The post-game comments from the Penguins revolved around obstruction and Chris Osgood's flopping but the real story was that they failed to mount a forecheck in Game 2. Very early in the first period, it became very apparent they weren't going to be able to get it done because of a number of factors.
First, the Penguins' dump-ins weren't good enough because Osgood's puck handling allowed him to retrieve many of the pucks and set them up for his defence.
Secondly, the Red Wings' defence is very mobile, skilled and smart and they get back very quickly. The Penguins can claim obstruction but the Detroit defenders, including Pavel Datsyuk on the backcheck, make three-foot passes in tight quarters to allow the Red Wings to break out.
The Red Wings' ability to clear the zone with ease, especially in the first period when the game was on the line, was the story of the game. You could sense the frustration of the Penguins as the game went on but it was the same story in Game 1.
Sending A Message?
I think the Gary Roberts shot on Johan Franzen was done to try and send a message. However, I don't think Roberts was necessarily trying to punch him in the face because he will quite often use that stiff-arm to the middle of a player's chest. But he hit Franzen in the face and the Red Wings weren't happy about it but that's the kind of player Roberts is.
As far as Sykora bumping into the goalie, that's garden variety stuff. Covering the Stanley Cup Final, sometimes you get hard up for controversy but that wasn't running the goalie.
Osgood was flopping all over the place and the Penguins can complain about it all they want but they can't get a puck by him. That's the story.
The Kid Gets and A for Effort
When you get shutout in back to back games, there's no way you can give a gold star to anybody on the Pittsburgh Penguins who is expected to go out and score goals - and Sidney Crosby is certainly expected to score. But if there was any star player on the Penguins who should get some credit for having some jump, it's Crosby.
He played 21:01 in Game 2, had six shots on goal, even got a little bit of penalty-killing time in, and was generally one of the better Penguins on the ice.
While Crosby gets an "A" for effort, and as much as he's playing with an edge, battling and trying to make things happen - and certainly looking as though he's breaking more of a sweat than Evgeni Malkin and some others on the team - he's still not getting anything accomplished. The Red Wings have simply thrown a blanket over the whole team.