Analyze This!

According to TSN’s hockey insider, Darren Dreger, the Pittsburgh Penguins were a happy group after Tuesday night’s game six win, because they stuck to their game plan and then “they weathered the storm in the third.”

Let’s say for arguments sake that Detroit had scored during their phase of prolonged pressure, which basically lasted the entire third period. Dreger, in his analyses, would definitely not be talking about how successful the Penguins were at their game plan, he would probably be lauding the Red Wings’ ability to absorb the blows and land a knock-out punch at the crucial moment.

In all fairness to the Penguins, Detroit deserved to lose the game. They slept for the first two periods and only awoke for the third, which they dominated. But for the Penguins, the final 20 minutes were a failure. Entering the last period with a lead of 1-0 and subsequently being outshot 14-7 was a failure on their part. They played with fire and were lucky to escape with a tie from that timeframe.

But that’s not what the analysts say. They give us a results based breakdown, stating that Pittsburgh bounced back well from their loss, played a great game, and deserve their win. We deserve better! We demand a real analysis!