I don't know what to say, really

This was a must win, for both teams.  Pittsburgh didn't want to get into a 3-1 hole, and Detroit didn't want to let Pittsburgh have all the momentum.

It was starting to become noticeable in Game 3, but in Game 4 it's particularly glaring.  Zetterberg is exhausted from carrying the offense on his own.  Datsyuk must play on Saturday in Game 5 if Detroit wants any chance whatsoever to win the series.  

I love Pavel.  He's one of my favorite current players.  And I don't know exactly what's wrong with his foot, other than it's from having been hit by a blocked shot.  It's likely a bone bruise or hairline fracture, from the sound of it, and I understand that bone injuries are very painful and difficult to heal with anything but time.   It's unfair to make the Yzerman comparison, about whom Scotty Bowman once said he'd never met a player with a pain threshold like Steve Yzerman, but I wonder more and more why Pavel can't suck it up and play when the Captain played the 2002 Finals on basically one leg.  Maybe it's impossible to just shoot him up with cortisone or something to deal with the pain, ala Brent Gilchrist--it may not be the type of injury that responds to that kind of painkiller.  Babcock keeps saying that it's up to Pavel.  And Pavel keeps saying that he's dying to play.  I can only hope that it's not simply pain that's keeping him out.  And I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and wondering if it's not the trainers who are ruling him unfit to play.  Unfortunately, it's not going to endear him to those who have criticized his post-season performances in the past.

I can't even speak right now to the defensive meltdown, the sheer amount of turnovers, and the utter craptastic power play and penalty kills.  I said on Twitter, "3 goals in 5:30-ish. I said it would take a colossal meltdown by DET to lose. This might be it" and that's really all I have to say to that.

Edit: Babcock said in his post-game presser that while Datsyuk was pushing it during practice to be ready for the game, it was Piet van Zant who gave him the heads-up that Pav wasn't likely to play.  So that sounds more like it's the trainers' call on this.