The Ice Sheet: They’re Still Playing Hockey
Filed under: Detroit, Pittsburgh, General NHL, Penguins, Wings, Stanley Cup
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
The series is still going on. I checked. Detroit indeed plays Game Four at Pittsburgh Saturday night.
Why does it feel like it’s been a week since the last game?
Anyway, the games keep getting more and more important. Pittsburgh faced an absolute must-win in Game Three, and they got the job done. Give them credit for that, but Game Four is even more important. Not only does a win put the Penguins and Red Wings into a best-of-three for the greatest trophy in sports, but it also means Pittsburgh has avoided the fate suffered by the last two Cup finalists, Edmonton and Ottawa, who lost the fourth game of their series to fall behind 3-1. Yes, Edmonton rallied to force a Game Seven, but the more likely scenario was what happened to Ottawa, who wasn’t ever a serious threat in Game Five at Anaheim.
Not only that, but it’s not like Pittsburgh dominated Detroit in the last game. They can’t afford any serious slips Saturday, because their margin for error against this superb team is still perilously slim.
(Coming up: A look at Saturday’s game, how NHL fans handled an extra off day, an update on the absolutely frightening Barry Melrose rumors, and a YouTube even a curmudgeon could enjoy)
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