Admittedly I haven’t watched a minute of this series yet - though that may change Saturday.  As intriguing as the series is from a hockey perspective there isn’t really a black hat for me to root against (unlike some Devils fans I have no real beef with Pittsburgh or Detroit), or a Cinderella to root for.  Plus my baseball team’s a better soap opera than anything that’s on during the day, so I’ve been preoccupied with the Met saga - but I digress since this is after all, a hockey blog.

Of course I didn’t really miss much the first two games, except a whole lot of Detroit dominance.  They won Game 1 4-0 helped out by two unassisted goals from Mikael Samuelsson, a shorthanded tally from Daniel Cleary to put the game out of reach with less than three minutes left and Chris Osgood’s 19 saves, good enough to shut out the high-powered Penguin offense.

After putting away Game 1 with a fast finish, the Wings used a quick start in Game 2 to get another leg up on a Penguin team finally facing its first real adversity of the playoffs.  Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom scored first-period goals, again giving a dominant Detroit defense more than enough breathing room.  For the second straight game Crosby, Malkin and company were held off the scoresheet.  This time Osgood made 22 saves as the Wings took Game 2 3-0.

Back at the Igloo for the first Stanley Cup Finals game there since 1992, the Penguins rode the momentum of a raucous crowd to a Game 3 win.  Sidney Crosby finally displayed his skills on a national stage by getting the first two goals, though it was Adam Hall’s third-period tally that proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 Pittsburgh victory.  Pittsburgh’s defense held on for dear life in the third period, as Samuelsson scored his third of the series to cut a two-goal deficit in half, and then the Penguins had to kill off a late power play to sew up their first win of the Finals.

So the NHL’s getting what it wants - at least for now.  A Game 4 in a loud hockey arena with the series somewhat in doubt again, on Saturday night so Canadien television gets to broadcast another Hockey Night in Canada show and NBC gets a weekend night audience in two hockey markets.  Hopefully the action resembles Game 3 more than the first two games. 

Ending on a sad note: Everyone who’s a hockey fan was stunned by the sudden passing of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon at the age of 21 in a motorcycle accident.  There will be a moment of silence before Game 4 on Saturday, and Battle of NY passes on its condoldences to the Bourdon family and the Vancouver Canucks.