I'm a huge Red Wings fan. I love hockey, and I love the Red Wings. And after reading what I'm about to write, you'll probably just say "He's a bitter Red Wings fan. He's just mad they lost." And I would say "Fair enough." I am mad they lost. I know they can win. Especially at home.
But here's what I want to say: Congrats to the Penguins...except Crosby and Malkin. Why do I say that? Several reasons. Crosby and Malkin did not show the level of leadership they
should have, and this is probably more true of Crosby than Malkin. Malkin showed up offensively (at least in assists) and defensively. Crosby was almost a non-factor. For all of the hype surrounding this guy he was awfully quiet against the Wings. Why? Because the Wings are good. No offense to the Caps, but they are by no means anywhere close defensively to the Wings.(This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Malkin and Crosby. "What? They aren't praising us?")
However, I think Crosby and Malkin showed very little class, and I've lost a lot of respect for them. Malkin was cross checking, hitting people with the butt of his stick, instigating fights, and other things. Crosby showed very little sportsmanship. At the end of Game 1 he hit Kirk Maltby with his stick as he was heading to the bench.
As I said earlier, congrats to the rest of the Pens. Guys like Jordan Staal, Maxine Talbot, Marc Andre-Fleury, and the guys on the Pens that aren't "the second coming". They made the big plays that made the difference in this series. They have my respect.
