Right now, the stars are aligning for the Penguins

By MICHAEL ROSENBERG
DETROIT FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
http://www.freep.com/section/SPORTS
June 4, 2009

PITTSBURGH — Well, there is no doubt now. For the first time in two years, the Red Wings are facing a postseason opponent that is just as good as they are. These are not the Penguins of last year’s Stanley Cup finals, who were so out of their element, I remember them lining up for face-offs with Sharpies instead of sticks so they could get the Wings’ autographs.

PITTSBURGH - JUNE 04: Sidney Crosby(notes) #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores a goal in the second period against goaltender Chris Osgood(notes) #30 the Detroit Red Wings during Game Four of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals on June 4, 2009 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

These Penguins expect to win the series. You can hear it in their voices and see it in their play. And after their Game 4 dismantling of the Wings — especially in a six-minute stretch in the second period — you can understand why. Nobody in the last two years has made the Wings look so bad at such crucial points in such a crucial game. It was the equivalent of forcing Barack Obama to give an important speech while chewing seven sticks of gum.

Through two periods, the Wings had outshot the Penguins, 28-22, but this was truly a case of shots not telling the whole story. Shots didn’t even tell part of the story. Shots told the story backward, or sideways, or inside out.

The Penguins were the better team, the more disciplined team, the more poised team. They did not have the most shots, but they had the best shots.

In the last two postseasons, the Wings have been almost flawless defensively, to the point where they occasionally sent Chris Osgood off the ice in the middle of a period to get some coffee so he could stay awake.

So it was shocking to see the Wings give up so many great scoring chances. They had back-to-back power plays in the second period, but constantly gave the puck away. This eventually resulted in a shorthanded goal to Jordan Staal, which Nick Lidstrom said changed the momentum of the game. But it wasn’t a lucky-break goal. Thirty-five seconds before Staal scored, Evgeni Malkin had a similar shorthanded chance.

“Our power play sucked the life out of us tonight,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

The quick, skilled Penguins deserve a heap of credit for that. When players who are never out of position suddenly end up in the wrong spot, the other team probably had something to do with it.

“They are so quick going from defense to offense,” Lidstrom said. “They have the speed and they have the players that can make plays. We have to cut down on some of the mistakes we made.”

Said Henrik Zetterberg: “We got caught up (ice) too much. They had some three-on-twos, two-on-ones. You can’t do that against them. They’re too skilled and they will make plays.”

PITTSBURGH - JUNE 04: Evgeni Malkin(notes) #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores against goaltender Chris Osgood(notes) #30 and Jonathan Ericsson(notes) #52 of the Detroit Red Wings in the first period during Game Four of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals on June 4, 2009 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

This is the series everybody expected last year: the upstart, star-laden Penguins against the deep, perennial power Red Wings. The pre-series hype last year was summed up by this quote:

“What else would you like? You get superstars on one or the other side. It’s just excellent for hockey. I know lots of people are happy because it’s going to be one of the best finals in a long time.”

That was Marian Hossa of the Penguins before last year’s finals. He’s a Red Wing now. You might have heard about that.

Hossa’s move to Detroit was supposed to tip the series even more in the Wings’ favor, but he has not been a consistent scoring threat, and Pavel Datsyuk remains out with a foot injury.

Datsyuk has struggled to score in the playoffs, but the Wings could have used his sure hands and smarts on their power play Thursday.

“We have to cut down on those turnovers,” Lidstrom said. “When we can get the puck in deep and we can work their D down low, we’re getting some chances. But when we turn the puck over in the neutral zone, they’re going quick the other way, and that’s where we’re hurting ourselves.”

This series is going quick the other way, too.

Contact MICHAEL ROSENBERG: 313-222-6052 or mrosenberg@freepress.com. For information on his new book, “War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler and America in a Time of Unrest,” go to www.michael-rosenberg.com or www.amazon.com.