Bob Duff

DETROIT - Can it really be this simple, this obvious, this soon?

One game into the Stanley Cup finals, is it possible that the Pittsburgh Penguins have Crosby, but no hope?

In the corner of the Penguins’ dressing room, defenseman Hal Gill sat quietly, wearing a puzzled look, studying the blade of one of his skates as if to suggest someone had forgot to sharpen them.

It couldn’t be that he really was that slow, now could it?

Could be. And he’s not alone in that fear.

Taking a resounding 4-0 decision from the Penguins in the first game of this best-of-seven finals, the vastly experienced Detroit Red Wings left Pittsburgh an uncertain bunch and certainly sent a shudder of fear through the people who run the National Hockey League.

This was going to be a clash of titans, the marquee final the league has long awaited. The coronation of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby as the next great thing.

Instead, it’s already beginning to look as if this supposed series to end all series may already be game, set and match.

"That definitely was our worst game of the playoffs," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "There’s no doubt that this is the best team we’re facing right now."

Are the Wings really that much better than the Penguins?

Based on Exhibit A, a.k.a. Game 1, all signs point to this being so.

Five-on-five, Pittsburgh could muster little, if any, attack. Over the final two periods, the mighty Penguins managed a meager seven shots on goal, finishing with 19 for the game, most of which came during three first-period power plays.

Once Detroit decided to stay out of the penalty box, the Wings took over and completely took the Penguins out of the game.

"I thought we were really tough on their 'D' the last two periods," Detroit goalie Chris Osgood said. "We made them skate back for a lot of pucks. We got pucks deep and then we’d grind on their 'D'. You do that and reap the rewards later. That’s what we accomplished and that’s why we ended up getting the goals we did.

"It’s difficult when guys are hitting you non-stop for 40 minutes."

The Wings exposed the slow-footed Pittsburgh defense with constant pressure from their relentless forecheck.

"They play hard, they play smart," Penguins forward Maxime Talbot said of the Red Wings. "Their defense stood us up and forced us to turn the puck over at our blue-line and their blue-line."

From there, Detroit’s high-tempo transition game did the rest, sending the Penguins reeling, with Wings forward Mikael Samuelsson scoring twice directly off of turnovers by Pittsburgh players.

"As the game went on, we just got a little better, especially in the neutral zone," Detroit winger Dallas Drake said. "We started to skate a lot more, got the puck in on their defense and created turnovers from there."

All the while, creating doubt in the minds of the Penguins.

"I don’t know if they got us rattled, but they sure had us back on our heels," Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik said. "Their 'D' stood us up in the neutral zone and forced turnovers. The gaps between our forwards and our defense were too wide and that got us into trouble."

In the battle of superstars, Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg won the first round, combining for 13 shots and a goal by Zetterberg. Crosby and teammate Evgeni Malkin were good for four shots.

On Malkin’s best chance, he shifted his way through traffic into scoring position only to be dumped on his behind by a solid check delivered by Datsyuk, who finished with a team-leading six hits. Zetterberg — like Datsyuk a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward — flattened Crosby with a punishing hit of his own.

"That’s the thing about our team," Drake said. "Our best players are our best defensive players as well."

Detroit effectively eliminated time and space away from Pittsburgh’s creative twosome.

"We were just trying to be there and take the room away from them," added Detroit forward Valtteri Filppula said of the. "We have to try to make them get rid of the puck."

It was all part of a disappointing performance that left the Penguins with an uncomfortable feeling in the pits of their stomachs, one that suggested the playoff landscape was suddenly tilted askew.

A couple of years back, when they were staring bankruptcy in the face, there was talk of the Penguins making like Fats Domino and going to Kansas City.

Saturday, the wizard of Oz stepped up to remind them that they weren’t in Kansas anymore.

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