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McKenzie: Are the Red Wings starting to wear down?

Bob McKenzie
6/3/2009 8:23:04 PM
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The Pittsburgh Penguins need to take full advantage of Detroit's situation - or what was perceived to be a big advantage going into this series, and that is health.

The Penguins entered the series healthier and more rested than the Red Wings, who played some tough series leading up to the Stanley Cup final and suffered a lot of injuries along the way. And the Penguins certainly demonstrated their resilience in Game 3.

Pittsburgh was the much more physical team of the two, out-hitting the Red Wings by more than a 2-1 margin (36-17). Chris Kunitz led the way with 11 hits of his own while Matt Cooke chipped in another five. Those two players were responsible for 16 of those 36 hits.

We're going to find out in Game 4 if that was an aberration or was that a hint that maybe the Red Wings are starting to wear down a little bit.

Vigilant on Interference

Officiating has been a little elusive in the Stanley Cup final.

I think everybody agrees we want to see more battling in front of the net and down low in the corners and we've seen that, but there's a slippery slope and the one that you have to be vigilant on is interference.

In the third period, Wings defenceman Jonathan Ericsson gave a little tug on Matt Cooke and the way the system is supposed to work you get an interference penalty, followed by a power-play and/or game-winning goal.

Zero tolerance - that's the standard, but where was the standard earlier in the game when Hal Gill held up Dan Cleary? That was a penalty in the regular season.

Battle all you want in front of the net and down low but put the whistle in your pocket at times. If you're going to begin not calling the obstruction in the neutral zone and on the dump-ins, boy-oh-boy you're asking for big trouble.

Bob McKenzie

Podcasts

TSN 1050 Toronto: TSN Drive with Dave Naylor - Hour 3: May 22nd

Dave is joined by Matt Sekeres of TEAM 1040 Vancouver and TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie

TSN 1050 Toronto: TSN Drive with Dave Naylor - Bob McKenzie: May 22nd

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie returned from the Memorial Cup and talked about the different prospects for this year's draft.

TSN 1050 Toronto: TSN Drive with Dave Naylor - Hour 2: May 21st

Dave is joined by TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, head coach of OKC Barons Todd Nelson, Tim Lieweke, and Dan Shulman of MLB on ESPN.


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