How to Clip a Flightless Bird’s Wings
Posted by Obiora, May 28, 2008 - 12:39 pm
The NHL has to be supremely upset with the Pittsburgh Penguins right now. Not because the Red Wings won the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals but because it has thoroughly dominated and out-classed the Penguins. This was the dream matchup - one of the NHL’s storied and most accomplished franchises of the past 15 years against the young up-and-coming team with the game’s best young talent. Unfortunately, only one team has shown up so far.
The casual fan who might only have tuned in now at the end has to wonder if the Penguins even deserve to be on the same ice as the Red Wings. While it’s not entirely surprising that Detroit won the first two games, Pittsburgh’s inability to score even one goal is downright dumbfounding. They were even unable to register an even-strength shot-on-goal for most of the first two periods of game two.
Detroit’s excellence can be broken down to an incredible discipline in protecting its own zone in such a way as to engender quick counter-attacks. The Penguins were able to skate through the neutral zone with impunity against their previous opponents but the Red Wings have been able to clog the entry-points each time the Penguins gain possession. It’s not that Pittsburgh can’t gain the attacking zone at all but they do so without the rush of speed upon which their game is so predicated. The Red Wings puck-handling skill and experience in big games have translated into long possessions in the Penguins’ defensive zone. They are wearing down Pittsburgh’s defenders as the game goes on.
It’s not all doom and gloom for the flightless birds. The Red Wings are neither as good as they showed in winning the first two games, nor are the Penguins as bad as they showed in losing the first two games. Pittsburgh still possesses the same world-class talent it did in winning 12 of 13 games prior to the Finals. They are undefeated at home in the playoffs. The home crowd will undoubtedly give them a boost.
Tonight’s game three is a must-win. It’s a much used phrase but ‘desperation’ has to enter into the picture. Pittsburgh must find a way to break the Red Wings’ trap and pound Chris Osgood with shots. So far, the Detroit net-minder has only faced 44 shots in two games. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, on the other hand, has faced 60+ shots. Just as Dallas fought back with great desperation against Detroit, so must Pittsburgh.
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