Disco Dan is shuffling the deck for Game Two tonight, sending Ruslan Fedotenko to the pines, to be replaced by Pascal Dupuis on the second line and Mike Rupp on the roster. It's not a huge surprise, but it's pretty obvious that someone not named Fleury was going to be the sacrificial lamb for the tean's performance on Wednesday night, and Fedotenko fit the bill. It's also worth noting that Fedotenko scored seven goals in last year's Cup run and is a decorated playoff veteran; this was not your run-of-the-mill benching.
Rob Rossi compared the move to last year's benching of Petr Sykora, a onetime-teammate of Bylsma's in Anaheim, and suggests that the punishment could be subject to any forward not named Crosby, Malkin, or Staal. But whatever the case, Bylsma had to to something, because tonight is a crucial game by anyone's account, even if we're only one game deep into the series.
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