Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions

Wild. Absolutely a wild and incredibly entertaining Stanley Cup finals.

Here's a look told through the lens of Michael Farber and his Sports Illustrated articles as well as SI covers (not of course actually sent to all mailboxes in America covers, but covers that you can see on the magazine's website nonetheless).

Started up something like this (and with accompanying story):

Then the Penguins showed amazing resolve... leading up to this (copied from Getty Images):

Finally, it was all over (and written about here by Farber in SI):

2008 Red Wings: Just Too Good

This is late in being written, but Detroit beat Pittsburgh at home in game four to take a commanding three games to one lead in the series. This shouldn't be a shock given how the series went in the first three games:

Game one: Detroit plays well, Pittsburgh doesn't. Detroit wins going away.
Game two: Detroit plays well, Pittsburgh doesn't. Detroit wins going away.
Game three: Detroit plays well, as does Pittsburgh. Close Penguins victory.

This being the case, it seemed that it would require both another complete effort by the Pens and fortunate breaks to win game four and get back in the series. Just didn't happen. Now, Pittsburgh faces a seemingly insurmountable task... they need to play to their potential three games in a row (certainly possible, but didn't happen the first two games) and get the bounces needed to win each game (not likely given the way Detroit has now played each and every game of the series).

Pittsburgh has great young players and one would think will win a Stanley Cup with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury, but it doesn't look to be this season.

Penguins Game Three - "Reports of Their Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated"

Wow. What a great hockey game Detroit and Pittsburgh played tonight.

Starting with the aforementioned assumption that the Wings played to their potential (and the Pens did not) in games one and two, Pittsburgh needed to step up their game in order to have a chance of winning back in the Igloo for game three. Rest assured, they did step up and narrowly won a game against another consistent Red Wing effort.

This was the type of hockey game that could have been won by either team as it featured offenses driving to the net, excellent goaltending (Marc-Andre Fleury might have wanted back the 2nd goal allowed, though) and hard hitting all over the ice. The fact that the Pens were victorious was the result of a very good Pittsburgh effort coupled with a few more bounces their way than Detroit got.

A game like this fully demonstrated why it was so necessary for the Penguins to win should they have any chance in the series. Starting with talented opponents and assuming repeat occurrences of each team's effort, intensity and attention to detail, you would likely have a 50/50 split in wins and losses over a number of games.

The point being, if Pittsburgh had fallen behind three games to zero, it's next to impossible that they would have been able to take four in a row from Detroit with the way the Wings have played. In fact, Detroit has played well enough this series that I'd say to have a realistic chance, Pittsburgh needs to win Saturday as well. Reason being, should Detroit go up three games to one, the odds of Pittsburgh either greatly outplaying them or getting the breaks needed to win three of four are slim.

However, a win Saturday in game four would be simply holding serve on home ice and should the Pens pull it off, they could then completely disregard their shortcomings in games one and two and start in on a best of three series.

Here's to hoping the Pens do get it done Saturday as it would mean one of the most compelling Stanley Cup Finals matchups in recent memory would be living up to the advance billing.

Guest Blogging: "Wearing Black and Gold in Detroit on a Monday Night"

Below is a blog post provided by a virtuoso sports (and tertiary hockey) fan who visited lovely Detroit to take in Game 2 of the Finals betwixt the Red Wings and Penguins. Said fan / author is also the brains (if not the brawny) behind the website http://www.roadtripoutback.blogspot.com/... a very interesting account of his two month sojourn around the circumference of Australia with his 2 year old son.

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Monday night actually started on Monday afternoon as a group of eight Penguins fans meandered around Detroit. We had a great meal in Greektown and checked out a microbrew pub near the baseball stadium. All in all, a good time. Then we took the cleverly named "People Mover" to the arena. The arena was packed with good natured fans of both teams. I do not believe it would be a stretch to say that 20% of the fans were in Pens gear. The arena may be older, but every seat had a good view if my seat is any indication. The photos give you a view of warm ups, as well as that damn octopus being raised back up.

As a Pens fan, I have been to a few venues for hockey: LA, San Jose, Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia, Columbus, and Nashville. Admittedly, those were not all Pens games so I have not experienced all of those venues as an "away" fan. With that caveat, let me say that Wings fans are the best fans in their treatment of "away" fans of any I have seen in the US side of the hockey world. Let me take that a step further and say that of the 41 Pro sports venues I have been to, none had a better combination of passion and civility. Given the excitement of the Stanley Cup and my relatively negative impression of Detroit from previous visits, I was expecting something resembling the away fan experience at a Raiders game or a Flyers game. To my amazement, we were not yelled at or taunted much at all. This was not just because there were eight of us - most of the time, I was working my way through the crowd with one friend wearing a very noticeable old school Ron Brown Pens sweater. In the interest of time and keeping this positive impression, we skipped the People Mover on the way back to the car. The only down note is that for "Hockeytown", it would be nice if one local news station led with the Stanley Cup Finals ahead of the NBA semi-finals.

Now, about the game. Dave has already reviewed it and he was spot on. As you know, being there you only get replays that serve the home team. Thus, I have no idea why when a Pens player is leveled and leaves lots of blood on the ice in the first period it was no big deal (and no power play). On the other hand, the fact that people in front of me stood up during the goals did not prevent me from seeing them a few times. While I did not appreciate any of the goals, I had to admire the balance and skill in Valtteri Filppula's goal. The fact of the matter is that Detroit simply has the better game plan and execution. Player for player, the Pens are as good as the Wings, but on the ice Monday night (and Saturday night) the Wings were just far and away the better team. The Wings knew how to take the puck down the ice, move it around, and score. Yes, the Penguins failed to capitalize on a few opportunities, but the blunt analysis is that the Wings had an answer for every Pens possession. Every time, the puck would be taken off someone's stick or the player would be directed away from the goal. Then the Wings would counterattack and hold the puck. Sure, Chris Osgood is playing well, but the story line is that the team in front of him is controlling the pace of the game to an astounding degree. The Pens came in with a hot offense and excellent play from their defense, but neither is performing well enough to win. The only statistic in which the Pens held an advantage Monday night was in hits (actually, they may have broken even in face-offs), but that is about like a football team leading in tackles - it was because the Wings were too busy handling the puck to hit the Pens. Some would say that the Wings were better at holding a lead. That may be true (we'll have to see if they are more submissive when down, if that happens), but the Wings were dominating this game from the word "go" and that did not change until the game was out of reach. Near the end of the game, the Pens chippy play seemed to either awaken their own animal spirits or throw the Wings off their game.

Pittsburghers may look at Games 1 & 2 and blame the stars like Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. They may be reminded of how poorly stars like Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla played in the National League Championship series of 1990, 1991, and 1992. They would be looking to the wrong problem. This is more fundamental than the Red Wings scoring on their chances and the Penguins not capitalizing on theirs. The fact is that the Wings are winning with their scheme and controlling the flow of the game. Erstwhile Pens coach Scotty Bowman scouted the Pens in their series vs. the Flyers and helped the Wings plan for this series. Unless the Pens can break that scheme, this will be over in four games and those watching this finals will not see a single close game.

Jim Key
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And now... a few images from within the Joe, provided by the good Dr Key.

Sweet Stanley Cup projection

Note the Octopus hanging from the ceiling (along with the banners)

Ready for period one action (at least for the Red Wings)

Stanley Cup Finals Game Two - Rolling Red

Well, It was apparent to all that in order to have any chance whatsoever in game two, the Penguins would need to play a heck of a lot better than they did in game one. The Pens deliverable from the game showed that yep... they played better, but still not good enough to beat a rolling Detroit team.

This game was essentially lost in the first period with Detroit outshooting Pittsburgh 12-6 (with all 6 Penguins shots coming on the power play) and netting goals from Brad Stuart and then Tomas Holmstrom. As Pittsburgh played the Wings fairly well even in the 2nd and 3rd with no goals to show for it, it's pretty easy to point to period one as being the defining stanza of play.

Particular attention should be focused on the goaltender play and how it impacted this game. Chris Osgood was extremely solid in throwing his second shutout in a row and while Marc-Andre Fleury certainly wasn't the reason the Pens lost, he probably would like to have back one if not both of the goals that Detroit shot through him in the first. That said, the final score was of course 3-0 so there should be a greater amount of accolades heaped on Osgood than critique of Fleury.

So... the Penguins are down two games to zero, but should not be counted out just yet. While they can be criticized for some cheap hits at the end against Osgood and a recently returned to the lineup (from concussion symptoms) Johan Franzen, Pittsburgh did show signs of life with their surly play at the end (and pretty solid 2nd and 3rd period effort). They've yet to lose a game at the Igloo this postseason and if they can put together 60 rather than 40 minutes of solid hockey and have Fleury play as well as Osgood, game three is a chance to get back in this series.

That said, this matchup was billed at the start as experience (Detroit) against youth (Pittsburgh) and maybe putting together every single piece needed to beat experience is too tough a task for youth (albeit very talented youth).

2008 Stanley Cup Finals Game One - Red Tide

Goodness gracious. Pittsburgh vs Detroit may still turn out to be a great series with the tandem of Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk & Henrik Zetterberg on the other, but tonight it was all Red Wings with a resounding 4-0 victory.

What made this game particularly scary if you're a Pens fan was the methodical nature in which Detroit outplayed Pittsburgh in all aspects of the game at various points.

First period: The action was back and forth, but the benefit of hindsight shows that the key out of this opening stanza was Detroit killing off four penalties in a row (with help from some excellent goaltending by Chris Osgood). Additionally, the Wings had a goal disallowed on a questionable goaltender interference penalty against.

Second period: The rink was tilted with Detroit outshooting Pittsburgh 16-4 and exiting the second 20 minutes with a 1-0 lead thanks to ex-Penguin Mikael Samuelsson.

Third period: Only three shots for Pittsburgh and the Wings slowly, and then quickly, put the game away with one early and two late goals.

So... at different points of the game, the Red Wings demonstrated their makeup as a complete team and the favorite in this series.

Early on they both held off the powerplay onslaught and overcame a tough call against them (note to the San Jose Sharks: overcoming adversity is a good thing to do). Then they poured it on with a high-powered offense (and contributions from an excellent cast of role players). And... oh yeah, they utilized both solid (see: Kronwall, Niklas) and spectacular (see: Lindstrom, Nicklas) defensive play to shut down the Penguins and start the break the other way.

One game is of course only one game, but the Wings looked very good in dispatching Pittsburgh. At this point it will be up to Messrs Crosby and Malkin to see what they can answer with.

Few people question whether the Pens will win a Stanley Cup with these two superstars, but whether they can do it in their first try, and against such a strong opponent, is definitely an open item.