Red Wings take commanding 2-0 series lead

From all early signs, it looks as if the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals could be an eerie repeat of the matchup fans got to see last season. In both series, a young and fired-up Pittsburgh squad came into to Detroit, only to be blanketed by the play of one of the most mechanically sound franchises in all of sports. The Red Wings have now played back to back games where their defense has been top notch and, despite the noticeable absence of contributions from their star players, have gotten all the scoring they have needed from one of the deepest rosters in the NHL.

In Game 1, it was a couple of lucky bounces early that doomed the Penguins. In Game 2, it was Pittsburgh that got the early lucky break. On a powerplay late in the first period, Evgeni Malkin took a shot from the point that rebounded out of a scrum in front of the net and back to his stick. Malkin flipped the puck back on net, only to watch it get knocked in by Detroit’s own Brad Stuart (who, interestingly enough, scored his Game 1 goal off a lucky bounce off the end boards). That was ll the luck that Pittsburgh would get however, as it was all Detroit down the stretch.

In the second, Malkin was tied up trying to get out to the point and cover a slap shot off a faceoff in the Pittsburgh zone. Jonathan Ericsson took advantage of the extra time and wired a slap shot through a screen and past Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game at 1-1. A few minutes later, Valtteri Filppula somehow managed to corral a rebound along the goal line and roofed a backhand in off the far post, putting Detroit ahead for good.

Pittsburgh still had a period and a half to even the score, but another timely goal from Justin Abdelkader crushed any hope the Pens had to get back in this one. Abdelkader, who registered his first career playoff goal and point in Game 1 last night, was merely trying to kill some time and give his teammates time to complete a line change, when he threw a puck on net from just inside the blue line. Somehow it floated through Fleury, and just like that, Game 2 was basically over.

The Penguins will have to hope that they can be just as dominant when they return to Mellon Arena as Detroit was while playing in the friendly confines of Joe Louis Arena. In order to have any chance at salvaging this series, the Penguins will need to have this series even at 2-2 by the time they make their next trip to Joe Louis Arena, which would be in Game 5, if necessary.