Stanley Cup Finals Game 2

Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Detroit wins 3-1 (Detroit leads series 2-0)

After Detroit registered 7 straight shots on goal, the Penguins took over the first period, scoring on the power play via Evgeni Malkin and registering 11 unanswered shots of their own. Then the second period came, and Marian Hossa took over. In his second shift of the game, he and his linemates combined for pure offensive zone domination, which led to an icing by Pittsburgh. Right off the next faceoff, Darren Helm screened Marc-Andre Fleury from a point shot by Ericsson to tie the game 1-1. Then, right as Detroit's first power play died, Marian Hossa threw a puck at the net, which created a lot of bodies flying and crashing in front of Fleury, leading to a ridiculous backhand shot by Filppula that the Pittsburgh goaltender had no chance at with his own defenders flying into him. And Abdelkader, who seems to love scoring against the Penguins, added his second goal of the playoffs and the series early in the third period to seal the win for the Red Wings, even though it was only one of three shots in the period for Detroit. Once again, no Pavel Datsyuk, no problem, as Detroit is winning with great shutdown defense on Crosby and the occassional lucky post.

Detroit is now in a commanding 2-0 lead, and the younger Penguins failed to take advantage of the back to back scheduling by the NHL in the first two games. Based on how well Detroit has played so far in the series, and the fact that Pavel Datsyuk could return for at least one game in Pittsburgh, it's hard to see Crosby, who's been held off the scoresheet up to now, and the Penguins being able to win both at home in games 3 and 4. As a side note, Evgeni Malkin was tagged with an instigator minor and a 10 minute game misconduct at the end of game 2. According to the league's declaration in the beginning of the playoffs, instigating a fight when a game is clearly decided is an automatic penalty. But I'm willing to bet my three Sharks jerseys that the NHL will not suspend Malkin. Partially because he's a superstar, and partially because the league has been way too inconsistent with these suspension calls.