A Look Back by Mad Max

Longtime readers of The Show will remember that periodically TSCS has featured an English translation of the blog that Mad Max Talbot has been keeping in French on RDS.ca since the beginning of this season. Well, today it's time for this season's final edition of:

THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL SEASON

I still can not find words to express what I feel 48 hours after our defeat to the Detroit Red Wings.

I will not hide from you that this is far from easy to recover from a setback in the finals of the Stanley Cup. We worked so hard and we were so close to the Stanley Cup that the impact is demoralizing.

While the Red Wings were celebrating their conquest of the Stanley Cup on the ice, I assure you it was very quiet in our dressing room, especially as all the players were exhausted.

There was a palpable sense of great dissatisfaction in the room. No player took to the floor to make a speech. I would say that we were trying more to understand what happened. Don't forget that we were conscious that some players will not return next season, and it's never pleasant to think about this idea. But on the other hand, we must keep in mind the positive of our journey.


After this bitter defeat, I spent the evening with my parents, my two brothers, and one of my cousins who had come to Pittsburgh. Although I was very happy to be with them, I assure you that this evening was not "the most fun in the world."

My parents have been with me from the third part of the final. For them too, it was an extraordinary experience, but there is not much to say in such a situation.

It's so frustrating and summer promises to be long; it might make me say very often that we passed very close [to the Cup]. For an athlete like me, this is never too pleasant to hear. Those who know me know very well know that I am not satisfied “to pass close to the goal”.


However, the message of the leaders of the organization was very clear: they are proud of the long way we have come in recent years, and they have reminded us to be pleased with this progress.

Personally, when I think of this past season, I remember immediately the injury that I suffered an ankle and matches that I had missed. But I believe that I can be happy with my season and my performance in the series.

I learned a lot this season and Michel Therrien congratulated me for having done my part. It does not matter if I was the left wing on the second line or the center of the fourth line, I think I've given everything I had on the ice. It is obvious that I am disappointed with the outcome, but I cannot say that I could have given more.

During the final I had the chance to make the goal that saved our team from elimination when there were still only 35 seconds to go in the fifth match. But I am unable to rejoice greatly. Even if I am proud to have succeeded this goal, we did not win the series and therefore this goal loses its value. If we had won a Stanley Cup, it would be even more special to me.

For what it's worth, we still think it was a special goal, Max.

Before the finale, media stressed heavily on the experience of the Red Wings, but I must say that I was also impressed by the discipline of this team. It's even easier for me to tell you about this aspect of their game since my role was just to disturb. I succeeded on a few occasions, but most of the time they were imperturbable. The Wings players had a specific goal in mind, and I accept that they form a hockey machine, which put on a good system.

THE CRITICISM OF MICHEL THERRIEN

Obviously, I had heard criticism voiced towards our coach Michel Therrien.

I am not embarrassed to say that several people seem jealous in this case. Without the good work of Michel Therrien behind the bench of our team, we would not have reached the Stanley Cup finals. During the season, he made several decisions beneficial to our team and often they were not obvious decisions to be taken. It's so easy to criticize, but Michel is an excellent coach and he proved it with the many young people we have.


A journalist for the Toronto Sun has even claimed that Brooks Orpik would not want to come back with the Penguins next season if Michel Therrien retains his post. The same article suggests that Jordan Staal has a poor relationship with our coach.

In fact, I find these assertions rather strange. We just had a team dinner Thursday evening. Both players were present and I did not feel anything telling. I really do not know where the author unearthed that story and it would astonish me if he has talked to any players of our team to write that article. You really have to take and leave with journalists…

MY PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER

I will be back in Montreal on Saturday to enjoy this summer that could move very quickly. When the season is long like this, I cannot wait to return to Quebec to see my family and friends.

I will remain in Montreal with my good friend Bruno Gervais of the New York Islanders.

For now, I have no specific projects for my vacation. Surely I would take a week to travel, but I do not know yet where. I'll try to take three weeks off to decompress as much as possible.


But no doubt, summer will be very busy and I do not like planning my schedule in advance. I will probably receive invitations to several golf tournaments.

By the way, we will hold the first edition of the Open Golf Gervais-Talbot this summer and it looks like it will be a major event.

In closing, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate my good friend Jean-Michel Daoust who won the championship East Coast League and also I offer my congratulations to Olympic of Gatineau for their conquest of the President Cup and their participation in the cup Memorial.

THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL SEASON

Since this is my last column of the season, I want to tell you that I greatly appreciate your support and your comments.

I am always impressed to see how much you like the Penguins, a team so far from Quebec. Even if we count on several Québécois players, I find it really beautiful to see that people love our team so much.


I greet you and wish you a beautiful summer, it was a pleasure to share with you these chronicles.

Thanks to Friend of The Show Alyse for help with the translation. :)

Greetings from Hockeytown!

I told you yesterday that I issued a call for a bet with any Red Wings blogger who was willing. Someone using the screen name Red_Wings_49 responded but ultimately declined because he blogs on a different platform than Blogger. He suggested that he might show up to defend the Wings in the comments. I welcomed that idea because he was a really cool Wings fan. Then he appeared here on The Show as Kcjacoby to say "Go Red Wings!!!" After a weekend of dealing with a handful of people that WEREN'T cool Wings fans, I completely overreacted. (Can I blame it on my Irish temper, LOL?) He commented again to inform me that Kcjacoby and Red_Wings_49 were one in the same, and immediately I knew I had to apologize to him. I contacted him via email, and he was EXTREMELY classy about my gaffe:

I understand the defense you put up... trust me. I also understand that my usernames are different on both sites... so it's okay.

But I think as a punishment... I should get to write a blog entry... :)

To which I responded:

OKAY, Ken....... how about this??? If the Wings win, I'll let you write a recap from a Wings fan's perspective. (It can replace the bet I was talking about earlier.)

And yeah, I said it - IF, IF, IF they win! (LOL)

Well, we all know what happened after that. And now, without further ado...

Greetings from Hockeytown!

My name is Ken, or as most of you might have seen me on here as Kcjacoby

Jodie thinks that I'm going to be using this space as a place to talk some trash about the Penguins, and rant and rave about the Red Wings... when in fact, I'm going to do the complete opposite.

I'm a hockey fan. Mainly a Detroit Red Wings fan, but there is one thing that I am not… I am not biased to not give credit where credit is due. Hockey is the best sport in the world in my opinion. It is one of the only games where on any given night, the worst team in the league can beat the best team in the league. There are lucky bounces, momentum shifts, and other determining factors that can play so much in such a fast paced, highly skilled game. I believe that sets me aside from your typical fan for another team. I believe that's being a little too close minded, and can only set you up for failure.

The Red Wings and the Penguins provided me some of the best hockey I've seen in quite some time. I was sorry to see the series get blown wide open after the first two games, because right there I had the feeling that it was going to be pretty one sided.

And that was when... the true self of the Penguins showed up.

Game 3 showed me the true heart of the Penguin fans. Yes, the white out was originally done by Winnipeg, but you guys showed it up with flare. To be honest with you all... I was quite jealous. The dedication of the fans like that showed how much you guys wanted the cup. You guys got your game 3 victory, and I will admit I had a little bit of a nervous growl in my stomach.

I was in Erie, Pennsylvania for game 4. My girlfriend goes to college there, when we were out, I was showing off my Red Wings hat. Much to my surprise (sarcasm) I was enticed a few times by some penguin fans that told me 'How it was going to be'. Now, I'm not a fan of trash talknig... I'll simply state the facts, and I'm even superstitious to the point where you will never EVER hear me say, "The Red Wings are going to win tonight" Call that crazy, call it whatever you will... but there are the hockey gods that don't like being displeased with our behavior. Well, I even told Jodie that some prick jinxed it for you guys... I thought game 4 showed some very good hockey, and I was even pissed that such a squib shot made it past Fluery for the goal. Nonetheless... there isn't much that we can do about that now. We had taken the wind out of your sails. You guys hadn't lost there since Feb? That's an amazing record.

Game 5, I was all set on the Wings winning it at home, but I knew that the Penguins were not going to go that easily. We came ravishing back during that 3rd period... I just had this feeling that the cup was ours. (Honestly, who didn't?) But then again, the player that I despise the most on the Wings, made one of his prime errors.. not keeping his leg pads on the left goal post, allowing Talbot to stuff it in the side. We deserved to lose because our defense was horrendous. The Penguins finally put the game away in the 3rd OT. Thankfully... I had to be to work at 5:30 that next morning, and I knew it was already going to be a bad day.

Game 6 came around... and I had this feeling that there would have been no way we would be able to beat the Penguins back home again.

Well, I'm sure we all know the result of that... and I'm not here to rub it in. But I will tell you what I am here to do. I want to congratulate the Penguins on one hell of a year. Its hard for me to even believe that Crosby did all of that with him only being 20 years old. Hell, I don't even think I had a clue about what to do in my life when I was 20... look at him, leading a team that close to the Cup. Amazing. The Penguins overcame a lot of issues this year... and I can only see them getting stronger again next year (salary cap space providing).

And heres a tasty tidbit for everyone to enjoy. Rumors are really flying about the fact that the Red Wings will be getting moved into the Eastern Conference within the next 2 years. Apparently Las Vegas is really wanting to get a hold of a NHL team. That way you guys can learn to love the Red Wings even more!

I really believe all of you Penguin fans should hold your heads up high. That was some great hockey that was played... and even look how far you guys came from being eliminated vs. Ottawa the year before. You guys have come a long way, and I'm sure next year will be even better.

But for now... it is time for us to celebrate the greatest sport in the world... and know that your time is coming.

Go Wings!!! and... (since I need an Eastern Conference team to cheer for...) Go Pens!!!

Thank you, Ken! :)

The Day After

Some of you may still be reeling from last night's loss. Mark Messier thinks the loss was the beginning of something much bigger. He's right - the Pens took their experience from being eliminated in Round 1 in five games by the Ottawa Senators in 2007 and used it to get to the Stanley Cup finals only one season later. The future is definitely WOW for our Pens. :)


While on MSNBC, I found this solid timeline that puts last night into perspective for us. It details the Penguins' rise out of the ashes of bankruptcy. If for whatever reason you're not interested in checking out the entire article, you MUST at least check out 2001 - whether you love him or hate him, the photo NBC sports picked to accompany the item about Jaromir Jagr's trade is priceless. (It's especially funny because the article makes no mention of how loudly Jagr expressed his unhappiness in Pittsburgh. They let the photo do all the talking.)

Friends of The Show Cassie C. and Mer R. each sent me similar ideas. They thought it would be cool if we could see where we're all located. I found a map that we can all add our markers to at ZeeMaps.com. Don't worry about it tracking you by your IP address - I picked this one because it only adds the information that YOU choose to include. Check out my entry (it's the little sunflower on Pennsylvania) and make sure to add yours - even if you want to do it anonymously! Just click the Add button in the upper right corner to get started.



NHL.com has the transcript to Sid's (and Mario's) post-game presser. Here are some highlights:

Q. Sid, reaction to the fans?

SIDNEY CROSBY: They've been great all year. We appreciate their support. And it doesn't make it any easier for sure. But they stuck through with us all season, and a long time before that, and so we appreciate it.

Q. In the heat of the loss can you put in perspective what has been accomplished this year?

SIDNEY CROSBY: Not right now. I mean it's pretty tough. It's not a fun time. But we will remember this feeling, that's for sure.

Q. You go down fighting, taking it literally to the last second of the game.

SIDNEY CROSBY: That's the way we played all season. And the guys have been through a lot and battled through it and it doesn't surprise me that the guys never gave up.

This is an old picture. Sid probably wasn't smiling when he gave this interview...

Q. Can you put it in perspective how far this team has come in such a short time?

SIDNEY CROSBY: Yeah, we've come a long way, that's for sure. But it doesn't make it any easier, that's for sure.

Q. Marc-Andre was not happy with the second and third goals. What did you say to him when you came in?

SIDNEY CROSBY: I don't think really anything needs to be said. Without him we wouldn't be in this position. So it's without him we wouldn't be here.

Q. Can you talk about the future of the core of this team and some guys have to be signed?

SIDNEY CROSBY: Like you said, we've got a great group. And hopefully we can keep it together. But it's a tough thing.

Q. They say it only takes an inch.

SIDNEY CROSBY: The last play is an example.

Regular readers will remember that before this series got underway, I issued a call looking for a Red Wings blogger with whom I could make a friendly bet. KCJacoby contacted me and accepted. I agreed to let him author a post if the Red Wings won the Cup, so that post will be up sometime tomorrow. Don't worry - I've been talking with him and getting to know him - he'll no doubt be bragging a little bit, but he's really cool. I think you all know me well enough to realize that I wouldn't let just anyone guest post on The Show!!!


So, is it too early to start a countdown until October???

GO PENS!!!!!!!!

Stanley Cup Finals Game 6: Pens v Red Wings (L 2-3)

Heartbreaking.

Just heartbreaking.

Nonetheless, I remain proud of our Boys of Winter. They gave us a spectacular season. While the sting of this loss will likely stay with us until Spring 2009, I know that the all the great things that this group of guys accomplished during this season will be remembered, too. We watched a young captain become a great leader. We watched a goaltender erase the question marks. We watched a man exorcise his playoff demons. We watched a man who can barely speak the language say it all in points. We watched this group of guys open the new year with one hell of a show in the snow. We watched several of them sacrifice their bodies. We watched them overcome adversity time and time again. We watched them excel individually and as a team. We watched them defy the odds and plow through the Eastern Conference with only 2 losses. We watched them fight back from the brink and bring this series home for one more game.


We watched our Boys grow into Men.


Before the game even started, the "LET'S GO PENS!!!" chant was absolutely unbelievable. The Pens fans in attendance were so loud that Doc Emerick mentioned it. The first period began with Johan Franzen running over Marc-Andre Fleury behind the net. It was almost hard to believe that the refs didn't call goalie interference, since during Game 5 if a player even sneezed close to the net, he went to the box for it. Jordan Staal and Mad Max Talbot had an unreal shift. Niklas Kronwall turned the puck over in his own zone right in front of Ozzy, but Petr Sykora's shot was blocked by the Wings' goalie. Immediately afterwards, MAF stopped a shot by Franzen. Daryl Sydor was called for interference after Kirk Maltby embellished contact with Sydor's stick. Brian Rafalski scored after Rob Scuderi failed to clear the puck. [Pens 0, Wings 1]


Evgeni Malkin put a big hit on Dallas Drake, taking him out. Gino had a different hop in his step tonight. That assist on the game winner in Game 5 must have done wonders for his confidence. Doc, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire all commented how the building was warm and how the ice was deteriorating after the arrival of the crowd. Drake then took a running charge at Ryan Whitney and was penalized for his actions. Less than 25 seconds into the Pens' power play, Kris Draper hit Sergei Gonchar from behind and brought up his hands into Sarge's head. Thankfully, Gonch was okay. The Pens ended up with 1:33 with a 2 man advantage. This 5-on-3 was 1000% better than Game 4's 5-on-3, but the Pens unfortunately couldn't get a goal from it. They didn't score on the remaining power play, either. Adam Hall was called for a high sticking infraction, but the Wings didn't add to their tally.


The Red Wings got away with two penalties. The first came when Andreas Lilja drilled Marian Hossa, sending him tumbling to the ice, before Hossa had a chance to control the puck. The second came when Franzen got his stick up into Brooks Orpik's ear. It was about this time that I took a drink, but I'm pretty sure NBC had Orpik's stats up on the screen while the camera was fixed on Scuds. 4 != 44. (If I'm wrong and I imagined this, let me know in the comments.) The period ended with the Wings ahead by a single goal.


The second period got underway with pretty evenly matched hockey. A few minutes in, Scuds fired a long toss to Gino, who made a quick pass to Ryan Malone. Bugsy didn't get a great shot off, however, because Lilja slashed him as made his attempt. On the ensuing Pens power play, Sidney made an amazing pass to himself off the wall, but he lost his edge as he came to the corner. As he passed the puck, Brad Stuart flew in and drilled the Saint into the boards. Sid got up and appeared to be rejoining the play, but then [*GASP*] he winced in pain and went to the bench. He was shown over the next few minutes hunched over and wincing. The Pens didn't score on their advantage, and THANKFULLY Sid returned to the ice after a less than 5 minute break on the bench. Orpik stepped up on Darren Helm, and the two men collided. Helm then left the ice limping heavily.





Chaos erupted in front of Flower, but somehow the puck stayed out of the net. But a little later, Mikael Samuelsson fired a shot from the near wall. MAF stopped the shot but failed to corral the rebound. Valtteri Filppula went hard to net and capitalized on this error. [Pens 0, Wings 2]


Sid was shown talking with equipment manager Dana Heinze. McGuire told us that Siddo is concerned about the blades of his skates and is worried that they were the cause of his fall prior to the Stuart hit. Sid hit the ice and did everything but score. He won the faceoff and got a wicked centering pass out front, but Detroit shut Pittsburgh down. In Doc's words, the Pens got the puck "all around the net but not in." But something beautiful was about to happen. Pavel Datsyuk drilled Staal into the boards (no, that's not the good part, LOL). Datsyuk was promptly called for interference. Coach Michel Therrien sent out Hossa, Sid, and Gino. Hossa sent the puck to Sid. Sid sent the puck to Gino. THEN GINO FIRED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SHOT ALL NIGHT!!! [Pens 1, Wings 2]

Welcome back, Gino!!!

Gary Roberts was mucking it up behind the net, but he eventually got nailed for high sticking. Staal was a penalty killing beast. The crowd was going nuts again. Orpik and Franzen got into a fight at the whistle. Both were given coincidental roughing penalties. The Wings didn't score on their advantage. Gino was at this point a new man - it was like he had new life. As the teams were readying for a faceoff, Bugsy and Tomas Holmstrom nearly went at it. Syko fired a shot from neutral ice as the final 2 seconds of the period ticked away. Ozzy looked like he didn't expect it. Syko's shot was just barely wide and, had it been on target, would have changed stunned the entire Mellon Arena.


The third period began with the Red Wings bringing out their best defensive game. Orpik and Franzen went at it again after Orpik sent Franzen into the crossbar. Staal forced a turnover at center ice, which led to Bugsy getting a good chance, but his shot was just wide. Gino was playing like a beast. Robs drilled Rafalski. Dan Cleary made a diving play to clear the puck, but he dove into the path of Hal Gill, who was trying to keep the puck in. Cleary ended up getting kicked in the face by Gill, but Cleary soldiered through and stayed on the ice until his shift was over.


Then the unluckiest thing that ever could have happened to the Pens happened: Datsyuk fired a shot at MAF. He made the save, but the puck trickled through his 5 hole. Strangely, the puck came to a stop in the blue paint. Since Flower didn't have it frozen, the refs didn't blow their whistles. MAF fell backwards to cover the puck but instead accidentally forced the puck over the goal line. [Pens 1, Wings 3]

Flower and all of Pens Nation = S-T-U-N-N-E-D

Sid immediately went to work trying to get it back. He made a sweet pass between his own legs behind the net to Hossa out in front, but Ozzy stopped his shot. I know there was a lot of action, but suddenly there were only 4:00 minutes left in the game. The announcers told us that the Pens had only one shot on goal during the third period. This, of course, was because of the tight defensive style Detroit brought out. With only 1:47 left in the game, Jiri Hudler took a penalty for hooking Staal. Therrien wasted no time and pulled Flower in favor of the extra attacker before the power play even started. Sid won the faceoff cleanly. Bugsy stripped Lilja of his stick. It took only 20 seconds for Sarge to fire a shot that Hossa deflected to score. [Pens 2, Wings 3]



The Pens still had 1:27 to tie the game and force overtime. Flower was pulled again. With 45.8 seconds left, the Pens got a faceoff in the Wings' zone. They fought all the way to the end. Sid fired a shot that just barely missed, and Hossa was thisclose to putting it over the line. (← On the replay, it was revealed that even if Hossa's shot would have crossed the line, it wouldn't have counted because the time was 0.00.) The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup.


The fans in attendance showed their allegiance as they chanted "LET'S GO PENS!!!!" as the Red Wings celebrated their win. Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy, to which the fans responded with a "FLEUR-Y!!!!! FLEUR-Y!!!!! FLEUR-Y!!!!!" chant.





I want to thank all of you so much for joining me this season. I had so much fun riding this wave with all of you. I really hope you all keep coming back to The Show during the summer. I don't take time off - I didn't last summer and I have no plans to take a break this summer, either - and I've got a lot of things planned that I think you'll all like. Besides, we can all be bored and count down the days until the first puck drops this fall together! :)

And now join me one last time this season in saying

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS FOR AN AMAZING SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks Like We've Got Ourselves A Cowboy

After more than 24 hours, I'm still bowled over by Petr Sykora's stunning announcement to Pierre McGuire that it would be he that scored the game winning goal - and then actually doing it. Here's what Syko said about his prophecy (from the Pens' website):

Sykora's teammates said he told them he was going to end the game.

"And about the shot, just between the periods, something stupid I said, just 'Guys, I'm just going to get one. So just don't worry about the game. I'm going to get a goal,'" Sykora said. "And luckily, I got a great pass from 'Gino.' I missed it one time before, probably by 20 feet. And it was kind of a lucky play. It hit the ref and went behind the net and 'Gino' got it, made a beautiful pass. I tried to put it upstairs, and the puck went in."


"Gino," the struggling Evgeni Malkin, was desperately looking for something to go right in this series, and got his wish, making the pass out from behind the Detroit net to Sykora as he skated into the right circle. Sykora's rising shot went over the glove of Chris Osgood to send the Penguins to not only an improbable victory, but another home game, Wednesday night at Mellon Arena.

Oh, and did you notice how author Phil Coffey spelled Malkin's nickname? Since this article is from the Pens' website, that's almost as good as getting him to write it himself, so GINO it is from now on.

Friend of The Show Bobby T. sent in this picture he took yesterday. Now, I'm no psychic, but do you think the hockey gods might be sending us a sign? Take a look at the street name, then follow the One Way arrow to the sign in the background:

(Click to enlarge)

Regardless of what happens tonight, this is the last home game until autumn. If you're going to be there, MAKE IT COUNT. I don't want to be able to hear Doc and Edzo all night!!!

DO IT.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stanley Cup Finals Game 5: Pens v Red Wings (W 4-3 Third OT)

LATE EDIT: Every single picture in this post can be enlarged for a wallpaper quality image.

WHAT A GAME. Games like this one are why I love this sport. This is what we all live for - talk about leaving it all on the ice! Overtime after overtime after overtime! UNBELIEVABLE.

BIG BIG thanks to Allison Y. for grabbing this shot of Sid during the National Anthem. (Click it to enlarge for wallpaper sized shot.)

We need to check America's Most Wanted because Sid HAS to have a warrant out for his arrest - he was stealing pucks and picking pockets like he was a career criminal! A tired Brooks Orpik earned the night's first penalty for hooking. Just as the Wings' power play got underway, Adam Hall and Jordan Staal went on a shorthanded 2-on-1, but Hall was skating so hard that he tripped himself and broke up the play. The Wings didn't score on their advantage. Things got worse when Orpik hit the ice and a miscommunication led him to join the play, while Coach Michel Therrien had sent a man in to replace him. The dreaded too many men on the ice penalty was called, and Tyler Kennedy went to the box for his team.


Just over a minute into the Wings' power play, Pavel Datsyuk and Staal went after the puck at the wall. Datsyuk tied Staal's stick up as he lost an edge, but the ref thought Datsyuk tripped Gronk. It resulted in a 4-on-4. It was right about this time that Pierre McGuire mentioned that today's Pennsylvania Big 4 Lotteries were very interesting to Pens fans. The AM Big 4 was 8784. McGuire pointed out the obvious significance of the number 87, but he failed to notice that 84 is meaningful to Pens fans because it is the year in which Le Magnifique was drafted. (Incidentally, Troy Crosby was also drafted in '84.) The PM Big 4 was 7171. Neither team scored on the 4-on-4, and after several turnovers during the Pens' abbreviated power play (1 by Sid, 2 by Evgeni Malkin), the Pens didn't even get a shot on goal.


McGuire, who was positioned between the benches with Petr Sykora on his immediate right, then had the stones to rhetorically ask "What's wrong with Malkin and Sykora?" Syko shot him a look that might have killed him, except that he followed it with an explanation: "I bet we find out how injured he [Syko] really is after this series." Then suddenly, the Pens were on the attack. Sid and Pascal Dupuis worked to get the puck on net. Marian Hossa was there to get the leftovers, and his shot found the back of the net. [Pens 1, Wings 0]


It was as if the Earth itself shifted. The Pens began to go insane. Later, Kirk Maltby shoved Orpik into Marc-Andre Fleury, who had frozen the puck and drawn the whistle. Maltby (predictably) was attacked. For some reason, Maltby seemed incredulous at the fact that the Pens were defending their goalie. Both he and Mad Max Talbot were escorted to their respective penalty boxes for coincidental roughing minors. Neither team scored on the 4-on-4. Later, Sid showed us what he uses those tree trunk legs for as he hauled arse to prevent a 2-on-1. But nonetheless, the Wings had an unreal shift that fortunately didn't result in a goal. Ryan Malone then muscled through the Wings' defenders for a backhander that Chris Osgood blocked. Later, Hall battled in the corner for possession. He wins and fires a shot that is blocked. Niklas Kronwall attempted to clear the rebound into the corner, but he banked it off Hall's skate and into his own net. [Pens 2, Wings 0]




Sid and Hossa had a 2-on-1, but Hossa held onto the puck just a fraction of a second too long enabling Ozzy to make the save. Daryl Sydor fanned on the puck which led to Darren Helm getting a breakaway. Ryan Whitney showed us the meaning of the word "desperation" when he raced down (at the end of his shift!) and dove to the ice to force Helm to fire a shot that went high and wide. In the last minutes of the period, Sidney stole the puck in the Wings' zone, but Ozzy (with a little help from his D) managed to stop Sid from scoring. The period ended with the Pens enjoying a 2 goal lead.


Two turnovers in the Wings' zone just after the start of the second period lead to a break by Mad Max Talbot and a shot by Staal that Ozzy stopped. A little later the Saint nearly got a break, but he was pressured from behind by Brian Rafalski (Eddie Olczyk thought Rafalski may have impeded Sid), so his shot was forced. Even so, Ozzy still had to make a toe save or that would have gone in. Flower had to make a big save on Maltby, but Rob Scuderi couldn't clear it. Maltby got the puck to Helm, who shot the puck that caromed off Scuds as he was sprawled out on the ice and into the net. [Pens 2, Wings 1]


NOTE: As I am typing this right now, we're in the intermission before the second overtime period. Forgive me if I get a little brief with the details from here on out. Kronwall put big hits on Hossa and Sidney. Dupuis got the puck to Geno for a shot that went wide. Maltby and Orpik collided. As Orpik tried to return to the play, Maltby stood up on him and was called for it. The Pens didn't score on this power play since Detroit dominated possession of the puck. There were multiple consecutive turnovers at neutral ice (didn't anyone want the puck?). Insanity ensued in front of Ozzy. Staal and Kennedy were tackled; Sid was back checking guys like he was a defenseman and stole some more pucks. Then the Saint committed a sin - he was called for high sticking. This time, the Pens dominated puck possession on the Red Wings' power play. They didn't score on their advantage.


There was a lot more end to end action. Dallas Drake took a head first dive into the boards and was slow to get up. Flower made some huge saves. Bouncing pucks prompt the announcers to tell us that the Joe Louis Arena is warm, which means the ice is bad. Orpik couldn't keep the puck in, which lead to a Detroit 2-on-1. Flower made an AMAZING save, but Gonch took a hard head first hit into the boards that left him stunned. He remained stunned for a few minutes, and as he got up to leave the ice under his own power, the Detroit fans were extremely classy and applauded. Just a few minutes later, Hall plowed into a ref on a play, knocking him down to the ice. This led to Hal Gill getting an opportunity to fire a shot, which met the already broken nose of our Boy Bugsy. Immediately he fell and threw his gloves to signal to the refs that he was in trouble. He left the ice with blood pouring out of his nose. The period ended with the Pens still ahead by a goal.




The third period began with an example of real heroics. Both Bugsy and Gonch returned to the ice after their respective injuries. (Bugsy looks like he got hit by a train! Gotta love that "Hockey Face!") Unfortunately, Gonch had to leave the game a little later. Hopefully he's not too injured... Mikael Samuelsson fired a shot that was blocked by Flower, who ended up losing his stick. Scuds was attempting to give MAF his stick back, but Sammy was being a jerk and not letting him. Datsyuk fired a shot that fooled the crowed and the goal judge but not the refs. After the horn sounded, it was announced that it was NOT A GOAL because it hit the crossbar and bounced back out.


Tomas Holmstrom got away with slashing (and breaking) Staal's stick. Kennedy was penalized for hooking, and it only took 22 seconds for the Wings to tie the game. [Pens 2, Wings 2]


The Wings got the go ahead goal when Rafalski scored after Sammy went hard to the net. [Pens 2, Wings 3]


Sid fired a shot that was stoned by Ozzy as the crowd began a chant of "WE WANT THE CUP!!!" Time seemed to be ticking away at double time. Suddenly there were just two minutes left until Detroit walked away with hockey's Holy Grail. With just over a minute left in the game, Coach pulled MAF in favor of the extra attacker. I've been reading in the comments how much a lot of you dislike this move, but tonight you got a chance to see why it's done. It's definitely a roll of the dice, but when it works, the payoff is HUGE. With only 34.3 seconds left in regulation, Mad Max Talbot chopped away from behind the net to tie the game. [Pens 3, Wings 3]

WE'RE GOING TO OVERTIME, FOLKS!!!

1^st OT: Bugsy was shown sopping up the blood dripping from his nose. MAF made a series of unbelievable saves to keep his team's hopes alive. One on Holmstrom in particular was really amazing. Ozzy had an unreal save of his own when Ruutu sent the puck to Geno for a shot. At the end of his shift, Geno got knocked down by Johan Franzen. It wasn't a big hit by any means, but Geno went down - and stayed down. It was likely fatigue, but it also doesn't help dispel the rumors of a secret injury. Chaos in front of Flower results in Henrik Zetterberg taking a goalie interference penalty. The Pens didn't score on their advantage.


2^nd OT: Dan Cleary was called for goalie interference (much to the crowd's disapproval). The Pens didn't score on their advantage. Ruutu fired a shot that hit the effing post. MAF made more unreal saves - he had to because Detroit was outshooting Pittsburgh. The Pens (including our title man) were making diving blocks all over the ice. Bodies were everywhere. It was sometime around this time that McGuire told us that Syko had tapped on the glass and confidently announced that he would be the one to score the game winning goal. Syko, now out on the ice, was playing like mad. Ruutu was doing everything but scoring, too. Brad Stuart creamed Mad Max after he was caught with his head down. Syko was then called for hooking Kronwall, but the Wings were unable to end the game with their power play.


3^rd OT: Datsyuk got away with interference on Malone. Gonch soldiered through the pain and came back to the ice to help his team. MAF was stunning in goal. Scuds ended up taking one for the team when he took a high stick to the chin from Jiri Hudler. Since it split open and bled, Hudler was given 4 minutes in the box. Thirty-six seconds were all Syko needed to make good on his promise to Pierre. [Pens 4, Wings 3]

There is still hope.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!