– Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press writes that it’s no longer last year anymore as the Penguins’ stars are starting to shine and take over this series.

– Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette boastfully claims that Detroit can’t win without Pavel Datsyuk, who has yet to play in the Cup Finals.

– The Detroit Free Press writes that the Wings played out of character in their Game 4 loss.

– Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette waxes poetically about Jordan Staal, who he says saved the day in Game 4.

– SI.com writes about the Penguins’ second period burst.

With their 4-2 victory over the Red Wings on Tuesday night, the Penguins have cut into Detroit’s lead in the Stanley Cup Finals and now have the chance to tie the series at two games apiece when the series continues on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Here is what local columnist and beat writers are saying about the Pens’ victory:

– Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press writes that even though they lost, the Wings look like more of a lock than when the series started.

– Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that the Penguins have new life after soundly beating Detroit in Game 3.

– Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press writes that if the Wings can’t kill penalties, then they won’t be able to put the Penguins away.

– Michael Farber of SI.com writes that the Penguins’ wounded warrior Sergei Gonchar, who hurt his knee when Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals knocked into him in Game 4 of Pittsburgh’s series with Washington, delivered when his team needed him the most.

– Scott Burnside of ESPN.com writes that Game 3’s defining moment was when Matt Cooke drew a penalty that lead to the Pens’ winning goal.

There’s nothing that sounds quite like an NHL playoff game, except for maybe standing on the tarmac during a plane’s takeoff. The noise is constant from the pre-game skate to the final seconds on the clock. For the players and coaches, springtime means the start of the annual gauntlet run to the Stanley Cup.

This year, the Western Conference could provide more surprises in the early rounds than its Eastern counterpart. I have highlighted three series to keep an eye on for the first round.

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
An original six matchup — old Adams Division rivals will meet for the fourth time in the last seven postseasons. The Habs have won 24 of 31 all-time playoff series between the two teams, including the last three encounters (’02, ’04, ‘08). The key for the Canadiens is having a healthy D Andrei Markov back in the lineup. He led the team in scoring and was a key component at the point position on the power play. But they have sputtered since Markov went down with a lower-body injury on April 4th. The Big Bad Bruins have bullied the Canadiens in all six regular season contests, but they must refrain from taking stupid penalties. F Milan Lucic must control his emotions and play with his head on straight, as the referees will be watching him closely. What a banner season for the Bruins, as they had their best win total (53) since 1971-72 regular season en route to becoming the number one-seed in the Eastern Conference.

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