Intotheboards.net - NHL Playoffs 2008

POWER PLAY	3RD - 20.4
PENALTY KILL	22ND - 81.0
*FORWARDS*
EVGENI MALKIIN	47-59-106 (+16)
SIDNEY CROSBY	24-48-72 (+18)
MARIAN HOSSA	29-37-66 (-14)
*DEFENSEMEN*
SERGEI GONCHAR	12-53-65 (+13)
RYAN WHITNEY	12-28-40 (-2)
HAL GILL	3-21-24 (+6)
*GOALTENDERS*
MARC-ANDRE FLEURY	19-10-2 (4 SO) 2.33 GA .921 PCT

TY CONKLIN	18-8-5 (2 SO) 2.51 GA .923 PCT

	Pittsburgh vs Detroit

	SCHEDULE
	1	MAY 24	PITTSBURGH 0 - DETROIT 4
SEED 2	2	MAY 26	PITTSBURGH 0 - DETROIT 3	SEED 1
47-27-8 (102)	3	MAY 28	DETROIT 2 - PITTSBURGH 3	54-21-7 (115)
	4	MAY 31	DETROIT 2 - PITTSBURGH 1
	5	JUN 2	PITTSBURGH 4 - DETROIT 3 (3OT)
	6	JUN 4	DETROIT 3 - PITTSBURGH 2
	7	JUN 7	PITTSBURGH at DETROIT
*Detroit Wins Series 4-2*

SERIES PREVIEW

by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM

After six weeks of intense playoff hockey the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings are set to determine the premier club in the NHL in the upcoming Stanley Cup Finals. The series is an exciting one for fans and the NHL alike as the experienced Red Wings are set to take on the league’s most exciting club in the Penguins.

The series should be an excellent one as each team has elite talent and plays well together as a team. Each team also has flaws the other can exploit which may prove to be fatal to the other in the last round of the playoffs. The matchup is fresh due to the fact the two clubs never faced off during the 2007-08 regular season. Even the players realize that two of the league’s top two teams are ready to face-off.

"You look at both teams and what they bring," said Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby. "You can look at the NHL awards and things like that that's going to come up, you'll see a lot of the same guys during the series at those. The two best teams in the playoffs are there. But at the same time individually there's a lot of players I think that are pretty exciting to watch. So it makes for a great series for sure."

The forward who will gain the most attention during the media sessions will be the player who is tied with Henrik Zetterberg as the playoff’s leading scorer in Crosby. However, the best forward on either team might be the Penguins Evgeni Malkin. Malkin can play any style of hockey, although he was slowed down by the Flyers’ Derian Hatcher in the Eastern Conference finals. Look for the Red Wings to attack Malkin and let Crosby beat them. Trade deadline acquisition Marian Hossa plays a strong two-way game and has been excellent in the playoffs. Hossa has the ability to break open a game if he is unguarded. Ryan Malone is a power forward who produces and the team can also expect offense from Petr Sykora. Jordan Staal is a premier penalty killer and is strong defensively as is Pascal Dupuis. High-energy forwards Tyler Kennedy and Maxime Talbot are constantly going and forcing the issue while Adam Hall and Georges Laraque fill specific roles. If available, Gary Roberts grit and experience could factor into this series while Jarkko Ruutu will attempt to agitate the Red Wings.

Perhaps the biggest x-factor in the playoffs will be the availability, or lack thereof, of Detroit’s Johan Franzen. Franzen was the hottest scorer in the NHL until he missed the Western Conference finals due to concussion-like symptoms suffered some time during the Red Wings series against Colorado. Even if Franzen cannot play—he is practicing in preparation to return to the lineup—the Wings are still loaded up front with supreme talents Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

"He's flying around, going 100 miles an hour," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock about Franzen. "(He) looks like 100 bucks, no side effects. Looks to me like he's ready to play, but that's why I don't make those decisions."

In past seasons the reason given for the demise of the Red Wings in the playoffs has been their lack of grit. That is not the case this year as Valtteri Filppula, Daniel Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, Kris Draper and Dallas Drake all have talent and each of them are difficult to play against. Jiri Hudler provides instant offense while Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and Darren Helm each play roles for the club. Even though many point to the club’s experience, Babcock pointed out his team has young stars too.

"(We have) young guys driving the bus for sure," said Babcock. "Everyone talks about how old we are. But we've got great young players--really good young players. Two of the best ones (Datsyuk and Zetterberg) (are) in the prime of their career. Then you are three, maybe with (Niklas) Kronwall, Franzen, and these guys, but also Filppula and the group coming."

As good as the Red Wings top talent is up front, the team is equally loaded on the back end as they boast the top defender in the NHL in Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom will likely draw the assignment of watching Crosby due to his ability to read the play before it develops. Brian Rafalski will key the club’s transition game and help out on the power play. The hard-hitting duo of Brad Stuart and Niklas Kronvall are often paired together and there is a good chance they will be matched up against Malkin to start the series. Babcock leans heavily on his top four defenders and only plays Brett Lebda, Andreas Lilja and Chris Chelios to round out the minutes. Chelios missed the final game of the Dallas series and may have health issues heading into the finals. No matter what combination is used, the Red Wings are going to have to focus on slowing down Crosby and Malkin.

"They're very individual skilled players," said Lidstrom. "They can take you on one-on-one, they can challenge you and the defensive pairs. One of the reason(s) for our team's success has been the way the group of five play(s) on the ice. Not just the D playing solid, but forwards coming back hard and eliminating the time for the teams to pull up and find lanes. So the way we've been playing as a group on the ice, I think it's the team defense, not only the defensemen on our team but the team defense has been a big part of why we're here now."

Sergei Gonchar is a tremendous offensive force for the Penguins and his defensive play has picked up too. Gonchar will be under attack from the buzzing Detroit forwards and will need to remain solid in order for the Penguins to have a chance. Unlike Babcock, Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien is pretty even handed with ice time for his other five defenders. The hard-hitting Brooks Orpik, big defender Hal Gill, defensive ace Rob Scuderi and skating defenders Kris Letang and Ryan Whitney all play roughly the same amount of time each game.

Each team carries questions in goal. Detroit’s Chris Ogsood might be the most underrated clutch goaltender in playoff history, but he will always be questioned, due to playoff mishaps in the past. Meanwhile Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury has never won a Stanley Cup and people question if he will be able to handle the pressure in the loop’s final round.

Detroit appears to have the advantage when it comes to backups as Dominik Hasek is in Osgood’s reserve while journeymen Ty Conklin and Dany Sabourin are the Penguins backup netminders.

The battle comes down to Detroit’s experience against the size and youth of the Penguins. Each team has their questions, people question Detroit’s killer instincts and grit, while the Penguins naysayers point to their lack of experience and they are also questioned about their grit. But as a matter of fact, the Penguins youthfulness might ease some of the pressure they are facing.

"Maybe because we're a little younger," said Fleury about his club’s even temperament. "Maybe we don't know too much what we're getting into. But at the same time I think everybody, when we step on the ice we're also very confident. As for myself, I know even if I let a bad goal in, I know my teammates will come back and get a couple. So I think this is just confidence. It's been good for us."

At the start of the series it looks as if the league might have a seven-game matchup on hand, but it would appear Pittsburgh’s back-end (defense and goaltenders) might be a little better all-around then Detroit’s. Pittsburgh’s underrated defensive game should also make the difference in the series. If the Penguins can remain disciplined—a question as they can take silly penalties—they should be able to claim the Cup when all is said and done.

"I really like the way we've been playing so far in the playoffs," said Therrien. "Both defensively and offensively. The confidence is there. When we started last year, I'm not quite sure if the confidence was there. But I can tell you, this is a group, our focus, this is a group that has a lot of confidence in themselves."

Many others will have the same confidence in the Penguins—and the possibility of a dynasty—should the Penguins play as well as they can and claim the Stanley Cup.

Game 1	Pittsburgh 0 - Detroit 4
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*Detroit Leads Series 1-0*
*Detroit, MI* - For twenty minutes the game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings was a competitive, up-and-down affair. Then Detroit stopped taking penalties and it became a Red Wings romp. The penalty box parade started early as Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang was whistled less than four minutes into the game for interference to give the Red Wings the first power play of the evening. The Wings Tomas Holmstrom quickly cancelled the advantage just 11 seconds later when his stick clipped Penguins defender Brooks Orpik for a high-sticking call. In succession the normally disciplined Red Wings saw Nicklas Lidstrom, Darren Helm and Holmstrom, again, skate off to the penalty box. Holmstrom’s second penalty hurt the most as a controversial goaltender interference call wiped out a Lidstrom score. Pittsburgh took advantage of the situation to fire repeated shots at Detroit netminder Chris Osgood, but the veteran netminder would not bend as he turned away all 12 Penguins scoring bids. A different Detroit team came out in the second period, one determined to stay out of the penalty box and to control the puck at all costs. The club would manage to do so until late in the third period when Lidstrom was tagged for interfering with Marian Hossa. After the game Osgood indicated the need for Detroit to stay disciplined in order to make it tougher on the Penguins. "(Just) stay out of the penalty box, for starters," said Osgood. "We were in there way too much in the first period. After that, I thought we didn't turn pucks over as much as we did in the first. That's why we got the penalties." In the meantime the Red Wings wore down the Penguins and forced them to make mistakes while looking completely mismatched. Detroit almost had their first goal for the second time when Mikael Samuelsson rang a shot off the posts and the crossbar in a play so close it needed a video review to confirm the puck had not goal in. Finally on their third chance the Red Wings made good. The score came due to a terrible line change and a poor play by Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury which basically gave the opening goal to former-Penguin Samuelsson. Samuelsson picked up a feeble pass up the ice by Jarkko Ruttu which caught two Penguins forwards going off ice for a line change. Samuelsson revved up his motor and defeated the entire Penguins defense by going around Rob Scuderi, eluding Hal Gill at the end and sliding the puck underneath Fleury--who had allowed himself to get out of position by over-committing to Samuelsson’s initial fly-by. "They turned over the puck at the red line, and I saw…they were out there, like, 30, 40 seconds. I just took a shot at it. They went to the net, said Samuelsson. "I couldn't really cut in in front of the net, so I had to go behind. And I guess…Fleury committed to me a little bit. So I took a chance to throw it at the net, and it went in." Despite his poor play on the opening goal, Fleury kept his team in the game in the middle period as he made 15 saves while the Penguins could only muster four shots on goal. As poor as the second period was for Pittsburgh the final frame was even worse. Although they desperately needed to muster offense to solve Osgood the Penguins were limited to a mere three shots over the final period. Even if the Penguins had managed to score on each one of their parries they still would have fallen short as the Red Wings poured in three goals during the final frame. "I don't know if it was the nerves. But definitely that was the worst performance of the playoffs," said Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien. "We didn't compete like we were supposed to compete. And it's a good lesson. They ( Detroit) played a really good game. They deserve a lot of credit. In the meantime, we didn't play our game. So I'm expecting a better effort from our team next game." Another turnover led to Samuelsson’s second goal of the game. Samuelsson barged into a Pittsburgh defender which caused Fleury to come out and play the puck to Evgeni Malkin. Malkin tried to turn the puck up ice, but he was bumped off the play by Detroit’s Dallas Drake and Samuelsson was there in a flash to bang home the puck. "I don't really know what happened," said Samulesson. "I went through the forecheck and the puck kind of stayed at me. There were a couple guys there. But they didn't really catch or took the puck there, so I just took it and shot it to the net." Detroit scored two goals late in the third period to finish the deal, a shorthanded score by Daniel Cleary and a power play goal by Henrik Zetterberg. Cleary’s goal came when he outraced Letang for a Brad Stuart clear. The puck bounced off the end boards and caught Fleury in no-man’s land as Cleary backhanded the puck into the goal. An all-alone Zetterberg wristed a shot from the slot to finish the scoring with just seconds left in the affair. With Ruutu in the box for slashing, Holmstrom took a pass from Lidstrom and found Zetterberg unguarded down low. The final score left the Penguins shaking their heads after the game. Meanwhile Osgood was on top of his game as he faced several excellent chances as the game wound down. He stopped Pascal Dupuis on a partial breakaway and also turned aside strong bids from Petr Sykora, Hossa and Sidney Crosby as he went on to post his sixth playoff shutout of his career. "We got pucks deep when we grind their "D," said Osgood. "Sometimes things don't happen right away. You don't reap the rewards until later. That's what happened. I thought we were tough on their "D" in the last two periods of the game. Made them skate back for a lot of pucks and defense was difficult when guys are hitting you nonstop for 40 straight minutes and that's what we accomplished. That's why we ended up getting the goals that we did." The loss was an awakening for a Pittsburgh club that said they were perhaps too young to be nervous about playing in the Finals. Now that they have played a game they know what the experience is all about. "Yeah, they're a good hockey team," said Crosby. "They play tight. I don't think we came here expecting an easy series. For sure they played a tight checking game. But that's playoff hockey. You still have to find ways around that. And for us, we all have more success when we moved our feet. In the second period we didn't do that a whole lot. So make sure we do a better job getting the puck forward and moving our feet a little more." As for the Red Wings, while they enjoyed winning the first game in such fashion, at least Osgood knows they have a long road to go before claiming the Stanley Cup even though the team poses a special challenge to the Penguins. "We're a different team than what they played before. The Rangers would have been the closest to that. Ottawa dumps it quite a bit. Philly definitely does," said Osgood. "We possessed the puck. We like to, the majority of the time, if we can. I mean that's the best defense is when we have the puck. That's what we believe in. And I just think they hadn't seen it before. I think we do it better than any other team in the League and that's what makes our defense so good." And the Penguins challenge so daunting. Game Notes Georges Laracque and Maxime Talbot picked up perhaps the two most unfair minuses when they replaced Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy on the ice during Samuelsson’s rush for the first goal of the game. The two had yet to reach their own zone because of the late change when the Detroit winger scored. Detroit winger Johan Franzen participated in a full practice with his teammates prior to Game 1, but was not in the lineup. Franzen is tied with teammate Zetterberg as they lead all NHL scorers with 12 goals during the postseason. Chris Chelios was not in the lineup for the Red Wings either. The veteran defender was replaced by Andreas Lilja in the lineup in Game 6 against the Dallas Stars due to an injury suffered by Chelios in Game 5 of that series. Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals will be played in Detroit on Monday night.

Game 2	Pittsburgh 0 - Detroit 3
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*Detroit Leads Series 2-0*
*Detroit, MI* - If Chris Osgood continues to play as well as he has in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals it will be very difficult to continue to call him underrated for much longer. After a dominating performance in Game 1 Osgood and the Red Wings followed up with an equally impressive win in Game 2 despite the fact the Penguins were more involved in this contest than they were in Game 1. With the shutout—the thirteenth of his playoff career—Osgood becomes the first netminder to post consecutive shutouts over the first two games of a Stanley Cup Finals series since New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur turned the trick during the 2003 Finals. Osgood has not given up a goal in the last 137:33 the team has played. Osgood, who has won more playoff games than any Detroit netminder told reporters after the game he was unaware of his potentially historic play. "I try not to think about that (the shutout streak) or other things," said Osgood. "If I do happen to pass things, I usually don't know about it. I like it that way. I need to be told after. I like to keep my mind on the game and what I have to do during the game and not let my mind wander into things that really matter the most when I'm done playing." After being completely shut down in Game 1 Pittsburgh Coach Michel Therrien inserted Gary Roberts into the lineup and shook up his other lines in an effort to be more competitive in the second game of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals. Roberts’ line started the game and the unit out-hit the Wings, but it quickly became apparent the Penguins were not going to be able to skate with the Red Wings once again. As a matter of fact the game had all the suspense of a Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals contest when it became apparent Pittsburgh’s lineup changes were not going to make much of a difference against the Wings. For his part Therrien argued the Red Wings stifling defense might be a little too stifling for the current NHL rules. "It's really tough to generate offense against that team," said Therrien. "They're good on obstruction. It's going to be tough to generate any type of offense, if the rules remain the same. So it's the first time we're facing a team that the obstruction is there, and we're having a hard time skating to take away ice." Unlike Game 1 when the Red Wings needed two periods to blow the game open this game was over for all intents and purposes after the midway point of the first period. As the Red Wings were placing two scores on the board in the first period the Penguins were not even able to get an even strength shot on goal until nearly midway through the second frame. Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart opened the scoring when his slapper went through a partial screen, deflected off Pittsburgh defenseman Rob Scuderi, struck Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury and rolled into the net. Valtteri Filppula started the play when he carried the puck into the zone down the left wing boards and found Stuart coming in unattended on the opposite side of the rink. Tomas Holmstrom completed the first period scores when he tapped in a "give me" from the goal line. Holmstrom picked up a loose puck behind the Pittsburgh cage and tossed a centering pass to Henrik Zetterberg who shot the puck between Fleury’s legs. The puck trickled through Fleury and it might have gone in without assistance, but Holmstrom made sure by smacking it across the goal line to remove all doubts. Filppula registered a goal of his own just before the midway point of the third period when he took a Johan Franzen pass and broke in all alone. Filpulla was interfered with during the rush—a delayed penalty was going to be called—but it became a moot point when the dynamic Red Wings scorer deked Fleury out of position and slid the puck into the goal while he was flying in the air. The series will now move on to Pittsburgh for Games 3 and 4 where the Penguins are 8-0 during this playoff run. While one might think the Red Wings are concerned about their trip to Pennsylvania, Babcock is anything but so and is looking forward to the challenge. "We're going to play better," said Detroit Head Coach Mike Babcock in a statement that should scare all Penguins fans and those interested in competitive hockey. "We've been a good road team all year. We're going to have a real good game in Pittsburgh. And we're excited to get on the road sometimes at home, when you're matching (lines) all the time, it disrupts your flow a little bit. We can get to Pittsburgh and let the guys just go, let them go out the door and play hard…Game 1 was the biggest game when we were playing. Game 2 (was) and now obviously Game 3 is the biggest game." Now the question is will the Penguins be able to solve the Red Wings and Osgood at home and make Babcock contemplate a Game 5. For one, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby figures the series is closer than it has appeared to be. "We just have to execute. I mean, they got a few chances," said Crosby. "Did they really get that many scoring chances on us? I don't think they did. They got a few and put them in, we hit a post and pucks go through us by the net that we don't put in. That's the difference, to be honest. They're not getting that many scoring chances more than us. We're not executing." For the Penguins sake they had better start to execute—very soon the season will not end on a successful note for Pittsburgh. Game Notes Each team went without their respective enforcer as the Penguins sat Georges Laracque in favor of Roberts while Darren McCarty sat out for the Red Wings in order to open a lineup spot for the returning Johan Franzen. Ironically their services might have been required in this game as tempers flared towards the end of the game. A hit to Franzen’s head by Roberts incensed Franzen and his teammates and there was pushing and shoving as the Red Wings stood up to the Penguins attempt to intimidate. Pittsburgh took two goaltender interference penalties during the course of the game and afterwards Therrien was not impressed with the calls. "We took two penalties tonight on the goalie," said Therrien. "We never take penalty to the goalie in the playoff. I'll tell you something, I reviewed those plays. He's (Osgood) a good actor. He goes to players, and he's diving. (One of the dives) took away our power play…our team never goes to (the) goalie. We never did it and we don't target the goalie. But this is, want to talk about experience, he goes to players, and he knows what to do, I guess." After posting back-to-back shutouts to open New Jersey’s series with the then Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Martin Brodeur lost games 3 and 4 in overtime as Anaheim rallied to tie the series before eventually bowing out in seven games. Ironically Babcock was the coach of the Mighty Ducks during that season. Pittsburgh's Sergei Gonchar has played a staggering 56 minutes over the first two games of the series. With the exception of Brooks Orpik, Gonchar's ice time ate into all of the Pittsburgh defender's time in Game 3. In Game 4 Kris Letang was singled out and the young defender saw his time dip down to 11:50 total time on the ice. The all-time record of home clubs sweeping Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is 30-1. The only club to win the Stanley Cup after losing the first two games of the series on the road was the 1971 Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in seven games. The Game 2 loss marked the first time in the 2008 playoffs and in 32 games overall that Pittsburgh has lost consecutive games since early March. It also marked the first time the Penguins have been shut out in consecutive games all season. Pittsburgh has not scored since 4:03 of the third period in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against Philadelphia, a season-long drought of 135:57.

Game 3	Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 3
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*Detroit Leads Series 2-1*
*Pittsburgh, PA* - All those who were questioning Sidney Crosby after the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals are going to have to find someone else to focus on. Crosby was a one-man wrecking crew in Game 3 as he scored twice to lead his Pittsburgh Penguins back into the series against Detroit. Pittsburgh responded to their home crowd and as a result the two teams played the up-and-down exciting game many predicted the series would be before Detroit dominated the first two games at home. Of course a bigger factor than the crowd was the fact the Penguins finally took a lead and defeated Detroit netminder Chris Osgood for the first time. The Penguins lead forced the Red Wings to play catch-up and they nearly managed to force overtime before Pittsburgh was able to stave off Detroit’s furious rally. After over 137 minutes of shutout play and a sluggish start to this game, the Penguins finally broke through against Osgood when Crosby beat the Detroit netminder late in the first period. The play started with a rare Detroit error as Detroit defender Brad Stuart fired a pass into teammate Henrik Zetterberg’s skate. The Penguins Marian Hossa picked up the loose puck and shot on Osgood. Crosby picked up the rebound while in the danger zone in front of the Red Wings goal and fired the puck home while getting knocked into the air. The score ended a long period of frustration for both Crosby and the Penguins. "It wasn't that the chances weren't there. It just finally went in for us," said Crosby. "I mean, we would hit posts and didn't have bounces that came on our stick near the net and (we) finally had one go in. It felt good to get one in, to get the first one and get momentum and start off the game." The normally disciplined Red Wings allowed the Penguins to double their lead by providing them with back-to-back power plays. With less than a minute remaining in the first period Brian Rafalski was penalized for tripping and the Penguins nearly capitalized with a Petr Sykora goal to end the period. Rafalski’s penalty time rolled into the second period and although Detroit killed that penalty, a Niklas Kronvall hooking penalty less than a minute later set up Pittsburgh’s second score. Just 32 seconds after Kronvall went to the box Crosby corralled another rebound from Hossa. The play started when Ryan Malone tried to shoot on goal from the slot only to have his shot blocked by a Detroit defender. The puck went to Hossa who fired a shot which Osgood made a difficult save on. However, Osgood could not retain the rebound and the puck went directly to an unattended Crosby and the side of the net and the Pittsburgh captain slid the puck home. "The first 10 minutes, I'll say we were a little bit on our heels," said Pittsburgh Head Coach Michel Therrien. "We're a young team and it's a process with those young guys. So it's normal that they were a bit nervous…certainly after the last 10 minutes of the first period, I think we really took over that period and we were capable to bring that momentum to that second period and get the lead." Detroit pulled to within a goal on an outstanding individual play by Johan Franzen with Hal Gill off for his second of two second period cross-checking infractions against Tomas Holmstrom. Franzen picked up the puck near the Pittsburgh blueline and faked out several players and Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre-Fleury before knocking the puck into the net. Both teams traded opportunities throughout the second period and into the third as they hit several posts and a crossbar while each of the netminders made excellent saves. Midway through the final period Adam Hall tallied an insurance goal when he banked one in off the back of Osgood’s leg. For a while it appeared Hall’s goal would finalize the scoring, but Detroit would score to get back into the game. "When they got the third (goal) it made it harder for us, for sure," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "No question. It was one of those goals where we had the puck. We should have had the puck out. We should have made a play. And we didn't, they had some traffic in the crease, kind of bumped our goalie out and (the puck) ended up in the back of it." Game 1 hero Mikael Samuelsson pulled the Red Wings back into a single score when he wristed a hard shot past Fleury at the 13:37 mark of the game. Detroit would pressure the Penguins all throughout the final minutes and even had a power play attempt when Evgeni Malkin was penalized for hooking with less than five minutes remaining in the game. But the Red Wings would never pull even and for the young Penguins it would be their first Stanley Cup Finals win. Pittsburgh’s win stretched their home winning streak to 17 games including nine consecutive playoff wins. The Penguins have not lost at home since February and hope to keep the streak going on Saturday night when they host Game 4. A Pittsburgh win will even the series and ensure a Game 6 in Pittsburgh while a Detroit triumph will send them back to Michigan with the Wings having a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice on Monday night. "You know what, for a lot of those players, this is their first win at the Stanley Cup Final, said Therrien. "It's huge for them and it's huge for the(ir) confidence, especially the way that we play at home, the way that the crowd supports our team. Like we said yesterday, we were here, there was no panic with our club, because we this has been three months we haven't lost a game here and I like the way we play (here). So there's no doubt that confidence-wise that's a huge lift for those young kids." Game Notes As Game 2 wound down in Detroit, Therrien reduced defenseman Kris Letang’s ice time. Letang found himself completely out of Game 3 when the Penguins inserted veteran Darryl Sydor into the lineup and sent the young defender to the sidelines. Fleury has won his past 19 starts in Pittsburgh during the regular season and playoffs. He last lost at home on November 21, 2007, in a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. Crosby's first-period goal ended the Penguins' goal drought at a season-long 153:22 -- 15:57 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against Philadelphia, in Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and 17:25 of tonight's game. Meanwhile Osgood had his shutout streak snapped at 154:58 -- 17:33 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against Dallas, in Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and 17:25 of tonight's game. Holmstrom left tonight’s contest after a hit by Gill late in the third period and did not return. Babcock was critical of his own handling of Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk in Game 3, each of whom was held scoreless. Zetterberg was on the ice for over 24 minutes while Datsyuk saw over 22 minutes of ice time. "I thought those guys tried to do too much tonight," said Babcock. "I thought the coach played them too much, and I thought they tried to do too much, so they stayed on too long. We didn't have the same kind of tempo coming off our bench that we did in the first couple of games. I like the fact that you're trying. But you gotta do more by doing less. That's everybody. Just play the simple game that we play all the time and stay poised and keep going at it."

Game 4	Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 1
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*Detroit Leads Series 3-1*
*Pittsburgh, PA* - Jiri Hudler’s third period goal withstood a pair of Pittsburgh power play chances and a desperate last few seconds as the Detroit Red Wings put a stranglehold on the Stanley Cup Finals series. With the win the Red Wings took a 3-1 lead over the Penguins and will have a chance to wrap up their eleventh Stanley Cup in franchise history when they host Pittsburgh on Monday night for Game 5. Initially it appeared the game was going to be a barn-burner as each team collected a goal within the first 7:06 of play. But Detroit took charge of the game after they tied it at one and dictated the style of play for the rest of the evening as they kept the vaunted Penguins offense outside the prime scoring areas for the majority of the evening. When Pittsburgh did threaten it was when they were on the power play. Detroit wound up shorthanded six times on the evening as the officials cracked down on hits from behind and obstruction tactics during the course of the evening. But even an uncharacteristically undisciplined Red Wings club would not give the Penguins enough chances to knot the game. The Penguins even had a 5-on-3 advantage midway through the third period for 1:36. Pittsburgh had several excellent chances to score during the two-man advantage but the Red Wings held them without a shot during the opportunity. Detroit’s defense was so suffocating the Penguins could only get six shots on goal during the last period despite over three minutes of man advantage time due to power plays and an extra skater after netminder Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled in favor of an extra attacker. Detroit’s solid defensive game was something the team decided to do after losing Game 3. “That (play defense) was the one thing we wanted to do a little better today,” said Detroit winger Henrik Zetterberg. “We want(ed) to have a little bit more poise in our own end. We wanted to make some good decisions down there. I think we did. They got opportunity to tie up the game with the five-on-three in the end there. We played good. We tried to keep them outside and tried to be in the shooting lanes and when they got a puck through, “Ozzie” made a save.” Pittsburgh appeared to be on their way to tying the series as they came out the gate with a jump and took a 1-0 lead on Marian Hossa’s score with Dallas Drake in the penalty box for roughing. Hossa picked up the goal at the 2:51 mark of the game when he faked a move behind the net and deftly slipped the puck past Detroit netminder Chris Osgood’s extended glove into the near side of the net. Nicklas Lidstrom tied the game a few minutes later when he snuck a slap shot past a screened and helpless Fleury just seconds after Pittsburgh’s Pascal Dupuis left the penalty box after serving his penalty time for a cross-checking infraction. The play was setup by a masterful screen by Daniel Cleary who was playing on the first line in place of the injured Tomas Holmstrom. After the first period goals the game tightened up and Detroit maintained control of the puck for much of the rest of the game as they outshot Pittsburgh by a 30-23 margin. “We missed the net a few times and there was a couple pucks laying on the crease (during the five-on-three) we just didn't put in," said Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby. “I think if we went back, we'd try to hit the net and generate more from that. But we got set up there for a while, and just couldn't put it in. We played pretty well here. Tonight could have gone either way. We know we have to even play better, but it's nice to know that we're right there and we play our game. There's no choice now. I mean, we've got to win to stay (in).” Hudler’s game-winning goal came after several poor plays and failed attempts to clear the puck by the Penguins. Detroit’s Brad Stuart stopped the initial clearing attempt by Pittsburgh and sent the puck behind Pittsburgh’s goal. Pittsburgh defender Rob Scuderi immediately tried to get it past Stuart again and the Detroit defender made another fine play to defeat two Pittsburgh checkers and smacked the puck towards the Pittsburgh goal. The puck then made its way to Hudler who snuck a backhander off Fleury's arm and into the twine with 2:26 expired in the third period. “We had a few (breakdowns), once or twice we could have brought the puck out,” said Pittsburgh Head Coach Michel Therrien. “(Detroit) is a good team and they find a way to win. Good teams find a way to win. Their fourth line scored the winning goal. So what are you going to say?” Game Notes A moment of silence was held prior to tonight's game in memory of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon, who lost his life Thursday in New Brunswick. Bourdon, 21, was selected by the Canucks in the first round (10th overall) of the 2005 Entry Draft. He starred for Val D'Or, Moncton and Cape Breton of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was a member of Canada's gold-medal winning World Junior Championship teams in 2006 and 2007 and appeared in 27 games with the Canucks in 2007-08. The loss broke several Pittsburgh streaks including a 9-0 record at home during the playoffs and was the first time the team had lost in 12 games during the playoffs when they had scored the first goal. The loss at home was Fleury’s first in 20 starts and it was the Penguins first home loss since the San Jose Sharks beat the Penguins in a shootout on February. Holmstrom was a game-time scratch. The Detroit winger was replaced in the Red Wings lineup by Darren McCarty but is expected to be back for Game 5 in Detroit on Monday night. Stuart extended his point streak (1-5-6) to five games with his assist on the game-winning goal by Hudler. Of the 29 teams to lead a Stanley Cup Finals series by a 3-1 margin, 28 of them have gone on to win. The only team that did not was the 1942 Detroit Red Wings who lost four games in a row to the Toronto Maple Leafs that year after taking a 3-0 lead.

Game 5	Pittsburgh 4 - Detroit 3 (3 OT)
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*Detroit Leads Series 3-2*
*Detroit, MI* - Late in the game the Stanley Cup was shown on national TV in the United States being shined up and being prepared for presentation to the Detroit Red Wings. But thanks to a late goal by Maxime Talbot and a triple-overtime goal over 50 minutes of game time later by Petr Sykora, the Cup went back into hiding for at least another day. Trailing 2-0 the Red Wings took over the contest and moved into a 3-2 lead. The Stanley Cup was all but theirs as they were dominating play in the third period until Detroit suddenly, and inexplicably, went into a shell after Brian Rafalski had put them in the lead. Despite the flawed strategy the Wings nearly held on for the win until Talbot scored with just a bit more than 34 seconds left on the clock. Detroit had held Pittsburgh hemmed away from a scoring opportunity until just over a minute left when the team was able to pull netminder Marc-Andre Fleury for an additional skater. Talbot’s goal came when he took a pass from Marian Hossa and had not one, but two swipes at the puck before beating Detroit netminder Chris Osgood to stun a raucous Joe Louis Arena crowd. It was a game the Red Wings should have won, and they and their fans have to hope this game will not become a contest which will haunt them for years. “I thought we had every opportunity to win the game,” said Detroit Head Coach Mike Babcock. “Saying that, though, we started slow. I thought we were really nervous. We never made a play in the first period, for whatever reason. Whether that's focusing on outcome rather than just process and doing what you always do. You know, we really battled our way back, we had every opportunity. We had it (a chance to stop the winning goal) twice, one at the red line and one on the half wall. We didn't get it deep, and we never got it out. In the end, they scored, and we never scored on our chances in overtime. So that's the game.” After a pair of scoreless overtimes the Penguins capitalized on a double-minor for high-sticking assessed to Jiri Hudler who opened up a cut on Rob Scuderi’s face. The goal would add to Stanley Cup legend and provide a measure of redemption for a star who had disappointed all series long. Earlier in the contest Pittsburgh defender Sergei Gonchar had slid into the end boards and was injured to the point he missed the first two overtimes after he had skated a few shifts during the remainder of the third period. Once the game advanced Gonchar said he felt well enough to play on the power play and would up picking up the secondary assist. “He (Gonchar) was not ready to play,” said Pittsburgh Head Coach Michel Therrien. “They worked on it (Gonchar’s injury) during the third period and the overtime and they came up to us (and said) that he was not 100 percent. But we asked if he was okay to play for the power play, and certainly (he) made a big difference." The primary assist belonged to Evgeni Malkin who has been almost a cipher—despite working hard—during the series. Malkin sent a perfect centering pass to Sykora who made no mistake with a rising wrist shot into the short side of the goal. Earlier in the game Sykora had a “Babe Ruth” moment when he called his overtime game-winner on both national television and to his teammates in the dressing room. “Yeah, I got a tough few games the last few games,” said Sykora. “No bounces, no real shots on net, and it's nice to get over like that to keep us alive. About the shot, just between the periods, something stupid I said: Just guys, I'm just going to get one. So just don't worry about the game. I'm going to get a goal. And luckily, I got a great pass from Gino. I missed it one time before, probably by 20 feet. And it was kind of a lucky play. It hit the ref and went behind the net and Gino got it, made a beautiful pass. I tried to put it upstairs, and the puck went in." Talbot’s score allowed the Penguins to erase the memory of a blown two-goal lead earlier in the contest. Hossa notched the first goal after a tremendous hit by Pascal Dupuis separated the puck from a Detroit defender. Dupuis then got the puck to Sidney Crosby who found Hossa, who subsequently fired a cross-seam wrist shot past Osgood. Detroit defense was the center of attention again on the second goal when Niklas Kronwall picked up a puck in front of the crease and intended to clear it to the back boards. However, Kronwall hit the boot of Adam Hall’s skate and the puck deflected past Osgood to put the Penguins up 2-0. "We need to have a better start,” said Kronwall. “We were a little too nervous out there. We were waiting around, standing around too much. We can't have that happening. We can't start playing the game with 2-0. So we need a better start for sure. We need to execute on chances.” For a team who had held an advantage in play all night long, and would go on to outshoot the Penguins 58-32, the two-goal bulge was a disappointment, but it also served as a wake-up call. Detroit’s ill-fated comeback attempt began with a goal early in the second period from Darren Helm. A failed clearing attempt wound up on Kirk Maltby’s stick and he forwarded the puck to Helm who in turned fired a shot which deflected off Scuderi’s foot who had gone to the ice to block the puck. The two clubs skated through a scoreless stretch until Pavel Datsyuk found the range with a tip-in of a Henrik Zetterberg pass while Tyler Kennedy was in the box for Pittsburgh serving a sentence for hooking. At this point Detroit held a strong advantage in play and kept pushing the issue until Rafalski’s goal from the top of the right circle put them in the lead with 9:23 expired in the final period. The goal appeared as it would stand as the Red Wings went into defensive mode until Talbot forced overtime with his goal. Nearly lost in the excitement was the play of Fleury who made several outstanding stops during the overtime periods and was tested all game long. If there were any questions remaining about his playoff abilities, this game should have quieted even Fleury’s biggest detractors. “That's going to be huge for him (Fleury), said Therrien. “He was outstanding tonight. He was outstanding in overtime, and both goalies obviously played really well. But no doubt Fleury, probably his most important win in his career.” When asked if Fleury had stolen the game for the Penguins, Babcock was sure to point out how well the Pittsburgh defense played, especially after Gonchar was knocked out of the game. “Well, I thought he (Fleury) had some help,” said Babcock. “They got down to five "D". Their "D" battled real hard. They got off to a good start tonight. They had two goals early. I hate to see Petr Sykora get that puck late. You just know it's going in. He's that kind of guy. He won a game for me like that in Dallas in five overtimes. So Petr has that ability to score, and Fleury was good, and we didn't beat them." Pittsburgh’s win sets up a Game 6 on Wednesday night in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh has been excellent at home since February, but in their last game at the Mellon Arena the Red Wings erased an early Penguins lead and went on to win. While the Penguins do hold an amount of momentum going into this contest it should be noted the Red Wings were in the same situation in the Western Conference championship against the Dallas Stars beating them on the road after a loss at home in Game 5 while holding a 3-1 advantage. Obviously another game is terrific for both the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh, but nothing is guaranteed. “We get to live another day, just another game on Wednesday,” said Sykora. “I think if you can come up with the win, it's going to be a lot of pressure on them. But you just worry about the game on Wednesday and hopefully we can get that win.” Notes Pittsburgh’s Ryan Malone returned to the game after taking a slap shot from teammate Hal Gill in the face. With the game on the line and 20 seconds remaining in regulation, Malone dove to block a slapshot. Keep in mind Malone already has a broken nose due to a hit by Kronwall earlier in the series. The Penguins became the first team in more than 70 years and just the second team ever to escape elimination in the Stanley Cup Final by scoring a game-tying goal in the final minute of the third period. The only other team to do so was the Toronto Maple Leafs, in Game 3 of the 1936 Final against Detroit. The Red Wings led the best-of-five series 2-0 and led the game 3-2 when Toronto's Pep Kelly scored at 19:19 of the third period to tie the score at 3-3. The Maple Leafs went on to win the game in overtime, but lost the next game, and the series, to the Red Wings. The game was the fifth-longest in Stanley Cup Final history just 5:16 less than the longest game which took place in 1990 when Petr Klima scored to give the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 win in Game 1 of their series against the Boston Bruins. Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's 55 saves tonight were the most in a Stanley Cup Final game since the Washington Capitals' Olaf Kolzig turned aside 55 in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Red Wings in Game 1 of the 1998 Final (6/11/98), also at Joe Louis Arena.

Game 6	Detroit 3 - Pittsburgh 2
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM	*Detroit Wins Series 4-2*
*Pittsburgh, PA* - The never say die Pittsburgh Penguins nearly rallied back from a two-goal deficit with less than two minutes to play in Game 6, but in the end the Detroit Red Wings claimed the eleventh Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 3-2 win. Detroit jumped ahead in the contest by a 2-0 margin and reclaimed a two-goal lead after giving up a goal in the second period. Thanks to a third period goal by Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg and a stifling defense which limited the Penguins to only a single shot on goal for the majority of the third period it appeared the Red Wings would win easily. That all changed when center Jiri Hudler hooked Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal at the 18:13 mark of the final period. The penalty allowed Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien to pull goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for an extra attacker and the Penguins quickly converted on the six-on-four advantage. The score came twenty seconds after Sidney Crosby won the initial face-off and Detroit could never clear. Sergei Gonchar, who played in Game 6 after being doubtful due to a crash into the boards in Game 5, wristed the puck on the Detroit goal and Marian Hossa deflected the puck in past Detroit netminder Chris Osgood. With just under a minute and a half remaining in the game Pittsburgh removed Fleury as soon as possible after the center ice face-off and attacked the Red Wings in an attempt to force overtime. They were nearly successful as Hossa nearly scored his second of the game when he poked the puck across the crease as time expired in the game. “Yeah, you know, we were happy we had the two-goal lead,” said Zetterberg. “But when they scored the second one, we knew it was going to be tight all the way to the end. When they had a chance, I don't know how many seconds was left, but when I saw the puck behind the net, and I looked up and it was 00:00 on the game clock, I was a pretty happy man.” Despite all the excitement at the end of the contest, the Red Wings were in control nearly the entire game as they converted on a power play early in the contest. Brian Rafalski scored a power play goal at the 5:03 mark with Darryl Sydor in the penalty box for interference. After several failed attempts to clear by the Penguins, Rafalski picked up the puck on top of the face-off circle and fired a shot which deflected off the leg of Pittsburgh defenseman Hal Gill and past Fleury. Shortly after Rafalski’s goal the Penguins had a prime opportunity to tie the contest when they were the beneficiaries of a five-on-three situation as Detroit’s Kris Draper and Dallas Drake were assessed penalties within 27 seconds of each other. But just as they had in Game 4 the Red Wings were able to kill off the two-man disadvantage with relative ease. Detroit doubled their lead on a poor play by the Pittsburgh defense. Detroit’s Mikael Samuelsson fired a relatively harmless shot on goal and Fleury gave up a large rebound which was immediately backhanded into the goal by an unchecked Valtteri Filppula. Even though they had an opportunity to fold at this time the Penguins battled back. An interference call on Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk put Pittsburgh on power play once more and this time Pittsburgh would not squander the advantage as Evgeni Malkin scored his first of the Finals at the 15:26 mark of the second. Malkin was setup by Sidney Crosby at the left face-off circle and the young Russian fired a bullet between Osgood’s legs for the score. Zetterberg provided the Red Wings with an insurance goal that wound up being cashed in at the end of the evening when his shot leaked through Fleury and was squeezed into the goal as the goaltender tried to freeze the puck. The Swedish winger used Gonchar as a screen and fired a wrist shot which Fleury initially stopped. However the puck broke free and sat behind Fleury for a few seconds. Once the goaltender realized he was not in control of the puck he leaned backward to freeze it, but his weight directed the puck into the goal. For Pittsburgh it was a disappointing end to a series which they let slip away in the first two games in Detroit but rallied to put the series in doubt. “Obviously, we were really nervous in our first game,” said Therrien. “They were comfortable and with good reason; it's a lot to demand of those young kids to play in a Stanley Cup Final. I thought we learned quick, because after Game 3 we started to play our game. They were tight games, could go both ways. Tonight, this game could have gone both ways as well. You learn a lot in those situations. And that's going to make us stronger in the future.” Notes Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European trained captain to lead a team to a Stanley Cup. The stereotype of European players not having what it takes to win in the Stanley Cup playoffs took a further beating when Zetterberg became only the second European player (Lidstrom was the first) to win the Conn Smythe Award. “It's a great feeling (to see Lidstrom holding the Stanley Cup as captain) there's been a lot of talk about that throughout the years,” said Zetterberg. “It's great to see him lifting the Cup and with the "C" on his chest. It means so much for the team and the organization. He's bringing it every night. He's probably our best player every night. I'm really happy for him and as I say, it was a great feeling seeing him lift that Cup.” “It's something I'm very proud of,” said Lidstrom. “I've been over here for a long time. I watched Steve Yzerman hoist it for three times in the past, and I'm very proud of being the first European. I'm very proud of being a captain of the Red Wings. (There is) so much history with the team and great tradition and we see some of the older players coming through, so I'm very proud to be the captain. I'm very proud to finally be able to win the Stanley Cup, too.” It has been a recent tradition for the captain to hand the Stanley Cup to a player who has dedicated themselves to the sport, but has yet to win the Cup before. This year’s recipient was Dallas Drake. “I started thinking about it actually in the first round. I didn't tell anyone about it. But I started thinking about if we were to go the whole way, who should be the guy I gave it to first,” said Lidstrom. “And looking at all the players on our team, Dallas is one of the first ones I played with. He came in the year after I did. He's been in the League for 16 years. He had a long, good career. And he had never been to the Final before. So it felt natural to me to give it to him for all the effort and hours and everything he's put into the game, and not having a chance to hoist a Cup yet.” Osgood seconded Lidstrom’s statement on national TV in the United States when he told everyone watching about how Drake had done so much for him when they both played in St. Louis. Mark Hartigan is a member of the Stanley Cup-winning club for a second consecutive season. Hartigan joined the Red Wings from the Anaheim Ducks during the off-season as a free agent.

POWER PLAY	4TH - 20.7
PENALTY KILL	8TH - 84.0
*FORWARDS*
PAVEL DATSYUK	31-66-97 (+41)
HENRIK ZETTERBERG	43-49-92 (+30)
DANIEL CLEARY	20-22-42 (+21)
*DEFENSEMEN*
NICKLAS LIDSTROM	10-60-70 (+40)
BRIAN RAFALSKI	13-42-55 (+27)
NIKLAS KRONVALL	7-28-35 (+25)
*GOALTENDERS*
DOMINIK HASEK	27-10-3 (5 SO) 2.14 GA .902 PCT

CHRIS OSGOOD	27-9-4 (4 SO) 2.09 GA .914 PCT