2009 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. DETROIT RED WINGS

shabbs wrote:Mark Spector seems to think that Datsyuk is finished and won't be back...

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2009/06/01/spector_notebook/

Busted foot?

You don't nurse a bruise for games 1, 2 and 3 of the SCF. Is he done? I don't think so. If they lose game 3 and, especially, if they lose both games in Pittsburgh, I think we may see him in the lineup. But if they win game 3, forget it. They'll dress him in the final minutes so he can hoist the Cup, but that's it.

I heard broken bone is his foot...

MurderOnIce wrote:I heard broken bone is his foot...

It's got to be that. Unless it's something completely different, like that suggestion over on a Yahoo message board that he has cracked ribs, or that Lidstrom had a broken wrist.

wprager wrote:

MurderOnIce wrote:I heard broken bone is his foot...

It's got to be that. Unless it's something completely different, like that suggestion over on a Yahoo message board that he has cracked ribs, or that Lidstrom had a broken wrist.

McGuire said today that the rumour that it was something other than a foot are inaccurate. Apparently it happened blocking a shot vs. Chicago. I usually don't take what he says as gospel however he is covering the series, sitting between the benches and has great contacts in Detroit...

Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 4

GAME THREE, 2009 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

	1	2	3	T
DET	2	0	0	2
PIT	2	0	2	4

Final

8:00 PM ET, June 2, 2009, Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Gonchar's goal helps Pittsburgh to home victory,
cuts Stanley Cup deficit to 2-1

PITTSBURGH (AP/ESPN)-- Sergei Gonchar said it once, then repeated it again a few seconds later as he tried pumping some confidence into some discouraged teammates: It's not over.

Thanks to Gonchar's power-play goal midway through the third period that revived the Penguins after the Detroit Red Wings pressed for lead, the Stanley Cup finals are far from over for Pittsburgh following a 4-2 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night.


Fast Facts


• Maxime Talbot scored twice, his fifth and sixth of the postseason, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 of 29 shots as the Penguins won at home.
• Evgeni Malkin assisted on the first three Penguins goals.
• Sidney Crosby had an assist, his first of the series.
• The Penguins have scored at least one third-period goal in 11 of their last playoff games, the exceptions being the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals.
• Johan Franzen scored on a power play for the Red Wings, giving him 12 this postseason and 25 since the 2008 postseason. That tied him for the fifth-most in a two-postseason span.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Game 4, which could have been an elimination game for Pittsburgh, will be Thursday night. Either the defending champion Red Wings can take a stranglehold 3-1 advantage or the Penguins can make the finals a best-of-three after losing the first two in Detroit.

Gonchar's slap shot from center point off Evgeni Malkin's pass sailed past Chris Osgood as Bill Guerin and Sidney Crosby screened the goalie.

"The power play was an unbelievable job by a handful of guys out there, keeping the play alive and giving Gonch a chance," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said.
The Penguins prevented the Red Wings from moving to within one victory of their fifth Stanley Cup since 1997.

Malkin assisted on the first three Penguins goals, giving him 33 points in 20 games, the most in the playoffs since Joe Sakic's 34 in 22 games for Stanley Cup champion Colorado in 1996.

Gonchar and first-period scores by Max Talbot and Kris Letang gave the Penguins hope again, just as they did by winning Game 3 by 3-2 on a pair of Crosby goals in last year's finals. The Red Wings went on to win that one in six.

Talbot added an empty-net score in the final minute.

The way they played for much of Game 3, it looked like Detroit was trying to win this one in three.

They outshot the Penguins 26-11 following a furious first two periods that featured five-minute stretches of continuous up-and-down play, numerous scoring chances at both ends -- and, the way the Red Wings kept pressuring, plenty of tentativeness by towel-waving Penguins fans nervous they might see the Penguins' season effectively end.

"We talked after the second, we didn't have a very good second period. We needed to calm down and get back to our game," Bylsma said.

They did and Gonchar turned out to be right.

One of the few Penguins players at the rink on a day off Monday, he constantly repeated that the Penguins did enough right during their twin 3-1 losses in Detroit to encourage them. Guerin also downplayed the fact 31 of the previous 32 teams to win the first two games at home went on to win the series, saying that meant nothing in these finals.

In the series' first wide-open period, the Penguins finally began getting production from their secondary scorers as fourth-line center Talbot and Letang scored, but Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen scored for a 2-all tie after the first.

The Penguins were hoping to open up the play more at home before a sellout crowd decked out in white shirts, and they did that. But in creating more end-to-end play, Pittsburgh also made mistakes that led to goals. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made up for many of them, stopping 27 shots and allowing no soft goals of the first two games.

Crosby, shut down the first two games and limited to a single assist in three games, left his man to go behind the net shortly after Talbot put a backhander past Chris Osgood. That allowed a wide-open Zetterberg to convert from the right circle at 6:19 for a goal created by Ville Leino driving to the net.

About five minutes later, Brooks Orpik's interference penalty on Zetterberg led to Franzen's 12th goal, off a risky cross-ice pass by -- yes, him again -- Zetterberg as Detroit converted for the 11th time in 34 opportunities on road power plays.

Zetterberg played another strong game, helping limit Crosby's chances despite not being matched as regularly against him as Pittsburgh had the final line change.
Letang, coming off a rough Game 2 in Detroit, answered at 15:57 on a power play set up by the Penguins' own cross-crease pass by Malkin.

The second period was even faster than the first, with one five-minute stretch of continuous play and a 14-4 edge in shots by Detroit, but no goals. The pace was so fast, the fans who booed forward Marian Hossa whenever he was on the ice in the first stopped doing so. Hossa left Pittsburgh after last season to sign with Detroit.

Game notes
Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux dropped the ceremonial first puck, a chore performed by Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay before Game 1 in Detroit. ... Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was in the crowd, wearing a Sidney Crosby jersey, and numerous players including James Farrior and Hines Ward attended. ... Pittsburgh took four of the first five shots, but Detroit had 25 of the next 32.

MORE ON ESPN.COM, INCLUDING VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290602016&campaign=rss&source=NHLHeadlines

The Fat Lady may have taken a break in her warm-up, but she's pretty much ready to sing. Same story as last year, only Detroit looks a little more ready for the fight that the Pens are putting up.

Acrobat wrote:The Fat Lady may have taken a break in her warm-up, but she's pretty much ready to sing. Same story as last year, only Detroit looks a little more ready for the fight that the Pens are putting up.

You think the Wings' lovely and talented anthem singer Karen Newman is fat? Shame on you. :^^^^:

I, for one, think this series is over. Pittsburgh HAD to win game 3, there was no two ways about it. But just seeing how hard they've struggled in almost every single aspect of the game against the Wings precludes me to believe that it's going to be another championship season for Detroit.

davetherave wrote:

Acrobat wrote:The Fat Lady may have taken a break in her warm-up, but she's pretty much ready to sing. Same story as last year, only Detroit looks a little more ready for the fight that the Pens are putting up.

You think the Wings' lovely and talented anthem singer Karen Newman is fat? Shame on you. :^^^^:

Well, parts of her have a higher-than-usual concentration of fat.

Local Red Wings analyst Ansar Khan, interviewed by the Grand Rapids, Michigan, daily, gives his perspective on Detroit's performance:

Ansar's Analysis: Tired Red Wings missed Pavel Datsyuk in Game 3 loss

The Grand Rapids Press June 03, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- The Detroit Red Wings dominated play in the second period of Game 3 on Tuesday night, but looked fatigued in the third period and lost 4-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Detroit still leads the Stanley Cup finals 2-1 heading into Thursday's Game 4.

"The thing that surprised me about this game was how the Red Wings just seemed to run out of gas in the third period," Red Wings beat writer Ansar Khan said. "That's been a strength of this team throughout the playoffs, with their depth and conditioning. And Pittsburgh picked a good time to start playing with some desperation.

"This is where they really miss (Pavel) Datsyuk, in the third period. His puck possession, the way he just controls that puck and wears opponents down. For the first time since he's been out, in that third period is where they really missed him."

One of Detroit's biggest concerns continues to be its penalty-killing. It gave up two power-play goals, including the game-winner to Sergei Gonchar in the third.

"It's a huge concern," Khan said. "And you can tell just by talking to them in the locker room afterward that they're at a loss to explain why their penalty-killing is so bad.

"They're not calling a lot of penalties. They're really keeping their whistles in their pockets and letting the teams play, which is good. Players from both sides agree, they don't like those ticky-tack calls. That helps the Wings. The less they're on the penalty-kill the better."

Despite losing Game 3, Khan said the Red Wings still are in control of the series, even if a breakout performance from Penguins star Sidney Crosby remains a possibility.

"(Henrik) Zetterberg has completely shut (Sidney) Crosby down and you wonder how long can that last. He's a great player, obviously, and you just can't contain him for that long," Khan said. "I still think the Wings are in pretty good shape, even if Crosby breaks out."

Listen to Ansar Khan's entire analysis of Game 3--download via this link:

http://blip.tv/file/get/MLive_grpress-0602AnsarsAnalysisGame3267.mp3

Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Stanley Cup finals ratings increase

NEW YORK (AP) -- Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals has earned the series' highest cable television rating since 2002.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Versus on Tuesday night drew a 2.6 rating and averaged 2.96 million viewers.

The network said Wednesday that the rating was up 37 percent from the average for the two games on Versus during last year's series. The channel aired Games 1 and 2 last year; this year it is showing Games 3 and 4 while the first two switched to NBC.

The 2.6 rating was the highest ever on Versus, beating a 2.1 for Lance Armstrong's final ride in 2005 and Game 5 of this year's Detroit-Chicago series.

davetherave wrote:Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Stanley Cup finals ratings increase

NEW YORK (AP) -- Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals has earned the series' highest cable television rating since 2002.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Versus on Tuesday night drew a 2.6 rating and averaged 2.96 million viewers.

The network said Wednesday that the rating was up 37 percent from the average for the two games on Versus during last year's series. The channel aired Games 1 and 2 last year; this year it is showing Games 3 and 4 while the first two switched to NBC.

The 2.6 rating was the highest ever on Versus, beating a 2.1 for Lance Armstrong's final ride in 2005 and Game 5 of this year's Detroit-Chicago series.

Does this mean bigger and better things for the Versus and NHL partnership?

I'm sure it's a combination of things but perhaps this partnership is going to help the NHL in other network deals.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

davetherave wrote:Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Stanley Cup finals ratings increase

NEW YORK (AP) -- Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals has earned the series' highest cable television rating since 2002.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Versus on Tuesday night drew a 2.6 rating and averaged 2.96 million viewers.

The network said Wednesday that the rating was up 37 percent from the average for the two games on Versus during last year's series. The channel aired Games 1 and 2 last year; this year it is showing Games 3 and 4 while the first two switched to NBC.

The 2.6 rating was the highest ever on Versus, beating a 2.1 for Lance Armstrong's final ride in 2005 and Game 5 of this year's Detroit-Chicago series.

Does this mean bigger and better things for the Versus and NHL partnership?

I'm sure it's a combination of things but perhaps this partnership is going to help the NHL in other network deals.

I posted that the other day, with some "analysis" that estimated the actual number of viewers at around 4.7 million. That is a horrible number for scripted shows with high prouction costs, however I'm sure NBC is not paying the NHL what, for example, FOX was paying to produce Terminator.

The year-over-year increase is nice, but don't forget that last year they did not show the first two games on NBC. How likely are people to tune in to game 3 with Detroit having just blanked the Pens in the first two games? These numbers are better than last year but not as good as 2002.

Edit: Sorry, didn't see that this was for Game 3. And I guess my estimating skills stink because that 2.6 share was the same as the average for games 1 and 2, on which I based my "analysis" (maybe the game was not televised nationally, while Terminator, on which I based my numbers, was). Nevertheless the rest still applies. Better than last year (which was to be expected) but not as good as 2002.

Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 4

GAME FOUR, 2009 STANLEY CUP FINALS

	1	2	3	T
DET	1	1	0	2
PIT	1	3	0	4

Final

8:00 PM ET, June 4, 2009, Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Crosby gets on finals board as dominant 2nd helps Pens knot series

MORE FROM ESPN, INCLUDING VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS HERE:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290604016

PITTSBURGH (ESPN/AP)-- The Stanley Cup finals won't be a duplicate of last year's, and a momentum-swinging period by the Pittsburgh Penguins put in doubt whether there will be a repeat champion.

Fast Facts


• Evgeni Malkin has 35 points this postseason, the most in a single postseason since Doug Gilmour had 35 in 1993.
• Sidney Crosby and Malkin both recorded their 12th multi-point game this postseason, two shy of the NHL record of 14 held by Mario Lemieux (1991) and Wayne Gretzky (1988).
• Chris Osgood has allowed seven goals in two road losses (two goals allowed in two home wins).
• The Penguins have scored three or more goals in 17 of 21 games this postseason.
• The Red Wings fell to 4-5 on the road this postseason.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Jordan Staal's short-handed goal during back-to-back Detroit power plays started Pittsburgh's comeback, and the Penguins scored three goals in less than 6 minutes of the second period to win 4-2 on Thursday night and tie the series at 2.

Evgeni Malkin, enjoying the best postseason since Wayne Gretzky in 1993, and Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist each to help rally the Penguins from a 2-1 deficit a year to the day Detroit raised the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh by winning Game 6.

Tyler Kennedy also scored and Marc-Andre Fleury, with his second successive excellent game, made 37 saves.

Until Game 4, the finals followed the same pattern as last year's: Detroit won the first two at home, then dropped Game 3 in Pittsburgh. But the Red Wings couldn't follow up their 2-1 road victory in Game 4 of last year, one decided largely when they killed off a lengthy Pittsburgh 5-on-3 advantage, and now these finals are the best-of-three.

Game 5 is Saturday night in Detroit, with Game 6 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday after the series' first two-day break.

The Red Wings were done in by a bad second period and dreadful special teams. Pittsburgh has converted on 4 of 9 power plays, and this game swung when the Penguins got a goal -- and the Red Wings didn't -- during 3:59 of continuous Detroit power-play time.

With Detroit up 2-1 following goals by Darren Helm and Brad Stuart less than 3 minutes apart to end the first and start the second, Staal -- who had only two goals in 20 playoff games -- got loose after Max Talbot's up-ice pass.

Staal used his lengthy stride to thread two defenders and beat Chris Osgood at 8:35 of the second. Staal had a record-tying seven short-handed goals as an 18-year-old rookie in 2006-07, but had only one since.



Staal's goal instantly changed a major opportunity by Detroit to seize control not only of the game but the series, into a tie game, and the 17,132 jammed into a suddenly rocking Mellon Arena sensed how big the play might be. And they were right.

The Penguins finished off killing the second power play and, less than a minute later, Crosby and Malkin -- their signature stars -- worked a 2-on-1 rush for Crosby's 15th of the playoffs and 30th point. With 35 points, Malkin has more than any player since Gretzky had 40 in 1993.

Kennedy, a Staal linemate who had no goals in five games, finished it off with Pittsburgh's third goal in a span of 5:37 by scoring off two quick passes by Crosby and Chris Kunitz.

On the Detroit bench, a sour-faced Mike Babc0ck had the look of a coach wondering if four games in six nights for his tiring Red Wings might have favored the younger Penguins. All four Pittsburgh goals came from players who are 22 or younger.

Before Pittsburgh scored eight goals in two games at home, Osgood had allowed a goal or less in eight of 18 playoff games.

The Penguins know a 2-0 deficit doesn't mean certain defeat, although only one of 32 teams has won the finals after losing the first two on the road. They rallied to beat the Capitals two rounds ago after losing the first two in Washington, and they've pointed to that comeback as reason for hope they could pull off this comeback.

The Red Wings had a letdown a few minutes before the start when Hart Trophy finalist Pavel Datsyuk, out for six games with an injured foot, skated in the pregame warmups but decided he couldn't play. The Wings were optimistic the day before he might play, with Datsyuk joking he had was eager to return because he was drinking too much beer while sitting out.

Then, with only 1:12 gone, the Red Wings did what Wang said they couldn't do with an ailing penalty kill by taking take an unnecessary penalty. Niklas Kronwall tripped Evgeni Malkin, and Malkin took advantage by scoring with only 2:39 gone, with Staal assisting.

Malkin is trying to become the first player since the Penguins' Mario Lemieux in 1992 to lead the NHL in regular season and playoff scoring.

Detroit tied it with 1:41 left in the period. Darren Helm stole Rob Scuderi's pass out of the corner and beat Fleury inside the far post from the right faceoff circle dot.

Game notes
The Red Wings' 44-52 record in Game 4s is easily their worst of any playoff game. .. Detroit F Kris Draper returned from a groin injury, with rookie Justin Abdelkader sitting out despite scoring goals in each of the first two games. ... Detroit F Marian Hossa didn't score after having two goals in each of his three previous Game 4s this spring. ... Pittsburgh is 4-0 in Game 4s this spring.

Too bad it's not Boston in the Finals, coming back from a 0-2 deficit. This cartoon would have been just spot-on perfect:

There is a kid's book called "The Adventures of Sydney Penguin". I kid you not, here's the cover art:


There may be other illustrations to be found; they could be gold for later in the series

Edit: that link didn't embed well, here's another try.

Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber puts his spin on the series:

Pens' Game 4 victory adds drama to dream final full of speed, action

Michael Farber/SI.com, June 5, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- The déjà vu Stanley Cup final is now a must-see.

After the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins followed the exact script of their 2008 series -- two Detroit wins to open, a Penguins home ice win to follow -- the near summer rerun finished Thursday at Mellon Arena, replaced by a two-and-a-half-hour spectacular (with a second period for the ages) that was wildly entertaining and raucous. Playing for the fourth time in six nights, a hellish pace for midseason let alone the NHL's showcase event, the Penguins broke the old pattern and seemingly left the Red Wings' legendary poise in tatters with a 4-2 win.

There were obvious imperfections in the match that tied the series -- the Red Wings were uncharacteristically generous in turning pucks over and Sergei Gonchar and Bill Guerin (although nary a Detroit player) screened Pittsburgh goalie Marc-André Fleury on a long-range Brad Stuart goal early in the second period -- but the brilliance of these finalists burst through the restraints of nerves, checking and perhaps over-amped expectations that had marked the first three games.

This was a delightful example of the hockey the NHL dreamed about when it attempted to reinvent itself after the 2004-05 lockout. The Red Wings, who have won four Stanley Cups in the past 11 years by pushing the pace, were caught and then passed by the Penguins, who played at warp speed and wound up forcing a veteran team into mistakes. The pressure on the Red Wings defensemen was so intense that keeping pucks in their offensive zone became more of an adventure than a Las Vegas weekend.

And while Fleury (37 saves) was brilliant, the match truly belonged to The Three Centers.

• Evgeni Malkin. In the past, Malkin's performance in the playoffs has faded in and out like a bad cell phone connection. Can you hear him now? He opened the game by drawing a penalty and then scored a power play goal with one-handed poke on a rebound off the boards, similar to a goal the Red Wings scored in Game 1 at Joe Louis Arena.

But Malkin was merely revving his engine. After taking a ludicrous hooking penalty five feet from Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood in the second -- the first of successive penalties that forced the Penguins to play short-handed for the next 3:58 -- he would more than make amends. With the score tied 2-2 some five minutes after his two minutes of penalty-box shame, Malkin picked Stuart's pocket at the right point and burst out on a two-on-one with Sidney Crosby. On occasion,
Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma used Malkin and Crosby on the same line in Game 4 -- the nuclear option -- but there was no more serendipitous time than this one.

Malkin drove down the right flank and Crosby down the left, leaving elongated Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson as the monkey in the middle. Malkin's first past hit the defenseman, but he gathered the puck and this time feathered one to Crosby, who had a tap-in goal, his first of the final. Malkin now has 35 points, the most in a playoff since Wayne Gretzky's 40 in 1993.

In the final seconds of that period, Malkin grabbed a Henrik Zetterberg giveaway, skated 150 feet unmolested, and, like his Game 1 breakaway, tested Osgood high to the glove side. When Osgood made the save, the clock in Mellon Arena read "0:00." Good thing Malkin didn't score. The 17,132 in attendance would have torn down the rink; the one going up across the street isn't going to be ready in time for Game 6.

• Crosby. Although his level of competitiveness never has flagged, the Pittsburgh captain's goal breakthrough was welcome -- if for no other reason than now he won't have to answer any more questions about it. He leads the playoffs with 15 goals because he pays the price, this time from teammate Kris Letang, who jumped Crosby and drove him to the ice in celebration. ("I didn't realize he had buried Sid on his back," Bylsma said. "But Kris Letang is a physical player, and he showed it there again.") But Crosby's goal was a gimme, not a play of supreme skill like the deft touch pass he made to set up Tyler Kennedy for the Penguins' fourth goal -- their third in 5:37. Detroit coach Mike Wang didn't chase the Zetterberg vs. Crosby matchup, but it is obvious the Red Wings miss Zetterberg's running mate Pavel Datsyuk, who took the warm-up but didn't play. Two stars (Malkin and Crosby) vs. one (Zetterberg) no longer looks like a fair fight.

• Jordan Staal. The other Penguins center has played like an innocent bystander through most of the final, but a desultory series can be jump-started in an eye blink, which was roughly the time Staal needed to power past flatfooted defenseman Brian Rafalski on a Pittsburgh penalty kill with Detroit leading 2-1. Rafalski is an elite defenseman. And he had a perfect angle to cut off the center.

But Staal found an extra gear and then muscled past him, rapping a puck through Osgood's pads. The goal, Staal's first point in 10 games against Detroit in two finals, "sucked the life out of us," Wang said.

There will be an infusion of energy -- and maybe Datsyuk -- when the Red Wings return home for the Game 5, but Staal's shorthanded goal looks like it might have been the moment that turned an intriguing series into something truly memorable. Certainly, Bylsma said, "it changed the complexion of the game."

In any case, there now are two or maybe three games left in a final that now is really percolating. And from the looks of it, the Penguins currently lead this series, two games to two.

If Crosby and Staal get going in this series... it could be a big momentum shift for the Pens heading back to Detroit.

I think we'll see Datsyuk in the line-up for sure in Game 5 after these two losses.