By Allan Muir, SI.com
1. Mikael Samuelsson, Red Wings: The former Penguin was Saturday's offensive hero, netting a pair of goals to pace Detroit to a 4-0 Game 1 victory. His second marker of the night, an unassisted goal, was an especially fine piece of work. Samuelsson created his own opportunity with a crushing hit on Hal Gill, then stripped Evgeni Malkin of the puck in front of the net before burying a wrister behind a stunned Marc-Andre Fleury.
2. Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings: Detroit's second-leading scorer doesn't need to light the lamp to beat you. He was strong on the puck all night long, launching five shots and doing a masterful job of creating opportunities for his linemates with his precision passing. He was just as impressive on the defensive end, landing a team-high five hits and making life miserable for both Sidney Crosby and Malkin with his positioning and willingness to exceed their intensity along the boards.
3. Chris Osgood, Red Wings: Shutouts are not created equal, and given that the Penguins launched just seven shots over the final two periods, this was hardly the most challenging of Osgood's career. Still, any time you whitewash the other side in the Stanley Cup finals, you deserve a pat on the back. Osgood won the game by coming up with the saves he had to make, including an aggressive stop on a Sergei Gonchar power-play blast with the game still 2-0 late in the third that helped snuff the life from the Pens.
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One word: OVERMATCHED! In every facet of the game. I'm sorry, but all hope just left my body. The Pens are nowhere near the level of the Wings. I wish I knew this five weeks ago so I wouldn't have watched all those games.
mikeinpittsburgh
Oakdale , PA
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The thing that Pittsburgh should worry about is that Detroit still has room for improvement. They only scored one power play goal, and I can guarantee you will not see Nik Lidstrom take two penalties in a game again. Plus, the return of the Mule!
I don't see a sweep because Pittsburgh is too talented for that, but the Pens are starting to learn that the experience and skill of the Red Wings is unlike anything they've seen in the Eastern Conference.
The Winged Wolverine
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