Must-Wins for Magic and Penguins tonight

By Scott

The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Detroit Red Wings in a potentially cup-clinching game 6 tonight. Detroit demoralized the Pens in game 5, posting 5 unanswered goals in a complete, dominating performance which left them 1 win away from hoisting the cup for the second straight season. However, the Wings struggled tremendously in Pittsburgh during games 3 & 4, and they'll have to play a strong game in order to prevent the Penguins from gaining any steam and possibly winning the next two games. Some other observations:

• The Red Wings' game 5 win came in large part to the return of center Pavel Datysuk. Datysuk recorded 2 assists in his first game back since suffering a foot injury in the Western Conference Finals. Detroit's regular season leading scorer has unbelievable awareness on the ice and rejuvenated a Wings offense that struggled in his absence. The Penguins need to slow him down if they want to limit Detroit's attack.
• As poor as Pittsburgh played in game 5, they may have lost in the perfect fashion. The Penguins had the life sucked out of them almost immediately as Detroit wasted no time in packing on the goals. So, instead of losing in a heartbreak, the Penguins can move on and forget that game 5 ever happened. Their mentality going into game 6 has to be one of confidence and assurance that they will force a 7th game.

Down 2-0, the Magic host the Lakers in a pivotal game 3 tonight on ABC. Orlando showed their capability to compete with, and possibly beat the Lakers, coming up just one Courtney Lee layup short of stealing game 2 in L.A. The Magic will have to exploit the Lakers' inconsistent road play and, of course, limit Kobe. Also:

• The 'Kobe Face' has to come to an end. Nobody seems to know where it came from, but it is only irritating basketball fans across the globe. Kobe has plenty of haters and this is not a favorable step for the self-image-obsessed Kobe.
• The Lakers need Lamar Odom to be on his game for the rest of the finals as their success hinges largely on his performance. The Lakers are 6-1 when Odom scores at least 15 points, but Odom is just moments away from entering diabetic shock. Odom laughs throughout the piece as if his candy habits were a childish joke. Is he trying to destroy his health? More importantly when is the last time Odom visited a doctor and had some blood drawn? One would hope that the Lakers will take some initiative and get Lamar into some kind of candy detox program.
• Stan Van Gundy doesn't seem to have the respect of many players on his squad. Playing Jameer Nelson 23 minutes in game 1 didn't help his team or his popularity. Van Gundy is a great coach regardless, but he needs to stick with what got the Magic to the finals with Rafer Alston running the point and commanding the team.