NHL Morning Papers: Conference Finals (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the four remaining playoff teams:

Pittsburgh (2) versus Philadelphia (6):

• The Penguins easily defeated the Flyers 4-1 last night but still feel they have room for improvement, writes Dave Molinari. Philadelphia does not really have the answers for their poor play, writes Shelly Anderson. Meanwhile, a couple of Penguins had special fans in attendance last night. In other news, it appears Flyers coach John Stevens is not opposed to mandatory visors for entry-level players.
• Let’s face it, the Penguins have been the best in the Eastern Conference by a large margin, writes Sam Donnellon. Steve Downie has cost the Flyers with his terrible turnovers. Home-ice advantage in hockey is a lot different than home-court advantage in basketball, writes John Smallwood. It is fair to say that Sidney Crosby has impressed Ed Barkowitz.

Detroit (1) versus Dallas (5):

• The Wings will be playing Game 4 tonight without the services of sniper Johan Franzen (concussion). They may get all their notoriety from the offensive side of the puck, but it is their defensive savvy that make Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg such special players. Meantime, former Wings coach Scotty Bowman thinks this year’s version of the team is as dominant as a Wings team has ever been. The Wings are allowing a paltry 23.5 shots on net per game so far this playoffs.
• As Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News points out, Wings coach Mike Babcock takes advice from the aforementioned Bowman. The Stars’ young defensemen have flourished all year, but have hit some speed bumps during their series with the Red Wings. If the Stars want to have any chance of coming back in this series, they have to hold their head up high. Tim Cowlishaw does not expect the Stars to pull a Shark-like mini-comeback.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.

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