Aftermath: Red Wings 3, Penguins 0
Sunday, 02.08.2009 / 3:58 PM
/ Features
By Sam Kasan
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 Recap (AP) | Photo Gallery |  Game Highlights Coach Therrien | Marc-Andre Fleury | Sidney Crosby | Kris Letang | Matt Cooke Pre-Game Show | Crash The Net | Penguins Hotline | Soundbytes |
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QUICK ANALYSIS
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| The Penguins knew that it would take a nearly flawless performance to beat the Red Wings. For two-plus periods, Pittsburgh was in a tight battle and matched Detroit’s level of play. However, the Wings slowly pulled away in the third period thanks to great individual efforts from Marian Hossa and Pavel Datsyuk. Pittsburgh gave an impressive effort and played an intense and disciplined game but came up short. The Penguins are still in good shape with 2-1-0 mark on their current four-game home stand, which concludes with a showdown against San Jose on Wednesday. Pittsburgh will have Monday off to rest and recuperate. They’ll regroup and return to the ice on Tuesday in preparation for a matchup against arguably the best team in the National Hockey League. |
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| WHAT HAPPENED |
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| (AP) - Marian Hossa reminded the Pittsburgh Penguins of how good he was during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Ty Conklin reminded them of how good he was last season. Pavel Datsyuk scored twice, Hossa got the pivotal second goal midway through the third period and Conklin shut out his former Penguins teammates, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-0 victory Sunday in their first visit to Pittsburgh since winning the Stanley Cup there in June. Datsyuk scored on a power play midway through the second period after the Penguins squandered three opportunities with the man advantage in the first. Conklin didn't need much help after that, turning aside all 25 Pittsburgh shots. |
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| SHOT OF THE NIGHT | |
 Henrik Zetterberg and Sidney Crosby fight for a puck (photo by Getty) |
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| ESSENTIALS | |
| What worked: Intensity The Penguins may have fallen short in the game, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort. Pittsburgh went full throttle from start to finish. They hustled, played physical, matched Detroit’s intensity and controlled the play at times. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, it couldn’t solve the Red Wings Ty Conklin. It was one of those days where the puck just wasn’t going in for the Penguins. What didn’t work: Puck Control The Red Wings put on a puck control and possession time clinic. Detroit used crisp passes and perfect execution of its system to stay one-step ahead of the Penguins throughout the game. Detroit was especially effective in the third period when they played “keep away” and limited the Penguins’ chances. |
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DIFFERENCE MAKER
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| Pavel Datsyuk scored two goals against the Penguins, including the game-winning score. He put Detroit ahead for good in the second period when he buried a rebound for a power-play goal. He made a great individual play with a little over two minutes left in the game to seal Detroit’s victory. He sped around Kris Letang to get off a shot. Datsyuk deposited his own rebound into the goal to clinch to win. | |
| SCORING SYNOPSIS |
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| The Red Wings struck first in the game with a power-play goal halfway through the second period. Henrik Zetterberg had the puck along the near half wall. Hal Gill stepped out to challenge him. Forward Darren Helm charged to the crease and Mark Eaton rotated over to pick him up. Zetterbeg put a shot on net that Marc-Andre Fleury kicked aside. Unfortunately, the puck ended up in Eaton’s vacated position and on the stick of Pavel Datsyuk, who buried his 21st goal of the season. Detroit 1, Pittsburgh 0. Marian Hossa, booed throughout the game by the Mellon Arena faithful, upped the Red Wings’ advantage. In a great individual effort, Hossa gained the Penguins blue line, pulled up and circled into the high slot. He then whipped a backhander past Fleury. Detroit 2, Pittsburgh 0. Datsyuk sealed the victory for Detroit with his second goal of the game. He used his speed to get around Kris Letang down the near side and got a shot on goal. Fleury kicked the puck out. Datsyuk re-collected the puck, made a move through Letang and sneaked a shot through Fleury’s five-hole. Detroit 3, Pittsburgh 0. |
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| INTRIGUING NOTABLES |
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| Sidney Crosby had some skirmishes with a few Detroit players in the game. Crosby played one of the most physical games of the season, taking the body regularly and trying to spark his teammates. Crosby and Mikael Samuelsson exchanged pleasantries in the first period and received matching penalties. The Penguins captain also jousted with Red Wings tough guy Kirk Maltby. | |
| GAME NOTES | |
| > Pittsburgh dropped to 26-24-5 on the year, with a 14-11-2 mark at Mellon Arena. > DET, P.Datsyuk PP (21), 10:08 2nd period: Red Wings 1, Penguins 0. DET, M.Hossa (30), 11:09 3rd period: Red Wings 2, Penguins 0. DET, P.Datsyuk (22), 17:48 3rd period: Red Wings 3, Penguins 0. > Evgeni Malkin was scoreless against Detroit but still leads the NHL in points with 80 (24G-56A). Malkin’s 56 assists are a league best. In his last 15 games, Malkin has collected nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points. > Malkin had his seven-game scoring streak snapped against the Red Wings. He tallied six goals and five assists for 11 points in that stretch. Malkin still has notched a point in 11 of his last 13 games. > Sidney Crosby was held off the scoresheet against Detroit. He is still second in the league in scoring with 72 points (21G-51A) and his 51 assists are second most in the league behind teammate Malkin’s 56. Crosby has at least one point in 11 of his last 14 games, posting six goals and 16 assists for 22 points in that span. > The Penguins have the top two scorers in the NHL in Malkin (24+56=80) and Crosby (21+51=72). The last time Pittsburgh had the top two scorers in the league was the 1995-96 season when Mario Lemieux (first) and Jaromir Jagr (second) topped the NHL. The team also had that distinction when Lemieux (first) and Kevin Stevens (second) did it in 1991-92. > Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves in the losing effort to Detroit. > Petr Sykora didn’t score against Detroit but still has eight points (5G-3A) in his last nine games. > Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney was in attendance for the game. He took in the game from Mario Lemieux’s box and was given a thunderous ovation from the crowd. > Mellon Arena sold out for the 94th straight game with a standing room only attendance of 17,132. |
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| THREE STARS | QUOTE OF THE NIGHT |
| 1. P.Datsyuk, DET 2. M.Hossa, DET 3. T.Conklin, DET |
They manage the puck really well, they don't throw the puck away. They just hold onto it. It's just a frustrating game every time we play these guys." - Kris Letang |
Author: Sam Kasan
