The rematch that the hockey world has been waiting for kicked off with a bang. A nice ceremonial face-off started the series as one of hockey’s oldest legends, “Mr. Hockey” Gordie Howe, dropped the puck for legend-to-be, Sidney Crosby. Ted Lindsay was also part of the ceremonial puck drop with Nick Lidstrom. From there, it was game on at the Joe.

Pittsburgh 1 @ Detroit 3 – Hockey games in the playoffs can often be won and lost on bounces. That was never more true than in last night’s game. The lively boards at Joe Louis Arena were a factor in two Detroit goals and that was wall that the home side needed to take the lead in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Despite there being two high power offenses at work in this game, it was the goalies that controlled the early part of the game with both men making big saves to keep the score tied. It wasn’t until 14 minutes in that Detroit caught a break. Brad Stuart blasted a shot from the point that ricocheted of the boards, off Pens goalie Marc-Andre-Fleury and into the cage. While Stuart may have been the hero then, he dropped to zero only five minutes later. A Stuart giveaway was picked up by Evgeni Malkin. His shot was stopped by Chris Osgood but Ruslan Fedotenko backhanded home the rebound to knot things up heading into the second.

The second period was highlighted again by a goaltending duel. While depth and scoring were the stories heading into the series, the two goaltenders were stealing the spotlight. In the final minute of the period, another puck off the boards led to a goal. This time a Brian Rafalski point shot bounced back out front to Johan Franzen who slammed it by Fleury for a 2-1 lead.

The third period got off to a quick start. Less than three minutes in, a pair of playoff call-ups from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins showed the depth of the Detroit organization. Ville Leino made a pass from behind the net to Justin Abdelkader who one-timed off Fleury and then hammered home his own rebound. The pair’s first career playoff points made it 3-1 for the home side. From there it fell on the shoulders of Chris Osgood. With the net empty for the final two minutes, the Pens couldn’t put the two goals needed by Ozzy and the Wings held on for the first win in the series.

Both goalies had stellar games despite the differing results. Chris Osgood made 31 saves to earn the game one win. Marc-Andre Fleury had an easy night for someone that’s facing Detroit. He made 27 save on 30 shots.

Heading into game two, there aren’t many adjustments that either team can make. They are both evenly matched. Mind you, neither team will get much time to make adjustments. For the first time in 54 years, the Stanley Cup Finals will have games played on back-to-back days. It could end up being a matter of who fights harder to get the bounces to go their way. After all, in hockey, you create your own luck.

Detroit leads the series 1-0

Three Stars of the Night:
1. Chris Osgood (Detroit)
2. Justin Abdelkader (Detroit)
3. Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh)

Sunday’s Schedule:
Pittsburgh at Detroit – Detroit leads the series 1-0 (TV: CBC, NBC)