Posted by Scott Burnside
PITTSBURGH -- Well, lots of positives after the first period of Game 6 if you're the Pittsburgh Penguins. First, they limited the Red Wings to three shots, and when netminder Marc-Andre Fleury was tested, as he was twice by Henrik Zetterberg, he was solid. Lots of folks were curious to see how he would respond to being pulled in Game 5.
And the Penguins did not take any penalties -- something that ultimately cost them Game 5. But they likewise failed to capitalize on two first-period power plays even though they had a couple of decent chances.
Once again, Chris Osgood is standing tall -- Conn Smythe, anyone? -- in the Detroit net. One of the interesting differences is the Penguins seem to be willing to test the Red Wings up the middle, with the Pittsburgh defensemen sending passes through the middle and having forwards either carrying the puck in or chipping it in from the center as opposed to just ringing it in deep along the boards.
As expected, the Pens were the more physical of the two teams in the first period, but if you're the Wings, you have to be pretty pleased with how that first frame went. The Detroit players are so patient and experienced, you can just see them waiting and waiting for a chink in the Pens' armor, and then they'll pounce.
Interesting to see the rousing cheer provided by the Mellon Arena faithful when it was announced Petr Sykora was going back in the lineup tonight instead of Miroslav Satan. They must have been watching Satan's play of late. Still, Sykora played just 2:13 minutes and managed to foul up a three-on-two by failing to either register a shot on net or make a pass.
What do you think, Pierre?
Pierre LeBrun: I think if you're Detroit, you're happy to be tied after the opening period, knowing how hard the Penguins were going to come out with their season on the line. And this repeats a similar trend in this entire series, that of Pittsburgh having a great start. Even in Game 5, the Pens outplayed and outchanced the Wings early and Osgood held his team in it before Detroit blew it open.
I thought the tempo in the opening period was outstanding, with the extra day of rest really paying off for both teams. Penguins veteran winger Bill Guerin, as fellow ESPN colleague E.J. Hradek commented, looked real fresh in the opening period. Guerin had five of the 12 shots his team took in the first period.
One last thing I thought was interesting: Wings coach Mike Babcock didn't chase the Zetterberg-Sidney Crosby matchup in the opening period. If it was there, he took it, but otherwise Zetterberg played mostly against Jordan Staal. Oh, and Pavel Datsyuk looked dynamite.
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