ESPN 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog

Posted by Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun

DETROIT -- Funny thing about Justin Abdelkader's scoring his first career playoff goal. The kid sat on the bench for most of the opening 40 minutes because Detroit coach Mike Babcock needed to match up with Pittsburgh's three-center attack. But then, Abdelkader went out and netted a big goal in the third period.

"Well, they're a hard group for the fourth line because they don't play a fourth line," Babcock said. "So, when you've got [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin coming all the time, you know, I basically told Abby in the first period, he might not play one shift. Just be ready. And we were able to get him out there for five minutes.

"In the end, that line did a really good job for us. Got us useful minutes and wear and tear on their D."

Abdelkader tried to stay on the bench until getting his chance in the third period.

"Yeah, it can be tough, you know," the rookie said. "I haven't been in that situation really in my whole career, so it's a little adjustment for me. But just between whistles, trying to get on the ice, keep my legs underneath me and just follow the play everywhere. Stay into the game, because you never know when your next shift's going to be, and you have to be ready for it."

Crosby versus Maltby
Bad blood is already starting to boil as Crosby and Kirk Maltby ended up jawing at each other in Game 1.

"Yeah, he was doing what he always does," Crosby said after the game. "You know, he was giving guys lip service and things like that. And you know, I two-handed him on top of the foot there as we were skating by. So he felt like it was necessary to keep talking after the game, and I thought I'd whack him, and that was it."

The faceoff dot
The Wings killed the Penguins in the faceoff circle, winning a whopping 71 percent (39-16). Oh, and they didn't have Pavel Datsyuk or Kris Draper in the lineup.

But Babcock said it was just one of those nights.

"I think it goes like that. Some nights it goes your way, other nights it doesn't," Babcock said. "Obviously, if you have the puck, you don't have to chase it."

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma knew about the Red Wings' prowess in the faceoff circle.

"Well, you know, we've done our homework on these guys," he said. "We know they're good there. I know it's an area of focus. They're a puck-possession team, as are we. And starting with the puck is better than not.

"One of the things we've talked about is our wingers' being aware and ready to jump in and help out. The center man doesn't often win it clean back, a lot of those are puck battles off the draw. Being aware, being ready and winning those battles are the responsibility of the wingers and the D when it's in the defensive zone. So that's an area we can do a better job of. We'll look at it and try to get better in that regard."