Are You Ready For Game 7 Tonight?

This is it.  This is really, REALLY it.  It’s do-or-die time and I am extremely nervous.  I don’t know what it is about this matchup but seeing the seasoned, experienced Detroit Red Wings take on the younger Pittsburgh Penguins is very exciting to me.  It was all over in Game 6 last year and I think it’s absolutely amazing that we get to see a rematch.

image: Zuma Press

I thought history might repeat itself since the Red Wings only needed one more win and could have eliminated the Pens (again) in Game 6 but Pittsburgh dug deep and sent out a message that the jerseys on the ice might be the same (and Game 5 might have been an embarrassing blowout) but this is a new year and they are not giving up.

This is a HUGE deal for Detroit since they are hosting their first Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final since 1955.  While the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of the home team it is worth mentioning that the Penguins have never lost a Game 7 on the road (4-0).

TSN has an excellent overview of Game 7 on their site right now and, reading through it, some things really stand out for those who believe that the Penguins don’t stand a chance:

• Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin “has the highest point total in a single playoff year since 1992-93, when Wayne Gretzky had 40 (15 goals, 25 assists) in 24 games for the Los Angeles Kings and Doug Gilmour notched 35 (10 goals, 25 assists) in 21 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
• Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin “are the first teammates to post 30-or-more points in the same playoff year since the New York Rangers’ Brian Leetch (11-23–34) and Mark Messier (12-18–30) in 1994.”

In order for Pittsburgh to have a chance, Malkin and Crosby are going to have to work together better than they have all year long and, of course, their goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, will have to be solid in net.  The Pens will also need to keep their tempers in check to avoid penalty trouble.

Detroit really doesn’t need to do any tweaking.  They are an extraordinarily skilled and patient team and it’s really hard to find any flaw worth mentioning.  Chris Osgood has been stellar between the pipes and the lines are working well.

I really don’t know what’s going to happen but I definitely will be watching.  Any predictions?