Red Wings caught in Fleury

In one of the most exciting and thrilling games in Stanley Cup Finals history, the Pittsburgh… In one of the most exciting and thrilling games in Stanley Cup Finals history, the Pittsburgh Penguins topped the Detroit Red Wings on the road in Game 5 Monday night, 4-3.

Petr Sykora notched the game-winning goal nine minutes and 57 seconds into the third overtime to lift the Penguins to victory. Detroit dominated much of the possession and had two times as many shots as the Penguins, but 55 saves by Marc-Andre Fleury kept Pittsburgh in the game.

Going into tonight’s Game 6 at Mellon Arena, the Penguins still trail the Red Wings in the series, 3-2. A win at home would push the series to a Game 7 in Detroit Saturday night.

The Pitt News Penguins experts analyze some key questions about the games so far and what’s to come.

-Has Fleury solidified his stature as a dominant goalie after game 5? Jay Huerbin: Without a doubt. He was keeping the team in this series already and you don’t have a 55-save performance in five and a half periods of hockey and not get noticed. He made some spectacular saves, including a sprawling leg save in the second period on a 2-on-1. He is slowly but surely, silencing his critics that say he can’t win in the big games. Nick LaMantia: I think Fleury’s numbers prior to Game 5 solidified his status as a dominant NHL goaltender, but after his performance in “the big game,” he could be working his way to an elite category.

-Who’s performance in Game 5 surprised you the most? JH: Ryan Whitney. After accepting a $4 million salary last summer, he really struggled to look like he deserved that pay raise. All season his defensive play was horrid, his body position was off, and he went through some offensive droughts. But all of those things changed in Game 5. He made hits to stop a play and he took hits to start a play. Whitney didn’t score, but he logged more than 50 minutes of ice time and really picked up his defensive play when the team needed him the most. NL: Darryl Sydor’s performance in Game 5 surprised me the most. He committed untimely giveaways and executed poor reads throughout the majority of the game. From a guy with two Stanley Cup rings, you need to be able to depend on him in crucial situations, and, by his play in Game 5, Michel Therrien cannot.

-Who in particular needs to step up at Game 6 in Pittsburgh? JH: Tough call as the team is really starting to pick up its play, but I think Evgeni Malkin gets the nod here. He still isn’t playing up to the level he did in the regular season. I know we addressed this issue last week, but for the Penguins to finally put on a dominating performance, everybody has to be running on all cylinders, and it has to start with Malkin. NL: Not one individual but the whole team. For the Pens to push this series to a Game 7 in Detroit, the entire team needs to carry the same consistent intensity through three periods that we have seen in the prior playoff series and in Games 3 and 5.

-Who has been Detroit’s best player in the series? JH: Goaltender Chris Osgood has made some impressive saves in this series and is high up there on the Conn Smythe list. His stifling 1.53 goals-against-average and .931 save percentage has been no fluke. Osgood has made some robberies this series, especially when the Penguins needed a goal most. NL: Osgood. The man is playing incredibly, and his experience is nearly unmatched. He is proving a lot of critics wrong including myself and has shown he can still be a dominant force in this league.

-For the most part, Detroit’s defense has dominated, and the team has controlled possession and shots over the Penguins. How can Pittsburgh stop the trend? JH: Not to take anything away from a good Red Wings team, but I disagree that Detroit has dominated the Penguins and controlled the games in this series. The Penguins have had the Wings on their heels at times. The number of shots by the Red Wings is misleading as they play a different brand of hockey – taking shots at anytime from anywhere – and that can be tough for a defenseman to block. Stopping this trend, though, starts with aggressive pressure in the neutral zone. Force the Red Wings to make 50-50 passes and a solid backcheck by the Penguins can significantly slow down Detroit. NL: The solution comes down to simple hockey. Getting shots on net with traffic in front can score a lot of goals. Take the game-tying and game-winning goals scored by the Pens in Game 5. Max Talbot scored a garbage goal from the side of the net with traffic in front, and on the game-winner, Sykora picked the top corner with a Ryan Malone screen.

-How significant were the injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Malone? JH: Losing those two guys was hard to watch, as they are both integral parts of the power play – and it showed when they went down. But hey, it’s the Stanley Cup Finals. These guys are true warriors. I’m still in shock that even after flying head first into the end-boards (Gonchar) and taking a slap shot to the face (Malone), you saw these two guys on the ice in overtime. That’s the beauty – ironically – of the NHL playoffs. NL: I think the Gonchar injury is more significant than the Malone, especially after seeing Malone come back almost immediately. Gonchar was able to play on the power play late into overtime, so that tells me with the day off for rest before Game 6, he will be in the lineup along with Malone.

-Bold prediction time…can the Pens push it to 7 and win it? Or will Detroit prevail in one of the last two games? JH: If you watched that triple-overtime thriller you noticed two things: first, the age of the Red Wings looked like it started to catch up. And secondly, the Penguins were going strong all the way to the end. The Red Wings have won in Pittsburgh and the Penguins have won in Detroit. It’s going to be insane in the Igloo tonight, and you know where my heart lies. Penguins in seven. Believe. NL: I have to stick with my prediction from last week. Pens in seven. Intensity is the key, and I believe this Pittsburgh team can bring it.