And There Goes the Sweep

There will be no sweep in the Stanley Cup Finals this year. The Penguins made sure of that by protecting their home ice last night, winning 4-2.

They won, but Sidney Crosby is still MIA. He did have an assist last night, but he came out of the game with a rating of -1.

So Evgeni Malkin is continuing to prove that he is the best player on the team. He has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) already in the series.

Even after last nights game, I'm not convinced Pittsburgh can make this a close series. Yes, it is 2-1 right now, but when 2-1 becomes 3-1, no one is thinking seven games anymore. I picked the Wings for a reason, they're just too good and too smart for the Penguins.

The Penguins got a ton of goals against the Hurricanes that the worst defensive pair for the Wings would not have given up.

Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock has his team too prepared and too focused for a letdown over the next few games. I would not be shocked if they put Pittsburgh away in the next two games and ended up winning in five.

Oh, and if the fact of being down 2-1 isn't bad enough for the Penguins, they should be aware that Detroit has been doing it at times without their best skaters. Chris Osgood is staring at the Conn Smythe Trophy, as he is just two wins away from it.