Red Wings are the Champs

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It’s not that I want Detroit to win…

I just really want the Penguins to lose.

The NHL finally gets a Stanley Cup Finals between two major teams that non hockey fans might actually watch.

I hope Niklas Kronwall does this to a couple penguins.

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Can anyone stop them?

The question is: am I referring to the Red Wings or the Penguins?

Red Wings vs. Penguins looks like a foregone conclusion for the Stanley Cup Finals, which should make hockey fans, TV executives, and the NHL all happy.

Both teams are playing on a different level from everyone else.  The Penguins have an incredible 11-1 record in the playoffs, with their only loss coming against the Rangers in game 4 of that series.  The 11-2 Red Wings, meanwhile, are riding a 9-game winning streak and look pretty much unstoppable.

The only question left for the conference finals is whether both teams will sweep.  The Red Wings and Stars play game 4 tonight in Dallas, while Pittsburgh and Philadelphia play their game 4 tomorrow in Philly.

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NHL fines Ribeiro and Osgood. No suspensions.

The NHL handed down fines to each player, but the amount of each penalty was not disclosed.

I’m a little bit surprised that there were no suspensions. A butt-end to the face is very dangerous. Osgood is lucky he isn’t being suspended.

And what Ribeiro did to Osgood wasn’t all too different from what Chris Simon did to Ryan Hollweg last season, which got Simon a 25-game suspension. Don’t get me wrong, what Simon did was definitely worse. But really the only difference was that Simon was more malicious and hit Hollweg in the neck/face. Ribeiro hit Osgood in the chest. You’re telling me that Simon should get 25 games and Ribeiro should get ZERO?? That’s incredibly inconsistent.

In my opinion, it is completely unacceptable to 2-hand chop someone no matter where you hit them. There should be no place for that in hockey and Ribeiro is lucky he won’t miss any games.

Here is the article from espn.com

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Stars’ Ribeiro slashes Chris Osgood across the chest after Red Wings victory in game 2

After a fairly boring 3rd period, things got pretty interesting after the buzzer sounded to end game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

Chris Osgood used the butt-end of his stick to poke Dallas’ Mike Ribeiro as he skated through the crease at the end of the game. Ribeiro then turned around and, from behind the net, with 2 hands on his stick, slashed Osgood across the chest.

Here’s a video from TSN.

It’s clear that Osgood gets Ribeiro with the butt end of his stick as Ribeiro skates past the crease. But even if he got poked in the face, I think Ribeiro completely overreacted. You just don’t 2-hand chop someone across the chest. Especially not the goalie.

If I had to guess, I would say he’s going to be suspended for at least a game. The TSN commentators don’t think the NHL will suspend Ribeiro, but considering the recent emphasis the NHL has placed on end-of-game fisticuffs, my money is on a suspension.

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