No Lineup Changes for Wings in Game 2

Not that the Red Wings really needed him in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but head coach Mike Babcock announced on Sunday that Pavel Datsyuk will be missing his fifth consecutive game, while no other lineup changes will be made prior to Game 2 at 8 PM ET.

In Datsyuk's absence on Saturday, Detroit put on a clinic in the face-off circle, winning 39-of-55 draws, while also shutting down Pittsburgh's high-powered offense, much like it did a year ago to earn a 1-0 series lead.

Sunday's game marks the first set of back-to-back games in the Stanley Cup final since 1955, and much has been made of it in the days leading up to the series. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, for example, wasn't exactly thrilled with the schedule, telling ESPN's Pierre LeBrun on Friday:

"We're not happy, I have to be honest ... We're disappointed that we haven't had an extra day's rest. It's a double-whammy, the quick turnaround and back-to-back games [to open the finals]. We're disappointed because we think when you win a series in five games or less, that you have earned an opportunity to have a few more days of rest. But at the same time, we understand and we're not going to dwell on it. Because we don't want to lose our focus with the job at hand. It is what it is. Let's play."

The NHL decided to move the start up from the original date of June 5 when the Penguins and Red Wings had their conference finals series end in four and five games respectively, because, well, having a week-and-a-half off between rounds seemed like a silly idea. The back-to-back came into play because of the all-powerful television deal and NBC's wishes (hey, we can't have a championship sporting event disrupting Conan O'Brien, now can we?).

For the Penguins, you almost have to consider this a must-win game. Falling down 0-2 to the Wings would not only be a rather deep hole to climb out of, you would also have to think it would be a rather large psychological blow seeing as how Detroit is currently playing without its best all-around player.