The Pittsburgh Penguins will try and keep their playoff hopes alive Saturday night when they play host to the Detroit Redwings. The Wings lead the best of 7 series, 2-1 and will look to put a stranglehold on Penguins when they face-off on Saturday. It would be hard to imagine the Penguins have any chance in the series if they lose this critical game.

The Penguins played their best game of the series on Wednesday night, winning 3-2 on home ice. In fact, it marked the 17th consecutive home victory for Pittsburgh and 9th straight home win in the playoffs.. Lead by their captain, Sidney Crosby who scored 2 goals, the Penguins were indeed the better team.

The Penguins have been dominant when taking the lead, either in the game, or the series so far in the playoffs. When they have scored first they have won every game. Prior to this round, the Penguins have taken the opening game and have never looked back. The looked awful in the first 2 games of this series vs the Wings, getting outscored 7-0 and were totally outplayed in the process.

Malkin, one of the Penguins best has all but disappeared in the latest round and has not recorded a single point. His confidence has been rattled and it is easy to see he is not himself right now. Clearly feeling the pressure and trying extra hard to produce, Malkin’s play has been sloppy, making poor decisions and turning the puck over on many occasions. Crosby has been better, showing gritty determination always a threat to make things happen. In all fairness to both players, (and the rest of the Penguin forwards), the Wings defense has been stifling to say the least.

Prior to last night, it looked as though the series could be over in 4 and the Wings would cruise to another Stanley Cup. Even when Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead into the 3rd period, Penguins backers must have been nervous as Detroit continued to come at them in waves.

The Wings have been the class of the field so far these playoffs, and in fact were the best throughout the regular season. Detroit won the President’s Cup again this season for the best regular season record. Even the casual observer will notice something unique when watching the Red Wings, and that is their propensity to hold onto the puck. By far the best puck possession team in the NHL , the Wings carry the puck from end to end with ease, not relying on the “dump and chase” as has become the staple for most NHL teams. The Penguins seen this first hand in the opening 2 games and paid the price for giving the Wings the puck too easily.

Another thing that the Penguins have had trouble with as well as most other teams, is getting shots through to the net. The Wings are specialists at clogging the shooting lanes and preventing anything getting through to their goal, which is why they were the best when it came to goals against average this season and so far in the playoffs. In game 2, the Penguins did not get a single shot on net till well into the 2nd half of the opening period.

Even when teams are getting shots through, the Wings goaltending has been solid. Osgood has been solid between the pipes and is indeed the better goalie in the series, a major reason why I believe the Wings will inevitably triumph over the Penguins.

The odds for the Wings to win this game are pretty good all things considered. They have been the better team for the majority of the series and if they can get an early lead, this could be over quickly. The pressure is still on the Penguins to be sure, since if they lose game 3, the Wings will surely take care of business on home ice. I believe the Penguins youth and inexperience will add to the pressure and the vetran Red Wings will take this one on Saturday night. The Wings will know that a Penguins victory will swing momentum the other way and will certainly be hungry to finish this series out.

The Pick :

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :