Posted by Scott Burnside
PITTSBURGH -- Pretty interesting period of hockey to kick off Game 4. The Wings outshot the Pens 19-11 and, if it weren't for some solid work by Marc-Andre Fleury, the score wouldn't be tied at 1 as it is now.
For the third straight game, the Pens scored first and -- surprise, surprise -- they scored on the power play. That's the third power-play goal in the past four periods for Pittsburgh and its fourth of the series. The Wings, in short, don't have a clue when it comes to killing penalties. They dodged a bullet late in the first when another Pens power play was cut short after just 10 seconds when Bill Guerin was whistled for high sticking.
Detroit held a wide advantage in shots through the first half of the period, but the momentum swung back to Pittsburgh after coach Dan Bylsma sent out Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin together. The line produced good puck possession and started a string of strong shifts, including a glorious chance for Ruslan Fedotenko after Niklas Kronwall turned the puck over to Malkin. Not exactly the guy you want to hand over the puck to in that situation. Chris Osgood smothered Fedotenko's shot, though, to keep the score 1-0.
Speaking of turnovers, a ghastly error by Rob Scuderi with 1:41 left led to the Wings' goal. Scuderi's weak pass was gobbled up by Darren Helm, who is having a terrific postseason and ripped a shot past a screened Fleury to tie the score.
What did you think, my friend?
Pierre LeBrun: Well, I politely disagree with your initial thought. I actually think Detroit is lucky to be tied despite having the big shots advantage. Osgood had to make a number of high-degree saves to keep it tied. You mention the Fedotenko chance; Osgood also thwarted Crosby twice in the period.
I find it interesting that Wings coach Mike Babcock didn't chase the Henrik Zetterberg-Crosby matchup quite as much in the first period as he has previously in the series. Maybe he believes that, on the road, without the last line change, it affects the flow of his rotation too much. But whatever the case may be, there was less No. 40 on No. 87 in this period. However, Nicklas Lidstrom was on the ice almost every time Crosby was, and perhaps that is the matchup Babcock cares about the most.
The chess game continues in the second.
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
