PITTSBURGH -- The "shift," as it is now known around this city, reverberated for the balance of the third period of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night. It allowed Pittsburgh to hang on against the Detroit Red Wings and keep its hopes of winning the Cup realistic.
At issue now, though, is whether the effect of what might be Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik's defining career moment will linger long enough to help the Penguins truly get back in this series they trail 2-1.
|
|
| Brooks Orpik fired up the fans and his teammates with his bone-crunching hits in Game 3. (US Presswire) |
In reality, it was much more. The stint lasted about 45 seconds and came with some five minutes remaining as the Penguins were struggling to protect a one-goal lead against the hard-charging Red Wings. Orpik delivered four bone-crunching hits in a row to Detroit players, breathing some much-needed life into his sagging teammates and highlighting for them the necessary formula for going back to Detroit after Game 4 on Saturday without facing elimination.
"That shift was just amazing," Pittsburgh forward Maxime Talbot said. "When you're on the bench, it gives us a lot of energy. You just want to go out there and do the same thing, but obviously you have to be a little smarter because when (Orpik) finishes his check it's not just to finish a check, there's a purpose."
Just like there was a purpose to playing that kind of game. The Penguins began the night having suffered shutouts in the previous two outings yet believing they could get back in the series just by being in their own building, where they hadn't lost since February. More important, they came in with the understanding that their youth and size advantage would help them, especially if they can find a way to drag this series out.
"Even those first two games when we were down and the game was maybe a little out of reach there, maybe some people would say we were playing dirty. I think we were just playing hard and anticipating it to be a long series," said Orpik, who will be an attractive unrestricted free agent this summer. "They do have a lot of older guys on their team, so I think the more you can pound on them, it definitely takes its toll during the end of the series."
Then again, the Red Wings took a toll on themselves in a game they played well enough to win. Adam Hall scored the deciding goal for Pittsburgh in the third period when he caromed a shot off goalie Chris Osgood from the side of the net. The Wings also made some uncharacteristic mistakes that cost them, yet hurt themselves most according to coach Mike Babcock by having star players overstay their shifts.
Detroit's two best forwards, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, each played about 50 seconds whenever they were on the ice, about 15 seconds more than Babcock would like. It might not sound like very much, but it takes a lot out of players at the end of their shifts, making them more prone to mistakes or to lose races for the puck while hurting the flow of other players who are out of the game longer.
"Don't get me wrong, these guys are elite, elite players and they're trying to win. Sometimes in doing that, instead of just doing your part, you're on the ice too much," said Babcock. "We want them to play that many shifts but we want the tempo coming off our bench to be better."
That's a minor quibble for a veteran Red Wings team that has been through this before and understands that it can still take a commanding lead back home with a little more puck luck on its side.
"It's not over after you're up 2-0 or 2-1. You have to have that mentality that you have to stick with it for four wins," said Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom.
| |||||||||||||||||||
"I thought we finished the game strong and had some chances to tie the game up, as well, so that's something you want to build on. You want to carry it into Game 4 and take the good things with you."
One thing the Penguins would like to carry over is the ability to play with the lead. Pittsburgh is 11-0 in the playoffs when it has scored first and undefeated in 10 postseason games when ahead going into the second period.
"You're able to trap teams a little more and shut them down so that's the one thing we've really got to keep doing -- along with shooting the puck more," Pittsburgh defenseman Ryan Whitney said. "We'd like to maybe outshoot them one game."
That would be nice, but winning would be even better.
"We still have some room to improve and we need to keep getting better," Crosby said. "We know that they're a team with a lot of pride and a lot of experience, and they're not going to accept losing either. So it's going to be a tough win here (Saturday)."
