Red Wings 3, Penguins 0: NHL on NBC Liveblog

The Red Wings invade Mellon Arena for the first time since Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final. Why not liveblog it, right here on Bleacher Report?         

12:29 p.m. – Welcome to Apartment 2B right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan! The NBC telecast kicks off with the great Mike Emrick narrating over live pictures from outside and then inside Mellon Arena. We see the Penguins will be wearing their throwback powder-blue third jerseys, which they haven’t had much success in lately.

12:33 – Back to the NBC studios at 30 Rock where Bill Patrick brings us highlights from yesterday’s NHL action. Of interest to Penguins fans: the Panthers lost to the Capitals 3-1, keeping Florida just one point ahead of Pittsburgh for ninth. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes killed Phoenix 7-2, so the Hurricanes are two points up on the Pens in the East’s eighth spot.

12:36 – Marc-Andre Fleury vs. Ty Conklin in net. This will be a bit awkward since Conks played a huge role last year in Pittsburgh when Fleury was out with a high-ankle sprain. Game on!

12:38 – Sidney Crosby drops a pass to Pascal Dupuis in the high slot, who rips a low shot. Conklin is solid with the butterfly save.

12:39 – Marian Hossa takes the ice to rampant boos from the Mellon congregation. They don’t like him anymore. Also, both sides seem a bit sluggish, which we can probably attribute to the early starting time. Most guys are used to taking naps or having lunch at this time. Routine is everything during an 82-game schedule.

12:44 – Pittsburgh resident Bill Thomas draws a penalty against former Pen Mikael Samuelsson. Power play on the way courtesy of a holding call on No. 37 in white.

12:47 – The power play ends with just a couple of middling chances for the Pens. With Sergei Gonchar getting very close to returning from a shoulder separation, a Penguins fan can’t help but hope his poise at the point will help this PP unit become dangerous again.

12:50 – Crosby and Samuelsson get minor penalties for slashing and cross-checking, respectively. Four-on-four play upcoming with a ton of skill on the ice.

12:54 – Halfway through the first period, and neither team is giving much ground. Niklas Kronwall goes off for tripping Pittsburgh’s Dupuis in the neutral zone. Malkin gets a great chance off a rebound that bounced over his stick in the crease. “Geno” follows up and is denied by the glove hand of Conklin.

12:56 – No further chances for the Pens, who are now 0-2 with the man advantage. Recent call-up Luca Caputi (great name) mixes it up physically with Pavel Datsyuk. TV timeout.

12:59 – Delayed penalty against Pittsburgh, which will put the NHL’s best power play on the ice surface. Dupuis (interference) is the culprit. Jordan Staal steals a puck at the blueline and skates down the left wing, but he’s overtaken.

1:01 – Malkin tears a puck away from Jiri Hudler and tries to spring Maxime Talbot, but the puck bounces past him. Great penalty-killing so far from the home side; they’re intercepting passes and forcing the Red Wings to dump in, but they refuse to do so, leading to turnovers.

1:03 – Talbot runs over Dan Cleary in the near-side corner. Big hit just as the Penguins return to full strength. Pierre McGuire, between the benches again for NBC, notes that the players’ “body clocks” are starting to adjust and the pace of play is increasing. He’s rinkside, so I’ll take his word for it.

1:07 – Ryan Whitney lays out Ville Leino just over the Pens’ line. Whits has been trying to pick up his physical play lately, and it’s been effective so far.

1:08 – Another penalty called against Detroit. This time it’s Kris Draper sent to the box for holding the stick. Pens win the faceoff and Kris Letang comes this close to slipping a wrister through Conklin’s legs. Conks gets the whistle.

1:10 – Whitney fans on a shot from the top of the left circle, wasting a good setup from Crosby. Three power plays are now gone without the important first goal.

1:13 – We’ve come to the end of one period of play—Detroit 0, Pittsburgh 0. The Wings seemed content to let the Penguins come at them after playing yesterday at Joe Louis Arena. Hopefully the intensity picks up for the rest of the game, because that was honestly pretty disappointing for such an anticipated matchup. Perhaps both teams are trying to treat it like just another game and keep their composure. If that’s the case, they’ve been very successful.

1:18 – McGuire and Mike Milbury are “at each other’s throats” from a makeshift studio somewhere in the bowels of the Mellon. This act is really tiresome. NBC needs to get a real professional broadcaster in there to run the show. In the words of Ron Burgundy, “What is this, amateur hour?!”

1:22 – NBC plays a video package about the Wings’ Stanley Cup run last year and their tradition of winning. They also manage to throw in a clip of Crosby and Hossa buzzing around the goal during the final seconds of last year’s Game Six. Thanks for that. McGuire throws it to commercial, but not before taking a shot at Milbury’s sorry experience as Islanders’ GM. Ooooh, burn!

1:30 – All set for the second period! Emrick and Eddie Olczyk talk about Staal’s dominant performance in the third period of the Penguins’ comeback win in Detroit in November. Ahh, memories.

1:32 – Malkin cruises through the neutral zone, then leaves a pass for Hal Gill to step into. Another good stop by Conklin and there is no rebound.

1:35 – Chances at both ends, finally! Samuelsson’s flip shot is shouldered away by Fleury from in tight, then Caputi takes a lead pass down the left wing and rips a rising slapper that juuuust misses nailing the upper-right corner.

1:38 – Hossa hears the boos, then steps between the circles for a shot that Fleury gets in front of. The follow-up chance comes to Hossa’s stick five feet away, but he can’t get a clean attempt away and the Pens clear to center.

1:41 – The Wings appear to have their legs under them, and Henrik Zetterberg gets hooked upon entrance to the Pittsburgh zone. Detroit’s transition game is starting to get revved up, and now the visitors will enjoy their second power play. After the commercial, that is.

1:43 – Petr Sykora is the man in the box (paging Alice In Chains) for the powder blue boys. The Wings keep trying to force-feed Hossa in front, but the Pens are ready for it each time and they manage to clear it down the ice.

1:45 – We have our first goal. Zetterberg simply throws a puck on goal from the right point that Fleury kicks out, but right to Datsyuk driving the net. P-Datty buries his 21^st of the season for a 1-0 Detroit lead. It’s a power play goal.

1:47 – The Wings keep the pressure on, getting a quick succession of shots from within 10 feet. Fleury stops them all, but the Penguins are starting to rely too much on their goaltender. Just as I type this, Eric Godard, of all people, gets sprung on a semi-breakaway on the right side. The big man gets a good shot away, but Conklin is able to swat it to the end boards.

1:50 – Tyler Kennedy breaks in on an abbreviated two-on-one and elects to shoot. Good decision, but “ConkBlock” is equal to the task again. TV timeout as I start to get flashbacks to Conklin’s tremendous performance for the Pens last season.

1:52 – Detroit leads 18-11 in the shots on goal category and Conklin freezes another loose puck. He’s controlling the game right now…and he snags another shot, this time a 30-footer from Malkin. Five minutes to go in the middle frame.

1:54 – Staal “smears” Hossa against the glass, says “Doc” Emrick. Nice verb. The crowd begins to groan as the Penguins are forced to regroup yet again. Flashes of last year’s Game Six. Ugh.

1:56 – Crosby picks off a pass at center and sets up Dupuis, who slid one over to Kennedy in tight, but he can’t corral it in time to beat a sprawling Conklin. Good chance there.

1:57 – Hossa uses a power move to bull his way to the Pens goal and gets away a tough shot that “Flower” deflects to the far corner. Both teams are eagerly after the next goal as the second period reaches its final few minutes.

1:59 – One minute to play in the period. Max Talbot jams a puck toward the goal and it pops into the air and lands in the crease. Malkin swats at it and Crosby is tripped in the low slot. Power play for Pittsburgh.

2:01 – Great chances for the Penguins as Whitney and Malkin get strong shots away from the perimeter and their teammates drive the net. Conklin is on his angle, though, and finally pins the puck to the ice to earn a much-needed stoppage in play. Off the faceoff there’s a scrum in the near corner, but nothing comes of it as time expires. The Penguins will have the second half of the power play waiting when they start the third period.

2:05 – McGuire compares the Red Wings to the…Allegheny River. I can’t take it anymore so I’m going to hang up my sweaty hockey gear. See you in the third.

2:20 – And we’re back! Power play has a minute and change remaining. Now less than that as the Wings force it to center again. Crosby makes a sweet sliding play to hold the puck in the zone a few moments later, but Letang can’t make a clean pass back to Sid and the Wings clear once more. Power play over.

2:23 – Bounding puck comes to the front of the Pens’ net and Samuelsson chops it on goal. Fleury with another good save and cover.

2:25 – Zetterberg and Matt Cooke collide violently in the Wings’ zone and Cooke takes an elbow to the chops. No penalty as it looked like Zetterberg was trying to defend himself while passing the puck up ice. Tough break for the Pens.

2:27 – Datsyuk dekes to the forehand in the slot and gets a clean look at the net, but he misses to Fleury’s blocker side. Wow, I can’t believe he missed that phenomenal chance resulting from a “Datsyukian deke,” as they would say on FSN Detroit. Lucky turn of events for Pittsburgh.

2:30 – Dupuis chases down a loose puck in the left corner and whips a drive on goal from a tough angle. He got a lot of pace on it, but Conklin should make that save every time and he does with minimal effort. Six minutes into the third and the Pens haven’t generated a good opportunity yet.

2:33 – It’s been a passive game, for sure, but the Penguins are going to have to open it up if they want to have a chance to win. Hossa gets some more boos, but they’re much quieter now. The fans have other things to worry about, like if their boys are going to tie this one up.

2:36 – Kennedy spins a lead pass for Crosby as the captain flies to the net, but the feed is just a bit too far and Conklin is able to cut it off. Pittsburgh maybe coming on?

2:37 – Nevermind. Hossa, the most hated man in the ‘Burgh, makes a phenomenal play to make it 2-0 Detroit. He controls the puck along the left boards, carries it to the high slot on his backhand, then precisely places a beautiful shot off the post and in. That was too cruel and it’s the kind of play the Penguins have been missing this year. Now it’s panic time…and the Pens will be shorthanded after the commercial break.

2:41 – Eight minutes to go and Mellon Arena sounds like a funeral home. The Wings battle away along the wall. They’re just trying to kill time now, and you can’t blame them. Datsyuk is denied from in close by a stretching Fleury. The “Flower” has played well, but his teammates haven’t done much in front of him. Perhaps the neutral-zone trap has them playing a bit too passively? Hard to tell, but we’ve reached our final TV timeout.

2:46 – McGuire suggests putting Staal on Crosby’s line to spark the team. I’d try anything at this point.

2:47 – Good shift from the “Mega Powers” line as Sid and Geno both make attempts to stuff the puck home, but the bounces didn’t come to the blue jerseys in front of the net. Dupuis also gets a hack in there but Conklin freezes it again; he’s three and a half minutes away from shutting out his old mates.

2:50 – Datsyuk is at it again! He slaps a shot from the left side that knuckles in on Fleury. Datsyuk then beats Letang to his own rebound, like a good basketball player, and finesses a backhand off the goaltender and in. 3-0 Red Wings. The Penguins’ defense got way too loose, but when you’re trailing, offense is the priority. Not too surprising but still disturbing.

2:54 – Sykora is robbed by Conklin on probably the best opportunity of the game for the Pens. Good one-timer, but Conks is on fire. Must be nice to play for Detroit. Wait, Chris Osgood isn’t dealing with it too well. Cheap shot, I know, but it’s true.

2:55 – Time runs out and Ty Conklin has the shutout, his sixth of the season. He and Zetterberg rub it in, er, talk to Pierre on the ice as the three stars are announced. The crowd, or what remains of it, files out quietly. There was a ton of emotion early, but the Penguins never did anything to keep that passion flowing.

Playing a passive game worked early, but the Wings are very comfortable in a tight, low-scoring contest and they made it look routine. That’s why they’re the champs. And obviously, the Penguins still have a ways to go to solve their problems after this tough result. San Jose comes to the Igloo Wednesday, so it gets no easier.