A virtual fruit basket may be a cordial order?

Definiately the only other opposing blog out there that I actually enjoyed on account of thier wit, humility and first rate cotributaries with excellent photoshop skills.

Posted by jockey full of bourbon from Fenton on 06/05/08 at 01:42 AM ET

Pensblog were our most worthy opposition as were the Pens.

Their photoshops are top rate, and some of their posters too.  Dr. Turkleton and Evilpens come to mind as resilient and fun posters.  Unfortunately, there are many heads in the sand over their that yell “troll” and ignore.  Thankfully we had the others that made bringing the pain over there fun.

I’ll go back to watching and cheering the Pens on Center Ice next year, they were truly the class of the East for most of the season.

Posted by VooX from Behind the Bar in the Hasek Club Car on 06/05/08 at 01:51 AM ET

Good stuff PensBlog!

Stay classy and you’ll have 19 fans rooting for you throughout next season.

Posted by Osrt on 06/05/08 at 01:57 AM ET

PensBlog is awesome.  You guys gave me a lot of laughs through this playoff run.  Way to stay classy!

Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 06/05/08 at 03:29 AM ET

Nice move.

So many blogs are like that, though - more creative trash-talk than on message boards and more gracious in victory and defeat.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/05/08 at 04:52 AM ET

This post is the virtual handshake after the series.
We can join forces and rip the eventual boneheaded moves Kevin Lowe makes in a month.

Posted by Pensblog on 06/05/08 at 05:49 AM ET

We can join forces and rip the eventual boneheaded moves Kevin Lowe makes in a month.

Why wait, when we can start laughing at Toronto again right now? 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/05/08 at 06:34 AM ET

Imagine MLSE poaching Kevin Lowe from the Oilers…oh, the fun we would have!

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from the Toronto headhunters, feating Chris Pronger on 06/05/08 at 07:07 AM ET

What a great way to end the season. Very nice gesture by the PensBlog folks. Now I can only wonder just who will try to pry that cup outta Detroit. Remember it is OUR CUP unless someone is able to win it away.

  “THIS IS THE YEAR!”

  “Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!

Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 06/05/08 at 07:42 AM ET

Imagine MLSE poaching Kevin Lowe from the Oilers…oh, the fun we would have!

And then they hire Tortorella as coach…

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/05/08 at 07:50 AM ET

Pensblog is all class in their complete lack of class.  The series is over, but my trips to Pensblog are not. 

Go Wings!

Posted by Rae Carruth's Trunk on 06/05/08 at 07:52 AM ET

To all you Pens fans still braving A2Y:

We know.  We’ve been there.

1995.

There will be other opportunities…

Posted by Primis on 06/05/08 at 08:06 AM ET

Classy, very much so. Akin to the reception from the fans in the Igloo after the game. Two thumbs up.
Laugh at the Leafs… funny I’ve referred to them as the “Maple Laffs” for awhile now.

Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 06/05/08 at 08:15 AM ET

It’s been awesome getting to hang with the 19 and experience all the highs and lows together. The Pens will have another chance no doubt. They have a young team full of talent. But we needed this for Ozzie and for Lids and for Drake. We needed to disprove all the naysayers who said “too old” “too European” “too soft” etc, etc… Nothing proves the doubters wrong like hoisting the Cup.

Congratulations to all my Red Wings. What a crazy freaking ride this has been.

And now tonight I’ll be heading to the Cincinnati Cyclones game to see if they can do the same in their game 6 of the Kelly Cup finals.

Posted by Jennemy of the Skate from putting the b*tches in the box on 06/05/08 at 08:34 AM ET

No doubt, even when we bashed the hell out of each other, and disagreed about things like goalie interference and “obstruction”, they wrote entertaining blogs and a lot of their crew were willing to talk straight hockey with some logic and reason. So there is respect there to me.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 06/05/08 at 08:54 AM ET

Oh, and I haven’t found the exact quote yet, but did anyone catch what Ozzie said on Local 4 in the locker room? He might have himself a fine coming.

It was something to the effect of, “I bet those boys in New York are pretty upset right now.”

Hopefully someone got that quote down in print.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 06/05/08 at 08:55 AM ET

Thanks Guys, But actually I am a Mod for a Pens Board pensunderground.com But the Pens Blog is great

Your team Deserved to win the Cup they were Dominant 75% of the time

Posted by Evilpens on 06/05/08 at 09:05 AM ET

So who’s sending Chief the mini-Blogger Stanley Cup?  And how many posts do members of the 19 get before the have their name engraved?  Great year guys! Great blogging year, Chief! Go Wings!!

Posted by AndrewB from TN on 06/05/08 at 09:22 AM ET

did you guys notice Cleary when the clock hit zero?  Ozzie had his arms in the air and Cleary looked like he was still trying to figure out if that puck went in.  took him a few seconds to realize…oh, wait, we just won The Cup!

Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 06/05/08 at 09:32 AM ET

Why wait, when we can start laughing at Toronto again right now? 

Hear hear.

Maybe it’s because I live in Toronto and so am bombarded with “Leafs Nation” propaganda, but I hate the Leafs more than any other team in the league (yep, including the Dive).

Their continued futility is a constant source of amusement to me.

I’d love to see the Wings poach Sundin, just because they can.

Posted by Arthur2sheds on 06/05/08 at 09:33 AM ET

I had to stop reading Pensblog during this series, but I’ve enjoyed their stuff in the past, and I look forward to heading back now that I can do so without adverse effects to my mental state.  Extra credit to the Pens fans who managed to keep their cool while posting over here; you’re better men than I.  Not that I’m a man.  And not that you’re all men.  But you know what I mean.

Posted by Sadie from Ann Arbor, MI on 06/05/08 at 09:39 AM ET

I totally agree with whoever said they think the Wings will be even better next year.  think of the players that had their coming out parties this year - Filpulla, Franzen, Cleary, Hudler, Helm.

I sure hope Rafalski stays, and Drake too.  Really don’t have a feeling one way or the other about Chelios.  I’d like to see him stay and Lilja go, so that Home Keys can be fit into the team completely in time for the playoffs.

Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 06/05/08 at 09:41 AM ET

Thanks for all the laughs, PensBlog.

Just don’t laugh too hard at the Thrashers for me, okay?

(I might be a die hard Red Wings fan, but I also support the team that’s in my local market.)

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 06/05/08 at 09:59 AM ET

Paul. Seeing Cheli with the Cup so soon in the “skating order” makes me wonder if he’s done.
Guess we’ll have to wait n see.

MVZ.

Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 06/05/08 at 09:59 AM ET

I’m reading that game recap on PensBlog now, and this is perhaps one of the funniest lines I’ve read anywhere today:

There is a chance you might be driving to work today and Lidstrom blocks your car.

You all have definitely won me over as a new reader!

(I’m sure he was trying to block the MARTA train I was on this morning. It was slow and five minutes late to the station. Almost missed my connecting bus!)

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 06/05/08 at 10:10 AM ET

Congrats Wings fans and just so you know, the Pens will be stealing that off of you next year so enjoy it while it lasts!  LETS GO PENS!

Posted by Joe from Pittsburgh on 06/05/08 at 10:10 AM ET

I stumbled across Pensblog early this season (thanks to Barry Melrose Rocks) and checked in almost every day after that for their photoshops and nonsense. I agree, the guys over there are top notch, and given the heat of this series, it’s pretty understandable how the readers reacted to us.

I would say that I’m looking forward to their posts next season…that come October, it’ll again be a must-read before I start work. And I am looking forward to it.  But it’s not going to be the same.

Pensblog has become that girl in college who was just like one of the guys…funny but not very attractive. You really enjoyed hanging out with her, as long as nobody else saw you do it. And then you got drunk and slept with her. Now it’s going to be all kinds of awkward next semester. We’ll hang out, have a few laughs…but in the backs of both our minds, we’ll be trying to forget how nasty things got one night in June. 

Regardless, Pensblog, today’s post of yours…it was stunning. Absolutely one of the most beautifully written pieces I’ve read on these here internets.

Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 06/05/08 at 10:18 AM ET

I initially was skeptical of Pensblog, but those guys were hilarious and kept things within bounds.  Hats off to Pittsburgh, a real hockey city.  Is anyone else excited about an emerging Pittsburgh-Detroit finals rivalry.  Both rosters stacked, both young….we could see this again next year…

Posted by TDeters on 06/05/08 at 10:22 AM ET

The Pens face cap and UFA problems that will test the organization’s acumen when they don’t get first and second overall draft picks.
Orpik is one free agent and they’re nuts if they don’t bend over backward to sign him.

Posted by BobS. on 06/05/08 at 10:42 AM ET

*After completing the customary handshake, Stoosh decides to forego the slow clap and instead begins the slow sticktap on the ice*

Kudos and plaudets to you all, Abel-to-Yzermaners, for helping to make this one of the most enjoyable Cup Finals I’ve ever experienced.  Until we finally get to see our guys celebrate as you did last night, Game Five will go down as the most memorable hockey game I’ve ever seen. 

I’m disappointed, naturally, but there isn’t much shame at all in watching our Penguins lose this series to the Red Wings.

Your team is a machine.  Your captain is the epitomy of class and this league will be worse off when he finally decides to retire.  Zetterberg and Datsyuk were every bit as good as I’d expected them to be.  Filppula has become a HUGE favorite of mine, even if he did break my heart a couple of times during the series.  Holmstrom and Franzen drove me absolutely insane with dislike-bordering-on-hate, but I’d kill to have either of them on my team; that, to me, is the ultimate compliment that can be paid to players like that.  Draper?  Classy as always…a warrior who couldn’t have been more complimentary of Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Pens.

You were all a blast to job back and forth with as the series dragged on.  As I said to Voox and a few others over on our board, if myself or some others allowed things to get personal, it was borne solely out of frustration of watching our team stuggle with a very talented opponent and being forced to do nothing but sit back, watch and hope they played through it.

You have all been incredibly classy and complimentary in victory.  Aside from the “juveniliciousness and tenacity” - such great terms - that we tend to exhibit over at the Pensblog, I’d ask you all to please keep stopping by, reading and commenting.  You’ll find the Pensblog and all of us resident “c-bloggers” to be amongst the most level-headed and objective Penguins fans around (objective, even despite our blatant homerism…but then, what are blogs like this for if not to be homers from time to time?).

Kudos again and congratulations!  The team that won the Cup most certainly earned it and you fans most certainly deserve it.

Posted by Stoosh on 06/05/08 at 11:41 AM ET

Wooooooo….OMG I hate that fu&^ing word.

Soon.  Soon you’ll all know the truth.

Posted by Bunny from Cranberry, PA on 06/05/08 at 12:13 PM ET

Congratulations Red Wings on a well fought and well deserved Stanley Cup.  Just keep it safe for a year because we will be coming back for it.

Posted by Katie from Pittsburgh (in my heart), but Portland (in reality on 06/05/08 at 12:16 PM ET

Pensblog has become that girl in college who was just like one of the guys…funny but not very attractive. You really enjoyed hanging out with her, as long as nobody else saw you do it. And then you got drunk and slept with her. Now it’s going to be all kinds of awkward next semester. We’ll hang out, have a few laughs…but in the backs of both our minds, we’ll be trying to forget how nasty things got one night in June.

Could it be said any better?

You have all been incredibly classy and complimentary in victory.  Aside from the “juveniliciousness and tenacity” - such great terms - that we tend to exhibit over at the Pensblog, I’d ask you all to please keep stopping by, reading and commenting.

I could quote your whole post, but this is a good excerpt. I feel the same. Clearly the die-hard Pens fans are great hockey fans that know the game, and despite some of the things we’ve undoubtedly said to one another, now that the series is over, the respect is back for sure.

Game Five will go down as the most memorable hockey game I’ve ever seen.

Had the Wings not won the Cup, I wouldn’t be able to say this. But the fact of the matter is, even though the result wasn’t ideal from my perspective, there is no doubt that game five was THE best sporting even I have ever seen. Game seven against the Avs in ‘02 was great for different reasons. Game four against the Caps in ‘98 was incredible because of the emotion of the entire situation. But that game five against the Pens had everything. Offense, defense, hitting, battling through injuries, a couple of two-goal comebacks, end-to-end rushes, great saves… it was not your typical defensive chess match OT, in my opinion.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 06/05/08 at 12:17 PM ET

congrats wings fans. all jobbing aside, the better team won the Cup. you guys here are class acts.

Posted by xuscbausp on 06/05/08 at 12:51 PM ET

i saw cleary looking dumbfounded as well, but i think my favorite moments were 1- on cbc they had an interview with Ozzy, Z, draper and Dats and Drpaes little boy in front of the cup and ozzy took a swig of beer and the camera caught it and he kinda looked like “oh damn i just got busted”
And Maltby’s wife is smoking

Already can not wait till October, Wings have pretty much the same team next year so woohoo.

Oh yeah I want to thank the Dalaas Stars for knocking off Anaheim and SJ , i think they made our job easier in the long run

Posted by Jay from canada on 06/05/08 at 01:09 PM ET

You really enjoyed hanging out with her, as long as nobody else saw you do it. And then you got drunk and slept with her.

And the winner of today’s ‘sleeping with ugly girl metaphor’ is….

Posted by Osrt on 06/05/08 at 01:29 PM ET

Let the PensBlog-Abel to Yzerman love fest continue!  Pittsburgh fans, you guys were great and your team has a great future.  Crosby really wants a title and that’s a good thing for you and the league.

Posted by TDeters on 06/05/08 at 01:53 PM ET

Shiny happy people holding hands

Posted by Pensblog on 06/05/08 at 06:51 PM ET

Congrats Detroit, but can one of you guys please tell me how you keep the puck in our zone so freaking much…never have I’ve seen a team do that the way Detroit did this series. I don;t know if it was the pens or wings but thats what won you the series in my opinion.

Posted by Skas from The Burgh on 06/05/08 at 09:39 PM ET

Skas,

The easy and short answer is that the Wings take away the up-the-boards clears by the other teams.  Many players are trained to avoid passing the puck into the middle of their own zone.  They also play angles more than they play pucks or players.  If you go back and watch any of the games in this series, the wings forecheckers dictated where the Penguins’ first passes went by playing the angles to limit the options. 

Once that happens, they could bottle it up and keep it in.  D-men were allowed to step up and challenge the puck-holders at their own blue lines and force turnovers or bad passes because the forwards were so defensively responsible.  Also, having Niklas Lidstrom on the blue line helped a lot.  No defenseman (and possibly no player in the leage) has the vision and hand-eye coordination he has.  If the NHL kept stats on offensive zone blue-line keep-ins, Lidstrom would lead in that stat by a huge margin every year. 

Finally, notice that very few of their forwards are ever standing still in the offensive zone.  many players will try to hang out in the high slot, hoping that somebody will forget about them and they can get open for a shot.  Mike Babcock’s mantra is “time in the zone creates confusion.”  They often won’t waste a pass on a low-percentage play, instead opting to hold it for a bit longer while waiting for a defensive player to take himself out of position, trying to take the puck.  Once that player takes the bait, they get the pass where it needs to go and get it on net.

Posted by J.J. from kansas on 06/05/08 at 09:56 PM ET

Guess that answer wasn’t that short.  Oh well; it’s not an easy system to play, so it’s not an easy system to explain.  Hell of an effective way to play when you have the right pieces.

Posted by J.J. from kansas on 06/05/08 at 09:59 PM ET

Whats a good plan of attack to see the parade. Where to park? Where to watch?

Posted by Ron Landrus from Toledo on 06/05/08 at 10:11 PM ET

Yes congrats to all the wings fans, i lost 20bucs and a redbull to my coworker but.  Even though the pens didnt win the holy grail we still walked away with events that will be talked among fans for years like “the shift” and flowers amazing game and sykora calling the shot. See you guys next year.

Posted by Sponger from Colorado is square on 06/05/08 at 10:34 PM ET

Hey, Iwo and Fellow Wingnuts -

I’m finally doing some catching up here, and checked out the Pensblog too.  It’s a relief to know that not only was there a creative enemy website to go to, but that there weren’t any reported deaths betwen the tribes, much less skirmishes.  So it’s all good.

Meanwhile, more than once, I’ve noted Wings’ fans commenting on the lack of class by Pens’ fans while the Wings were celebrating on the ice in the Igloo.  Couldn’t agree less. 

Yes, they booed ALL the time Bobbin-head Buttman was talking (very short speech this year…wonder why??...), but they shut up when Lids picked up the Stanley Cup, and the cheering began, albeit muted by their loss.

Not once did I feel the Pens’ fans were out of line, even when they were yelling Fleury’s name for the Conn-Smythe.  And I deeply appreciated the fact that many of them hung around to watch some of the festivities. 

Except for Therrien - and Crosby, if the NHL doesn’t leave him alone, I think the Pens’ team and their fans are total class.

Thenkyewverymuch.

Posted by Vladifan from Texas on 06/09/08 at 08:23 PM ET