Finally, hockey has come to the blog

This entry is solely to piss Vince off. Vince hates hockey. I love hockey. Deal with it.

So the Red Wings have taken a 2-0 lead on the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals for the 2nd straight year. As a Penguins fan, it sucks. Now as a hockey fan, this has been a great series so far. Even though the Red Wings have outscored Pittsburgh 6-2, there has been some extremely competative hockey. The final scores of 3-1 a piece don't reflect the passion, intensity, and drive that has defined this series.

Even though I obviously have a bias, the Penguins have simply had some bad bounces during this series. In game 1 Marc Andre Fleury scored two of three goals for the Wings, even though the Penguins outshot and outchanced the Red Wings, but could not put a puck in the net. Game 2, same story. Fleury didn't score any goals, but he gave up a soft goal in the 3rd period to Justin Abdelkader, who had a one-on-three in the Penguin defensive zone. During the game the Pens hit so many posts the bars hurt.

This isn't to take away from what the Red Wings have done. Detroit has been the same team they were last year, experienced, calm, skilled, and just all around great in every aspect of the game. More than that, everyone talked before the series about the old guys for Detriot. But this team has been drive by young guys like Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, and Jonathan Ericcson (who had his appendix removed only a few days ago, talk about tough).

So now we move to game 3, back to Pittsburgh. Last year, game 3 gave Pittsburgh a little bit of life, a very little bit. A 3-2 victory brought the series closer at 2-1, but with such a young team, the series was already over at that point. This year it is a little different. The Penguins have shown they can come back from a 2-0 deficit, just ask Alexander Ovechkin when you see him on the golf course next week. But without question, the Pens face an uphill battle while coming home.

Pittsburgh faces a must win in game 3 against the Wings. At times they have played well enough to win. The key will be to get the puck in the net. Period. After game 1, it was the power play, and faceoffs. In game 2 the Pens won more faceoffs with the help of a dominant Sidney Crosby in the dot, and Pittsburgh went one-for-one on the powerplay. Now after game 2, the thought process is simply put the puck in the net.

Personally, I think the Pens are doing a lot of good. They're getting pucks deep, controlling in the offensive zone (not as much as they should, but it's still Detroit), and getting plenty of chances to score. The only thing I would suggest is for Pittsburgh to use their defensemen more. With a goalie like Chris Osgood, it's been shown you cannot beat him on the first shot. You beat Chris Osgood on the second and third shots. Detroit drops all five down in the zone against the three Pittsburgh forwards.

My suggestion, use the defensemen to get the puck to the net. When Detroit drops, it turns into a three-on-five. But if the puck goes out to the D, it's a 2-0 with the D having plenty of time. You have to use your defense as goal scorers, especially a guy like Sergei Gonchar. Once the puck goes up top, forwards...CRASH THE NET. If Osgood can't control the rebound, get a stick on it and put it toward the net again. If nothing else, it's something Osgood has to worry about, and the more stress you can put on him, the better.

The Pens still definitely have a chance in this series, a much better chance than last year at this time. But beating Detriot four times in the next four or five games is no easy task.

I'll be back Tuesday night after game 3 for more analysis. And more to annoy Vince. Until then keep your head up because out on the ice, it's hit or be hit.