Red Wings-Penguins Game 4 Preview

Most of the stories surrounding Game 4 revolve around Tomas Holmstrom. Firstly, Is he going to play tonight? If not, Dan Cleary will take his spot on the top line and Darren McCarty will dress. Holmstrom is a game-time decision.
The other issue is Holmstrom's diving, which is big headlines in the Pittsburgh Tribune. Hal Gill received 2 cross checking minors in Game 3 because he was trying to remove Holmstrom from his spot in front of the net. Holmstrom easily fell to the ice on both calls.

"We were laughing about it," Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "It's embarrassing."

Oh yeah? I thought the Penguins were going to be the bigger divers in this series, as they are famous for it. But it's true, the Wings are diving more than the Penguins, who are choosing a hard-nosed approach.
Gill mentioned:

"The hard part is when he dives. ... It's tough to play him too hard if the refs aren't going to call the dives."

Oh boo fucking hoo. Karma's a bitch, he Hal? Just think, it wasn't that long ago when your kid captain was pulling the same crap. How about Malkin's slew-footing? The Penguins are just looking for a mental advantage.
Holmstrom denied these accusations of course in humorous fashion.

"If you get cross-checked from behind, how can you see if the cross-check is coming?" he said. "For sure, stuff happens around the net. You get banged up not just by one guy, (but) two guys, three guys coming in. It's a freak show around the net. Guys are flying left and right. I don't know. I don't even know who was out there. It's a big blur."

The big blur part doesn't suprise me. Maybe the Pens should start diving more as well. Don't tell me that they are above that. Then we'd have a dive-a-thon out there completely shaming the sport.
We'll see if the refs bite on the Pens' whining.
This series could have been 3-0. Game 3 and the series was in Detroit's hands until Brad Stuart (hero to goat) coughed the puck up in his own zone and Crosby scored. That finally put some life back in the Pens. Now Pittsburgh has life and these games should be closer. It's amazing how Pittsburgh's game changed after the scored their first goal after the series: faster pace, tight passing, better forecheck, more goals followed. Yeesh.
Detroit just has to stay poised and score the first goal. That trend still remains.
I wish they would put more shots high on Marc-Andre Fleury. Pretty tough to beat him along the ice. Yeah, I said "I wish". I'm not pulling for the Penguins. I've always hated them and still do.
The Red Wings took the Game 3 loss in stride and went to a relaxing resort. Expect a poised Wings team again tonight.
To throw a prediction out there: 3-2 Red Wings. Might even be some overtime there. Just a guess.
A question: Why the hell didn't Pittsburgh play Darryl Sydor throughout the playoffs? 2 Cup rings and he sits on the sidelines? Well his experience comes in handy now, doesn't it? And Gary fricking Roberts..... a machine.

T Tags: Penguins Red+Wings Stanley+Cup+Final Game+4 Preview Holmstrom Diving