Pittsburgh — Hoping to jumpstart a team that has been shut out in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien hinted he might put stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the same line for tonight’s Game 3 at Mellon Arena.
Therrien and the Penguins are running out of time to figure out how to crack a stifling Red Wings defense, and some times moves of this kind can turn things around. The Avalanche turned around their 1998-99 season when former coach Bob Hartley put Peter Forsberg on the same line with Joe Sakic, for instance.
Therrien also will insert veteran defenseman Darryl Sydor into his lineup for the first time in the playoffs, in place of Kris Letang. Sydor, 36, won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, and one with Dallas in 1999.
Therrien continues to harp on the officiating, saying he hoped his team would “get some calls” tonight. He has complained about alleged Detroit obstruction tactics, which drew a sharp response this morning from Detroit coach Mike Babcock.
“Obstruction is something when you get your stick on someone and you don’t move your feet. Obstruction is with your stick. There’s been zero of that. None,” Babcock said.
Both teams met with NHL officials today to review officiating standards, but Babcock said most of the discussion had to do with blows to the head — an obvious inference to the sucker punch by Pittsburgh’s Gary Roberts to Detroit’s Johan Franzen in the third period of Game 2.
Franzen, who had concussion problems before Game 2, was down for several seconds after the punch, clutching his head. Roberts, 42, said Franzen embellished his reaction.
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
