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.