Red Wings Up 1-0, Expect More Of The Same

As I wrote yesterday before Game One, if the red Wings are up 2-1 heading into the third, Pittsburgh will be in trouble. The Penguins lost. I think you'll see a similar result this evening. One good thing for the Penguins though, is Sidney Crosby's physical play against Henrik Zetterberg. Totally reversing the play of last year as Sid crunched the Red Wing's defensive specialist several times in the first game. But, Crosby was also kept off the score board, which is probably of more importance. Crosby's 5-game point-scoring streak was snapped last night, so Zetterberg was doing something right.

Did you see Zetterberg putting his hand on the puck when it landed on Osgoode's bank? That should have been called and the referees were negligent in not spotted that move by Zetterberg. He even looked a little sheepish as he stood between Crosby and the official who missed the play as Crosby complained (correctly) that there was a missed call.

Bottom line: Although the Penguins dominated the Red Wings in the second period of Game One, the Red Wings emerged with the lead. By the end of the third period, Detroit clogged the middle of the slot in their zone and forced Pittsburgh to shoot from the outside and try to pick up any rebounds. That didn't happen much, and the Red Wings were forcing the play back into Pittsburgh's end.

What I want to see in Game Two ~ Lots of hitting by the Penguins and scoring from secondary sources. Where's Bill Guerin disappeared to? Jordan Staal hasn't been the presence he was last year either. Malkin, as I said was stunted. He assisted on the lone goal in the last game and had a breakaway that could have put Pittsburgh back into it, but he missed. Prediction - Detroit 4-2. Game is starting, so I have to go!

Penguins Attempt To Dethrone Red Wings. Is This Crosby's Year?

Last season, way back in October 2007, I picked the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup and of course they did. I was all proud of my powers of prognostication and let everyone know that I obviously had the ability to pick winners in the Stanley Cup race. This year I again picked Detroit early, even when they were wallowing in a subpar start to their season. Then I started catching Bruins' fever as most of us did. I started to believe maybe it was finally a season for the re-birth of the Big Bad Bruins. Of course the Hurricanes put the kibosh on those dreams, and I've fallen back into line behind the Big Red Machine of the franchise from Detroit.

What about the Penguins you ask? Well, expect the same result as last year. I fully expect Detroit to shut down Pittsburgh's offensive stars ~ Sidney Crosby has been on fire this year and Malkin has had moments of excellence. Malkin is hot and cold and he'll will unfortunately cool off in the finals is my prediction. He shone brightly against the Canes, but will be facing a much tougher test versus the Wings ~ they have a much better defensive corps than the Canes could muster, along with Detroit's depth in the forward positions and they should be able to put a blanket over the scoring lines of the Penguins.

Goaltending? Both teams have had lapses in their respective "star" players. Fleury has been pretty damn consistent, and we can expect more of the same. Chris Osgoode was looked on as a possible fatal flaw in Detroit's attempt to become the first team to repeat the franchise won 2 in a row in '97 and '98. Osgoode has had some momentary breakdowns, but has had moments of excellence and he is one of the cogs that drive the Wings to success. If, and it's a BIG if, Osgoode gets scored on lots in Game One, Pittsburgh has a chance. If it's 1-0 or 2-1 Detroit heading into the 3rd, the Penguins will have an incredibly hard row to hoe. Don't get me wrong ~ the Penguinos have got the tools to take it, and I'd love to see them hoist the Cup, but I am not expecting to see that happen this year. Detroit in six at the most.