After an absence that has felt like it has lasted for the entire season, C Pavel Datsyuk appears to be ready to step back on the ice for the Red Wings. The lineup change comes at a perfect time, even though both LW Henrik Zetterberg and C Johan Franzen recorded a goal and an assist in a wild 2-2 first period on Tuesday night. Datsyuk led the Wings with 96 points in the regular season, and also had the teams best +/- ratio at +34. Detroit played strong defense after a poor first period of play, especially in the second period when it held Pittsburgh to just four shots on net. Unfortunately, the fact that it didnt score in that period probably sealed its Game 3 fate. G Chris Osgood snapped back to reality by allowing three goals on just 20 shots. It was just the second time since Game 7 against Anaheim that Detroit goaltender had allowed more than two goals in a game. For the Red Wings offense, the two goals scored tied the fewest goals that the team had scored since getting beaten 2-1 in Anaheim in Game 6 of that series.
Welcome to the series, Sidney Crosby! Crosby finally got on the board in Game 3, recording an assist on what ultimately ended up being D Sergei Gonchars game-winning goal in the third period. Fellow C Evgeni Malkin had a second straight solid game, as he logged three assists. The hero was C Maxime Talbot though, as he opened the scoring and set a positive tone for the Penguins at 4:48 of the first period, and then finished the game off with an empty-netter with less than a minute to play. It also had to be a relief for Penguins bettors to see G Marc-Andre Fleury post a solid outing. He stopped his final 19 shots of the game, rebounding from a poor first period to get the W. Still, his defense is to thank for holding the team that averages the most shots per game in the NHL (36.5) to just three shots on net in the critical third period. C Jordan Staal has been totally MIA in this series, as he only has five shots and has yet to reach the scoreboard, continuing what has already been a very frustrating postseason for the youngster.
After narrowly escaping with a win in our third straight attempt at the over in this series, well do more focusing in on the side tonight. Detroit has to be fuming after letting the second period slip out of its grasps on Tuesday. With Datsyuk likely returning to the lineup, its really hard to see how the Pens are winning this game by more than a goal, barring the empty netter. Theres a good chance that the Wings take a commanding 3-1 series lead tonight, but the far safer play is on the puckline. Tuesdays game marked the first time in the playoffs that the Wings had lost a game by more than one goal. Its hard to see a worse result than a one-goal Pittsburgh win in Game 4.
Mike Rose 6/4
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