Tonight at 8pm, the Detroit Red Wings take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road.

The only potential line-up change for the Wings is if Tomas Holmstrom does not play due to an apparent hamstring injury. He is a game time decision. If Homer can't go (and I think he'll play), Darren McCarty will fill out the roster.

The game will be shown on NBC and CBC. Go Wings!

Feel free to leave a comment in the thread below with any game-related comments. I will be stopping by throughout the game.

After a 3-2 loss against Pittsburgh last night, the Wings have another concern to add to the list. Forward Tomas Holmstrom left the game with just over six minutes remaining after a Hal Gill cross check (update: trip) and did not return. He was seen limping as he exited Mellon Arena.

Despite this, GM Ken Holland believes that Homer will play in Saturday's game.

He felt OK this morning," Holland said. "Sometimes in the first 24-48 hours, you get significantly worse. He wasn’t any worse today, so that’s a good sign."

Teammates weren’t overly concerned.

"They said he was limping out of the arena," Zetterberg said, "and I said he does that a lot of times."

Now it's not incredibly unusual to see Holmstrom with ice after the game after the beatings he usually takes in front of the opponent's net, but he did miss the end of the game which concerns me a bit. Still, it's the Stanley Cup Final and Homer would have to be in a ton of pain to not play in Game #4. It's not like Johan Franzen, who missed six games with concussion-like symptoms and you had to be cautious because it's his brain. This is an alleged knee injury. Slightly different story in that regard.

Correction: I was appropriately corrected by a Pens fan over at PensBurgh that the injury did not come from a Hal Gill cross check, rather more of a tripping motion. My bad.

Update: Holmstrom practiced this morning on the first line, but is still not a 100% yes to play tonight. He is a game-time decision and Homer will be the one deciding whether he plays tonight or tonight. I expect him to play based on Babcock and Homer's comments.

Dearest Wings Fans:

We have a series now, huh?  That was one hell of a game.  Hard hits, fast skating - it had everything.  For the sake of the sport, let's hope the ratings were through the roof for NBC.

The Pens proved that Osgood is breakable and they did it in superb fashion.  And Franzen?  Now I know why they call that guy The Mule.  That power play goal was just devastating.  His stock value has skyrocketed this post-season.

So now we have two days off.  Two days for Detroit to shake the loss, and two days for Pittsburgh to try and ride it out till Saturday night.  If this series heads back to Detroit 2-2, we're looking at what can possibly be one of the best series in years.

Good game,
FrankD
Pensburgh.com

Tonight is the defining game of the series. Detroit can go up 3-0 and with the high odds of winning the Cup. Or the Penguins could win it at home and get right back in this series, 2-1.

Johan Franzen played Monday night and will be in the line-up again tonight. He is doing fine after the Gary Roberts hit to the head. As in Game #2, Darren McCarty and Chris Chelios are healthy scratches.

The Penguins have pulled Kris Letang, who got owned by Valtteri Filppula on the third goal, in favor of veteran Darryl Sydor. Otherwise, their line-up remains the same as Game #2.

I will be stopping by the thread throughout the game so be sure to leave a comment, complaint, or note of joy in the comment thread!

The Wings game starts at 8pm and will be shown on Versus and CBC. Go Wings!

PS. Joe Hass has joined Winging It In Motown as my co-blogger so you should see some comments and posts from him this week. He is a very opinionated Wings fan so I look forward to reading his comments on the action and signings this series and into the off-season.

Dearest and lovable fans at Winging it in Motown,

So, what's up guys?  I hear the fairways are pretty nice this ti...

Not yet; sorry.  I can't allow myself to give up yet.  From a blogger's perspective, I've spent way too much time writing about and following this team all season long to even consider cashing it in until one of these teams has four wins.  For the time being it's looking very much like Detroit, but who knows?

I'm thinking, hoping, praying this thing heads back to Detroit 2-2.  A win next game will do wonders for this series.  But I almost have to think that before the Pens even win they have to do something else.  I forget what it is, but I know it's important.  Oh!  I remember now - SCORE A GOAL.  Right, that's it.

Hey Osgood is - well, good, but he's no God.  God's don't hold out their arm to take dives in the third period in a 3-0 shutout when a player on the other team gives a love tap.  Suck it up Ozzie, you're starting to show your age.

While we're on the topic of cheese, let me just apologize for the Franzen hit.  I even said out-loud while watching, "Roberts - you *expletive*."  So for all it's worth, I apologize.

We'll get one - oh yes, we'll get one.  Whether that is one goal or one win is yet to be determined, but we'll get something.  Mark my word.

See you in Pitt.

Hugs, kisses and firm handshakes,
FrankD
Pensburgh.com

After a convincing win on Saturday night, the Wings hope to earn a 2-0 series lead at home before heading to Pittsburgh for the next two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. Will Crosby and Malkin be kept to four shots again or will they burst out in goals with the Penguins splitting the two games in Detroit?

At this time, it has not been decided if Johan Franzen will play tonight or not. He went all out in practice on Sunday, but he was still a maybe for Game #2. By the time they make that announcement, I will be unable to get to the computer. You can visit beat reporter Bruce MacLeod's blog, Red Wings Corner, for any morning skate updates.

After posting a shut out, Chris Osgood will remain in net.

The game starts at 8pm and will be shown on Versus and CBC. Go Wings!

Last night, the Detroit Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in convincing fashion, 4-0, at home. They are now three wins away from the Stanley Cup. Now let's not get ahead of ourselves, there is still plenty of hockey to be played. I know that the Wings really picked up and capitalized on the Penguins mistakes. I know Pittsburgh has the talent to perform better and it's only game. There is plenty of time to turn things around so I would most certainly not write off the Pens by any stretch of the imagination.

Some interesting takes from the game (and if you want a look from the other side, be sure to visit Pensburgh):

1) Sidney Crosby had just three shots in the game. Evgeni Malkin? Just one.

2) Detroit won 53% of the face offs. Kris Draper won 68% of his 19 face offs. Valtteri Filppula won 75% of his 8 face offs. Jordan Staal? 38%. Crosby? 48%. Malkin? 40%.

3) For being the bigger team in terms of size, the Penguins were outhit by Detroit, 31-25.

4) Detroit's secondary scoring got two goals from Mikael Samuelsson and a goal from Dan Cleary. Neither of which had scored in the Western Conference Finals so it was great to see some goals from new sources.

5) Chris Osgood was the reason why the Wings weren't down at least a goal in the first period. After playing undisciplined and going on almost four consecutive penalty kills, Osgood had to make some huge saves. And he did. The crowd kept chanting "Ozzie, Ozzie" during the first and it was certainly earned praise by the netminder. I find it hard to imagine the Joe Louis crowd chanting like that had Dominik Hasek been the goalie in net making those saves. But maybe that's just me.

6) The Pens had their fans in full force last night. I didn't interact with any of them, but I only heard them cheering "Lets Go Pens" and while I don't like seeing a lot of visiting team fans in our arena, it's not so bad when they are just cheering for their team (instead of trying to insult the opponents). I also saw way too many Crosby jerseys last night. I got excited when I saw a fan with a Gonchar jersey and that's just because it was something different.

Tomorrow night's game will be a great battle. If Pittsburgh can split the games at the Joe, it'll be considered a big success for them as they head home. If Detroit can head to Pittsburgh up 2-0 in the series and with the chance of Johan Franzen to return to the line-up, it's going to be tough for the Penguins to climb back into this series.

If you are interested in seeing how the two teams measured up statistically before the Stanley Cup Finals, please check out Stros Fan's fanpost here.

Dear Winging it in Motown,

What can I say?  You guys definitely earned that one.  Chris Osgood has never looked better in net, Kronwall couldn't have hit harder and Samuelsson (seriously?) couldn't have been more in the right place at the right time.  Congrats on a Game 1 victory.

Now on to Game 2. 

Expect Pitt to turn their entire game plan around.  12 shots in the first was great, but a combined seven over the next two periods was just horrendous.  Was it the Pens' power play that stumbled on four straight chances, or was it the Detroit penalty kill that was playing out of their minds?  I'm sure that question will draw two different responses, each coinciding with one's particular fandom. 

Either way you look at this, it would seem we have a goaltending duel on our hands.  Minus Fleury's defense collapsing on him in the third, the first period had all believing that this would be a one-goal game.  As I've been saying to countless other Penguins fans, "1-0 would've been ok, 2-0 somewhat acceptable - but 4-0 just shows a collapse in every aspect of the team."

And so we await Monday, the second installment of this riveting series.  May your holiday weekend be a joyous one, and your squid extra delicious.

Love always,
FrankD
Pensburgh.com

Later today, the Detroit Red Wings will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game #1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Neither team has gone behind in any of their first three series so tonight will be a first time for one of these two squads.

Power forward Johan Franzen will not be in the line-up for the Wings tonight as he has not been cleared to play yet. He missed four games in the Western Conference Finals due to concussion-like symptoms (headaches). The headaches have gone away and Franzen has practiced with the team, but has avoided contact drills. He will see the doctor at some point today and will hopefully be cleared to partake in more physical play. The Wings are hoping he will play in the Finals, but he will not be in for Game #1.

Chris Osgood will get the start in net tonight for Detroit.

Both Chris Chelios (Detroit) and Gary Roberts (Pittsburgh) are healthy scratches for tonight's game despite their veteran presence in the line-up.

The game starts at 8pm and will be shown on Versus. I will be at the game and unable to visit this thread during the game, but feel free to leave a comment anyways. Go Wings!

If you want to see what the other side is saying, please visit another SBN blog, PensBurgh.

The Stanley Cup Finals are almost upon us and SBN will be covering the games from both sides, here and our Pittsburgh counterpart, PensBurgh. Outside of recapping the series happenings, the Frank and I will be exchanging banter throughout the series. Here is Frank's first "letter" to WIM and you should be able to see my letter to PensBurgh once it's posted there.

Dear Wingin It in Motown,

Here we are counting down the minutes before Game 1 of the finals. One of us will get the cup, and the other will get the clubs. Allow me to enlighten you on a few pointers.

First, no team has ever one with a European captain. The Wings, as I'm sure you all know, have just that.

Secondly, it seems like despite some sort of superiority complex, the Wings are looking to be the underdogs in this series. Proof? I'm glad you asked : http://www.faceoff-factor.com/nhl/1609/media-member-predictions

I know the advantage is only slight, but it's still nice to see isn't it?

Finally, just remember the simple fact that Penguins don't need wings to fly. Plus, just for an extra kick, Penguins eat octopus.

There goes your luck.

Love,
FrankD
Pensburgh.com