My fellow Pittsburghers have to respect the Red Wings. Last year a lot of you didn’t and the climbed up on the Penguins too fast for the Penguins to recover. This year is no different. Are the Penguins better than they were last year at this time? No doubt about it and no disrespect to Marion (I have a better chance to win the Cup in Detroit) Hossa. But if the Penguins had kept Hossa they would not have Satan, Fedotenko, or Guerin. There is also a possibility that others might not be around either like Brooks Orpik. In all honesty the Penguins had no room for another $7 million player on their roster. The Red Wings did. Alone he makes them better.

Despite the bumps and the bruises that are evident on every Detroit player you cannot downplay that they know how to win and have been doing it so far this post season. Remember, the Penguins won their second Stanley Cup with injuries and Lemieux playing with a broken wrist. So don’t think that injuries will mater.

Some of their players might be older, but age is not always a factor. Last year a lot of people thought that the older Red Wings would not be any serious match for the young, fast Penguins either and look what happened.

There is still a battle left in this war and to win the Penguins will have to draw upon every sound strategy ever implemented on the battlefield to come out on top. The most important of those is never underestimate your opponent and make them play your game. Don’t play theirs. That is where respect comes into play. Because if you respect your opponent you will not allow them to gain an unnecessary upper hand and take advantage of your foolishness.

Yesterday Chicago not only looked defeated, but played like a defeated hockey club racking up senseless penalties and allowing Detroit to pretty much have their way with them up and down the ice. All in all the Hawks took 16 penalties including three game misconducts as they self-destructed in front of the home crowd.

Now with the Redwings up 3-1 in the series and Pittsburgh up 3-0 over Carolina, both teams look to be on the verge of a rematch. When was the last time that happened? I think it was 76-77 and 77-78 when the Canadiens beat the Bruins in consecutive years.

However comebacks do happen. Although from what I saw out of Chicago, it would be more than a miracle for them to rise up and win the series which would spoil a rematch. More likely, yet still improbable, is for Carolina to find itself and beat the Penguins. But the odds favor another show down between Detriot and Pittsburgh.

Chicago saw Detroit erase a 3-0 deficit at the end of the second period with three goals in the final six minutes of the period. But it was Patrick Sharp (7) that won the game for the Blackhawks just 1:52 into overtime after both teams managed only six shots each in the third period and failed to score.

The win makes the series 2-1 Detroit instead of 3-0 which would have been a tall order for Chicago to overcome and it was an outcome that looked in doubt after that second period explosion by Detroit. Chicago pretty much looked like the better team for most of the game except for that late second period lapse but what it proved once again is that you cannot let up when you have Detroit down. However, after Detroit tore down the (Khabi)Bulin Wall again, it was Cristobal Huet that came in and rescued the Hawks.

Both teams go at it again at 3:00 PM on Sunday.

Sharp’s post game interview: