Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Penguins, Bloodied and Battered

Well, geez. I expected the Red Wings to win. I even expected them to win fairly easily. But I did also expect the Penguins to score at least once or twice. Man.

Random thoughts:

- Chris Osgood is a dirty diver. A terrible dirty diver. I can't believe he hasn't been called for this yet. Next time he collapses to the ice like he's been shot after barely being touched (or throwing his arm out in front of an opponent) he should be dragged off the ice by his ear and forced to sit in the box for two minutes. Sadly, the Penguins would probably still fail to score. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if buried somewhere on Nicklas Lidstrom's list of talents is goaltending. I understand that Penguins fans are unhappy and if I were in their shoes I'd probably be complaining about Osgood too. But it hasn't even really affected the series because the one part of Detroit's game that isn't really working is their power play.

- On the other side, Gary Roberts is a punk. I don't care how some people try to justify it, he punched a guy in the head from behind. The fact that Johan Franzen is just back from what was allegedly a concussion makes it worse. It bothers me because Gary Roberts is exactly the kind of player who has probably paid lip service to the idea that players need to respect each other on the ice and make sure head shots aren't a part of the game.

- The Red Wings are amazing because not only are they playing well, they're making it look really easy. Clearly they're working hard and I'm not trying to suggest otherwise but they look so calm and organized. Maybe it's having watched the Sabres flail for much of the year but it's really breath-taking to watch a team that seems to have its act together.

- Chris Osgood should not win the Conn Smythe. I realize the Penguins are yet to score a goal in the series but he's really had very little to do with that. He's faced very few shots in comparison to other goalies throughout the postseason. I don't know who should be picked out from Detroit's very good defensive system which means Osgood may end up getting it anyway but it should be someone else.

- Hockey is almost over. What the heck am I going to write about all summer? Anyone?

ETA: I just saw this video on Off Wing Opinion (thanks to a tip from Kate). I love this kid. I really wish I'd grown up somewhere where kids played hockey.

5 comments:

S.A.M. said...

Ugh I wish blogger would let you edit comments. Let's try that one again, shall we?

I'm tired of the Osgood is a diver whining. He's SMALL. Small guys get kicked around in this business. He may ham it up a bit, but most of those hits were pretty legit, from where I'm sittin.

but I think you're right, it wouldn't matter if he wasn't in the net, I doubt the Pens could score the way they are playing. What happened to that vaunted offense?

AND, Osgood has made some very KEY saves, when it mattered. The Wings' defence is incredible, but he is there to back them up. Just having good defense isn't enough. It's the Marty Brodeur argument. Maybe having a good goalie behind them makes the D play better, eh? Just a thought.

and that Gary Roberts hit was cheap and unnecessary. As were his allegations that Franzen was faking. The guy (probably still has) had a concussion. You don't mess with that. Jackass.

Anonymous said...

Heather, everything kind of hurts at the moment so thanks for the consensus on Osgood. That he would pull this crap (not once, but twice!) when his team is steamrolling the opposition is just galling, not to mention baffling. What kind of contact does he have to be afraid of? He couldn't be more well-insulated if he was covered in bubble wrap. Quite possibly, it stems from boredom. (He hit Malone! It's just an interesting application of the laws of physics, there.)

And I'm not happy about what GR did to the Rented Mule. At all. But when Franzen goes looking to get involved in a fight minutes later it suggests that perhaps we shouldn't care about his delicate condition, because either clearly he doesn't or being concussed hasn't made him any smarter.

Heather B. said...

I think the Osgood is a diver whining is legit. Again, it's not necessarily giving the Wings a whole lot of advantage but it's unnecessary, some of the time he's initiating the contact (against Ribeiro in Dallas and in at least one instance in game 2), and it's galling that a league that is allegedly trying to discourage diving hasn't called him on it yet. There are plenty of other things Pens fans should be more upset about but if it was the Sabres in their spot, I'd be pissed for sure. And Osgood has been fine in net and he was dropped in in the middle of the first round when Hasek couldn't pull it together... but I still don't think he's been great. Not because he can't be but because he hasn't had to be.

But when Franzen goes looking to get involved in a fight minutes later it suggests that perhaps we shouldn't care about his delicate condition, because either clearly he doesn't or being concussed hasn't made him any smarter.

Maybe. I think that's a pretty poor justification though. In my opinion there's a big difference between a guy skating into a scrum on his own and a guy getting sucker punched in the back of the head. Whether or not he's suffering from a concussion is incidental really.

MikeP said...

Osgood is a diver of Rolosonian proportions. Hey, I loved Roli's 2006 drive, but that "OMG HELMET FELL OFF" shtick got a bit old after a while. Ozzie's just trying to fill his skates, I guess.

Ozzie shouldn't get the Conn Smythe though; Lidstrom or Zetterberg should. My money's on Lidstrom, who always seems to look much bigger than 6'1 190.

Jennifer said...

Osgood's was totally uncalled for, as the Wings had already taken the game. That was pathetic, he looked like he was drunk and just couldn't stand up.

I didn't really like the Roberts hit on Franzen, but it appeared to be more of a push than a hit, certainly not the HIT that Franzen played it up to be.