Thursday night in Pittsburgh, the Penguins sent a message to the Detroit Red Wings: “If you think you can lollygag around with a man advantage just because you’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, think again.”
The Red Wings had a 2-1 lead in Game 4 and the Pens had a man in the box, but a shorthanded goal by Pittsburgh tied the game and in a blink of an eye, the Pens had scored two more to win 4-2 and send the Stanley Cup final back to Detroit with the series tied 2-2.
Without a healthy Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings looked old and undermanned against the Pens on Thursday. The Wings really looked a man short. In fact, by the midway point of the second period, the Wings looked downright exhausted. Pittsburgh’s enthusiasm at home made a huge difference and the Pens made sure that the final remained a home-team series.
So now we go back to Detroit and the Wings need some rest. In fact, these guys need 48 hours off before facing a rejuvenated Pens outfit again. Won’t quite get that, but they will need to sleep through the next optional workout.
Still, and to be absolutely fair, home teams have won every game in this series and there is no reason to believe that won’t continue to happen. As the adage goes: The team with home ice advantage is not in any trouble until it loses a game on home ice.
So for argument’s sake, let us assume, the Wings continue to win at home and eventually win the series 4-3. This team has had some tremendous players during the playoffs: goalie Chris Osgood is right at the top as is hard checking Henrik Zetterberg and steady (35-minutes-a-game) defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom.
But frankly, if one player continues to play as well as he has in the final, and continues to lead the Wings both as a checker and scorer, then Darren Helm of St. Andrews, Man., has a legitimate right to consider himself Conn Smythe worthy.
Thursday, he was consistently the best player the Red Wings had. He’s demonstrated that on more than one occasion this spring. He’s scored some big goals and he’s also done a wonderful job in the corners. He hits, he wins faceoffs and he backchecks as well as any player in the post-season.
I love the fact that when he gets hit, which he often does because of his aggressive style, he just gets up and plays. No slashing, no face-washes, no belligerent words or gestures. No whining. He just plays.
Frankly, even if he’s not the Conn Smythe winner, he’s been the most refreshing young player in the entire post-season. And his style is the best thing thats happened to the game in decades.