Marc-Andre Fleurry's Right Leg 2-The Rest of Fleurry and Pittsburgh 1
Detroit scored a goal too—if it weren't for two crazy bounces and Fleurry's right leg, this game would've been 1-1 and going to OT.
As bad as Fleurry's luck was, Detroit made their breaks—the first crazy bounce goal off of the Joe Louis "these boards are made of the same shit cars made in Detroit are made of" was the result of a Rob Scuderi giveaway and a Chris Kunitz failure to clear. The second crazy bounce goal was a result of Detroit's forecheck forcing a tired Pittsburgh unit to ice the puck...and then a Chris Kunitz failure to clear.
There's a trend we'll get to in a second. The good, the bad and the ugly after the break.
The Good for Pittsburgh: They scored a goal, which is more than they did in the first two games in last year's Finals. Evgeni Malkin played a solid game, showing an ability to backcheck above even what he has previously shown. They carried most of the second period. That's it.
The Good for Detroit: Henrik Zetterberg is on his way to a second Conn Smythe Trophy in as many years. His play made Sidney Crosby a total non-factor in this game. Since he can matchup against Crosby four games to three, this bodes well for Detroit. Chris Osgood made a great glove save to just get a piece of Evgeni Malkin's breakaway in the second period. Detroit's fourth line logged a lot of ice time in the third period, which should result in a Detroit team that's fresher than Pittsburgh tomorrow. There's more I could add to this list—but I think that you get the idea.
The Bad for Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby was invisible. You can give all the credit in the world to Henrik Zetterberg, but Crosby is going to need to have alot more than one shift a game where he creates a scoring chance if the Penguins are to win the Stanley Cup. All of the talk about Crosby being the best player in the world after besting Ovechkin in 7 just went dead silent. And for good reason.
The bad for Detroit: Chris Osgood gave up one soft rebound. Oh—as convincing as the 3-1 victory looked, Pittsburgh could have very well won this game if it weren't for two bad bounces off the board and Jordan Staal looking like a Japanese recon plane before the Battle of Midway.
The Ugly for Pittsburgh: Chris Kunitz. Holy shit was this guy fucking brutal tonight. His inability to clear the puck cost the Penguins' two goals, and his inability to convert a beautiful setup from Crosby for the billionth time makes you wonder why he's still playing alongside Crosby. With back-to-back games, Bylsma would be wise to scratch Kunitz, dress Sykora and move Talbot or Satan to Crosby's wing. Chris Kunitz will score as many goals not playing as he will this entire series on Crosby's wing.
The Ugly for Detroit: The music selection during breaks in play. I didn't hear Rush once. And that shit you do with "Don't Stop Believin" and letting the crowd sing "born and raised in south Detroit" like that's something to be proud of...yeah, that's original. Nevermind the whole point of that verse is that he was getting the fuck out of Detroit and didn't give a shit about where he was going. That shit is as played as Mr. T and Neal Cotts, and I'm going to have to put up with it for hopefully 2 or 3 more games.
Fuck.
As bad as Fleurry's luck was, Detroit made their breaks—the first crazy bounce goal off of the Joe Louis "these boards are made of the same shit cars made in Detroit are made of" was the result of a Rob Scuderi giveaway and a Chris Kunitz failure to clear. The second crazy bounce goal was a result of Detroit's forecheck forcing a tired Pittsburgh unit to ice the puck...and then a Chris Kunitz failure to clear.
There's a trend we'll get to in a second. The good, the bad and the ugly after the break.
The Good for Pittsburgh: They scored a goal, which is more than they did in the first two games in last year's Finals. Evgeni Malkin played a solid game, showing an ability to backcheck above even what he has previously shown. They carried most of the second period. That's it.
The Good for Detroit: Henrik Zetterberg is on his way to a second Conn Smythe Trophy in as many years. His play made Sidney Crosby a total non-factor in this game. Since he can matchup against Crosby four games to three, this bodes well for Detroit. Chris Osgood made a great glove save to just get a piece of Evgeni Malkin's breakaway in the second period. Detroit's fourth line logged a lot of ice time in the third period, which should result in a Detroit team that's fresher than Pittsburgh tomorrow. There's more I could add to this list—but I think that you get the idea.
The Bad for Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby was invisible. You can give all the credit in the world to Henrik Zetterberg, but Crosby is going to need to have alot more than one shift a game where he creates a scoring chance if the Penguins are to win the Stanley Cup. All of the talk about Crosby being the best player in the world after besting Ovechkin in 7 just went dead silent. And for good reason.
The bad for Detroit: Chris Osgood gave up one soft rebound. Oh—as convincing as the 3-1 victory looked, Pittsburgh could have very well won this game if it weren't for two bad bounces off the board and Jordan Staal looking like a Japanese recon plane before the Battle of Midway.
The Ugly for Pittsburgh: Chris Kunitz. Holy shit was this guy fucking brutal tonight. His inability to clear the puck cost the Penguins' two goals, and his inability to convert a beautiful setup from Crosby for the billionth time makes you wonder why he's still playing alongside Crosby. With back-to-back games, Bylsma would be wise to scratch Kunitz, dress Sykora and move Talbot or Satan to Crosby's wing. Chris Kunitz will score as many goals not playing as he will this entire series on Crosby's wing.
The Ugly for Detroit: The music selection during breaks in play. I didn't hear Rush once. And that shit you do with "Don't Stop Believin" and letting the crowd sing "born and raised in south Detroit" like that's something to be proud of...yeah, that's original. Nevermind the whole point of that verse is that he was getting the fuck out of Detroit and didn't give a shit about where he was going. That shit is as played as Mr. T and Neal Cotts, and I'm going to have to put up with it for hopefully 2 or 3 more games.
Fuck.
"Detroit scored a goal too—if it weren't for two crazy bounces and Fleurry's right leg, this game would've been 1-1 and going to OT." Assuming one of the many bounces that didn't go Pittsburgh's way stayed that way. And the questionable hand on the puck in the crease that could have led to a penalty shot.
Pittsburgh's physicality declined throughout the entire game. They need to keep that up.
They also never really got any plays set up in the offensive zone. This was painfully evident during the PP where it seemed like they got set up only once.
One roman victory, Detroit didn't get any goals by having someone in front of the net. Franzen's ass was in MAF's face all game too. So good: no front of net goals. Bad: Franzen was still there all the time. Take that as you like.
Finally, Malkin's line seemed to do all the production tonight.
Reply to this
"And that shit you do with "Don't Stop Believin" and letting the crowd sing "born and raised in south Detroit" like that's something to be proud of...yeah, that's original. Nevermind the whole point of that verse is that he was getting the fuck out of Detroit and didn't give a shit about where he was going."
And nevermind that "south Detroit" is nothing but the Detroit River.
Though, maybe a life there would be preferable to one in Detroit proper.
Homer, that's your solution to everything: to move under the sea. It's not going to happen!
Reply to this
What would you like to see happen to the Phoenix Coyotes? Vote in the poll at http://www.ethelthefrog.com/?p=1115
Reply to this