Desperate? Pens say no amid line shuffle
You lose, you adjust. That onus is on the Pittsburgh Penguins in preparation for Monday night's Game 2 of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup finals against Detroit.
The Red Wings put the visitors in an 0-1 hole, winning Saturday night's opener 4-0.
The Penguins showed up for work Sunday sporting new forward lines, a move as much to give Pittsburgh a fresh approach mentally as to find more successful match ups against the Red Wings.
"We've got to make adjustments," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said Sunday at a media conference.
Pittsburgh is new to this situation. The Penguins won the first three games in each of their other series against the Senators, Rangers and Flyers, losing only Game 4s against New York and Philadelphia before closing each out in a Game 5. They're not used to trailing in a series, but their history this postseason suggests the Penguins will bounce back from a loss with not only a better performance but a victory to boot.
"This is what I'm expecting," Therrien said. "And we addressed it with the players before the practice. And it was important to make sure we got the right attitude (Sunday). I thought our guys were sharp during practice."
Pittsburgh will be more determined in response to Saturday's embarrassment. The Pens didn't compete during the final 40 minutes after a scoreless opening period that featured four failed power plays.
The Eastern Conference champs will feature a new look in Game 2 in order to energize their offense.
Therrien is replacing Pascal Dupuis with Ryan Malone at left wing alongside top-liners Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa. Malone brings more size to the line where Dupuis will take his superior speed to a third line that includes Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy.
This may signal a different approach for Crosby's group. With Dupuis, the group tried to attack the blue line with speed and puck possession. Now, maybe the Pens will try dumping the puck in and look to put more heat on Detroit's defense with a forechecking and cycle strategy.
"We've done it a lot all season, so I don't think it's a huge deal," Crosby said. "I think everyone is expected to do the same thing. It's just different looks and sometimes it depends on who Coach wants to play certain lines against and how they match up."
It appears veteran forward Gary Roberts will step back into the lineup. An inspirational leader on and off the ice for the Penguins, Roberts was unhappy about being scratched Saturday, a day after his 42nd birthday. Roberts has appeared in only six of Pittsburgh's 15 playoff games (two in each series) as he's been battling injury (leg, groin) and illness (pneumonia). He'll likely start on a fourth line in place of Georges Laraque with Adam Hall and Max Talbot.
Laraque logged only 4:43 of ice time on Saturday.
The key to Pittsburgh's attack, however, might be the second line, especially center Evgeni Malkin. The second-year star, one of only two players to eclipse 100 points during the regular season, has been held to one goal and two points during his last five games.
Malkin met privately with Therrien on Sunday. The coach said he stressed positive reinforcement, reminding Malkin how important it is to involve his linemates and not to try to do too much.
"I want him to be a leader again," Therrien said. "And we need him. He's a big part of our success."
Assuming the Red Wings continue to match Crosby's line with top-liners Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk (two of the league's three finalists for the Selke Trophy) and Tomas Holmstrom, it puts more pressure on Malkin's group to make the difference.
"We're not going to pull Sid off the ice every time he's going to play against Zetterberg," Therrien said. "We don't have the last change, and they do. And I don't mind that matchup. Five-on-five, I think it was pretty equal."
Detroit, which won the first two games in each of its previous three series, is aware of Pittsburgh's intent to bring more effort in Game 2.
"It's not like Crosby and his line and Malkin and his line didn't have chances," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "From our perspective, we've got to tighten up. … Those are good players. And the one thing about good players is they're real competitive. If they don't like their game, their last game, they usually have a better game the next game."
Detroit is also looking at the possibility of Johan Franzen returning to the lineup. His surprising offensive output of a postseason-leading 12 goals through the first two rounds was stopped by concussion-like syndromes he experienced after Game 1 of the West finals against Dallas. The 28-year-old winger has not played since.
Franzen's return probably won't be as psychologically important as Pittsburgh's adjustments, but don't underestimate the fact Detroit has a change to rally around as well.
On the other hand, the Penguins have to hope new chemistry will lead to better results.
"I don't think it's desperation," Crosby said. "I don't think we've had to match up our lines as far as the different tandems that the other teams play against us or "D" pairings and stuff like that. It's a little different with this team."
