Stanley Cup Review

May 30, 2008 12:00pm CDT

Game 1: Detroit Red Wings 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 0
Game 2: Detroit Red Wings 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 0
Game 3: Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Detroit Red Wings 2

(Detroit leads Best-of-Seven Stanley Cup Final series 2 games to 1)

After two methodical, near-flawless performances by the Detroit Red Wings in the opening two contests of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, the "series of the century" finally lived up to its hope and hype in Game 3. Completely stifled by overwhelming puck pressure and precise puck possession in the opening two contests, Pittsburgh showed resiliency, resourcefulness and renewed resolve to squeeze past Detroit in the third match of the set. The victory instilled confidence in the youthful Pens and drafted doubt into the minds and weary bodies of the Red Wings' crafty crew of wily veterans.

Buoyed by a boisterous brood of supporters at the legendary Joe Louis Arena, the Red Wings completely overmatched the Penguins in the opening verse of the best-of-seven sonnet. As expected, Detroit jumped on every Pittsburgh blunder, turning turnovers into offensive opportunities. Mikael Samuelsson, who briefly wore the emblem of the flightless bird on his chest during the 2002-03 campaign, was the offensive hero of the evening for the Motor City merchants, slipping a pair of pucks past Penguins crease cop Marc-Andre Fleury. After overcoming early penalty trouble and bolstered by the solid and steady goaltending of Chris Osgood, who blocked all 12 shots fired his way, the Red Wings slowly and surely pressured the Penguins' cement-footed rearguards, forcing the blueline brigade into mistakes and miscues. Samuelsson capitalized on a poorly executed line change midway through the second period, storming into the Pittsburgh zone before drawing Fleury out of position and slipping the puck into the vacated cage with a wonderfully administrated wrap-around to give Detroit the only tally they would require on opening night.

The sneaky Swede jumped on another Pittsburgh misstep early in the third period, snagging an errant pass that Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin was unable to corral and slamming it past Fleury to put the Wings up 2-0. Dan Cleary and Henrik Zetterberg added late markers to close out the affair in commanding fashion. The Pens, who directed only seven shots at the Motown net in the final 40 minutes, were out-skated, out-hustled and out-hit by the rambunctious Red Wings. Malkin, who admirably filled the skates of Sidney Crosby when the Pens captain was forced to the sidelines by an ankle injury midway through the regular schedule, was inefficient, tentative and timid. He wasn't alone. Those same adjectives could be directed at the majority of the Penguins lineup.

Detroit used the same blueprint in Game 2, smothering the Penguins with relentless forechecking, persuasive puck pressure and faceoff fluidity. Brad Stuart, a reliable rearguard whose career has been reborn since he joined the Wings at the trade deadline, opened the scoring with a 50-foot drifter that somehow bounced its way through Marc-Andre Fleury. Detroit upped the ante minutes later when Zetterberg pounced on a loose pill that Fleury failed to contain and snapped it into the yawning cage. Zet's zinger gave Detroit two more goals than the Penguins had shots. Pittsburgh didn't place the puck on target until the 12:00 minute mark of the opening stanza. Johan Franzen, who returned to action for the first time since Game 2 of the Dallas series, paid instant dividends for the Wings, setting up Valtteri Filppula to give the Motor City magicians a 3-0 advantage. Chris Osgood kicked aside all 22 pucks fired his way to become the third goaltender in NHL history to record back-to-back shutouts in the opening two games of the Stanley Cup finals. Gary Roberts, one of the few Penguins with a Stanley Cup victory on his resume, returned to the lineup and was the most effective Penguin, dishing out a team-high five hits, battling in the corners and skating with energy and enthusiasm. Once again, Evgeni Malkin failed to register a single shot on goal while Sidney Crosby managed to direct six pucks toward Osgood without success. Detroit dominated the draws, winning 52% of the faceoffs.

The Pittsburgh team that took to the sheet at Mellon Arena in Game 3 finally resembled the squad that had breezed through the opening three rounds of the playoffs. Performing with confidence, energy and vitality, the Penguins were aggressive on the forecheck, steady in the defensive zone and relentless on the attack. Marc-Andre Fleury, who seemed shaky in Game 2, was solid and spectacular in the third tilt, making an array of brilliant saves to finesse the Pens to a 3-2 victory. Sidney Crosby erased any speculation that the spotlight was too bright for the 20-year-old captain by scoring a pair of goals to place the Pens on the "W" side of the win/loss ledger. After firing blanks for the first 137 minutes of the series, Crosby and his eager allies capitalized on a rare Red Wing error to open the scoring. Marian Hossa intercepted an errant feed off the stick of Brad Stuart and pitched a perfect give-and-go feed to captain Crosby, who deftly deflected Hossa's feathery feed past Osgood to finally solve the venerable veteran. The Pens optimized another opportunity early in the second stanza when Sid the Kid slipped a wrist shot past The Wizard Named Oz while Detroit's Niklas Kronvall was stewing in the sin-bin. Johan the Mule kicked in with a brilliant effort on a Detroit man advantage to close the gap to 2-1 but Adam Hall restored Pittsburgh's two-goal advantage seven minutes into the final frame when he banked the puck off an out-of-position Osgood while parked behind the Red Wing cage. The final 15 minutes of the match were among the most exciting of the entire postseason, with both teams trading body blows and scoring chances in a blistering display of end-to-end hockey. Mikael Samuelsson's third tally of the Finals brought Detroit to within a solitary score, but Fleury and the Penguins held on for the decisive decision. Darryl Sydor, who saw his name etched on Lord Stanley's mug as a member of the Dallas Stars in 1999 and again as Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, saw his first action of the postseason for Pittsburgh. His quiet commitment, 13 minutes of ice time and two blocked shots, helped solidify the Pens' 17th consecutive win in their own comfy confines.

Despite the loss, Detroit seemed to take the result in stride, secure in the knowledge that only one team in NHL history - the 1971 Chicago Blackhawks - had captured the opening two games of the Finals on home ice only to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. Pittsburgh also can look into history's crystal ball and take some solace from their position. Since the league introduced the best-of-seven format in 1938-39, only two teams have been shut out in the opening two games of the finals, and both of those clubs rebounded to force the series to a seventh and deciding game. That's a prospect the Pens are more than willing to ponder.