Posted by E.J. Hradek
PITTSBURGH -- Here are some quick notes from the Penguins' 2-1 Game 6 victory over the Red Wings at Mellon Arena on Tuesday night:
• First things first. That was a heck of a hockey game! I thought both teams really dug in and battled all over the ice. It's funny what happens when the players can get an extra day off between games. A lot of the players really benefited from the rest. Pens veteran Bill Guerin looked particularly energized. The teams will get another two days off before Game 7. That should make for a really competitive battle to raise the Stanley Cup.
• Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded brilliantly from a tough night in Game 5 with a stellar performance Tuesday night. Fleury made several timely stops, and that's what playoff goaltending is all about -- timely saves.
His biggest save came with less than two minutes left on the clock. After a turnover by Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik, Detroit winger Dan Cleary took off on a clean breakaway. He moved to the backhand, but Fleury denied him with a left pad/glove save.
"I was going to go for the poke check, but I decided to wait and let him make the first move." Fleury said. "I was just happy to make the save."
The Wings had other chances off scrambles around the net in the final seconds, but no chance as clean as Cleary's. The Penguins' kid goaltender showed his competitive nature in this game. Of course, he'll have to play just as well Friday night at The Joe.
• At the other end, Detroit netminder Chris Osgood was just as good. He kept his team in the game through the first two periods when the Wings were being outshot 24-12. He was particularly sharp making back-to-back stops on Ruslan Fedotenko and Evgeni Malkin in the final minute of the second period. Without Osgood's strong work, the Pens would have had this game wrapped up by the end of the second frame.
• At the morning skate, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma was asked whether his team could win if his big guys (Sidney Crosby and Malkin) didn't score. He responded by saying that, yes, the Pens could, if they got a full team effort. He believed someone in his room would score. As it turned out, Bylsma was right. Crosby and Malkin didn't score, but the Pens still won.
They extended their season because they got maximum effort from everyone on the bench and because Bylsma got a monster game from his third line of center Jordan Staal, right winger Tyler Kennedy and left winger Matt Cooke. The line created energy on almost every shift and accounted for both goals, proving to be the difference in the game.
• Staal opened the scoring at the 51-second mark of the second period, converting his own rebound chance. Staal's second shot glanced off the glove of Osgood on its way to the back of the net.
The play began at the far blue line, where two Wings (Brett Lebda and Valtteri Filppula) couldn't contain the puck. That led to an odd-man rush for the Penguins. Staal carried the puck down the right-wing side. Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson took away the passing lane, forcing Staal to shoot. Osgood stopped the original shot, but he couldn't control the rebound.
• Wings all-everything pivot Henrik Zetterberg was snakebit in the first two periods, failing to convert on a pair of great scoring chances. At the 3:25 mark of the first period, Zetterberg was alone in the slot after taking a pass from nimble linemate Pavel Datsyuk. Fleury made a monster save that kept the game scoreless.
Later, with about two minutes left in the second period, Zetterberg beat Fleury with a backhand to the blocker side, but the puck glanced off the post. It was a golden chance for the Wings, who got their top line out against a mismatched trio of Max Talbot, Fedotenko and Chris Kunitz.
• The Penguins were able to open their margin to 2-0 at the 5:35 mark of the third period. Kennedy capitalized on a rebound on his own wraparound chance, flipping a short rebound under Osgood's left arm. Wings center Kris Draper got that one back, converting a rebound of Ericsson's blast from the left point. On the play, Fleury left a big rebound. It was probably his only mistake of the night.
• The Red Wings' penalty-killing unit, much maligned throughout the season and the playoffs for its mediocre play, did a great job in the first period, killing a pair of Penguins power-play chances.
Detroit pivot Kris Draper helped his team's cause by winning some key defensive-zone draws that enabled his mates to clear the zone. After struggling on the kill in the first four games of the series, the Wings have taken a more aggressive approach, leaving the Penguins with less time and space to operate.
• Bylsma, looking for a little offensive punch, opted to put veteran winger Petr Sykora back into the lineup for the first time since May 4. He had been a scratch for the club's previous 14 playoff games.
Sykora replaced winger Miroslav Satan, who had only one assist in his last eight games. Bylsma gave Sykora the odd shift and used him on the club's second power-play unit. Sykora showed he understood the gravity of the situation, sliding to block a point shot midway through the middle period.
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
