Osgood Not Good Enough to Save the Red Wings

Osgood was outstanding, but he was not good enough to save the Detroit Red Wings from a loss in game-6 in Pittsburgh.

In the first period alone, Osgood faced 12 shots while Detroit only had 3 shots of their own. Most of the play was in Detroit territory and Chris Osgood looked great. In the second period, Osgood faced another 12 shots, one of them finally finding its way through and the Detroit Red Wings fell down 1-0.

In the third period, Detroit stood tall and controlled the game for the most part, but one flurry of play aloud a second goal for the Penguins and the Red Wings found themselves with a 2 goal deficit. It was all Red Wings after that. Detroit pounded Fleury with shots and 8:01 into the third period, Draper picked up a rebound and flipped it to the back of the net to cut the Penguins lead in half. Detroit had a taste of blood then and they seemed to like it. The fought all the harder to have another taste and at one point, it looked as if they had gotten it.

There was a scramble in front of the Pittsburgh net, seeing Fleury sliding out of position with the goal out front. One Pittsburgh player tried to cover the puck with his glove only to have the puck slapped before he got to it. The puck slid toward the net, hit the same Penguin's skate and came back out again. Before the puck could be hit again, Fleury had recovered and dropped his catcher over top of the puck. When the play was whistled dead, from the overhead camera, it looked as if there were more players inside of the net than there were in front of it. The puck never crossed the line.

In the end, the Penguins came away with a win in game-6, tying up the series and sending it back to Detroit for a game-7 finish. It is not a good feeling to have it come to a deciding game-7, but there is some good to take from this. Detroit played their best road game in Pittsburgh and came away with a loss that went down to the last seconds. Most of the third period, in Pittsburgh, the Red Wings dominated the game. If they can put that kind of pressure on the Penguins while on Pittsburgh ice, Detroit should be able to control them on home ice.

Another good thing is that the Detroit veterans will have another three day rest before facing the Penguins Friday night at 8:00 PM in Detroit. And if (when) they win the game? They will get to lift the cup in front of their home town fans.