As a die-hard Pens fan, I would like to say thank you to Detroit. The team and the fans are first-rate and classy. I know how tough it is to lose the Cup on home ice, but it shows that you are true fans that so many stayed for the ceremony. It is hard for me to hate your team – the only reason I can think of is that they are so damned good ! I can’t even hate Hossa because we would love to have him back. In my eyes you are still a hockey dynasty. Thanks and good luck ! Would love to meet again next year for the Cup.

I’m a die hard Wings fan but I have to congratulation the Penguins, they outplayed Detroit when it mattered and got the cup. It’s a great achievement and they deserve to win. Let go wings in 2009, it’s only a few months till training season starts, we can get to the finals again, no sweat!!

Maybe the Cup Finals will go to a 7 game series. Tied 1-1.

Well to all those Pens fans and NBC broadcasters who claimed Detroit was a team great at subtle interferences, they never mentioned how great Pittsburgh is at it. Not that I care about how the series was called, it just bothers me a little how everyone was complaining about the Wings, when if you just watched the games it’s exactly what Pittsburgh did to create their stifling defense. The Wings couldn’t get a forecheck going because the Pens didn’t allow guys to come in with speed. The series was called even, but it was annoying to hear how much Detroit was “cheating”, but the Pens were doing everything right. Bottom line however is that the Wings don’t seem to like to play with energy for a full game anymore. Only when they’re down and at the end of the game. This shows that they need to get rid of a few players. Their energy guys that helped them be successful in the past, just don’t give any energy anymore. Draper and Maltby really should be let go. They just aren’t effective anymore. The Wings also should get rid of Tomas Holmstrom. I don’t know if his groin was still bothering him, but he just looked like he couldn’t keep up at even strength anymore. His acceleration is terrible, and everytime he got the puck he was standing still and just couldn’t do anything with it. He also iced the puck numerous inexplicable times. In hindsight, I think it was a mistake to replace Leino and Abdelkader in the lineup. They just played with much more energy than Holmstrom, Draper, and Maltby. I’d hate to keep veterans out of big games like this too, but you need energy in these games and they were a couple guys that were getting it done offensively.

The Pens DEFINITELY wanted the Cup more. The last two games were big letdowns by this team. Osgood played well enough to win each game… especially Game 6. They were able to keep Malkin and Crosby to 2 points in the last 3 games. That’s the most surprising thing. Crosby was a non-factor all series. But still the Wing’s stars weren’t any better. Usually it was Detroit’s depth that always won out, not so this year. The drive wasn’t there. It seemed, while Pittsburgh was more than willing to adjust game plans and playing styles depending on who they played… Detroit just wasn’t. They needed to play a more up-tempo game, but just didn’t. They needed to play a little safer and more conservative in their own zone, but they didn’t. When you look at Games 3-7, not including Game 5… they got back to the mistakes they were doing all season. It seemed that EVERY Pens goal was off a bad turnover. They weren’t even turnovers that where they were closed off and had no option, but they just made terrible decisions and it cost them more often than not. The defense turned the puck over at the other blue line and behind their own net. The forwards didn’t support eachother and it seemed that all they were ever thinking about was getting the puck back to the point for shots. The Penguins aren’t idiots, they know that’s what the Wings do and they cut that option off every time. They just needed to throw the puck at the net more.

It’s amazing to compare this team to last year’s team. On paper they should be better. They never were. They squeaked out a lot of wins this year, where last year they were manhandling teams. Sure they did much better in the postseason and performed well aside from all the injuries, but the drive for excellence was not there. They were fortunate to get to the Finals again, but the most frustrating thing was to be a game away but the intensity was NEVER there. Why are they the only team that never comes out flying at the beginning of games? It just seemed like they wanted to just keep coasting. They didn’t want to do the extra things like last year. It came too easy for them this year. They still won a lot, but everyone could see the holes in their game. The penalty killing was AWFUL all year, but they changed NOTHING. Their power play clicked early in the year but stalled at the end of the regular season and the playoffs (except against Columbus). That’s because all they do is look for shots from the point. They make it very easy to defend because they never mix it up.

Losing is good. It brings back that empty feeling and makes you realize again how hard it really is. The Wings have the components to be successful for a long time, and hopefully they will continue to be. It’s funny, for me going into this postseason I said to myself I wouldn’t be that disappointed if the Wings lost because I know it is SO hard to repeat and keep going at that level. But to get this far and have no energy in the last two games was very disappointing. In the past if they lost, at least it looked like they competed, but at times in this series and this whole season it just seemed they lost that drive. I think the coaching staff just needs to change some things up with their system and they can be right back here next year. Defense and special teams need the most attention.

Defense wins championships, and this year it was Pittsburgh that had the players who were more dedicated defensively. Congrats to the Pens and their fans. After last year, I thought it looked bleak for the Pens. But they did everything right to get back, it took them until mid-season but they did it. Also one of the most underrated things about this Pens run is the fact that it never would have happened without the loss of Hossa. The Pens would have been good enough to keep Therrien around, but not good enough to get very far in the playoffs. They also would not have had room for Kunitz, Guerin, Fedotenko, Satan, and Adams. Dan Bylsma should be the coach there for a long time. He is exactly the right guy for that team. The Pens have played great hockey since these puzzle pieces have come into place. Even though some guys like Kunitz and Satan struggled at times, they are still better options than the other guys that were playing early in the season.

I should tell you that as a Canadian recently transplanted to the US, I have loved the Wings since Stevie Y became captain in the 80’s and have taken my share of flack for it as no one it seems in Canada likes the Red Wings. However, that being said, i’m in mourning after yesterday’s brutal loss. All I can say is thank god i’m now living here in the US and the hockey coverage is now already completely over for at least 4 months so i won’t have to hear about Cindy and Gina parading with the cup…What I will say is as the saying goes, we was robbed. If they had called half the penalties that they were calling during the regular season, we all know this series would have been over in 4…the hacking, holding, chopping of our players in front of the net, etc, etc. But Bettman wants to promote the star pupil so he got what he wanted…ok, enough venting.

By the time the Wings made it to game seven they had no idea about their style of play and what they could or couldn’t do on the ice…When you have officials calling penalties everytime you touch a Pens player (Bettmans orders) you lose parameters on what your even doing out on the ice, questioning your every move…The Wings didn’t know if they should even touch the puck when game seven rolled around for fear of a penalty…So you Wings fans who say we were out played…SAVE IT!… you must have never played the game.

They finally called the Wings on all the BS tactics they have used for years. Clutching, grabbing, hooking, interfering, ask anyone but a damn Wings fan that knows the sport and they will tell you the same thing. It’s about time, they were tired and they’re play showed it.

Complaining about Holmstrom getting roughed up and not drawing a penalty are pretty myopic. Any player who plays that game, the big guy in front of the goalie, supplying the constant screen and looking for easy rebound goals, is going to get cross checked and roughed up. That is hockey and the refs honor that. I didn’t hear any Wings fans complaining about that sort of treatment for the likes of Tkachuk who play a similar game and get similarily abused game in and game out. Nice to hear the Wings fans crying about the “pain” of losing. They have won 4 Cups over the past 12 years or so. How many have Cups have the fans of 25 or so of the remaining teams had? Zero. 90% of WIngs fans wouldn’t be if they weren’t so successful. It takes ZERO character to cheer for the Wings, it takes a lot to be a Capitals fan, or a Blues fan or any Canadian team for that matter.

1. Why on earth do people come here to complain about wings fans. The post above mine says it takes zero character to be cheer for the wings. What? It takes zero character to cheer for any team, it’s just a game. But there are hockey fans with character, and there are plenty of Wing’s fans among them. Yes, we’ve won four cups in my life time. But I’m still a fan today, after we’ve lost a cup, and I’ll be a fan the season that we go 20-62, if that ever happens. Yes, it hurts to lose the cup in game 7. Character is sticking with the team afterwards, and feeling the loss with them.

On Brad Stuart- He played his first really bad playoff game in two seasons when it mattered most. He must be kicking himself. He should be, because he sucked. But he’s still a fine player, and I hope he’ll stick out the rest of his career with the Wings.

On the officiating-It was blown, twice by the linesmen. I don’t say that it cost us the cup, but facts are facts. Icing in icing and offside is offside. Twice in this series the linemen blew a call that cost Detroit a goal. Given how close the series was, that was the cup. Too bad. It happens.

On Hossa-He made the gamble that made sense. He picked the team that was most likely to win. He was very close to being right, and the only thing that kept his prediction from being correct was his own poor level of play. I have a feeling that he’ll spend the rest of his days languishing in a small market, thinking about the time he could pick between two Stanley Cup finalists and got unlucky. I don’t think Holland will keep him around, he isn’t into that kind of over payment.

On Babcock being out coached- He wasn’t. He won 15 games. He came within an inch of tying game 7. He should have won, all the blame goes on the players shoulders. Look at Crosby’s stats. Look at the Wing’s defensive numbers throughout the playoffs. We couldn’t score when it mattered, in game 6 or 7. Babcock is the best coach in the league right now. His numbers show it. I suspect he’s going to be one of the all time great coaches. We’ll see where Bylsma ends up. His career is off to a brilliant start. But keep in mind, in his first few seasons Babcock has made two finals appearances, a Stanley cup win and a lost in Conf. Finals. That’s pretty impressive.

Youth-Good job done by all the Wing’s young players. Helm, Ericson, Abdelkader, et. all are going to be major forces in the league. The Wings aren’t even close to being done. Many people out there on the Internet will tell us, I’m sure, that it takes no class, character, talent, or skill to build an organization as good as Detroit’s. But we’ll keep the faith.

First off, I have to say that I am impressed with the civility and the knowledge of most of the posts above. It sounds like there are some mature Red Wings fans who recognize that the Wings were beat this year by a Penguins team that was able to play their game for 6 of the 7 games, and was able to get the Wings off of theirs (which is a fearsome sight to behold when it is on).

That being said, before any Wings fan complains about the officiating in the later games, go back to games one and two, when Zetterburg flopped into the crease to act as the second goalie, once in each game. He is cagy enough to not let his hands be seen, but that move is illegal and those should have been Pittsburgh penalty shots. Or the non-call on the slash that broke Dupuis’ stick in game two, leading directly to a Detroit goal? These non-calls swung the momentum in Detroit’s favor in both games. (And yes, I do recall the 24 seconds of 6 on 5 play that the Penguins enjoyed in game three, which they did not gain anything from). Yes, the officiating was poor, but it went both ways and did not favor either team, in the end. Babcock himself said (correctly) that all except game five could have gone either way. If the officiating in the first two games had been fair, after game 4 it could very well have been 3-1 Pittsburgh or a Pittsburgh sweep. I’m just sayin’.

Hats off to the Red Wings organization, the team and their fans. (Yunz guys are much easier to take than the thugs and their thuggish fans up and down the East Coast). I would not be surprised at a rubber match in 2010. Go Pens!