars fans. Especially since Ribeiro walked away with a fine and Osgood came out scott-free. Osgood is no Dominik Hasek, so it could wear on him. Think Jaromir Jagr in Pittsburgh—the boo’ing will be incessant. The Wings will also be without beloved Franzen for Game 3. Wings players will need all the encouragement they can get. Even the few Wings fans found in Dallas will be silenced by the emotions of Game 2. Hopefully, all of that can be left behind for the sake of the Stars players—yes, I want the Stars to win, but in my defense I did pick the Wings to win the series (hence, I’m trying to be realistic).

How will Game 3 go? Well for the Pens and Flyers, Richards got some help from Carter this time around, but the Flyers have to step up their offense. Richards scored both goals in Game 1 and one of the two goals in Game 2. By the way, where has Danny Briere been? I say the Flyers being at home will give them a definite advantage (Flyers fans and that orange-crush, Vengence Now bull-ish is enough to make me want to jab out my eye), and if they can play the way they did in Game 2, they just might pull away with the win. Stars will have a tougher time, but I don’t think it’s impossible. If the Stars can let go of the emotions from Game 2 and create more opportunities to score, or just take more shots rather than holding onto the puck, they could very well come out with the win. Hey, the Predators did it.

Game 3 for the Wings vs Stars is tonight at 8 p.m. on Versus. Pens and Flyers Game 3 can be seen on Versus tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

Explore posts in the same categories: Brenda Niemeyer, EDITORIAL

Tags: NHL, Flyers, Penguins, Red Wings, Stars, NHL playoffs, Philadelphia, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, hockey

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