PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu and Maxime Talbot crash to the ice below Detroit's Darren McCarty and Brian Rafalski in the first period during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings Saturday, May 31, at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
Funny guy, that Kris Draper.
Somebody asked the Detroit Red Wings' veteran forward about all those failed Penguins power plays Saturday night (or should we say all those fantastic Detroit penalty kills?), and Draper actually credited goaltender Chris Osgood as being "our best penalty killer."
What game was he watching?
I'd be happy to give Osgood some credit if he actually, you know, did something. But that wasn't a power play he was facing last night.
It was a paltry play.
The Penguins registered just seven shots on their six power-play chances. Their failure to score more than once with the man-advantage -- and not at all with a lengthy two-man advantage -- was the biggest reason behind their 2-1 loss in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final.
"Give them credit," said Penguins winger Marian Hossa, who scored his team's only goal. "But we have to be better."
He could say that again. The Penguins converted on their first power-play chance, 2:51 into the game on Hossa's magnificent individual effort, but spent their next five tries looking progressively feebler.
They hit bottom with 9:50 left, trailing, 2-1, when Detroit defenseman Andreas Lilja went to the box for interference on Sidney Crosby, giving the Penguins a two-man advantage for 1:26.
They did not record a shot.
All that world-class talent, and they did not record a shot.
Of course, there was some world-class talent on the other side, as well. Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom is a one-man penalty snuffer, and Henrik Zetterberg made an outstanding play to tie up Crosby's stick on a rebound.
"We tried to keep it outside and block the shooting lanes," Zetterberg said. "When they got it through, Ozzie made the save."
No, he didn't, because he didn't have to. Evgeni Malkin -- smartly stationed on the right side of the ice, instead of his usual spot on the left point -- had maybe the best chance. He got the puck in the slot and looked toward an open left side but shot several feet wide.
Malkin, still goal-less in the series, sat dejectedly at his locker afterward.
"The guys gave me a good opportunity to shoot that puck," Malkin said through a translator, "and I just missed the net."
Once the 5-on-3 and subsequent few seconds of 5-on-4 time expired, you could feel the entire arena sag.
"I think that was the big break point," Hossa said. "It seems sometimes we are uptight. We just have to relax more and good things will happen."
Penguins' Gary Roberts finds an open seam surrounded by Detroit defenders in the first period during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings Saturday, May 31, at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review
Detroit is the better team at even-strength, making power plays that much more crucial. The Penguins spent too much time on the perimeter and couldn't even gain the offensive zone on a late second-period chance. Twice they were whistled for offside.
It's a shame, really. The Penguins had a golden chance to turn all the pressure on Detroit going into Game 5. Instead, they will be staring into the cold eyes of elimination Monday night in Motown, where an entire city will be decked in red and poised for a celebration.
A good power play could help postpone the party, but the Penguins show little sign of turning it around. Their 1-for-6 performance dropped them to 2 for 17 in the series.
Paltry, indeed.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com.
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