In the Face-Off Circle: Game 3 Matchups

The face-off battle in the Stanley Cup Final has been an interesting one to watch, as the Red Wings dismantled the Penguins in Game 1, winning 39 of 55 draws, only to have the Penguins rebound in Game 2 by winning 27 of 51 (though, Detroit still won the game, due in large part to face-off wins in the offensive zone leading to goals).

How would things play out in Game 3? Results after the jump.

Face-offs have been a thorn in the side of the Penguins for quite some time, as the team finished the regular season 19th in the NHL, winning just 49 percent of their draws. Though, to be fair, that's quite a step up from the 30th, 30th, and 29th rankings they owned the previous three seasons.

Pittsburgh actually held a commanding edge over Philadelphia in the opening round, but the struggles returned against Washington and Carolina, and carried over into Game 1 against Detroit. Consider this from Kevin Gorman of the Tribune-Review (via the New York Times Slap Shot blog):

Since winning 55.7 percent in the first-round series against Philadelphia, they have won only 45.9 percent in the past 13 playoffs games. Worse yet, the Penguins went from plus-44 to minus-19 on faceoffs this postseason, a 63-point swing in margin of victories on the draw.

After going just 6-for-20 in Pittsburgh's Game 1 loss in Detroit, Penguins center Sidney Crosby has rebounded over the past two games, improving his overall face-off number in the series to 53 percent. He spent much of the first two games matched up against Henrik Zetterberg, as the two faced off 28 times in Games 1 and 2. On Tuesday, Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma had the luxury of the last line change and managed to keep Crosby away from Zetterberg in most five-on-five situations.

Sidney Crosby's Night In The Circle Opponent Game 3 Series Henrik Zetterberg 4-for-6 17-for-34 Valtteri Filppula 2-for-6 3-for-8 Johan Franzen 0-for-0 1-for-2 Tomas Holmstrom 0-for-0 1-for-1 Justin Abdelkader 3-for-3 3-for-4 Darren Helm 2-for-3 2-for-3 Ville Leino 1-for-1 1-for-1 Totals 12-for-19 28-for-53

Of Crosby's draws against Zetterberg in Game 3, only one of them came in a five-on-five situation, while he went 3-for-5 against him on the power play, with all three wins coming on the two power plays that resulted in goals for Pittsburgh. He's currently the only Pittsburgh player to be winning more than 50 percent of his draws in the playoffs. Over the past two games he's winning 64 percent (22-for-34).

While the Penguins, as a team, have improved dramatically from their Game 1 beat down on face-offs, Jordan Staal is still struggling mightily. Entering play on Tuesday he was just 10-for-35 in the series, and things didn't get much better in Game 3.

Jordan Staal's Night In The Circle Opponent Game 3 Series Darren Helm 1-for-3 8-for-26 Justin Abdelkader 2-for-3 4-for-10 Henrik Zetterberg 0-for-3 0-for-5 Valtteri Filppula 1-for-3 2-for-5 Ville Leino 0-for-0 0-for-1 Johan Franzen 0-for-2 0-for-2 Totals 4-for-14 14-for-49

One of Staal's losses to Franzen came on the penalty kill, and ultimately led to the Mule's 12th goal of the postseason, giving Detroit a brief 2-1 lead in the first period. This has been an area of weakness for Staal his entire career, as he's consistently been in the low-to-mid 40 percent range (including 47 percent this postseason) since entering the league during the 2006-07. This series, however, has been his worst showing to date as he's converting on just 29 percent of his draws, while struggling against the rookie duo of Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader.

Odds and Ends

-- Detroit's best face-off man on Tuesday night wasn't Zetterberg or Helm, but actually Valtteri Filppula with an 11-for-15 showing, including 4-for-6 against Crosby.

-- Pittsburgh was 4-for-7 on power play face-offs, while all three losses came at the hands of Zetterberg. Detroit was 3-for-4 on its power play face-offs, while Filppula was a perfect 2-for-2.

-- Zetterberg was 5-for-6 against players not named Sidney Crosby.