We still don’t know anything about the Stanley Cup Finals.  That statement is true if you believe that old theory “We don’t know anything about the series until a team loses at home.”

The Pittsburgh Penguin’s held serve with 4-2 victory at Mellon Arena to make the series 2-1 in favor of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Penguins broke a 2-2 tie just past the midway point of the 3rd period on a power play goal by Sergei Gonchar.  After the Red Wings failed on several attempts to clear the puck out of the zone, Gonchar launched a blasted from the point that beat goalie Chris Osgood who was screened on the play.

The Penguins came out of the gate fasted scoring the games first goal on a Maxime Talbot hard slap shot from the slot less than five minutes in.  However the Red Wings answered just 1:31 when Henrik Zetterberg buried a rebound past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

The teams then traded power play goals to end the first period.

The second period neither team exerted much force and it seemed as if both were waiting for the other to make a mistake instead of forcing action.

In the third period the Penguins played with much more enthusiasm than their visiting opponent.  They flew around the ice and put the onus on the Red Wings who seemed to play on their heels for much of the final stanza.

The Penguins pressure finally led to an interference penalty by rookie Jonathan Ericsson, which preluded the game winning goal.

The Penguins played much much more aggression in this game which was evidenced by their outhitting the Red Wings 36 to 17.  Their play kept the Wings from establishing themselves in the offensive zone for long periods as they are accustomed.  The physical play from Pittsburgh seemed to have an effect especially on the Detroit defensemen deep in their own zone as they routinely missed opportunities to clear the puck.

The Wings inability to sustain possessions in the offensive zone and failure to clear the puck several times leading to goals was the difference in the game.

While they lead the series 2-1 we have yet to see classic Detroit hockey.  Part of this might have to do with the chess match being played between coaches Mike Babcock and Dan Bylsma.  While the Wings are winning the battle by holding Sidney Crosby to a single assist over one game, the shuffling of lineups and preoccupation with shutting down the superstar could be a key reason to the Wings’ erratic play.

The other could be the three games in five days, as the Wings looked gassed near the middle of the third period.  They ratcheted it up near the end when they pressed to get tying goal, however, the sustained puck possession team we are used to seeing did not show up on Tuesday night.

Random Thoughts:

• Hopefully the Penguins fans who were begging for an interference call can finally sleep well.  The call on Ericsson was a legitimate penalty as he held up a player instead of playing the puck.  The refs have let the boys play, which is good, and as far as I can tell have refrained from calling interference on defensemen as long as the player they are hitting has played the puck, and they don’t hang on too long.  If they called interference every time both sides would be called multiple times.
• People can bitch all they want about the refs, but I honestly think they have been equally bad/good, which at the end of the day is all we can ask.  Yes they should never have missed that lengthy extra man advantage, but I think if you put every gripe from both fan bases next to each other you’d see that they even each other out.  Does that mean they are doing a fantastic job and should be given a goal star? No, never.  Refs are like toilets, only useful to crap on.  However, if you think they are the reason this series is 2-1, please do the rest of us a favor, take a spork and stab yourself in the jugular until you bleed to death.
• Congratulations to Sidney Crosby for finally getting a point in this series.  He has yet to score a goal, but at least “the league’s best player” can get on the score sheet in the Finals.
• All of Marian Hossa’s goals have come in Game 4′s.  He has scored 2 goals in every Game 4 of the playoffs so far.
• The Wings are starting to desperately need the Pavel Datsyuk.  His ability to stick handle into the offensive zone is something they have missed these past few games.
• Chirs Osgood didn’t play terribly, neither did he play spectacularly.  I sill contest that he outplayed Fleury who didn’t have nearly the amount of traffic in front of the net to contend with.
• It might just be me, but it seems like Bill Guerin has missed on about 700 scoring chances this series.  If I were Crosby, before choking myself to death with fishing wire, I’d perform an eye test on the old man to make sure he isn’t going blind.  Say it with me:  Hand…Eye…Co-or-din-a-tion.

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Kevin Patra lives by the adage: Those who can’t do, write.  Currently, he is a grad student at the University of Southern California studying Online Journalism, after spending four years at the University of Michigan obtaining a bachelors degree from the school of Language, Science & Fun. Patra considers using the troughs at Joe Louis Arena as one of the most traumatic experience of his childhood.

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3. ⊚  How Many Wings Does It Take To Lift A Cup?
4. ⊚  Red Wings upended: Datsyuk still stoned
5. ⊚  Cooked by Ducks and Zebras