Well, it didn’t take the Red Wings long to commit to playing Pavel Datsyuk when the Stanley Cup Finals return to Detroit for Game 5 Saturday night. When asked about Datsyuk’s status for Game 5, Coach Mike Babcock responded simply, “He’ll play.”

Datsyuk brings a whole other dimension to the Red Wings that the Penguins will have to match up against. Certainly, with Pavel in the lineup it will relieve some of the duress Zetterberg has been under trying to skate with Sidney Crosby.

Time for the Penguins to evolve and deal with it. Because if Datsyuk is full strength, the Penguins will have to worry.

Say what you want, and having myself read the commentary out of the Detroit papers and Red Wings blogs do vehemently disagree, the Red Wings appear to be out of gas. That does not mean that at some point they will not make a pit stop and refuel. But for now the defending Stanley Cup Champions look tired and defeated.

I sit in D7, four sections up and to the left side of the Pens bench if you are looking at it from the ice. Even from my perch I could see Detroit’s players gasping for air and slumped on the visitor’s bench as the game wore on. When his Sidness teamed up with MVP (Geno Malkin) to put the Penguins ahead 3-2 you could see it from the International Space Station if that damnable roof on the Mellon Arena still opened. Any time you can see the full numbers on the back of a player’s sweater you know they are leaning forward looking for something that they might not have.

Here is the scary thing though. Datsyuk is still not playing. Is he ready? If he is, he is well rested. My sources say he was ready, but only about 80%, for Game 4. This is why the Detroit coaching staff was not quite ready to play him. So he sat. The Wings lost. Now, with Game 5 looming what happens? Does a ready and well rested Datsyuk play and add fresh legs to spark the team out of the Motor City? Does a hobbled Datsyuk get thrown in to the fray by a Detroit team looking for anything at all? And if so does will he be a non-factor or a hindrance? Or will he sit again, still not ready for the ice?

Here’s another scary thing. Detroit played well in the first period at times dominating the play. They also scored quickly in the second to take a lead. But this is the second game in a row where around the halfway point of the second period the Red Wings looked obviously tired. Still, if they can keep getting the lead on the Penguins, is Osgood able to steal a game the Pens should by all rights win?

And yet another scary thing. Sure, the series is now a best of three but it is a best of three with two in Detroit and those darn boards that can score on visiting goalies by themselves without much help. Ask Marc-Andre Fleury about that.

And how about this for just one more scary thing? If the Penguins cannot pull out a win on Saturday night at the Joe, they will be down 3-2 and facing elimination, again, in Game 6 on home ice giving Detroit another chance to hoist the cup in front of really depressed Penguins fans.

Come Saturday night, the Penguins need to dig down deep, find that extra gear, put some extra gas in their own tanks and crash, bang and boom the Red Wings all over the ice; all while staying out of the box. Fleury will need to play a near flawless game to beat Detroit on their home ice and in their own barn.

Do that, and they will have a chance to do something Pittsburgh fans have never seen done – have the home team hoist the Stanley Cup on Igloo ice.

There are moments in every game and every series. And then there are moments. Last night in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Penguins trying desperately to not fall behind 3-1 to the Red Wings for a second year in a row, contained one of those moments.

With the Penguins reeling after giving up two goals in a little over two minutes, one at the end of the first and one at the start of the second period to find themselves trailing 2-1, it was Jordan Staal (3) that ignited the crowd. Or maybe, and more correctly, it was Max Talbot who started it. After back to back penalties, the Penguins on their heals and short handed for an extended period, Talbot found the puck on his stick and pushed it ahead to Staal who put his head down and set his sights on Chris Osgood. When the puck left his stick, the shot was not a particularly great one. In fact it was more pushed than actually shot.

But it went in behind Osgood, who yes, is indeed mortal, and the Igloo erupted. Not just the fans, but the Penguins as well who stormed up and down the ice for two more goals with the help of Crosby (15) who was fed by Malkin and Mr. Kennedy (4) who was fed by Cosby. All three goals happened in just 5:37 of play. And it could have been worse. Malkin had to rush a shot on a breakaway in the closing seconds of the period because of the clock and Osgood flashed his leather to keep the score from being worse.

Fleury, once again, allowed a couple marginal goals on 39 shots but held firm when it matter most as the Penguins defense allowed more shots than you would like to see. Granted 39 is a lot, but many of them were not serious chances as the Penguins did a good job limiting legitimate chances. But any shot on goal always has a chance. The Penguins will have to work on this problem before game five in Detroit on Saturday where they have a chance to go up on the Red Wings 3-2. Of course they also have a chance to go down 3-2 as well.

We’re down to a best of 3 series now and the Penguins must win in Detroit at some point to win the series. Doing so Saturday night would certainly help their chances of making it to the prom with that most pickiest of dates in one Lord Stanley.