Breaking Down Detroit's Dominant Night in the Face-Off Circle

One of the key factors in Detroit's 3-1 win on Saturday was its dominant performance in the face-off circle, as the Wings won 39-of-55 draws. It's an impressive number on its own, but when you consider the Wings were playing without Pavel Datsyuk (winning 52 percent of his draws this postseason) and Kris Draper (64 percent) it's downright scary. And kind of ridiculous.

After the jump, a breakdown of which players did the damage, and who they did it against. Let's just say this: It's ugly for the Penguins, which begs the question: where the hell is Mike Zigomanis when you need him?

Henrik Zetterberg, the reigning Conn Smythe winner, was 15-for-20 in the circle, while he was matched up against Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby all night. Not only was Crosby held off the score sheet for the first time in six games (and only the third time this postseason) he was just six-for-20 on draws, and Zetterberg was responsible for most of his problems.

Henrik Zetterberg's Night In The Circle
Opponent	Wins	Losses
Sidney Crosby	11	5
Evgeni Malkin	1	0
Jordan Staal	1	0
Max Talbot	1	0
Craig Adams	1	0

Zetterberg was two-for-two against Crosby on the Penguins' power plays, while Crosby got the better of him on Detroit's power play. Zetterberg's second face-off win against Crosby on the penalty kill helped lead to a shorthanded chance for Daniel Cleary, while his win at the 18:46 mark of the second period led to Johan Franzen's game-winning goal. He was also perfect in the third period. Impressive all the way around.

Meanwhile, the pipeline to the NHL from Grand Rapids to Detroit has been on display in the postseason as the speedy Darren Helm has jumped up to the big club and fit right in. He was once again a high-energy player for the Wings on Saturday, while he also helped earn the Wings puck possession with a stellar night on face-offs.

Darren Helm's Night In The Circle
Opponent	Wins	Losses
Jordan Staal	9	5
Sidney Crosby	1	0
Evgeni Malkin	1	0

Once again, an impressive showing as the 22-year-old Helm went against the top three Pittsburgh centers and beat them all. Crosby's struggles are disappointing seeing as how he entered the game winning 52 percent of his draws, up from the 49 percent mark he put up a year ago in the postseason. He was one-for-three against Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen and Jiri Hudler collectively.

As for Staal's night ...

Jordan Staal's Night In The Circle
Opponent	Wins	Losses
Darren Helm	5	9
Justin Abdelkader	1	2
Valtteri Filppula	1	1
Henrik Zetterberg	0	1

The Detroit rookies, Helm and Abdelkader, simply owned him on this night. Just as a point of reference, the Wings won 52 percent of the draws in last year's final ... and that was with Datsyuk and Draper in the lineup. Obviously, this is something the Penguins must improve on as this series moves forward, and it's not going to be easy as the Red Wings, for the third year in a row, were the top face-off team in the league.