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Detroit handles decimated Penguins 4-1

Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 13: Darren Helm #43 of the Detroit Red Wings skates before the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on December 13, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Justin K. Aller

Those Detroit Red Wings aren’t very sympathetic are they? Instead of taking it easy on the injury-ravaged Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit dismissed them 4-1 after Evgeni Malkin made it 1-0.

The Penguins lost two of three games in the latest Crosby-less run, but to be fair to Pittsburgh, those defeats came against two of the hottest teams in the NHL in Detroit and the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s one thing to tread water against weak and average teams, but let’s face it: the Red Wings had an excellent chance of beating Pittsburgh even if Crosby was in the lineup.

Detroit have outscored their opponents 16-4 in their current three-game winning streak and triumphed in nine of their last 12 games. So yeah, they remain ridiculously good.

Under normal circumstances, the lack of attention for such a run would lead me to say that people are “sleeping” on Detroit. Instead, I think it’s just a collective shoulder shrug from the hockey world. The Red Wings have been so dominant for so long that it’s only really remarkable when they aren’t pulverizing people.