DET vs PIT

Even Scott Bowman was impressed.

For any hockey team, that is saying a lot. Driving back to his Detroit hotel after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, the Hall of Famer and all-time winningest coach in NHL history had a lot of complimentary words for the team he still acts as an official consultant for, after its 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night.

Matchups are what Bowman always focuses on most. He was the undisputed master of line matching in his 30-plus years behind the bench, and Bowman said Detroit coach Mike Babcock was the clear winner in the
coaching matchup with Pittsburgh's Michel Therrien in Game 1.

The job the Red Wings did against Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin was what most impressed the legendary Bowman.

"We were talking about it with Babcock, and he said what he wanted to do with Malkin was give him some offence with [Valterri] Filppula and [Jiri] Hudler, and then give him some checking with [Kris] Draper, [Dallas] Drake and [Mikael] Samuelsson," Bowman said. "Give him some variety, you know? He had some good matchups tonight. Babcock did a good job in that one."

Already, the Penguins sound confused. That's what the Red Wings do to teams. You think you can play a finesse game against them, but they pick you apart on any turnover or soft transition play. Then, when that doesn't work, you try to play a grinding, dump-and-chase game.

That hasn't worked much for anybody either.

But after seeing his team get completely stifled 5-on-5, Penguins star Sidney Crosby already was talking about how his team would have to chip the puck in more and try and create offence from hits and turnovers down deep.

But that's not Pittsburgh's game.

"I don't know if it was the nerves, but definitely it was our worst performance in the playoffs," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said.

The only encouragement the Penguins might be able to muster from the loss was the fact it was still a scoreless tie 33 minutes into the game, and they did have some early chances that probably will go in more often than not if things stay equal.

But there is no question the last 27 minutes were a disaster for Pittsburgh, and by game's end the Penguins looked just like any of the confused, thoroughly beaten Western Conference teams Detroit defeated all year. It had to be especially vexing for Penguins personnel to see the final stat sheet, with only 19 shots on net for an offensive
group some have already compared to the great Pittsburgh teams of the past.

"No doubt, this is the best team we've played," Therrien said.

The Penguins just never looked relaxed on the visiting ice. It probably had nothing to do with the outcome, but don't be surprised to see some Sunday-morning quarterbacking in the Pittsburgh media about Therrien's decision to only start skating on the Joe Louis Arena ice at Saturday's morning skate.

Said Bowman: "I thought [Nick] Lidstrom and [(Brian] Rafalski was the toughest matchup for Pittsburgh, against Crosby and [Marian] Hossa. And Hudler and Filppula might have been their best forwards a lot of the game."

NOTEBOOK

Detroit's Johan Franzen will not play in Game 2, a Red Wings management source said, and only has an outside chance of playing by Game 3. But he should be ready to return from a concussion no later than Game 4, next Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Despite the win, the Red Wings were upset afterward about Tomas Holmstrom's disallowed goal in the first period. The Wings feel Holmstrom has been a marked man with referees of late due to his presence near the crease.

There were some pre-game jitters for everybody, it seemed. Veteran Detroit public address announcer Budd Lynch called Crosby "Steven" before the opening faceoff, and Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury tripped and fell during
his pre-game entrance onto the ice. Lynch gets some leeway for his gaffe; He is a Canadian war hero, who served the Allies in Normandy during World War II.