It’s been almost a full day and I still can’t believe it.  I will write more about some things like Marian Hossa’s decision to join up with the Detroit Red Wings to have a better chance at winning and the fact that Evgeni Malkin is now the first Russian player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy but, for now, I’m happy to just enjoy these pictures.

images: Zuma Press

Post from: Hockey Beat

Sidney Crosby is the youngest captain to hoist the Stanley Cup and after the night he’s had I’m sure the moment feels incredible.

image: Zuma Press

From the start, the Penguins looked like the sharper team but, in the first period, both Pittsburgh and Detroit came out with a lot of intensity but the combination of Maxime Talbot (who scored both goals for the Pens) and the goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury was simply unbeatable tonight.

By the second period, I kept looking around wondering where the Red Wings were.  It was such a strange game.   They seemed to lack focus, they kept getting called off-side and it really looked like they were either worn out or had given up.  I did think that things might turn around for them when Johan Franzen rammed Crosby into the boards.  The Pittsburgh captain limped over to the bench and then headed to the locker rooms.  He didn’t return for the rest of the period.

During the third period, the Red Wings seemed to have a lot more drive, especially in the second half.  Crosby returned to the game but he coulnd’t move like he needed to.  I’m sure it was hard for coach Dan Bylsma to restrict his star player’s ice time but with Detroit playing harder (and that lone goal by Jonathan Ericsson) he had to put his healthiest legs in the game.  I swear I almost had a heart attack in those last 20 minutes, especially when that shot got past Fleury and hit the crossbar (did you see him rub the net affectionately?  He later said that he was thanking it for making a big save for him – ha ha!!).  If Detroit had brought that intensity from the start, they might be the ones celebrating the win tonight.

After the game, it was pretty great to watch the Penguins hoist the trophy even though they were in Detroit but Crosby explained on Hockey Night in Canada that it was hard to watch the end of Game 7 from the bench.  All of the players were very emotional and Evgeni Malkin was presented with the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Congratulations, Pittsburgh.  You proved that a team can win Game 7 on the road under seriously adverse conditions and that touching the Eastern Conference trophy doesn’t lead to bad luck.  Enjoy your banner year!

image: Zuma Press

Post from: Hockey Beat

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?

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: Zuma Press

I was absolutely stunned by how controlled the Penguins played and how well they managed to keep the Detroit Red Wings from getting too many shots away.  In total, Marc-Andre Fleury faced 26 shots on net and he turned away 25 of them (he was without his stick for the one that he missed).  The difference in Fleury’s goaltending between Game 5 and Game 6 is extraordinary because he actually looked like he realized he was playing in the postseason tonight.  It can be hard on a goalie to remain focused when they aren’t facing too many shots but, for the most part, he stayed sharp.

He did get lucky a few times, however.  He managed to make a save on a shot by Henrik Zetterberg that bounced off the pipes and looked eerily reminiscent of one he let in during Game 6 last year.  He also had some MAJOR help from teammate, Rob Scuderi, who blocked four shots (I was beginning to wonder if Scuderi had missed his calling as a goaltender).  Brooks Orpik was also extraordinary on the ice tonight and got a career high of six blocked shots.

Even though Detroit lost, I’ve got to give Chris Osgood credit for solid netminding.  He managed to turn away 29 of the 31 shots he faced.  Someone who did not play up to his abilities if former Penguin, Marian Hossa.  I think that a lot of people were expecting more from him since he defected to Detroit because he said that he would have a better chance of winning the Cup that way.  Someone should have let him know that he’d actually have to try and not just rely on his teammates.  I almost want Detroit to lose just to teach him a lesson.

The last thing I want to say about tonight’s game is that it was remarkably low on penalties.  Of course, there were infractions that slipped by the officiators but, overall, the guys played a relatively clean game with each team incurring just two penalties each for the entire game.

Game 7 takes place in Detroit on Friday, June 12, 2009.

Post from: Hockey Beat

Critics had been questioning Detroit’s play recently with some even referring to them as “shaky” but they showed everyone that they are solid and they sent the Pittsburgh Penguins a clear message – they intend to keep Lord Stanley.

The Penguins were held scoreless in three periods while the Red Wings scored five times.  I think it goes without saying that Pens netminder, Marc-Andre Fleury, looked pretty shaky between the pipes (he was eventually replaced by backup, Mathieu Garon) while his counterpart, Chris Osgood, looked solid and secured a shutout.

I’ve got to say that I was a little disappointed in both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for their conduct as the game progressed.  With the team suffering, Malkin took a nasty elbowing call in the second period and then Crosby incurred a slashing penalty.

Crosby was clearly frustrated and I get that but you can’t retaliate by hitting a guy in the back of the leg when you’re the team’s leader.  After that, the Penguins got themselves in all kinds of penalty trouble with six calls against them in the third period alone.  When you’re wearing that “C” or even the “A” and your team is down, it’s time for you to rally and bring your guys together.  They really showed a lack of class, maturity and experience last night.

Game 6 takes place on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 8pm ET.  If the Red Wings win, they will have succeeded in winning the Stanley Cup two years in a row.

images: Zuma Press

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: Zuma Press

Evgeni Malkin got the Pens on the scoreboard very early in the first on a power-play but his goal was quickly answered with one by Detroit’s Darren Helm.

They went into the second period tied up and after a goal by Brad Stuart, the Red Wings were held scoreless for the rest of the game as a shorthanded goal by Jordan Staal, followed by goals from Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy secured a victory for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh really needed that win because I think that their confidence was low and Detroit was ready to pick them off.  I think Crosby summed it up best.  He said “these last couple at home have been desperation from us.  It’s going to be like that all the way through here.”

If the Penguins can continue to play the way they did in those last 40 minutes, they will stand a very good chance of winning the Cup this year, especially if they can manage to steal a win in Game 5 in Detroit and then come back home for Game 6.  If they lose the next game to the Red Wings, I think they could be in a lot of trouble…

The two teams will square off in the Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night at 8pm ET.

Post from: Hockey Beat

Here’s a breakdown of the plays but definitely check out the video.

• Fedotenko cruises the crease and scores on Ward – Looking at it, I can barely believe that this happened in a playoff game.  Along with Ward, there was like 100 Carolina players gathered in front of the net but, somehow, Fedotenko was allowed to just cruise around and score. 
• This was a little lame.  They actually just listed the moment when the Penguins won the Conference Finals.
• Osgood locks the door on Fraser – this was just great goaltending.  Kane and Fraser made a good attempt at putting one behind Oz but the seasoned netminder shut them down.
• Great goaltending by Osgood part 2.  Enough said.
• Huet makes a great save on a hard shot by Hossa but, before he and his teammates could even celebrate, a long shot by Lebda made it in to the back of the net.
• Great goaltending by Osgood part 3.  Yawn.
• Kane launches an awesome backhand shot at Osgood and… actually beats him and got his first goal of the series.
• Huet makes an amazing save in overtime for the Blackhawks.
• The Red Wings score on Huet and make it to the Finals.
• Highlights from the Penguins/Red Wings series so far.

image: Newscom

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: Zuma Press

There were grumblings among many a hockey fan saying that the Penguins were on their way to being swept but, fortunately, last night’s game disproved the gossip.  I would imagine that even Red Wings fans would like to see a little more action before a winner emerges.

Watching the game, I felt like there was a lot less passion than I was expecting through those first two periods.  Fortunately, two goals by Talbot and a great power-play tally by Sergei Gonchar buoyed the Pens to a 4-2 victory.

It was also nice to see netminder, Marc-Andre Fleury, looking a little more stable between the pipes.  He finished the game with 27 saves.  Teammate, Talbot, was really happy for his best friend: “I’m so happy for Fleury because in Game 1 and 2 he got criticized a little bit, but tonight I think he won the battle of the goaltenders. I have a lot of trust in that guy, he’s amazing. If I had a choice to take any goaltender in the league, I would choose Fleury and he proved it tonight.”

Someone who wasn’t feeling the love was former Penguin, Marian Hossa.  As soon as he came near the puck, the crowd erupted in boos and rightfully so.  I hope he wasn’t expecting a warm reception…

Neither Pavel Datsyuk nor Kris Draper to dressed for Detroit.

Game 4 takes place on Thursday in Pittsburgh and I believe that the Penguins will need to win it if they stand a chance of taking home the Stanley Cup.  Even though the series is currently at 2-1 in Detroit’s favor, I still feel that this is anyone’s game.

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: newscom

First of all, I know a lot of people are not pleased by the back-to-back games in Detroit at the start of this series and I’ve got to say that I really didn’t like it much either.  I’m not crying about it or blaming the scheduling for the loss but I do think it’s less than desirable at this all-important stage of the playoffs.

Of course, there was some real ugliness on the ice in the very emotional rematch between these two games and it

image: TSN

really seemed to reach the boiling point when Pittsburgh’s Maxime Talbot speared Detroit netminder, Chris Osgood, in the chest after he made a save.  I know Talbot was frustrated but that was really unacceptable.  Naturally, Henrik Zetterberg came to his goalie’s defence which sparked a fight with Evgeni Malkin (who got an instigator penalty but did not get the automatic suspension and will appear in Game 3).  “I think in the playoffs and finals like this, there is a lot of emotions, a lot of feelings,” said Zetterberg. “When you get scrums that’s the way it is. It should be a lot of feelings, and nothing more than that.”

What do you think of the fact that Malkin won’t have to miss the next game?  Judging from what I’ve seen on Twitter and blogs, many people (including a few Penguins fans) think the NHL is showing favoritism but I think TSN’s Bob McKenzie explained it best: “The intent of the rule is pretty obvious – was the action premeditated, was it sending a message.  Evgeni Malkin was on the ice trying to score a goal at the end of the game. This one was born more out of frustration, then it was the Penguins trying to orchestrate some late game shenanigans, that is what the rule was put in place for and that is why the NHL reserves the right to rescind the rule if they feel the spirit of the rule is not being violated.”

I guess that’s decent reasoning but I really wonder what is going to happen with the rest of this series.  I heard the commentators say that out of 32 series where a team has won the first two games, 31 have gone on to take home Lord Stanley.

I’d really like to see Pittsburgh beat the odds and turn this thing around.

Post from: Hockey Beat

image: Zuma Press

The puck seemed to be bouncing in favor of the Detroit Red Wings as two of their goals actually bounced off the boards and off of Pittsburgh goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, and into the net.  I’m not saying that Detroit needed the help but I’m sure they didn’t mind those lucky bounces.

We also saw a lot of action between Sidney Crosby and Henrik Zetterberg, who seemed to be battling each other all night.  As TSN’s Bob McKenzie explained: “early on Sidney Crosby really tried to take it physically to Zetterberg, but as the game went along, Zetterberg started to assert himself.  I thought Crosby played a very good hockey game in a lot of ways, but at the end of the night it was Zetterberg who came away the winner.”

Fresh off some time out of the lineup, Red Wings’ captain Nicklas Lidstrom tallied the most minutes (24) of all skaters in the game.  That really leads me to believe that he wasn’t injured but maybe he was sick?

The loss was the first in a while for the Penguins, who swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.  It’s only been one game but, of course, people are already speculating that this series is starting in the same way as the one last year where the Red Wings won those first two games and then ended up taking the series in Game 6.  We’ll just have to wait and see if history will repeat itself.

Game 2 is in Detroit tomorrow night at 8pm ET.

Post from: Hockey Beat