Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings. They had a great playoff and deserved the victory. The brand of hockey that they brought to the rink each night was impressive. Detroit is a team of complete players. They have a great deal of talent throughout the lineup, but the difference was their ability to play on each side of the puck and the desire to gain control of it. It takes a special kind of commitment to play such a tight game and still create offense. Henrik Zetterberg exemplifies those characteristics, and I feel it was that style that helped him win the Conn Smythe. He was outstanding every night and a lot of his offense came from capitalizing off turnovers created by hard work.

The Penguins deserve a lot of praise as well. They had a lot of players come of age and show they could not only be an exciting team but also an effective team. I expect many of the young players to be even tougher to play against in the coming season. The experience they gained in the playoffs is immeasurable as it pertains to training great young players. The poise and mental toughness needed to win night in and night out in the playoffs is not something found in many players who haven’t been through it. That is why I have faith in my Sabres team next year; we have some battle-hardened playoff veterans from two seasons going to the conference finals, and on top of that we have a lot to prove to the hockey world after missing out on the postseason.

With the hockey season complete, I feel like I can relax just a little more. It is hard to feel good when hockey is being played at the highest level and I am not on the ice. Not that I am in a state of depression, it is just good to know that everyone is done and it all starts again soon. I was watching the game at my brother’s cabin in western Michigan and we both were talking about how frustrating it can be to watch. I will be at meetings in Toronto next week and then I can tune out hockey for a little while; take a little vacation from watching, playing and thinking about hockey, recharge and try to be at an even higher level for next season.

This will be my last entry for Maxim.com this season. Thanks for reading. It was fun to give blogging a try after reading so many on the Internet. I am thinking about considering the possibility that I may continue blogging on my own website, MillerTime30.com. It may not be updated much this summer, but as hockey starts up again I will see how it goes. Have a great summer!

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I thought the Cup would be staying in Detroit Tuesday night, but those pesky Penguins found a way... What a great game. It had scoring during regulation and it had suspense during overtime. Couldn't script a better hockey game from a fan's perspective. Of course if I were a die-hard Wings fan, I might be a little rattled. Thirty seconds away from the cup and then... BANG. Overtime. And not just a quick overtime. A marathon that ended with the youthful Penguins gaining a win and perhaps the belief that maybe they can pull off a miracle.

I was among Red Wing faithful at the Riv in downtown East Lansing, MI. The Riv is a great spot with a lot of history and a pretty loyal group of regulars. Great spot to just walk in without worrying about what you're wearing or what kind of crowd to hang with. I was there with a group of friends and my brother, Bryce, came down to hang. For a Monday night, there were a lot of people willing to put their jobs at risk by drinking straight through triple overtime. Have to love hockey fans.

It ended up being a lot of fun to have everyone on the edge of their seat or barstool for such a long evening. Every shot on goal seemed like it was going into the net according to the crowd in the bar. Made me smile. I was happy to be in a place that was so tuned in to the game. Most of the bar was wearing red and chanting whenever something went well for their team. When Petr Sykora hit the twine halfway through the third overtime, the rowdy crowd just turned their attention to the bar. A couple of groans and a few sighs. But Game 6 does offer fans of hockey another night (or two) of before we all turn our attention to summer...

Tune in to Stretch on Maxim Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio each Wednesday morning at 11am ET for NHL All-Star goalie Ryan Miller's weekly Stanley Cup Playoffs report.

 

Have a question for Ryan? Post it in the Comments Section below.

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I missed the game the other night because I was at a wedding in Big Rapids,
MI. Good times. I got to catch up with some people I hadn't seen in years...
Plus it was the first time I had seen my brother Drew since we played
against each other in October. His team was knocked from the AHL conference
finals after a great run.

So with the wedding and an hour and a half drive home around noon I am a
little tired...needless to say I wasn't in a writing mood much of the day. I
was in a lay on the couch until dinner mood and then back to the couch...
And then feel a little guilty about not commenting on a critical game so now
I am writing mood. This probably won't even be posted til Monday so bear
with my tardiness.

I read the write up and saw some highlights and talked to the resident
hockey expert at my parents house... The one and only Dean Miller, my
father. We didn't talk much hockey, just enough to get the gist of the game.
Dino thought that the skilled players for Detroit were great on defense and
very patient. They don't always have to attack. What that means is that they
know when to manage the game. When to put pucks in a safe place and wait for
the opponent to make a mistake or when to try a move to create some offense.
He also commented on how hard every player on the Wings works during a
shift. They are a machine and their game management is the difference...

If they can finish the series in Michigan I think it will be great for my
home state. The popularity of hockey in NHL cities always is jump started by
teams creating a buzz during the playoffs. We saw it happen in Buffalo the
last few years and it would be good for the youth hockey in Michigan for the
Wings to win. I never really like seeing another team win when my team is in
the running but I am looking for some positives here... People excited about
hockey in Michigan is pretty positive.

Tune in to Stretch on Maxim Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio each Wednesday morning at 11am ET for NHL All-Star goalie Ryan Miller's weekly Stanley Cup Playoffs report.

 

Have a question for Ryan? Post it in the Comments Section below.

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We have a series… A much better effort from the Penguins. The biggest thing I picked out was the Penguins could gain the zone and have some passing options. In the games at Joe Louis the Pens could barely gain the blueline let alone make anything happen. Last night the Penguin’s puck carrier turned up and had options and it was usually a man who would use momentum to receive a pass and keep control in the zone. I think that was a huge difference in the game and a huge step up from the poorly executed dump-ins the Penguins were using in games 1 and 2.

The Red Wings played a nice game considering how pumped up the Penguins played. It will definitely be interesting come Friday. I think that the Wings may learn something and will be picking off some of those passes that created a lot of trouble for them. The Penguins will have to be very good and be very disciplined. They got away with taking some poor penalties, not something you can do every night against the Wings.

I will now take a moment to pump some tires. Great job by Adam Hall, a Spartan alumni and a Michigan boy. His goal proved to be the game winner and he was counted on to be a key role player while helping kill off some penalty time.

Tune in to Stretch on Maxim Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio each Wednesday morning at 11am ET for NHL All-Star goalie Ryan Miller's weekly Stanley Cup Playoffs report.

 

Have a question for Ryan? Post it in the Comments Section below.

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Hi, Ryan :) LOVE the blog! Thanks for doing this. I hope you'll continue it on your site once you're done here at Maxim. So here is my question: Johnny Liles: UFA. Drew Miller: UFA. is there a possibility of seeing both your boys in blue and gold next season? it might be the greatest thing ever! – Maal

Thanks for the note... I am planning on blogging on my site a little bit to see how it goes once we get it up and running at 100 percent, but I don’t know if I have it in me to be a full time blogger. As for playing alongside my brother and JM Liles, my brother is actually an RFA (Restricted Free Agent), which means Anaheim would only have to give him a qualifying offer to retain his rights. I expect that the Ducks will keep him around. He is way too good and way too smart a  player to let slip away at 24 years old. John Michael is free to do as he pleases come July 1, and he would fit in great where we once had Brian Campbell. JM is a great skater and power play guy, just like Brian. We will see. John is in a great position to make a decision for himself and he has earned that right. We will have to wait to see how it plays out. A new coach in Colorado is a factor now.


What is your favorite road trip story? Is there one incident (or more) that sticks out from your time on the road? Thanks Ryan—good luck next season! – Allie

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