Two Down, Two to Go

(graphic from NHL.com)

Two down, two to go. Here’s Dave Dye, writing in the The Detroit News:

Detroit -- It appears nothing is going to keep the Red Wings from defending their Stanley Cup title.

Not key injuries. Not a quirky schedule with back-to-back games for television. Not Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

The Wings are just two victories away after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, Sunday night in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena.

Detroit heads to Pittsburgh with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Games 3 and 4 are Tuesday and Thursday at Mellon Arena.

Teams that win the first two at home, as the Wings have done, are 31-1 in a best-of-seven in the Stanley Cup Final.

Note that last sentence. Pens fans will say “Yeah? Well, what about that Washington series! We were down 0-2 in that one, ya know.” Good point, I suppose… but the Caps obviously ain’t the Wings, and Yer Man Crosby hasn’t cracked the score sheet in these two games, let alone pulled off a hat-trick. Things are looking pretty grim for the Pens when their superstar can’t get on the big board. One could say the same for Malkin, but Geno did manage to score on the power play tonight… or at least he got credit for the goal. Brad Stuart of the Wings was the guy who actually put the puck in the Detroit net. Stuff happens.

I’m thinking the Pens had their chances tonight and Detroit wasn’t as sharp as they usually are. It’s obvious to me that the Wings are missing Datsyuk and Draper, yet they are deep enough to survive and even thrive in their stars’ absence. The Hockey Gods were obviously smiling on the Wings this evening, who were just good enough. And that’s all that really counts.
On to Pittsburgh.