Pascal Dupuis was dropped from captain Sidney Crosby’s line and was replaced by Ryan Malone. Dupuis instead will skate with Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy.
“It’s probably just a little different with Dups,” Crosby said. “He probably brings a little more speed, opens things up a little bit. With Bugsy, he’s a bigger guy, probably a bigger presence in front of the net, in the corners.”
That could suggest the Penguins will look to chip the puck into the offensive zone past the Red Wings’ solid defense corps led by Nicklas Lidstrom. Both teams thrive on maintaining possession of the puck for long stretches, yet Detroit was more effective in the opener.
The Red Wings struggled in the first period, mostly because they spent more than 6 minutes short-handed after being called for four penalties. Once they stayed out of the box, they turned a 0-0 game into a rout over the final 40 minutes, holding the Penguins to seven shots and one power-play chance.
“They’ll gain some experience from the game, so will we,” said Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood, who made 12 of his 19 saves in the first period. “We didn’t play great in the first. They had a real solid first period, and then we possessed the puck very good for the last two periods.”
In addition to changing lines, Therrien is turning back to 42-year-old gritty forward Gary Roberts, who was miffed about being benched for the opener. Roberts has been in and out of the lineup because of various injuries and illness.
Therrien was reluctant to alter a winning lineup that had lost only twice in the Eastern Conference portion of the playoffs. He sought to reward those who got the Penguins there, but now feels the need to add a jolt.
“This is only one game,” he said. “We would like to have had a better result. I didn’t think we played a good game, and the Red Wings played really well. In time I believe we could play a lot better.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
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