Penguins Get Their First Win

PHOTO CREDIT: JULIAN H. GONZALEZ, DETROIT FREE PRESS

by Andrew Bogusch

PENGUINS 4 – RED WINGS 2

DET leads series, 2-1

The Stanley Cup Finals will see the weekend. Back at home, Pittsburgh finally overcame Chris Osgood and the Red Wings Tuesday night, which means no sweep and at least one more game in Detroit.

Sergei Gonchar broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal at 10:29 of the third period and Maxime Talbot scored into an empty-net with 56 seconds to go to seal the victory. Game 4 is Thursday night in the Igloo.

Game 3 featured long stretches of whistle-free play with both sides creating scoring chances. Most of the opportunities, though, went to the Red Wings, who outshot the Pens, 26-11, through the first two periods.

“We talked after the second period,” said Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma. “We didn’t have a very good second period. We needed to calm down and get back to our game.”

That eventually led to Gonchar’s slapshot from the top of the slot that beat Osgood over his left shoulder. The puck may have deflected off a Detroit defender.

“[That] power play was an unbelievable job by a handful guys out there, keeping the puck alive and giving Gonch a chance,” Bylsma said.

Talbot’s center ice wristshot just as Osgood reached the bench for an extra skater prevented any last second comeback from the Wings. Talbot started the scoring as well, one-timing a pass from Malkin from the slot 4:48 after the opening faceoff.

Detroit responded with tallies from Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen (PP) at 6:19 and 11:33, respectively, of the first period. Zetterberg was free to pounce on a rebound near the right post because Sidney Crosby left him alone to follow the puck behind the net. Franzen now has 12 goals this postseason and 25 in the last two.

Marc-Andre Fleury avoided the cheap and/or fluky goals that plagued him in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, stopping 27 of 29 Red Wing shots. Osgood made 17 saves on 20 shots.

Odds & Ends…Crosby picked up his first point of the series by assisting on Gonchar’s goal…Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper missed another game for Detroit…The Red Wings are 11-for-35 on the power play on the road in these playoffs.

Here We Go Again

photo credit: Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

by Andrew Bogusch

It may not be the Lebron-Kobe final the NBA and its fans have been pining for all spring, but Red Wings and Penguins for the Stanley Cup is as good as it gets for the NHL.

The first Finals rematch in 25 years features the best organization in sports against the face of the game and his trusty Russian sidekick. Forget trying to maintain the solid ratings on NBC and Versus, the League was correct to move up Game 1 from next Friday to this Saturday because we simply should not have to wait to see Lidstrom and Datsyuk faceoff with Crosby and Malkin.

“To have the opportunity against Pittsburgh should be a lot of fun. There will be a lot of hype,” said Wings coach Mike Babcock in one of the biggest understatements in recent memory.

Between Crosby, Malkin, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa, there will be a Top 15 player on the ice at almost all times. The goaltender battle pits the age-defying Chris Osgood against the spindly, goofy-smiled Marc-Andre Fleury. Behind the bench, Mike Babcock puts his championship resume up against Dan Bylsma, who was toiling in the AHL just a few months ago.

There will certainly be a lot of hype, and it will all be deserved. The recently retired Bobby Holik told NHL Radio’s NHL Live this week that winning consecutive conference titles is more impressive than winning one Stanley Cup…and we have two teams here that have accomplished that.

The Red Wings and Penguins played an exhilarating six-game final last spring and they have dominated in different ways so far this spring. Detroit dispatched the upstart Blackhawks with a surgeon’s precision despite the absences of Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Kris Draper, Tomas Kopecky, Andreas Lilja and Jonathan Ericsson. Zetterberg stepped up one night, Hossa another, and Darren Helm Wednesday night, scoring the overtime clincher against Chicago.

This display of organizational depth is the latest example of how much better the Detroit front office is than the rest of the NHL. Read Michael Farber’s piece in the latest Sports Illustrated if you don’t believe the Red Wings are the best franchise in any sport in the last 20 years.

Crosby and Malkin have been the lead story in Pittsburgh, registering 28 points apiece. They are each other’s only competition for the postseason scoring title. In the Pens’ four-game destruction of the Hurricanes, Sid the Kid scored twice and had five assists, while Geno added six tallies and three helpers. Crosby’s Game 7 effort against the Capitals and Malkin’s virtuoso performance against Carolina in Game 2 are the two best individual efforts of these playoffs.

Duplicating either will be difficult against Detroit. Lidstrom will have them in his crosshairs after neutralizing Chicago’s Patrick Kane (before suffering a lower-body injury). And if Datsyuk is healthy, Babcock can play the matchup game against Crosby AND Malkin, which few other teams could do.

No other teams could give us what we’re about to see over the next two weeks.

As always, any complaints, suggestions, questions go to boguschhockey@gmail.com

Red Wings are Back in Stanley Cup Finals

photo credit: Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press

(2) RED WINGS 2 – (4) BLACKHAWKS 1 O-T

DET wins series, 4-1

The Red Wings’ playoff tutorial of the young Blackhawks ended Wednesday night at Joe Louis Arena with another impressive performance from the Stanley Cup champions.

Detroit was once again shorthanded, and once again saw someone step into the spotlight. Darren Helm scored 3:58 into overtime to send the Wings to the championship series, where they will meet the Penguins for the second straight spring. The NHL’s last Finals rematch was 25 years ago between the Oilers and Islanders.

“To have the opportunity against Pittsburgh should be a lot of fun,” said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. “There will be a lot of hype.”

The NHL and NBC do not want that hype to dissipate, so Game 1 of the Finals will be Saturday night in Motown. The series was to start next Friday.

Helm put the Wings alongside the Pens with his left foot, which the puck bounced in off of after alluding Helm’s stick. Tomas Holmstrom had jammed the puck through Cristobal Huet to set up the scoring opportunity.

The result spoiled Huet’s effort. He made 44 saves, including 21 in the opening period, in his second straight start with Nikolai Khabibulin dealing with a lower-body injury. “He is to be commended, the game he played to keep us in it,” Chicago coach Joe Quenneville said of Huet.

“We squeaked one past him,” offered Helm about the game-winner.

Dan Cleary started the scoring with his eighth goal of the playoffs 6:08 into the third period. Patrick Kane got the Blackhawks even with a gorgeous top-shelf backhand as he drove the right wing. Detroit nearly won the game in regulation when Johan Franzen found the puck at the side of the net with Huet down on his stomach. But Huet miraculously threw up his right pad to deny Franzen.

The Red Wings are the first defending champ in eight years to return to the Finals. They are the last franchise to claim back-to-back titles, doing so in 1997 and ’98.

“It’s a unique situation, definitely this doesn’t happen too often,” said Marian Hossa.

Odds & Ends...Martin Havlat sat out for Chicago. Jonathan Ericsson and Kris Draper joined Lidstrom and Datsyuk on the Detroit sidelines. Ericcson underwent emergency surgery in the afternoon for appendicitis. He is supposed to be ready for Game 1 with the Penguins...This will be the 10^th time teams have met in consecutive Finals, including Detroit and Montreal, who met in 1954, ’55, and ’56.

Wings Ground Hawks for 3-1 Lead

photo: Tom Cruze, Chicao Sun-Times

(2) RED WINGS 6 – (4) BLACKHAWKS 1

DET leads series, 3-1

The Detroit Red Wings are firmly back in control of the Western Conference finals after this blowout of the Blackhawks in the United Center on NBC Sunday afternoon. Without Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg put the defending champions one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Motown, where the Red Wings won twice to begin this series. And the way the young Blackhawks handled themselves in Game 4, the chances of another game in Chicago seem bleak.

Chicago took 16 penalties, including three misconducts, for a grand total of 56 penalty minutes. Their early angst was a misguided pursuit of revenge for Niklas Kronwall’s (clean) hit on Martin Havlat Friday night. Once they were behind, the Blackhawks continued their minor goonery and prevented any comeback.

“We tried to keep our poise. We knew they were coming,” Zetterberg said of the inexperienced Hawks. Keeping their pose meant scoring three power play goals to blow this game open.

The scoring started, though, during a Chicago man-advantage midway through the opening period. That’s when Marian Hossa scored to kickstart the depleted Wings.

After Johan Franzen scored late in the first period for a 2-0 lead, Hossa set up Valtteri Filppula for a power play goal and then scored at even strength (with a Jonathan Toews PP goal in between) to put Detroit ahead, 4-1, in the first 4:05 of the second.

Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville pulled Cristobal Huet, playing for an injured Nikolai Khabibulin, at that point and replaced him with rookie Corey Crawford. He allowed Zetterberg’s power play tally at 7:42 of the second. Huet returned for the third and allowed the final Wing goal of the day, another power play goal from Zetterberg.

Hossa ended up with two goals, an assist, and a +2 rating. It was his seventh career multi-goal effort in the postseason.

“I thought [Hossa] was awesome today,” said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. “He played big, was physical, took the puck to the net.”

Only 21 of 231 (9.1%) teams to fall behind three-games-to-one have recovered to win the series. The Blackhawk franchise is not represented in that 21.

“We’ve got more in the tank,” warned Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook. “We’ve got to have a better performance from all 20 guys. That’s the bottom line.”

Odds & Ends…Lidstom and Khabibulin did not play because of lower-body injuries. Datsyuk missed his second straight game because of a sore foot…This was Detroit’s third game of at least six goals this postseason. All three have come on the road.

"Dropping the Gloves" with Andrew Bogusch

photo credit: Harry How, Getty Images

EMBARRASSMENT IN THE DESERT

It’s rare that the sporting public fails to mock the NHL for its latest issue, but the League is getting a pass (for the moment) on one of its worst black eyes in recent memory.

Lawyers met in a Phoenix bankruptcy court Tuesday in the first of many hearings about the Coyotes’ muddled future. And they did so in relative obscurity thanks to the conference finals, the NBA playoffs, the early weeks of the baseball season and the occasional NFL nugget.

Judge Redfield Baum ordered the League and team owner Jerry Moyes into mediation to determine who controls the insolvent franchise. A status hearing has been set for next Thursday. There is also a June 22^nd court date, at which time Baum will hear arguments about the validity of Jim Balsillie’s offer to buy the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ontario.

Could this happen to another major professional league?

No, of course not. And while Moyes and Balsillie are certainly the baddest guys in this drama, the NHL is guilty for letting the situation degenerate to this point.

Yes, the League has apparently been in control of the organization since November, but why was Moyes allowed to own the Coyotes in the first place? He was over-leveraged BEFORE putting hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money into the franchise. His early expenditures drew the attention of the Securities and Exchange Committee because he was using borrowed money.

Where were the red flags then, five to six years ago? As the Coyotes continued to bleed money, why not reach out to Jerry Reinsdorf then?

Because the NHL simply cannot admit the majority of expansion into warm-weather cities did not work. The game had to be played in the desert, even if created the possibility of boardroom shenanigans like this.

When the Montreal Expos were on life support, Major League Baseball took firm control of the organization to prevent any real embarrassment. The on-field product struggled mightily, but the team quickly found a new place in Washington, D.C. and now plays in a brand new ballpark. MLB did not allow an outsider to swoop in to steal the franchise. And it didn’t cling to the idea that baseball had to exist in Montreal.

But the worst part of the Coyote predicament is something few are discussing. The NHL does not want a team in Hamilton because it would mean more dollars leaving owners’ pockets.

A club in Copps Coliseum would be exponentially more popular than the Coyotes. That would mean more revenue, which would mean an increase to the salary cap and floor, which would mean a greater expenditure for owners.

Gary Bettman can say Copps Coliseum isn’t ready to house an NHL team, and that may be true today. But it’s a dilemma with an answer -- they have engineers and construction workers in Ontario and Balsillie has the cash to fund renovations.

It is an almost criminal stance to take as hockey’s caretaker.

The commissioner can keep Balsillie out of the owners’ club for now for (once again) messing up the application process, but he should not forever ignore Balsillie’s love for the game and his deep pockets, both of which the game could use.

Make him crawl from Phoenix to league headquarters to apologize. Make him use an iPhone for six months. Then let him put his new team in Hamilton and let the game be played in a hockey town.

CHI - DET Game 2 Recap

photo credit: Julian H. Gonzalez, Detroit Free Press

(2) RED WINGS 3 – (4) BLACKHAWKS 2 OT

DET leads series, 2-0

by Andrew Bogusch

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals was much more competitive than Sunday afternoon’s opener, but the end result was the same – the veteran Red Wings dismissing the young Blackhawks.

Mikael Samuelsson scored 5:14 into overtime on a perfectly executed 3-on-1 rush to give Detroit a two-games-to-none lead as the series shifts to Chicago for Game 3 Friday night. Chris Osgood outdueled Nikolai Khabibulin with 37 saves, including one on Cam Barker seconds before Samuelsson’s game-winner.

This was a game that Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock feels lucky to have won: “I don’t think we had any legs or any pop whatsoever. I thought we had good will and good determination, but no legs.”

This was Detroit’s fourth game in a week. It was Chicago’s best effort of the series, which is why Joel Quenneville called it a brutal loss.

“We want to beat them one game, the next one, and that’s our concern,” he said postgame. “We should be excited about being back in the United Center to recapture some excitement and enthusiasm.”

After Barker’s wristshot and the ensuing scramble in front of Osgood, the puck wound up with Brian Campbell at the right point. Samuelsson put his stick in the way of Campbell’s cross-ice pass and then sent Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula up the ice. Hudler carried the puck across the Chicago blueline and then fed Filppula coming down the right side. He delayed slightly before leaving the puck for Samuelsson to one-time it past a helpless Khabibulin.

Brian Rafalski and Dan Cleary beat Khabibulin in regulation. The goals came between tallies from Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks led 1-0 for the second straight game after Toews’ passed deflected in off a Red Wing skate at 12:49 of the opening period. Four minutes later, Rafalski scored on the man-advantage to even the score.

Cleary scored for the second straight game on an unassisted breakaway late in the second period, only to see Toews set-up overtime at 12:20 of the final period.

The Red Wings kept Patrick Kane off the score sheet again, but like Toews, Kane was much more effective Tuesday night. Chicago needs more, though, from its young guns to prevent a short series. Yes, Detroit has only retained home court advantage, but Chicago now has almost no margin for error in this two-game hole.

Odds & Ends…The Red Wings have allowed a power play goal in a franchise-record 11 straight games. It is the longest such streak in the NHL since Chicago in 1989…Detroit is 7-1 at Joe Louis Arena in these playoffs, with that only loss coming in triple overtime.

Ducks-Red Wings Game 7 Recap

#2 DETROIT RED WINGS (4-3) over the #8 ANAHEIM DUCKS (3-4) 4-3

Dan Cleary scores the game winning goal to send Detroit back to the Western Conference Finals

(Photo Credit: AP)

by Andrew Bogusch

In a series long on star power, grizzled veteran Dan Cleary scored the series-clinching goal for the Red Wings in Game 7. Cleary forced the puck through Jonas Hiller with three minutes left in the game to send Detroit to its third straight Western Conference finals and end a fitting series between the last two Stanley Cup winners. Five of the seven contests were one-goal games, including that triple-overtime affair in Game 2 and culminating with Thursday’s drama at Joe Louis Arena. “It was the best series I’ve ever been in,” Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said.

This is the farthest a defending champion has gone in its title defense since the Avalanche reached the final four as well in 2002. The Red Wings will face the Blackhawks next in their first postseason meeting in 14 years. “Most teams that have won the Stanley Cup don’t even get here,” Babcock said. “For us to be in this position is a real positive, but we have a hungry Chicago team waiting for us.”

A hungry Anaheim team almost stole Game 7 in enemy territory, rallying from a 3-1 deficit late in the second period. Corey Perry’s power-play marker with 2:50 left in the middle frame started the comeback. Bobby Ryan completed it at 7:37 of the third off a pretty feed from Perry. But the next goal came off a Red Wing stick. Henrik Zetterberg flipped the pick on net from the right wing corner, and it appeared Jonas Hiller would make the save. But Cleary was able to force the puck from under Hiller’s pad into the net for the game-winner. Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle thought there should have been a whistle, but kept himself in check with reporters after the game.

Jiri Hudler (PP), Darren Helm and Mikael Samuelsson helped the Red Wings build their 3-1 lead. Teemu Selanne scored the first Anaheim goal by tucking a loose puck around the left post at 14:50 of the second. He and the Ducks had an early chance for momentum, but they failed to score on a 70-second 5-on-3 power play in the opening minutes of the game.

The Red Wings are now 3-2 all-time in playoff meetings with Anaheim. This will be their eighth trip to the conference finals in 14 years.

Game 1 with Chicago is Sunday afternoon on NBC.

PENGUINS-CAPITALS GAME 7 RECAP

#4 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (4-3) over the #2 WASHINGTON CAPITALS (3-4) 6-2

CAPSIZED!! Capitals Lay An Egg In Game 7

Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby meet for the traditional post-series handshake (Lets hope this is one of many to come)

(Photo Credit: AP)

by Chris Carrano

Game 7. Those two words can either inspire a team to soar to great heights, or instill enough fear to tuck their tales between their legs. One and done. Leave it all out there. Winner take all. It is one of the most exciting events in all of sports. Unless you’re a Washington Capital fan, Game 7’s are a dreadful experience. In a series that featured six classic games, five one-goal wins, three NHL superstars and two overtimes, one would think that this Game 7 had all the makings of an instant classic. Instead the Pittsburgh Penguins came into our nation’s capital and steamrolled the Washington Capitals, leaving with a 6-2 victory, and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Pittsburgh took a commanding 4-0 lead after just twenty-two minutes of hockey. Sidney Crosby started the scoring fest at 12:36 with a tap-in goal after Washington goalie Simeon Varlamov initially saved, but failed to cover Sergei Gonchar’s laser blast from the center of the blue line. It didn’t take long for Gonchar, who was injured after a knee-to-knee collision with Alexander Ovechkin in Game 4, to make his presence felt. Eight seconds later, before the PA announcer ever managed to announce the first goal, Craig Adams took a pass from Maxime Talbot and beat Capitals defenseman John Erskine one on one to put the Penguins up 2-0 for a lead they would never relinquish.

Bill Guerin and Kris Letang scored twice in a one minute and forty-five second span to force Washington coach Bruce Boudreau to pull Varlamov in favor of veteran Jose Theodore, who Varlamov replaced in Game 2 of the first round. Guerin ripped a blast from 45 feet away just 28 seconds into the period and Letang’s shot went in short side high at 2:13. “After the third goal . . . he looked really dejected," Washington Coach Brice Boudreau said. "And then after the fourth goal, I think the wind completely came out of his sails emotionally. He's done so much. . . . It just poured out of him. I wish I had maybe [made a change] one goal sooner."

Ovechkin put Washington on the board at 18:09 after Penguins goalie Marc Andre Fleury left his net to play the puck behind him. Ovechkin was right on his tail and when Fleury tried to play the puck along the boards, Ovechkin intercepted and scored into the empty net. There was no lavish celebrating for Ovechkin however, as his team was out of the game at that point.

Twenty-six seconds in to the final period, Washington defenseman Brooks Laich received a double minor for slashing Sidney Crosby. During the penalty kill, Ovechkin skated with the puck into the offensive zone and turned it over to Crosby as he was trying to generate a short-handed scoring chance. Crosby broke away and took the puck down the ice and easily beat Theodore for his second goal of the game and his twelfth of the playoffs. Brooks Laich also scored in garbage time to cut the Penguins lead to 6-2.

Early on in the game, Marc Andre Fleury made a spectacular save against Alexander Ovechkin. It came when Ovechkin had a breakaway chance, and Fleury stretched upward to glove it, much to the dismay of the Washington crowd. Had that gone in, Washington would have an early 1-0 lead and could’ve changed the whole dynamic of the game. That save, Crosby said, sent a message to the entire Pittsburgh team. "You dodge a bullet and it allows you to calm down a little bit," Crosby said. "Marc did an awesome job. He stood tall and was huge for us."

Instead of rocking the red tonight, it was the red that got rocked. Washington could not exorcise their playoff demons and their post-season woes against the Pittsburgh Penguins continue. The Washington fans gave their Capitals a rousing ovation as the final seconds ticked away on a very disappointing end to their season. "It was definitely anticlimactic," Boudreau said of Game 7. "It certainly wasn't the way I would have envisioned it. Whether we won or lost, I never would have thought that we would have ended up in a game like it was tonight."

Said Washington forward Tomas Fleischmann, "When it was 4-0, I just felt like I wanted to put a towel over my head and leave. We were just shocked at what happened."

With this victory, the Penguins march on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. They await either the Boston Bruins or Carolina Hurricanes, who play a decisive Game 7 tomorrow night in Boston. Pittsburgh, who back in February fired coach Michel Therrien in favor of Dan Bylsma, did not look like a playoff bound team for a good portion of the season, but they turned that around down the stretch. Now, the Penguins will either travel to Boston or return home to play Carolina to open up the conference finals.

Hard Hits…With all the hype surrounding this series, no one expected to see a Game 7 like that yesterday. It was the Pittsburgh Penguins skating against actual penguins from the National Zoo. The Capitals looked deflated and after those two goals in eight seconds, they lost their will to fight. They had only five shots in the first period compared to the Penguins 16. Simeon Varlamov, who with the exception of last night, has been outstanding in the playoffs, but he cannot be the only player on the ice. What happened to Ovechkin? What happened to Semin, Federov and Green? If Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin cancel each other out, then what you’re left with is the rest of your team, and the Penguins got the goals and the big plays from the rest of their team…Washington has now dropped to 2-6 in Game 7’s…This is also the third time that Washington has lost a playoff series to Pittsburgh after leading two games to none…The two goals in eight seconds scored by Pittsburgh was the fastest ever for a Game 7…The Penguins outscored the Capitals 27-21 in this series and outshot them 256-180.


Title Fight: Crosby vs. Ovechkin
Round 7
Crosby- 2 Goals, 1 Assist, +1, 3 Shots on Goal, 0 Hits, 18:59 Time on Ice

Ovechkin- 1 Goals, 0 Assists, -1, 3 Shots on Goal, 5 Hits, 22:29 Time on Ice

Result: In the final round it was all Sidney Crosby as he led his Penguins to victory by scoring his team’s first and last goal. This round didn’t go the full three minutes as Crosby landed the TKO punch when he stole the puck from Ovechkin and scored an easy breakaway goal. Although the fight was even through all seven rounds, Crosby comes out on top.

Final Fight- Crosby 8G, 5A, 13pts, Ovechkin 8G, 6A, 14pts.