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AP Photo RYR123
By IRA PODELL
AP Hockey Writer
DETROIT (AP) -Four new lines, same old result for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After recording only 19 shots in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals, the Penguins mustered just 22 Monday night in a 3-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
After starting each of their previous series 3-0, the Penguins suddenly find themselves down 0-2 and searching for ways just to get a goal.
Penguins coach Michel Therrien reacted to the 4-0 loss in Game 1 on Saturday but reinserting 42-year-old forward Gary Roberts and revamping all his lines. He moved Ryan Malone up to the top line alongside captain Sidney Crosby and dropped Pascal Dupuis down to play with Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy.
None of it worked. Crosby and Co. still couldn’t get free of Detroit’s top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom.
The Penguins had six shots in the first period, but didn’t have any at even strength. They went 0-for-4 on the power play and failed to produce any shots with the advantage after the opening frame.
Evgeni Malkin showed no signs of breaking out of his slump that seemingly came from nowhere. Flanked by wings Maxime Talbot, new to the line, and Petr Sykora, Malkin was pointless for the fourth time in six games and had no shots on goal.
Therrien called out Malkin before Game 2 and said he told the 21-year-old center he needed him to be a leader every night. Instead he disappeared again and has only one goal and an assist over his past six games.
“It’s really tough to generate offense against that team,” Therrien said. “They’re good on obstruction. It’s going to be tough to generate any kind of offense if the rule is remaining the same.
“It is tough to skate when they take away our ice.”
The Penguins are on the verge of having the whole series taken away if they can’t find a way to get the puck from the Red Wings. Pittsburgh was down 2-0 before it registered a shot Monday.
Heading home could be the tonic needed to make this a series. The Penguins are 8-0 in the playoffs at Mellon Arena and have won 16 straight there, dating to Feb. 24.
Therrien will surely take advantage of having the last line change at home and will work to get Crosby away from Zetterberg and Datsyuk.
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