Game 5 thoughts

Finally, Detroit showed up! If the Wings play this differently with and without Pavel Datsyuk, give him the Hart Trophy right now.

In the first two games in Pittsburgh, the biggest story in my mind was Detroit's failure on the offensive and the power play. Apparently getting Datsyuk back fixed both of these problems instantly, and Detroit now has a 3-2 lead in the series. Now, for the first time in this series, Detroit looks like the team that beat the Ducks in what I believe was the best playoff series this year. If they can keep it up, they can wrap the series on Tuesday.

However, I wouldn't put money on it. Even Game 5 was a lot closer than it looked. Pittsburgh came out real strong, and had they got the first goal, they might have won the game.

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On the subject of officiating, maybe it was Rory Boylen's childish blog rant that provoked them, but some of the Hockey News' senior writers have been commenting on the refereeing.

Ken Campbell:

What drives people to distraction is how obstruction can go unpunished by both teams countless times during the game, then get called midway through the third period, the way it was on Jonathan Ericsson, which led to the game-winning goal.

Isn’t it supposed to be different? In the new NHL, wasn’t an infraction in October supposed to be treated the same way as one in the Stanley Cup final?

All the players and the coaches want is consistency because they have a remarkable ability to adapt to any situation. Their attitude is to either call everything or nothing, but be consistent with it.

Senior editor Jason Kay sums it up like this:

Two minutes or not two minutes? That is the question.

There has been much chatter the past week about an obstruction crackdown slip during the Stanley Cup final. After many, many months of vigilance, the referees suddenly decided to let ‘em play.

The short-term, myopic benefits are fewer whistles and power plays. The big picture downsides are stunted skill displays, confusion and a greater potential for huge controversy.

That's very well put. I thought Game 5 was the first game where the referees actually called the game the way it was going on the ice. This time, it meant a big difference in penalties between the Pens and the Wings. The fact was, the Pens fouled much more, so the penalties were deserved. Who knows how they'll call Game 6?