Well, I would have bet anything that this year's Stanley Cup Finals would have gone at least six games (and maybe I did), but so far the Red Wings have such a dominating 2-0 series lead over the Penguins that it looks like it could be a sweep. Yet the Pens are -120 money line betting favorites for Game 3 at home on WagerWeb.com (over/under: 5).
Have I mentioned that Pittsburgh has yet to score a goal in this series? The Penguins' goal drought extends to 4:03 of the third period in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. They entered the Cup final with a playoff-best 3.64 goals-per-game average.
So far, the Red Wings have frustrated the Penguins not with a neutral zone trap but rather a neutral zone clamp. The Penguins often generate their offensive momentum by using their considerable speed to race through the neutral zone, but the Red Wings' wealth of defensive talent isn't allowing that to happen.
So the Pens will try and dump the puck and chase a bit more.
"I think that will create some offense," Jordan Staal said. "I don't know if that's the only solution, but it's definitely something to think about. If we start doing that, it should open up the neutral zone and we can start using our speed."
Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury hadn't allowed more than nine goals in any of the team's first three playoff series. He has allowed seven through two games against Detroit. All three of Fleury's playoff shutouts have come at Mellon Arena, so maybe that bodes well tonight for the Pens, who are 8-0 in the postseason at home, where they have won 16 in a row. Fluery hasn't lost at home since Nov. 21.One of the subplots tonight may revolve around a borderline cheap-shot hit that the Pens' Gary Roberts took against Detroit's Johan Franzen, who came back Monday after being out for six games with recurring headaches. Roberts said Tuesday that Franzen's fall to the ice after the punch was "obviously embellished."
"I guess you're trying to send a message or whatever. To me, the game's going to be won in between the whistles," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "And you're not going to back us off one inch."
The Wings won't get drawn into something that throws them off their game.
"It's not like we haven't seen that before," Franzen said. "Teams try that all the time, but we've proven that we're more interested in playing hockey than doing that. We're not going to back down. We know what teams want to try and do with us."
Meanwhile, Pens coach Michel Therrien tried sending a message to the refs after Game 2 when he accused the Red Wings of obstruction and called goaltender Chris Osgood a diver.
Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom said his team is not going to change a thing.
"We're back-checking hard, we're going after them with the forwards," Lidstrom said. "(Therrien's comments) are not going to affect the way we play."
Betting trends: Red Wings are 4-1 in their last 5 games as an underdog. . Penguins are 11-2 in their last 13 playoff games as a favorite. . Under is 4-0-1 in Red Wings' last 5 overall. . Under is 6-1 in Penguins last 7 vs. a team with a winning % above .600. . Favorite is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
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