PERIOD 2
- Detroit begins the second period on the power play and spends most of the opening minutes in Pittsburgh territory.
5:00 into the Second Period- Pittsburgh begins to gain a little momentum in the game when Pittsburgh's No.1 Unit of Crosby-Hossa-Malone begins to play a Calgary Flames-style of dump-and-chase smash mouth hockey.
Writer's Note: The hockey that Pittsburgh is playing right now may be the result of something Gary Roberts said in the dressing room or on the bench because Roberts looks more into this game than anyone. By the way, the Department of Homeland Security has just issued an Amber Alert regarding Pens sophomore superstar Evgeni Malkin. An A.P.B has also been sent out by Pens coach Michel Therrien. Where are you Evgeni?? Where is your 106 points that you scored during the 2007'08 regular season???
9:30 into the Second Period- Detroit is playing brilliantly as they continute to play their authentic puck-possession game that won them the Presidents Trophy and the Western Conference Championship Tropgy. Detroit's superb Top 3 defensemen (Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronvall) move the puck so eloquently and break up everything at their own blueline that they essentially dictate the pace of the game, which totally throws off the entire Pittsburgh Penguins strategy.
10:45 into the Second Period- Kid Rock is interviewed by CBC's Scott Oake in the crowd and looks like he has consumed at least 6 Miller Lights. Best line of the interview: Scott Oake asks Kid Rock what he likes about the Red Wings. Kid Rock responds " It's like what I tell the girls, Everything. "Kid Rock says "Rock on Canada". Bob Cole interjects by saying "Thanks Kid."
Writer's Note: 97% of the tickets available for Kid Rock's concerts have not been sold.
13:25 into the Second Period- Marian Hossa has a decent scoring opportunity when he touch-tips a Rob Scuderi centering pass, but it is effortlessly stopped by a well-positioned Chris Osgood, who is a remarkable 11-2 so far in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
15:35 into the Second Period- Andreas Lilja falls down on a phantom check, resulting in an excellent Pittsburgh scoring chance . Gary Roberts takes the puck, spins around and dishes a beautiful feed to 19-year-old Jordan Staal who one-times the puck wide of Chris Osgood. Pittsburgh is unable to bury the rebound opportunity, but has one of the best scoring chances of the period.
17:30 of the Second Period- Ryan Malone takes a slashing penalty at the worst possible time.
Writer's Note: Frustrating. Very Frustrating. The Penguins were displaying lots of sustained pressure in the Wings zone and appeared to be on the brink of a score.
Second Period is over.
*** Writer's Note: The Second period ends just as it started. The Wings remain in the lead by a score of 2-0 with one period to go in Game 2. The shots are 22-12 Detroit and the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing like a bunch of 15-year-old A-3 players instead of the crew that captured the Prince of Wales Trophy for winning the Eastern Conference championship. The Wings simply look like a much better-prepared team. Wings head coach Mike Babcock, the hockey mastermind, has his troops prepared for the Crosby and Malkin show. Maybe the Penguins will mount a comeback in the third. Or maybe Lidstrom and Rafalski will continue to shut down the entire Pens team. We shall wait and see.
Stay tuned for our Period 3 Live Blog...
For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.
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