Notes from GameDay #4

• Bucci was on my flight Thursday morning back to Hartford, and no I was not sitting in 17B. He gives a recap of his perfect day: ESPN - Traveling to the 'Burgh brings me back to my hockey roots - NHL
• Some people just can't stop bashing the NHL, no matter what the league does. First off, who cares how many players are made available to the media - nobody cares how difficult the media's job is. And second, would it really have made a difference to the average fan? No, but this guy from the Detroit Free Press makes a big deal of it anyway, because there is nothing else to complain about.
• Winning Game 3 was huge but won't mean too much if they lose Game 4 tonight. Going down 3-1 is not advisable and Petr Sykora agrees.
• After watching Detroit play three games, I wonder how anyone thought this would be a great offensive show that casual fans would be drawn to. The Pens came into the series with the best defensive numbers of any team in the playoffs. And the Wings control the puck so much that it limits what the other team can do. Finally, someone in Canada recognizes this.
• Not all of Michel Therrien's lineup changes have worked in the series, but Sydor played a good game after being out for so long. And perhaps he's regaining his touch. The lethal but makeshift line of Crosby, Hossa and Malkin that he put on the ice after the Wings first goal in Game 3 did a great job of thwarting any momentum the Wings may have gained from the goal.
• I don't understand why everyone is so up in arms about Therrien claiming the Wings are good at obstructing the Pens. First of all, they are, they do it well and more than any other team the Pens have played. Second, this is exactly what every other coach in NHL history has done, including Mikey Babcock. Mike Milbury's labeling of Badger Bob as a "Professor of Goonism" in 1991 was a laughable example of it, but it was no different. And finally, it seemed to work at least early on as the Wings were assessed an interference call early on.
• One guy thinks the NBC production of these Finals is "excellent". I like Pierre McGuire and his commentary from between the benches, but how can a TV production be called excellent if they repeatedly ignore replays (in a sport that is so fast moving that it demands replays to clarify what you saw) in favor of another commercial or in game graphic sponsored by Edge or whoever. If you have a choice, watch the CBC for a great broadcast. Why American networks don't hire Canadians to produce the NHL I have no idea.
• The Ghost of Mr. Muir over at si.com thinks the series will end in 5.
• Maybe the NHL doesn't get the attention it deserves, not because fans aren't interested,but because the media doesn't care to accurately report what happens or maybe even watch the game. This from some jobber at cbs.sportsline.com who thinks he's writing about Brooks Orpik's 4-wipeout shift:
  

  The stint lasted about 45 seconds and came with some five minutes remaining as the Penguins were struggling to protect a one-goal lead against the hard-charging Red Wings.
  

  Actually, the shift came with just over 10 minutes to play and the Pens had a 3-1 two goal lead at the time. And funny enough, the Wings scored a goal a few minutes later. So it wasn't exactly the game changing shift everyone thinks it was.
• Still, it is fun to watch the Wings skate into Orpik and get plastered:

Red Wings @ Penguins 5/28/08 Game 3 Orpik Hits