Are the Penguins Dead?

The Pittsburgh Penguins again were taken to task by the Detroit Red Wings, in Monday night's Stanley Cup Final's game two. Again, the Pens were outclassed and outplayed by the veteran Wings team that are sitting pretty with half their job done. But, this series is far from over and anyone who thinks a sweep is a foregone conclusion, is setting themselves up for a rude awakening.

The Red Wings have without a doubt have received the lion's share of the calls, this is likely to change in Pittsburgh. The home team usually gets the benefit of the doubt from the referees and that should continue as the Pens head home.

Pens coach Michel Therrien during last night's post game press conference, called attention to the obstruction and interference perpetrated by the Wings in game two. This is the type of gamesmanship that normally results in more positive calls being made by the refs.

You have to take some hope out of the fact the players didn't go down quietly. At the end of the 3rd period the Penguins look like they have finally had enough. You may not condone the cheap shots that Gary Roberts and Max Talbot took on the recently returned Johan Franzen, but it sure shows that they aren't going to just go down without a fight.

The Pens players in their post game comments singled out Niklas Kronwall and Chris Osgood for their underhand tactics. Kronwall has been taking liberties, by leaving his feet on his open ice checks. His actions should be resulting in charging calls, but none seem imminent. Chris Osgood has been flopping around the ice and took a Olympics worthy dive in the dying minutes of the game, in a classless attempt to get call in a game that was already over and done with.

Lets put the manner of how the Wings schooled the Penguins in the first two games aside. The Red Wings in essence have only held serve and it is generally expected, that the home teams should win at home. However, usually the team that wins the Stanley Cup, is the first team to win on the road and we haven't seen that yet.

The Penguins need to come out in game 3 with the same intensity they had at the end of game 2 and really physically punish the Red Wings, who up until now, have not seen any kind of pressure from the Pens. The Pens if they are to win this series, quite simply have to win both games at home, otherwise they will be watching Lidstrom and Co. drinking from the cup.

That may seem like a tall order, for a team that has been owned in the first two games, but lets not forget the Penguins haven't lost a home game since February. If the Penguins can pull off what right now seems an impossible task and win both home games, the series will be wiped clean and the cup will be decided by a new best of 3 series. The Penguins will have the momentum going in and the pressure would be squarely on the Red Wings shoulders.

The hope may be fading but the hope is still there and if the Penguins can win game 3 that will go a long way to given the confidence they are sorely lacking coming out of game 2.

If experience tells us anything, an angry Pittsburgh team is a dangerous team, just ask the Philadelphia Flyers and Derian Hatcher and no one should doubt that the Penguins are one pissed off team right now.