Hockey180!

By Matt Valentine

All of the sudden what was once the NHL’s and Gary Bettman’s dream Stanley Cup has turned into a nightmare. The much touted Stanley Cup matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings has quickly gone from NHL boon to NHL bust, with the Wings dominating the first two games at Joe Louis Arena and taking a 2-0 series lead back to the Steel City for tonights Game 3.

The Penguins offense which had been feasting throughout the playoffs is suddenly finding itself in the midst of a severe famine, as they have been unable to notch a single goal against Chris Osgood and the Detroit Red wings.

Meanwhile, the engines are firing on all cylinders in Motown as the Wings have out shot and outscored the
Penguins (7-0) in the series which is suddenly looking like a lopsided affair.

Even the comfort of the Igloo where Pittsburgh is 8-0 in the playoffs, and an Eastern Conference leading 26-10-5 during the regular seasons may not be enough to sway the momentum back in favor of the Penguins, as Detroit has the second best road record in league posting a 25-12-4 mark during the regular season and a 5-3 record in the playoffs.

Obviously, the major challenge Pittsburgh faces is finding a way to get the puck behind Osgood and lighting the lamp red. The first place to point the finger has to be at the Pens top players Crosby and Malkin. Crosby who has had some scoring chances in this series, but has yet to find a way to produce, and Malkin who has virtually disappeared since Game 1 of the conference finals when he posted 2 goals and an assist, and now has just one goal and one assist in the last six games both need to find their offensive game and fast.

The Penguins are facing a daunting task, and a daunting style of play, one that they have not had to face yet in this post-season. The Wings play a European inspired puck possession game opting to regroup often in the neutral zone and sending the puck back to their defenseman instead of dumping and chasing.

This has worked in stark contrast to the Penguins style of play, as they prefer to work the puck deep and cycle to create scoring chances. However, the strong, smart play of the Red Wings defense led by Captain Nicklas Lidstrom has not allowed the Penguins cycle to grab any footing in the Wings zone. Add to that the outstanding play of goalie Chris Osgood who became the first goalie to post back-to-back shutouts in the Stanley Cup finals since Martin Brodeur did it in 2003 and the Penguins are fighting an uphill battle.

This first game at home for the Penguins may be its only chance to claw their way back into this series. They need to find a way to win their next two games at the Igloo, or they along with the NHL may find their Stanley Cup dreams quickly turned into a nightmare.

When young Sydney Crosby entered the league at the age of 18 many hailed him as the savior of the NHL, and the successor to best hockey player in the world, Wayne Gretzky. In his rookie season he demonstrated the talent, poise and playmaking ability to turn the prognosticators into prophets when he finished 6th in scoring tallying 39 goals and 63 assists. By the time his sophomore season concluded he had earned the title of “The Next One” when he captured the Triple Crown of the hockey world, winning the Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL in points (120PTS-36G-84A) The Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP  as determined by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and  The Art Ross Trophy as the MVP as determined by the National Hockey League Players Association.

Now, Crosby has accomplished something that not even “The Great One” managed so early in his career, captaining his team in just his third NHL season to a chance for hockey’s ultimate prize , The Stanley Cup.  Crosby and Company have done so in dominating fashion, sweeping the Ottawa Senators out of the first round, and outplaying a talented NY Rangers team in a 4-1 series win.

Today they continued their show of dominance as they crushed the Philadelphia Flyers in the series clinching Game Five, scoring 6 goals and holding the Flyers to a shutout.  Crosby added 2 assists in this game to bring his post-season point total to 21 with 4 goals and 17 assists. Crosby has also demonstrated that he is a true two way player, with his defensive play helping to create offensive opportunities as was the case in today’s game when Crosby’s back-check forced a turnover that lead to Pittsburgh’s third goal of the night by teammate Marion Hossa.

While Crosby is the teams unquestioned leader he has not done it alone. Players like talented young superstars Evgeni Malkin and Marion Hossa, who may be the best trade-deadline acquistion in a long time, have been key in taking the Penguins to the Cup Finals. Other players like Ryan Malone, Maxim Talbot and Petr Sykora, as well as the improved play of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have also helped the Pens on their way to the Eastern Conference Championship.

Now, all Sydney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins have to do is enjoy their victory and wait for their next opponent which will be determined in the next few days when the Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars wrap up their Western Conference Finals series.