Even series best league could hope for

June 6, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

It’s Saturday and that means the Stanley Cup returns to NBC for a crucial Game Five tonight at 8 ET/5 PT. That’s because the Penguins took care of business winning Games 3-4 unlike last year to draw even in this Finals rematch versus the Red Wings.

Are the defending champs beginning to show leaks? The pressure squarely is now on them to hold serve. Expect leading regular season scorer Pavel Datsyuk to finally return after missing the past eight games with a mysterious foot injury dating back to the WCF. Before Mike Babcock held him out, the Hart candidate only had a goal and six assists for seven points in 13 postseason contests during this run. Can the dymanitive playmaking pivot give the Wings a boost? His coach is hoping that’s the case.

“How does he do when he gets out there?” Babcock wondered yesterday. “He missed a chunk of time. Is he capable of those situations? Is he playing on the wing or is he playing in the middle?

“We’ll see. I don’t know the answer, and I’m being honest.”

As for momentum, it’s all with the Pens, who are hoping to buck the home trend by prevailing in Hockey Town. Thus far, it’s been particularly kind to Detroit, who boasts a playoff best 10-1 home record. Perhaps home cooking is what they need to turn the tide. Especially since Jordan Staal’s shorthanded goal proved huge sparking the Pens to three unanswered goals in a 5:37 span of the second. Will his great individual effort in which he toasted veteran defenseman Brian Rafalski prove to be the turning point? It just might depend on what kind of start the two clubs get off to.

Shots in this series haven’t meant a thing as the team that’s held the edge has lost every single game. Thursday, the Wings outshot the Pens 39-31 peppering Marc-Andre Fleury with 19 in the first. However, they only beat the much sharper netminder once. Some interesting stats headed into tonight depicts how the two goalies have done on home ice in contrast to the road during the rematch.

Fleury in Games 1-2: 0-2 3.08 GAA (6 GA on 56 shots) .893 save percentage

Fleury in Games 3-4: 2-0 2.00 GAA (4 GA on 68 shots) .941 save percentage

Osgood in Games 1-2: 2-0 1.00 GAA (2 GA on 64 shots) .969 save percentage

Osgood in Games 3-4: 0-2 3.53 GAA (7 GA on 51 shots) .863 save percentage

The last time home ice meant so much in relation to the goalie was during the Ducks-Devils 2003 series when losing Conn Smythe Winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Martin Brodeur took turns dominating in their respective buildings. Of course, it helped that their teams played better hockey under familiar settings. So, will this incredible trend continue for the older vet in Ozzie tonight? Only time shall tell.

What is great for the league as well as network broadcast partner NBC is that unlike last year when the Red Wings dominated large portions to go up 3-1 before needing to finish it off in Pitt, the rematch has been more even with each team taking turns controlling play. With it even, this is the best the NHL could’ve hoped for with the potential next three on network TV. Imagine if it goes the distance for a winner take all Game Seven next Friday. That could really benefit NBC thanks to the schedule being lengthened with two-day layoffs between tonight’s game and Game Six and ditto for a seventh game. To quote former ESPN announcer Gary Thorne:

“There’s no better theater than Game 7.“

We got it in 2003 with the Ducks and Devils though the conclusion lacked drama. In 2004, the Flames and Lightning needed a Game 7 as well with Nikolai Khabibulin having to make some unreal stops to allow his team to win Lord Stanley. In 2006, it was the Candy Canes who required a deciding game after blowing a 3-1 lead to the pesky Oilers. They also held on with 22 year-old rookie Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward delivering on the biggest stage. The last two Finals haven’t gone seven with the Ducks overpowering the Sens in five while the Red Wings got it done in six thanks to one final nerve wracking save from Osgood at the buzzer.

Might this star filled rematch require one huge extra game? We can only hope.

Malkin Conn Smythe Leader: As for who wins the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP, at this point, you’d have to give the edge to Evgeni Malkin over teammate Sidney Crosby.

Unlike last year when he disappeared notching just three of his 22 points in the postseason against Detroit, Malkin has been the best player in the series roasting the defending champs for two goals and five assists (2-5-7). Five of those have come in the last two Pens’ victories including a brilliant set up of Crosby’s decider the other night. He also connected on the power play for his 14th this Spring- trailing Sid The Kid by only one in the goal department.

Meanwhile, Geno’s 21 assists pace everyone. In fact, his 35 points are the most in a single  postseason since Wayne Gretzky’s 40 (15-25-40) in 1993 when the Kings lost to the Canadiens in five. Only the Great One and Super Mario have totaled 40-or-more in one playoff year. The 22 year-old Russian also became only the sixth player to reach at least 35 joining an exclusive list that includes Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, former Islander Mike Bossy, Paul Coffey and Doug Gilmour.

Malkin’s gifted teammate Crosby trails by four points with 31 (15-16-31). He finally sprung to life at Mellon Arena producing his best game of the series with a goal and a helper on Tyler Kennedy’s key insurance marker. Prior to the two games in Pittsburgh, he’d been shutout by a stingy Detroit D led by Nick Lidstrom and last year’s Conn Smythe winner Henrik Zetterberg. Crosby has three points in the series.

If Detroit prevails, figure the MVP discussion to range from either Pitt star to leading Wing finisher Johan Franzen (12-10-22), Zetterberg (10-12-22) or Osgood (14-6, 2.10 GAA, .924 Save Pct).

One player not making the cut is Marian Hossa, who’s disappointed with just two assists versus his former club. The potential UFA hasn’t scored a goal despite 17 shots and has just six this playoffs with 14 points. Hardly enough to justify the kind of salary the 30 year-old Slovak will command this summer. Buyer beware.