Who Wants It More? Pivotal Game 5 Tonight

Before I talk a little bit about the monumental game 5 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings tonight in Detroit (8 PM EST), I wanted to share some other good reading about the series which I came across yesterday:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AjI62.iBdVmj3xhNVPNU3RY5nYcB?slug=jp-crosbycolumn060509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/story/11821141

http://www.canada.com/Penguins+take+advantage+weary+Wings/1666212/story.html

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/cup/2009-06-04-penguins-scuderi_N.htm

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-elliott-nhl5-2009jun05,0,4493256.column

As far as game 5 is concerned, the biggest questions everyone can't wait to find the answers to as this series shifts to Detroit are:

1) Will Pavel Datsyuk return from injury and finally suit up for the Red Wings?; and

2) Will the Penguins maintain the momentum they now have after winning games 3 and 4, or will Detroit stabilize the series by demonstrating the discipline and poise of a veteran team facing some adversity?

On the first question, Detroit coach Mike Babcock gave what could be interpreted as some conflicting information yesterday.

First, when asked about whether the Datsyuk, a Hart-trophy candidate this season, would get back in the lineup in game 5, Babcock said:

"He'll play".

Then later, his answer as a bit more cryptic:

"First thing is prior to yesterday's game, we were hoping Pav was going to be in, but we weren't planning," Babcock said Friday. "Now we're hoping Pav's going to be in and we're planning that he's going to be in. But he's still got to be in. "

Personally, I was very surprised he didn't go in game 4. Babcock said it would be up to Datsyuk, but I heard the doctor didn't clear him, which makes sense because you have to think that if it were up to Datsyuk, he would have played. To me, that means he really must be hurting and not close to 100%.

So whether he goes tonight remains to be seen. I suspect he will. But the real question remains -- if he's still hurting that much and, potentially, not even being cleared by the Red Wings medical staff -- how effective can he be if he is in the lineup?

If Detroit is waiting for him to be their white horse, they may be making the wrong move. I know Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood was quoted BEFORE game 4 as saying that, while the Red Wings have gotten this far without him, they wanted him back in the lineup. Of course, he backed off of that AFTER game 4 by indicating that they can't count on him and have to improve their play whether he's in the lineup or not.

That comment alone -- considering the change in tone from just the day before -- could have been a hint of how Datsyuik is coming along.

Either way, the 2nd question above might be the more relevant one at hand. That is, regardless of whether Datsyuk plays, can the Penguins keep the momentum, or will Detroit rebound?

Of course, I agree fully with Penguins coach Dan Bylsma -- and even Babcock -- who both basically said yesterday that momentum is only as good as you play on the next shift and in the next game. Both teams know that, so it's going to be up to the Penguins to be better in the face of what they should expect to be a much better Red Wings team in game 5 that will surely get a boost from its home fans.

But I'll also say this -- I'd almost always prefer to be the team with momentum and confidence. I'm a big believer in how much those factors can contribute to a team's success, and many key Penguins have to be feeling good about their games right now -- including Pens' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal, among others. Fleury, in particular, looks like he could be ripe to outright steal a game.

Pittsburgh will definitely have to work to maintain the momentum they have created, but you have to like their chances of keeping it up. Would you rather be the team who won the most recent 2 games in a 7-game series, or who lost the last 2? Momentum can shift easily, even within a game as we saw in game 4, but it also doesn't take much to string that together for 3 to 4 games. And in a 7-game series, that's all you need to win.

One thing the Penguins must continue to get tonight -- aside from another strong performance from Fleury -- are contributions from their support players. It would be great to see RW Bill Guerin, LW Chris Kunitz or LW Ruslan Fedotenko get on the board in game 5. Fedotenko, in particular, had a great chance in game 4 he wasn't able to finish. He's due.

The Pens' must also continue to be physical with Detroit. They've had a profound edge on the Red Wings in third period play in this series -- especially the last few contests -- and with this being the 5th game in 8 days in this series, the Penguins can't let off the physical accelerator. There's a lot of question right now as to whether the Red Wings are tired and fatigued out there. They may not show it initially in game 5, but if Pittsburgh continues to bang bodies out there, we may see the attrition start to show through late in the game again.

There's not much more to say. Everyone knows what's at stake tonight. It's a best of 3 for the Cup. The winner of game 5 hasn't finished the job, by any stretch. The loser will be an excellent team still in the mix in this series. But make no mistake.

The victor tonight is flush in the driver's seat to carry that Chalice.

Recap tomorrow.

LET'S GO PENS!