Penguins/NHL
Datsyuk out for Game 1
The Detroit Red Wings will be without M.V.P. candidate Pavel Datsyuk for game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday night.
Datsyuk who has a small fracture in his foot, skated today at the Wings morning skate and deemed himself available to play.
Head coach Mike Babcock and the Red Wings medical staff made the final call and have ruled Datsyuk out for tonight’s game.
This will be the 4th straight game that Datsyuk will miss. Indications are that Datsyuk will return to the lineup by game 3 at the latest.
With Datsyuk likely to be limited for the entire series, the pressure will turn to Marian Hossa.
Hossa (12pts) has had an inconsistent playoff run compared to last season when he had 26 points in 20 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Hossa likes to take a backseat to the media which is why he prefers not to play in Canada after his stint with the Ottawa Senators earlier in his career and a reason it was believed Pittsburgh was a perfect situation for him.
He doesn’t like the media pressure but on Friday he was front and center as the media swarmed him about playing his old team the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the Stanley Cup Finals.
He’s going to have to deal with it all series, and with Datsyuk limited, Hossa is going to have to deal with questions about his production on the ice.
If Hossa plays at the level he did last year with the Penguins during the Stanley Cup Finals, the Red Wings will be repeating as champions.
If he doesn’t, Pittsburgh may very be celebrating their first Stanley Cup Title since 1992.
