We're into the second half of the hockey season, and the push for the playoffs begin!

Game Five Pre Game

Written by: Jesse Michael on 6th June 2009

Game Five Pre Game | read this item

Detroit, MI — With game five a mere two hours away, these are the headlines making the rounds at Joe Louis arena this afternoon…

- Pavel Datsyuk took part in the game-day practice, skating at left wing on a line with Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg. Coach Mike Babcock said that he would leave Datsyuk there, and he saw that he could switch to center, he would move him back to his natural position…

- In the 19 previous Stanley Cup Final series tied 2-2, the club winning Game 5 has won the Stanley Cup 14 times (57.6%). The five clubs that successfully overcame a Game 5 loss: the 1950 Detroit Red Wings, 1964 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1971 Montreal Canadiens, 2001 Colorado Avalanche and 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning.I

- Penguins center Evgeni Malkin tallied two points in Game 4 (one goal, one assist), increasing his League-leading playoff point total to 35 (14 goals, 21 assists) in 21 games. Malkin has the highest point total in a single playoff year since 1992-93, when Wayne Gretzky had 40 (15 goals, 25 assists) in 24 games for the Los Angeles Kings and Doug Gilmour notched 35 (10 goals, 25 assists) in 21 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

- Malkin, who holds a four-point lead over teammate Sidney Crosby (15-16–31) in the Stanley Cup Playoff scoring race, could join Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur and Phil Esposito as players in the expansion era (since 1968) who have swept regular-season and playoff scoring titles in the same season. Malkin captured the 2008-09 Art Ross Trophy as the League’s regular-season points leader with 113 (35 goals, 78 assists) in 82 games.

- Penguins centers Sidney Crosby (1.37) and Evgeni Malkin (1.33) rank third and fourth all-time in playoff points per game, joining Hall of Fame legends Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier in the top five.

- The Red Wings outshot the Penguins 39-31 in Game 4, marking the fourth time in as many Stanley Cup Final games that the club recording more shots lost. Clubs holding an edge in shots had posted a 44-34 record in the 2009 playoffs entering the Final (.564).

2009 Playoff Trends

Record when scoring first: Pittsburgh 8-4, Detroit 9-1

Record when opponent scores first: Pittsburgh 6-3, Detroit 5-5

Record when leading after the first period: Pittsburgh 6-3, Detroit 6-0

Record when leading after the second period: Pittsburgh 9-0, Detroit 11-0

Record when outshooting opponent: Pittsburgh 10-6, Detroit 10-6

Record when outshot: Pittsburgh 4-1, Detroit 4-0

2009 Stanley Cup Playoff Leaders

Goals: Sidney Crosby, Pit. (15)

Power-Play Goals: Evgeni Malkin, Pit. (seven)

Shorthanded Goals: Seven players with one, including Marian Hossa, Det. and Jordan Staal, Pit.

Game-Winning Goals: Johan Franzen, Det., Evgeni Malkin, Pit. and Jussi Jokinen, Car. (three)