FanHouse Jonathan Ericsson

Without actually facing elimination, the Pittsburgh Penguins couldn't have faced a bigger must-win than they did Tuesday night. While Detroit hasn't truly dominated the Penguins in the opening two games of the Stanley Cup finals, they have played well enough to win both. Since there isn't much in hockey that's more dangerous than a hot Detroit team, the Penguins had to find a way to cool them off before things got out of hand.

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One of the key factors in Pittsburgh's Game 1 loss was Detroit's dominance in the face-off circle, leading to puck possession, scoring opportunities and, ultimately, goals. The Penguins showed considerable improvement in this area in Game 2, but it still wasn't enough as the Red Wings managed to take a 2-0 series lead as it shifts back to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

The Penguins actually won the face-off battle on Sunday (27-24) and even scored a goal as a result of one of their wins, but they still struggled to keep possession of the puck at times, and still gave up scoring chances (and goals) off of their losses.

Echoing last year's Finals and mixing in some hints of Game 1, the Red Wings kept up the brand of hockey that took them to the title in 2008.

For the second consecutive year, Detroit has taken the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals against Pittsburgh. On Sunday, it was some of the lesser lights who gave the Red Wings a 3-1 victory at Joe Louis Arena, while on the other side, the Penguins' star player was silent.

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Heading into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Red Wings have a good news, bad news situation on the injury front. The good news? Defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Jonathan Ericsson will be available on Saturday night. The bad news? Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper won't be.

Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock confirmed this morning that his MVP finalist (Datsyuk) and his top faceoff man (Draper) will be out of the lineup when the Red Wings host the Penguins at 8 PM ET.

Surely, NBC executives were grateful for the work of Anaheim Duck Todd Marchant. After all, they were one period of extra-time hockey away from having to pre-empt the start of prime-time programming. Being that this is May, a major ratings period in television, this isn't exactly a wonderful proposition. Even the biggest hockey fan has to admit that there isn't a huge number coming to you when you air a hockey game.

Those who were watching, though, were treated to a classic. The Ducks and Red Wings gave us our first multiple-overtime game of these playoffs, and one can only hope it's a sign of things to come in this hotly-contested series.

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the deepest offensive teams in the NHL. Unfortunately for them, they don't boast similar defensive depth. Instead, they tend to lean on their puck possession and scoring to mask some flaws along the blue line and in goal.

As a result, news that veteran puck-moving defenseman Brian Rafalski will miss Game 1 of the Wings' Western Conference semifinal series against Anaheim is not good. It's not a death blow -- as an injury to Nicklas Lidstrom would be -- but it's not a good way for Detroit to start this series.

When they're on, there's no doubt the Detroit Red Wings are among the best teams in the NHL. More often than usual this season, the Wings were a tad less than adequate defensively, leaving their goaltenders in impossible positions and generally giving up too many goals.

The playoffs are different, however, and the experienced Wings showed that on Thursday. They easily dispatched Columbus, 4-1, in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

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The troubled defense of the Detroit Red Wings took a hit Monday with the news that Andreas Lilja would be placed on the long-term injury list in order to allow him time to recover from a concussion suffered during a fight in the team's 8-0 loss to Nashville on February 28th. The big Swedish defensemen has been dealing with daily headaches since about the third punch of the tussle with Shea Weber (YouTube).

Lilja left the game after the fight, and hasn't returned to the ice since. He underwent tests in the days following the game, but had further tests Monday when his symptoms didn't abate. He has missed three games already, and will miss his fourth tonight when the Wings face Phoenix. He is not eligible to return until March 27th, after ten games out of the lineup.