Upon first glance, I always thought that Johan Franzen’s slash to the legs of Joe Thornton was rather weak.  That was before I knew Franzen’s stick was actually a lightsaber cable of chopping off the legs of the Sharks’ captain.

Many hockey pundits have credited Thornton for playing with a separated shoulder during the Sharks’ Western Conference Finals series against the Vancouver Canucks.  After watching this clip, I’d say he is more courageous for playing with two severed legs.

Players from just about every team have been guilty of it, raising the question of whether this “do what it takes to win” attitude should come at the expense of the integrity of the game.  Joe Thornton’s picture perfect imitation of a soccer player during Game 5 last night between the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks has once again brought that issue to the forefront of the 2011 NHL playoffs.

And if the dive following the one-handed slash to the shin pad wasn’t enough, check out the Jumbo Joe laughing it off in the penalty box afterwards.  Stay classy Joe!

Nothing says playoff hockey quite like the face of Johan Franzen, which looks like it has just been shredded with a cheese grater.  The Red Wings’ forward was drilled face first into the boards by Shane Doan early in the first period of Game 2 today against the Phoenix Coyotes.  He had to be helped off the ice and missed a period of action before eventually returning to the game.  The Wings would go on to record the 4-3 victory, giving them a 2-0 series lead.

The man they call “The Mule,” went to work early and often on the Senators’ netminders, netting two goals within a one minute span in the first period, followed by three more in the third.  His final two goals of the game would be the game winner and the insurance marker as the Wings rallied behind Franzen’s big performance on route to a 7-5 victory at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

Franzen has generally be known as a playoff performer throughout his career, but much of that is the result of his inability to stay healthy throughout the course of the regular season.  This year he has been able to remain in the lineup, missing just one game thus far, and his numbers have reflected that as he is on pace for career-highs in goals and points.  His five goal outburst has certainly helped in that regards, and it has also earned him “The Stat Line of the Night” for Wednesday, February 2, 2011.

Johan Franzen was absolutely unstoppable in what was one of the most dominating playoff performances thus far this year.  In fact, his first period heroics may have very well been the most impressive 20 minutes of playoff hockey ever.  Only twelve minutes into the the game, Franzen had already recorded three goals and an assist for a 4-0 Red Wings lead over the San Jose Sharks (initially, he had been credited with all four goals, but the first was later changed to Todd Bertuzzi).

Franzen would eventually get his fourth goal 7:33 into the third, and finished the game with an impressive six points (4 goals, 2 assists).  He, along with linemates Henrik Zetterberg and Todd Bertuzzi, were a force to be reckoned with, combining for 5 goals and 13 points on the night.  When it was all said and done, the Wings would make a statement with a 7-1 victory.  They are still a long ways away from mounting any sort of a comeback in their best-of-seven series, but if they continue to play like this, what was once a 3-0 all-but-decided Western Conference semi-finals, may soon become a lot more interesting.

That was the excuse that Pittsburgh Penguins vice president Tom McMillan gave following accusations from the Red Wings’ Kris Draper that Pens captain Sidney Crosby snubbed Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom during post-game handshakes.

“Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn’t come over to shake his hand,” Draper told an Associated Press reporter a couple hours later as he was leaving Joe Louis Arena. “That’s ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that!” [NBC Sports]

In response to Draper’s comments, McMillan had the following to say:

“Nobody respects the traditions of hockey more than Sidney Crosby.  It was a young team celebrating its first Cup and some of the guys might have been a little late getting into the handshake line.”

After celebrating for a while and relishing the moment, Crosby eventually made his way over to shake hands, but by that time Lidstrom and several other Red Wings had already made their way to the dressing room.  Players on the losing team are often quick to leave the ice following the loss and this was no different.  Johan Franzen, who injured Crosby during the game, was still around and exchanged words with the Pens captain.  Sid also shook some other hands before returning to his teammates to celebrate.

It is tough to say if either party’s actions were wrong.  The post-series handshake is a customary thing in the NHL playoffs and should be respected by all players.  It is unsportsmanlike to have the other team wait and watch as you take your time celebrating.  And let’s face it.  No one likes to be snubbed.  Not even by Alex Rios, or Dana White.

Was that the case here?  Check out this clip see for yourself.

It had looked like the Wings seized control of the game early in the second after a Brad Stuart goal just 46 seconds into the frame put them up 2-1.  The shots were becoming incredibly lopsided at that point as well, and after an Evgeni Malkin penalty just past the 5 minute mark, it seemed to be a matter of time before the Wings would add some insurance.  Surprisingly, the opposite happened.

The Pens would have a strong penalty-kill, but with seconds remaining in it, another infraction, this time to Brooks Orpik, would set them a man down again.  As if last time was just a warm-up, this time out it would be the Pens penalty killers producing the best offensive chances.  First Malkin almost sprung himself for a break-a-way before being chased down by a back-checking Johan Franzen.  Moments later, Jordan Staal would take advantage of a flat-footed Brian Rafalski and score the equalizer a man down.

The Penguins used that momentum to score two more before the period was done, and held on to the 4-2 lead throughout the third, evening the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Things look to be turning around for Pittsburgh as Marc-Andre Fleury was solid again in goal and outplayed Chris Osgood for the second straight game.  Sidney Crosby also scored his first goal of the series, and has been coming along with each game.  The Pens now have the momentum, but momentum is only as good as your last shift, and with the Wings heading back to Detroit for game 5, expect the defending cup champions to come out with an added kick in their step.  Whether that will be enough to weather the Pens storm remains to be seen, but I think I speak for most when I say that this series deserves to be settled in seven.  With the way things are currently going, it looks like that is exactly where this season’s Stanley Cup Finals is headed.

Ladies and Gentlemen we now have a series!

It looked scary for a while as Pens fans saw their team go into the second intermission being badly outshot 26-11, but the third period would be theirs, out-shooting the Wings 10-3 and outscoring them 2-0, one of those goals being an empty-net.  How did they do it?  Mostly on the backs of Evgeni Malkin (3 points), Marc -Andre Fleury (27 saves), and a surprise 2 goals from Max Talbot.  Despite such great individual efforts, it was a complete team effort in the third, with all four lines and six d-men skating hard, taking the body, and moving the puck well.  That would be too much for the Wings over the final 20 minutes, as they looked like the more tired of the two teams, and the final score reflected just that.

The game started off with a goal scoring spree in the opening period.  The Pens got on the board first after a Max Talbot one-timer from the slot found its way past Wings goalie Chris Osgood.  Less than two minutes later, Henrik Zetterberg grabbed a lose puck in front of the net and brought the Wings even again.  They would take the lead on a Johan Franzen one-timer, but Kris Letang would even it up again on the power-play.

The second period was tight checking and as a result the score never changed.  That would set the stage for the most important period of the post-season for the Penguins.

They replied, first with a power-play goal from Sergei Gonchar mid way through the third, then Talbot would seal it with an empty-net goal, his second of the night.

With the series now 2-1 in favor of the Wings, game 4 in Pittsburgh on Thursday will once again be much like an elimination game for the Pens.  They will not want to go down 3-1 to the Wings for the second year in a row, as it is a daunting task to beat the defending Stanley Cup champions three consecutive games, especially with two of those being in Detroit.

Sidney Crosby was able to find the score sheet for the first time in the series last night, but even with last change on home ice, he still had a difficult time getting away from Henrik Zetterberg.  One man who did have more room on the ice was Evgeni Malkin, and he responded with a large offensive output.

The Pens will need the same from him and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, as well as an improvement from Crosby in order to win three more games.  They will also hope that the Wings do not get their star forward Pavel Datsyuk back for game 4.  His presence means another strong defensive forward that will make things even tighter for the playoffs two leading scorers.  Oh ya, and did we mention that Pavel was 4th in the league in points?  Things might only get more difficult for the Pens from here, but if they expect to raise Lord Stanley, they will have to find a way to deal with it.  Otherwise it will be Deja Vu all over again.

Here are the game 3 highlights.

Even with two of their best players out, Detroit dominated the pace from start to finish, leading 2-0 after the first period, and 5-1 after the second.  The team’s other big names needed to step up if there wished to avoid losing their second game in a row and that was exactly what they did.  Henrik Zetterberg scored two, Marian Hossa had two of his own, and Johan Franzen and Valteri Filppula each added one apiece.

The firepower of the Wing players caused Blackhawks coach Joel Quenville to pull starting goalie Cristobal Huet at one point, only to put him back in for the start of the third.  Huet was in for an injured Nikolai Khabibulin.  Meanwhile, at the other end of the rink, Detroit goalie Chris Osgood also left the game with an undisclosed injury.

It is unsure what the status of Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Draper and Osgood are for game five on Wednesday night, but it is very likely that if they can play, they will.  Mike Babcock will leave nothing to chance against a resilient Chicago team.

Besides all the great goals, there was also another interesting play in yesterday’s game.  With the Wings comfortably in the lead late in the third, cameras caught an altercation between Hawks forward Patrick Kane and Johan Franzen.  As the two skated behind the net after the whistle, they continued to jaw at each other.  That’s when Franzen snatched the mouth guard from Kane’s mouth and threw it.

Kane was no longer the only thing that appeared to be lost on the ice.  Now he had to worry about his mouth guard too.  If the Blackhawks are to have any chance at coming back against the Wings, Kane will have to find his game.  As for finding his mouthguard.  Let’s just hope that if he did, he washed it first before using it again.

Total Pro Sport – The Mule Johan Franzen of the Detroit Red Wings scored an amazing Superman type goal flying through the air, in a losing effort to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night 5-4.

Franzen made it 4-3 with a spectacular effort at 3:52. He made a move and jumped around St. Louis defenseman Mike Weaver in the slot, then beat Mason as he was falling to the ice for his 33rd goal. [SportsLine]

This goal almost reminds me of when Bobby Orr flew through the air and scored an amazing overtime goal to beat the St. Louis Blues and win the Stanley Cup, take a look.

Bobby Orr Scores a Flying Superman goal to win the Bruins the Stanley Cup