GAME SEVEN OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!

The second period was sick to watch.  Less than two minutes in, Maxime Talbot got the puck from Evgeni Malkin and fired away on Osgood.  That took the wind out of the building and put Pittsburgh on the board.  With 18:01 to go in the period, Jordan Staal was called for hooking and Tomas Holstrom was called for holding, however, the 4-on-4 opportunity produced nothing.  Less than a minute into it Malkin had a dead on shot on Osgood, but Ozzie came up with the save.  Then a shocking turn of events came when Johan Franzen and Sidney Crosby were skating along the boards and Franzen checks him up and into them.  Crosby would leave the game and not come back in the period.  Just now during intermission, they showed Crosby working on his stick, so it looks like he’ll be back for the third period.  Detroit would get a power play chance thanks to a holding call on Hal Gill.  Detroit failed to scored on the power play and it just got worse.  9:53 to go in the period, Maxime Talbot goes 1-on-1 with Osgood, Niklas Kronwall cannot contain him, and Talbot scores his 2nd goal of the night, 8th of the playoffs.  That gave the Penguins the 2-oh lead leading into the 3rd period, which is starting now!  Go Wings!  Rally hats on!  

 

The first period is in the books and it is a tight game thus far.  Detroit came out with a strong push and had some critical scoring chances, but Penguins goalie Marc Andre-Fleury stopped everything he saw.  On the other end of the ice, Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood found the puck all 10 times the Penguins put it on him.  Pittsburgh had its first power play with 8:36 left in the period thanks to a slashing call on Brad Stuart.  For one minute and 40 seconds, Jonathan Ericsson, Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, and Dan Cleary were stuck on the ice, trying to clear the zone.  Only when Cleary tipped the puck with 20 seconds left in the power play, did the Wings get a line change.  Luckily, the penalty kill worked and it did not cost the home team.  As time was running out in the period, Lidstrom fired the puck wide right of the net and kept the goose eggs on the board, so we have no score after the first period.  However, the home crowd has been fantastic and loud, so if this stays a tight game, I think the Red Wings have the advantage.  Joe Louis Arena is just as loud if not louder than game seven against Anaheim.  Go get em’ in the second period and keep cheering Hockeytown!  Go Wings!

-Katrina Hancock

GAME SIX OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!

It did not take long for the pendulum to swing in favor of the Penguins.  51 seconds into the second period, Jordan Staal took the puck right at Chris Osgood, Ozzie made the initial save, and Staal followed it up and in for the first Pittsburgh goal.  Tyler Kennedy and Rob Scuderi assisted on the goal.  Osgood saved them the rest of the period making several key saves on shots from Evgeni Malkin, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Tyler Kennedy.  A scary scene with 17:47 to go in the period, Johan Franzen went sliding neck first into the boards.  After a few moments, Franzen got up and looked a little disoriented.   Chris Osgood suddenly needed to fix something with his helmet and it bought the Mule some time to get his head back on straight.  Mule seemed to be fine, but I’ll find out for sure after the game.  Also, Matt Cooke went right after Pavel Datsyuk and hit him so hard, his helmet flew off.  With 11:27 left in the period, Pittsburgh was already outshooting Detroit 21-7.  Detroit rebounded and ended the period with 12 shots on goal.  The Red Wings had a couple good looks at possible goals late in the period.  Mikael Samuelsson took a shot and Brooks Orpik dove in front of him to stop it.  Then with 1:57 left in the period, Henrik Zetterberg tried to go top shelf on Marc Andre-Fleury, but the puck hit the post.  Pittsburgh is still leading the shots on goal category 24-12 and the Penguins have a 1-0 lead heading into the third period.  Come on Wings, dig deep and get it done tonight, so we don’t have to have game seven on Friday!  I get way too nervous when I have to cover a game seven because anything can happen.  

This is going to be a dogfight until the final horn sounds.  Sidney Crosby had the chance to score on Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood less than two minutes into the game and failed to even take a shot.  I’m extremely impressed with how well the defensemen are playing in front of Ozzie tonight.  As soon as he makes the initial save, the defensemen are right there in front of him to clear the puck.  That has saved this team from giving up an early goal.  Pittsburgh had two power play opportunities thanks to penalties called on Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula.  Fortunately for the Wings, the Penguins could not put the puck in the net.  The best chance for the Wings to score came with less than six minutes to go in the period, when Pavel Datsyuk had the puck to the right of Penguins goalie Marc Andre-Fleury and teed it right up for Zetterberg, but Fleury was there to smother it with his body.  Any other night, that is an automatic goal, but not tonight.  So far no score in this one and I have a feeling the referees will continue to let them play.  Pittsburgh is winning in the shots on goal category, 12-3.  In the past two games, the second period has been key.  I think it will be again tonight.  A strong push from Detroit and that could turn this game in the Red Wings favor.  They need to test Fleury more and frustrate him just like they did in game five.  Enjoy the game Hockeytown!  Go Wings!  Second period is up next! 

 

Before the game: 

Could the Cup be coming home tonight?  We will know in a a matter of hours.  Stand up and cheer Hockeytown, I want to hear you all the way in Pittsburgh!  Let’s go Red Wings!   

-Katrina Hancock

The Day Before The Possible Clincher!

Hello Hockeytown, I am back in Pittsburgh getting ready for tomorrow’s game six of the Stanley Cup Finals.  There is a sense  of familiarity, considering the scenario a year ago.  However, it is a bit different.  Remember game five, last year at Joe Louis Arena?  Petr Sykora told the NBC announcers that he would score the game winning goal.  Well, in triple overtime, in the wee hours of the morning, Sykora did exactly that and forced a game six in Pittsburgh.  The Red Wings of course went on to win the Cup at Mellon Arena and the parade took place two days later.  This year, the Red Wings carry a dominant performance in game five into Mellon Arena.  Not only did they crush the Pens in game five, but they shut them out, scored five goals, and forced Pittsburgh Head Coach Dan Bylsma to pull goalie Marc Andre-Fleury.  How will that effect tomorrow’s game?  Mickey Redmond said not at all.  Fleury, along with everyone else on the ice, are professionals and will be able to refocus and regroup for this one.  

Good news for Pavel Datsyuk, he told me today at the team hotel that he feels good after his 21 shifts and nearly 18 minutes on the ice on Saturday.  He’s gotten treatment and is ready to rock tomorrow night.  The way he played Saturday and the lift that he gave this team, is so huge this time of year.  Good luck Pav! 

Mike Babcock also confirmed that there will be no line changes for game six.  When it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?  

Bottom line, this veteran team is going to be ready no matter what the Penguins throw at them.  Like they say before every single game, it’s all about the start.  Get a strong start, put pucks on net, and get better as the game goes on.  We finally got a glimpse of how good this team can perform in the Finals over the weekend, let’s just hope it carries over onto enemy ice in this game. The Puck drops just after 8:00 p.m. tomorrow at Mellon Arena.  I will be here ready to smell like champagne and cigar smoke.  Go Wings!

-Katrina Hancock

GAME FIVE OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!

Well Hockeytown, let’s just say it is good to be home.  Pavel Datsyuk received a loud welcome when he took the ice 40 seconds into tonight’s game.  He looked a little rusty early, but it didn’t take long for him to get going.  Fortunately for the Red Wings, the penalty kill is working on all cylinders tonight.  For the second straight game, Niklas Kronwall was called for the first penalty, but unlike Thursday night, his teammates had his back.  They cleared the zone at least four times and the Penguins did not score.  With 6:28 to go in the period, Datsyuk brought the puck into the zone and used some fancy stick work to tee it up for Dan Cleary and that gave the Red Wings the 1-0 lead.  Cleary hit Marc Andre-Fleury’s glove side.  The place went nuts when they announced Datsyuk’s name on the assist.  Then with around 3:00 minutes left in the period, Nicklas Lidstrom found himself on top of Chris Kunitz and the two starting punching.  You know the series is getting chippy when Lidstrom starts swinging, because he never fights!  Detroit ended the period on the power play thanks to a two minute goalie interference call on Kunitz.  So when the Wings come out of the locker room, they’ll have 1:39 left in a 5-on-4.  The only down side to the first period is the fact that Pittsburgh is out shooting Detroit 10-8, but does it really matter when the scoreboard reads 1-0 Detroit?  I think not.  Enjoy the 2nd period hockey fans.

I will take a 2nd period like this over the one on Thursday night any day.  When the Red Wings came off the power play that carried over from the 1st period, Valtteri Filppula scored his 3rd goal of the playoffs with an assist by Marian Hossa and Chris Osgood!  Ozzie had the puck, the Penguins were on a line change, and Ozzie fired it up to Hossa who was standing by the blue line.  Hossa fed Filppula and that put Detroit up 2-0.  With 14:07 to go, Sergei Gonchar is called for slashing and Niklas Kronwall comes up with his 2nd goal of the playoffs by being patient with the puck.  Kronwall has it to the Fleury’s left and then moves it in front and lifts it up and in for the 3-0 lead.  Then less than a minute later, Evgeni Malkin is called for elbowing and the crowd starts chanting “Crosby sucks” go figure?  With 22 seconds left in the power play, Brian Rafalski fires away and Pavel Datsyuk gets his 2nd assist of the night and Nicklas Lidstrom gets his first.  Detroit takes a 4-0 lead.  The crowd really lit up when they heard Datsyuk’s name again and started chanting “Datsyuk, Datsyuk!”  As if it couldn’t get any worse for Pittsburgh, Chris Kunitz is called for roughing and the Red Wings get another 5-on-4 opportunity.  Detroit takes advantage as Henrik Zetterberg nets his 11th goal of the playoffs and gives Detroit a 5-0 lead.  After that, Penguins Head Coach Dan Bylsma has seen enough.  Marc Andre-Fleury is burnt toast and gets pulled!  Mathieu Garon replaces him in net and the Wings fans just love it.  Just over two minutes to go in the period, the Penguins show sheer frustration.  Both Sidney Crosby and Maxime Talbot are called for slashing.  Detroit needed this period to make up for the other one we witnessed in game four in Pittsburgh.  With Garon in net now, who knows what the final score will be.  What a night for Red Wings fans, I know you are enjoying this one.  Speaking of one, only one more win and the Red Wings will be hoisting the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row!  Plan it, Detroit, Hart Plaza! 

-Katrina Hancock

GAME FOUR OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS IN PITTSBURGH

The game started off with a tripping penalty on Niklas Kronwall less than two minutes into the game.  It sure didn’t look like tripping, but the refs pulled the whistles out of their pockets and started off.  Sure enough the Penguins took advantage.  Evgeni Malkin scored his 14th goal of the playoffs to put Pitt on the board.  Then, Chris Osgood saved the day with a point blank save on Sidney Crosby with 12:13 to go in the period.  It just seems like Ozzie has his number.  He knows where Sid is going to put the puck and shuts him down.  It seemed like it took awhile for the Red Wings to warm up, but finally in a 4-on-4, Darren Helm stole the puck and put it past Marc Andre-Fleury to tie the game at 1-1.  It is Helm’s 4th goal of the playoffs and unassisted at that!  Detroit fired up and out shot Pittsburgh 19-11.  Funniest moment of the night so far, the Penguins mascot Iceburgh was making funny faces at a Red Wings fan sitting in the second row.  Kind of cute!  Since Pavel is not playing tonight, the brunt of the shifts fall on Henrik Zetterberg’s shoulders.  

I wish I never had to watch the second period.  Oh, this one hurt.  It started off strong as Brad Stuart scored his 3rd goal of the playoffs 46 seconds into it.  It was all downhill from there. Evegeni Malkin is called for tripping with just under 15 minutes to go and the Penguins still score.  Jordan Staal takes the puck right at Chris Osgood and just like that the game is tied at 2-2.  Less than two minutes later, Sydney Crosby finally gets his first goal of the series when Malkin is racing down the ice with him and feeds it to him perfectly.  It was way too easy for Pittsburgh and too hard on Ozzie.  It goes from bad to worse with 5:48 to go in the period.  Tyler Kennedy finds the back of the net on a tick-tack-bang play for his 4th goal of the playoffs.  That gave Pittsburgh the 4-2 lead and the building exploded.  As the seconds ticked off the clock, the Red Wings turned the puck over again and Malkin forced Ozzie to make one more point-blank save to end the period.  I sure hope the Wings regroup and come out in the third like they have nothing to lose.  They need a strong finish and they will have to play catch-up at this point.  I have seen these guys score fast goals, so nothing is impossible.  Go Wings! 

Before the game:

They just announced here at Mellon Arena that Pavel Datsyuk is out for tonight’s game.  He skated for an hour and 20 minutes this morning and then talked to reporters dripping with sweat.  The guy is such a workhorse and is trying his level best to come back and be able to play.  However, we really don’t know how severe his injury really is, so it is up to him whenever he is ready to play.  I just hope the Red Wings can escape Pittsburgh with one win.  I know hockey fans desperately want to see Pav back in the lineup, but let’s just hope the young guys can get the job done in his absence.  Enjoy the game everyone.  I’ll be back to blog between the periods.  Go Red Wings. 

-Katrina Hancock

GAME THREE OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS IN PITTSBURGH

What a fast and furious first period!  The Penguins struck first on Maxime Talbot’s 5th goal of the playoffs, when the Red Wings failed to clear the puck out of the zone.  Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang assisted on the goal.  Less than two minutes later Henrik Zetterberg scored a chip shot right over Penguins goalie Marc Andre-Fleury to tie the game at 1-1.  When this occurred, my photographer, Cesar Gonzalez jumped up out of his seat, started screaming, then realized all of a sudden, no one else around him was screaming and that he was sitting in the press box, WHERE YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO CHEER!  (Luckily no Penguins media personnel were within earshot and did not kick him out.)  With 10:18 left in the period, Brooks Orpik was called for interference and Johan Franzen made him pay.  Zetterberg fed the Mule and he flicked it up and in for the 2-1 lead.  Pittsburgh would not back down and Dan Cleary gave them another power play opportunity with 5:14 to go in the period on a holding call.  Kris Letang hit the post and the puck bounced in for the 2-2 tie.  The goals have come too easy.  Let’s hope Chris Osgood can let them roll off his back and settle down in the final two periods.  Enjoy it all Hockeytown!  

The highlight of the second period came early when Mikeal Samuelsson went one-on-one with Fleury, but unfortunately the puck hit the post.  We saw a lot of back and forth action, but no one was able to put the puck past either goalie.  Tomas Holmstrom continues to get pounded down to the ice and just hammered in front of the net.  I really feel sorry for the beating he takes for the team, but he’s a trooper and just takes it.  It will be very interesting to see how both teams respond in the 3rd period, considering the score.  It’s been a chess match all night between Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock and Penguins Head Coach Dan Bylsma.  Anytime Sydney Crosby is on the ice, Babcock counters with Zetterberg, which so far has been effective, because Crosby has been held without a point in this series.  The Penguins fans seem restless and I hope it stays that way through the rest of the game.  The Red Wings have all the momentum in this series and I hope that they can be successful in the final period.  Go Red Wings!   Mickey Redmond and I will be talking about the game three on clickondetroit.com so be sure to check it out!   

Before the game: 

I’ve been in Pittsburgh now for two days and from the moment we drove into town, the cops have been yelling at us because of our WDIV logo on the side of our live truck.  Everywhere we go, people are wearing Penguins gear and they desperately want to see their team win tonight.  It is so loud in this building, my mind is numb.  If I have to hear, “Let’s Go Pens” one more time, I’m going to puke.  I just hope Marian Hossa scores first to silence the crowd and give us some momentum to start the game.  Enjoy it Hockeytown!  I’ll be back in between periods to chat about the first.

-Katrina Hancock, WDIV Sports Anchor/Reporter

GAME TWO OF THE STANLEY CUP FINALS!

Well hockey fans, the Red Wings had a great start to the first period, but could not finish with a goal.  Johan Franzen came out of the locker room and had two great looks at the net but did not convert.  Chris Osgood continues to impress me in the fact that he can see and stop point blank shots on net.  It got interesting with 3:52 to go in the first period when Niklas Kronwall was called for a crosscheck and 42 seconds later, Pittsburgh had a goal.  The Penguins put a ton of bodies in front of the net and Evgeni Malkin put the puck past Osgood for his league leading 13th goal of the postseason.  At the end of the period, Pittsburgh out shot Detroit 11-7 and the Penguins lead the game 1-0.  The Red Wings typically do a great job of regrouping for the 2nd period so let’s hope we see more pucks on net and at least one goal in the next period.  Go Wings!

The 2nd period is over and the Red Wings are up 2-1.  Both Kirk Maltby and Dan Cleary took some tough hits in this one and both of them landed flat on their back with no penalty called.  It didn’t matter.  Detroit made up for it with two huge goals.  With 15:39 left in the 2nd, Jonathan Ericsson took a shot from the blue line and it flew right past Marc Andre-Fleury.  That tied the game at 1-1.  Jiri Hudler and Darren Helm assisted on the goal.  Then with 12:06 to go, Ericsson gets physical with Evgeni Malkin and quite possibly could have saved a goal.  11:45 remaining, Detroit gets its first power play opportunity, but did not convert a goal.  With 9:31 left, Valterri Filppula made a beautiful play on a puck that was between Tomas Holmstrom’s legs.  It squirted loose and Filppula just lifted it up and into the net for the 2-1 lead.  Detroit is out shooting Pittsburgh 23-20 and definitely looked more aggressive in this period.  It will be interesting to see how the Penguins respond in the third.  Let’s hope the Wings leave the building tonight up 2-0 in the series, heading to Pittsburgh tomorrow for Tuesday’s game three.  

Be sure to tune in all week long for my reports from Pittsburgh.  Enjoy the game everyone!