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Game 4 Loss Spells Trouble For Penguins

In our series preview, we noted that this year’s Stanley Cup Finals would be a battle of experience versus youth.  Right now, experience has the strong upper hand as the Pittsburgh Penguins lost Game 4 to the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 2-1, and now trail 3-1 in the series.  The Red Wings are well positioned to win the Stanley Cup, and will try to do so on Monday night at Joe Louis Arena.  For the Penguins to take home the Cup, they would need to be perfect and win the remaining 3-games of the series, including 2 in Detroit.  While still a possibility, the odds are stacked heavily against the Penguins at this point. 

Things looked good in the early going for the Penguins.  In the first period, they were afforded 3-power play opportunities and capitalized on one to grab an early 1-0 lead.  The goal came on the first penalty at 2:11 against Dallas Drake for roughing.  With the Penguins’ loaded powerplay on the ice, Sidney Crosby broke into the zone and circled around before passing the puck along the blue line to Sergei Gonchar.  Gonchar let a blast go that was stopped by Chris Osgood, but the rebound found the stick of Marian Hossa.  Hossa took the puck and looked as if he was going to circle around behind the net, but instead quickly tucked the puck in behind Osgood for the goal.  The Red Wings fought back, however, scoring a goal just 2-seconds after a penalty to Pascal Dupuis (cross-checking) had expired.  Veteran defenseman Niklas Lidstrom found room just inside the blueline and let a rocket go that beat a screened Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game 1-1.  The Penguins were 1-for-3 on the powerplay and 1-for-1 on the kill, but were outshot 14-9 in the first period. 

Image details: Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Four served by picapp.com

The second period was a tightly played battle between both teams as the Penguins managed to outshoot the Red Wings 8-7.  Both teams were afforded just 1 powerplay, but neither were able to convert.  The Penguins had 3-really good chances during the period, but were stoned at every chance by Chris Osgood.  The first opportunity came at 3:24 as Crosby deflected the puck right in front of the net, but Osgood held on.  Then at 9:36, Pascal Dupuis had two excellent chances that were stopped by Osgood.  And again at 13:28, Sidney Crosby had an great chance on the backhand that was shut off by Osgood.  Despite it all, neither team scored in teh second and the 1-1 tie carried into the third period. Early in the third period, the Penguins got into trouble as they were unable to clear their zone.  The Red Wings took advantage of the opportunity, as Jiri Hudler flipped a dirty backhander that tipped off from Fleury’s shoulder and into the net to break the tie.  The Penguins had an outsanding opportunity to even the game back up in the middle of the period as they were afforded 1:26 of a 5-on-3 powerplay.  In a defining moment of the game, Henrik Zetterberg made an oustanding stick-on-stick defensive play on Sidney Crosby that prevented Crosby from tapping in the tying goal on the powerplay.  The Penguins ultimately failed to convert on the 5-on-3 opportunity, swinging the momentum decidedly to the Red Wings.  With time running out in the period, the Penguins made a frantic attempt to get the tying goal, but Osgood was equal to the challenge as he shut the door tight. 

Image details: Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins – Game Four served by picapp.com

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Game 4 Wrap and Interviews
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

The loss, the Penguins first on home-ice in the playoffs,  was a disappointment for the Penguins who played a strong game, but failed to score at a critical point in the game to tie it up.  Unfortunately, the loss makes a huge difference in the series as the Penguins head back to Detroit down 3-1, rather than tied 2-2.  Evgeni Malkin continued to be frustrated with his play and inability to be the difference like he had been up until this series.  For Malkin, this is the longest season of hockey that he has ever seen, and it appears that he has possibly run out of gas.  Where Malkin has fizzled, Marian Hossa has stepped up and continues to shine in the playoffs.  Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28-of-30 for a 0.933 save percentage, and had a good night in net. 

Game 5 will be played Monday night in Detroit, where the Red Wings will look to finish things off on their own ice and the Penguins will be battling to stay alive.  It will be a tall order for the Penguins to bounce back emotionally from the loss, and they will need to execute to perfection on the Red WIngs’ ice if they want to bring the series back to Pittsburgh. 

Penguins Blanked Again by Detroit’s Stifling Defense

The Pittsburgh Penguins and their fans had another frustrating game against the Detroit Red Wings as they lost 3-0, marking a second consecutive game in which their highly potent offense was snuffed out by the exceptional defensive play of the Red Wings.  The Penguins seemingly played a better game than they did in the first game, but took too many ill-timed penalties and failed to convert on the few good chances that they were afforded.  To their credit, the Penguins never gave up in the game, but just could not break through the stifling defense of the Red Wings.  The Red Wings will take a 2-0 series lead to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, where the Penguins hope to extend their home playoff unbeaten streak. 

The Red Wings scored the ever-important first goal early in the first period, as Brad Stuart picked the corner on a semi-screened Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 1-0.  Valtteri Filppula picked up the assist on the even strength goal.  Then at 11:18, Tomas Holmstrom made it 2-0 as reached in behind Fleury and tapped in a puck that had trickled through his legs on a Henrik Zetterberg shot.  Shots were 12-6 in the first period, with all 6-Penguins shots coming on 2-powerplays.  The Penguins killed off 2-penalties of their own, including 14-seconds of a Gary Roberts roughing call that carried over into the 2nd period.

Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings – Game Two served by picapp.com

There was no scoring in the 2nd period as the Penguins were again held to just 6-shots on goal.  The Red Wings put 11-shots on goal, all of which were stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury who did his part to try and keep his team within striking distance.  The Penguins successfully killed off the balance of Roberts 1st period penalty as well as a slashing call against Ryan Malone. 

In thr 3rd period, the Penguins took penalty after penalty and never gave themselves the chance to get back in the game.  At 7:49, the Penguins went on the power play and it looked like they might get an opportunity to cut the lead in half.  But just 15-seconds into the man advantage, Ryan Malone was called for goaltender intereference and the power play was negated as the teams skated 4 per side.  During the 4-on-4, Detroit scored their 3rd goal of the game as Valtteri Filppula made a spectacular move around Kris Letang and then connected on a Bobby Orr-like diving shot that beat Marc-Andre Fleury.  Then at 11:51, Max Talbot took a double-minor roughing call in a fracas with Detroit’s Johan Franzen, who got just 2-minutes.  Then again at 16:08, Ryan Whitney took an ill-timed roughing call when he took a shot to the head of Pavel Datsyuk after the whistle.  Then at 18:52 with the little question as to game’s likely outcome, Petr Sykora knocked Chris Osgood down as he skated by the net and a large scrum ensued.  Sykora picked up a goaltender intereference call while Malkin and Roberts each took 2 for roughing.  Gary Roberts also picked up a 10-minute misconduct.  Detroit’s Lilja and Franzen each got 2 for roughing, giving the Red Wings yet another power play. 

Image details: Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings – Game Two served by picapp.com

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

The Penguins return to Mellon Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday night with the hope that they can find a way to break the defensive juggernaut.  The Penguins will have the crowd on their side and the good fortune that they have enjoyed on their own ice throughout these playoffs, having yet to lose a game there.  If the Penguins can find a way to win on their own ice, they can claw their way back into this series and gaain some confidence and momentum.  Needless to say, it will be a tough challenge if Detroit can continue to play the way they have in Games 1 and 2. 

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