Well, if Game One is any indication of what we are in store for in this year's Stanley Cup Final, we could be gearing up for a long series.

Similar to the opening game of the Western Conference Finals, an opportunistic Red Wing squad took advantage of fortunate bounces to overcome a solid road performance from their opponent. The opening period, I felt both teams came out flying with the play going back forth and few stoppages in play resulting in a fantastic tempo to start off this championship series. Referees Paul Devorski and Denis LaRue certainly let them play by not calling a penalty during the opening frame.

During the 2nd period, Pittsburgh looked dominant for the duration of the 20 minute session, however Chris Osgood was successful in shutting the door on the Pens. In particular, Osgood robbed Chris Kunitz early during the middle stanza off a Sidney Crosby pass and then stopped an Evgeni Malkin breakaway midway through the 2nd period.

Prior to the end of the period, the Red Wings received their 2nd fortunate bounce resulting in a goal as Johan Franzen banked the puck off the pad of Marc-Andre Fleury to give Detroit a 2-1 lead heading into the final period. Dan Bylsma attempted to rest his players prior to that goal by taking a timeout after his tired players were forced to remain on the ice following an icing call after a long shift.

The Red Wings depth up front once again came to the forefront during the 3rd period as Justin Abdelkader scored his first ever career NHL playoff goal following some nice work by Ville Leino behind the Pens goal. That is the thing about Detroit. Guys like Abdelkader, Leino and Darren Helm aren't your normal, everyday NHL 4th liners. They might play as 4th liners for the Detroit Red Wings. However, on many NHL teams, these three players would garner substantial minutes on a team's 2nd or 3rd line. Helm is playing on the 3rd line right now due to the Pavel Datsyuk injury.

If you are Pittsburgh, you are disappointed with the loss considering the unfortunate bounces which led to Detroit's first two goals. However, the Pens outshot Detroit in Game 1 and for large stretches, especially the 2nd period, Pittsburgh appeared to be taking it to the Red Wings. I believe the quick turnaround should benefit the young Pens as they can avenge the opening game loss, a game that Chris Osgood won for this Red Wing club with his strong play, in particular during the 2nd period when Pittsburgh held the significant edge and territorial advantage.

*************************************************************************

Given the type of game Detroit employs, Pittsburgh cannot afford to win only 16 of 55 face-offs (.291). Henrik Zetterberg (15-5) and Darren Helm (11-4) in particular were very successful for Detroit whereas Sidney Crosby (6-14) and Jordan Staal (6-13) struggled in the playoff dot.

**************************************************************************

For what it is worth, the team that has won Game 1 in the Stanley Cup Finals has won 54 out of 69 times (.783)



mark.spizzirri@hockeybuzz.com