Pittsburgh Penguins win 2009 stanley cup
Pittsburgh 2 Detroit 1- Penguins deliver Hollywood-esque performance in stunning Game 7 win over defending champs.
People jeered, laughed and guffawed in the faces of the Pittsburgh Penguins who going into Game 7 appeared desperate for any good will or positive thinking they could find. Different hotels, different path to the rink, different stalls, new pregame preparation. Amidst a game where no one was giving them a chance, the youthful energetic and resilient 2008 runner up relied on fate to get them through.
Score one for superstition.
As far as being superstitious I am one of the least among those who believe in it, but when the last second (and a long one at that) had finally ticked off the clock it was hard to argue with those who followed it through. What transpired in Game 7 was something you only saw in the movies, something that truly couldn't be made real without hours and hours of video editing, and an outlandish script deemed hardly believable by normal standards. This was supposed to be the reigning champions teaching the young kids down the block another harsh lesson on being a winner. As the previous three Game 7 underdog Cinderella's had taught us (Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton) this penguins team, destined to win more cups in the future were expected to run out of gas and reload for next year, 3rd time was supposed to be the charm.
Virtually unbeatable at Joe Louis Arena with an 11-1 record, the Red Wings came into this game so confident of their chances they even checked a few days ahead of time to make sure the weather for their Stanley Cup parade would cooperate. But on friday night, the hockey gods appeared to be, just as majority of hockey fans were, tired of the winged wheel reigning supreme.
Brad Stuart gave up possibly his only turnover of the playoffs leading to Max Talbot's first goal to put the Pens up 1-0. It appeared as though their luck had run dry when Niklas Kronwall pasted Crosby into the boards, pinning his knee and sending him out of the game. All that was left was the hope that the path he took to the rink, the different hotel, the new way he ate his food, and his new dressing room stall would carry him through. Just minutes later, the hockey gods smiled down on the bad fortune as Talbot struck again, taking advantage of an awfully played angle by Chris Osgood. Many Pens fans waited anxiously for the time to come when the wings would explode for three goals in the same way that made them Stanley cup champions the year before.
With five minutes to go and up 2-1, Niklas Kronwall, let go a rocket from the right point that after deflecting off of two bodies appeared destined for the back of the net. An inch or two either way and the game would have been tied 2-2. The crossbar as if on cue, reach out and snatched the puck, deflecting it out of harms way
With 1 second left in the season, Nick Lidstrom pounced on a rebound and stared a wide open cage in the face only to have Fleury come across and rob him in a save for the ages. When the buzzer had finally sounded the relief on the faces on the fearless five that we knew had been bottled up inside of them...on the faces of Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Letang, was obvious.
Through two months of playoffs they had played unfazed, undaunted, through the pressure as though this was nothing out of the ordinary. But superstitious is by definition done because of an irrational fear of what is unknown.
Friday night proved their fear wasn't irrational and that superstition may not at all be a myth. Those who were laughing at their tactics going into the big game we're now looking at the face of a champion.
*****
Sour Grapes?
For a moment I could understand how Kris Draper felt. In fact, I had the same feeling back in 4th grade when my favored Sharks lost in the prestigious Elizabeth school inter-mural floor hockey final. Filled with sadness and anger, I did what most 4th graders did at that time and put on my best pouty face, having no idea I was doing a first rate Kris Draper impression.
In a classic 'I'm not getting my own way' moment the four time Stanley cup champion could not bear to see a kid fulfill his lifelong dream and approach it graciously, instead accusing Crosby of taking too long before going over to the handshake line. Lost in this momentary 'snub' was the fact that Draper's teammate Chris Chelios who not only didn't shake hands with the captain two years ago but left the ice entirely without shaking a single hand. Sidney later came to the media and reiterated that there was no snub intended. I couldn't help but notice that Crosby never mentioned he would shake Lidstrom's hand the next time they end a playoff series. Detroit would have to get to the final again. Looking into the victorious eyes of King Sid, Draper knew he was passing the torch, that this may very well be his last chance to shine in the spotlight of the stanley cup final, while in the background you could hear the hum of "We are the champions, no time for losers" playing mercilessly in the background.
***
It's never too early to make prognostications for the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. For those of you who would rather skip the hype, excitement and long drawn out eight months of hockey, here's a brief look ahead at what to expect for the 2010 season.
Another star will shine, but this time it's Alexander the Great's chance in the spotlight. Spurred on by another 50 goal and dazzling playoff performance Ovechkin will carry his team to it's first Stanley Cup berth since 1998. This drive will fall short to a team who much like the Pittsburgh Penguins have risen from the dead of the NHL basement and loaded up on high draft picks. They made an all- star goalie look like a Beer League brother-in-law caught in a mid-life crisis, they plaed keep-away with a tired and slow Calagry Flames team, and lost to the defending champions.
You heard it here first
Chicago over Washington in 7 games crowning the Chicago Blackhawks as 2010 Stanley Cup champions.
BleacherBuff
Score one for superstition.
As far as being superstitious I am one of the least among those who believe in it, but when the last second (and a long one at that) had finally ticked off the clock it was hard to argue with those who followed it through. What transpired in Game 7 was something you only saw in the movies, something that truly couldn't be made real without hours and hours of video editing, and an outlandish script deemed hardly believable by normal standards. This was supposed to be the reigning champions teaching the young kids down the block another harsh lesson on being a winner. As the previous three Game 7 underdog Cinderella's had taught us (Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton) this penguins team, destined to win more cups in the future were expected to run out of gas and reload for next year, 3rd time was supposed to be the charm.
Virtually unbeatable at Joe Louis Arena with an 11-1 record, the Red Wings came into this game so confident of their chances they even checked a few days ahead of time to make sure the weather for their Stanley Cup parade would cooperate. But on friday night, the hockey gods appeared to be, just as majority of hockey fans were, tired of the winged wheel reigning supreme.
Brad Stuart gave up possibly his only turnover of the playoffs leading to Max Talbot's first goal to put the Pens up 1-0. It appeared as though their luck had run dry when Niklas Kronwall pasted Crosby into the boards, pinning his knee and sending him out of the game. All that was left was the hope that the path he took to the rink, the different hotel, the new way he ate his food, and his new dressing room stall would carry him through. Just minutes later, the hockey gods smiled down on the bad fortune as Talbot struck again, taking advantage of an awfully played angle by Chris Osgood. Many Pens fans waited anxiously for the time to come when the wings would explode for three goals in the same way that made them Stanley cup champions the year before.
With five minutes to go and up 2-1, Niklas Kronwall, let go a rocket from the right point that after deflecting off of two bodies appeared destined for the back of the net. An inch or two either way and the game would have been tied 2-2. The crossbar as if on cue, reach out and snatched the puck, deflecting it out of harms way
With 1 second left in the season, Nick Lidstrom pounced on a rebound and stared a wide open cage in the face only to have Fleury come across and rob him in a save for the ages. When the buzzer had finally sounded the relief on the faces on the fearless five that we knew had been bottled up inside of them...on the faces of Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Letang, was obvious.
Through two months of playoffs they had played unfazed, undaunted, through the pressure as though this was nothing out of the ordinary. But superstitious is by definition done because of an irrational fear of what is unknown.
Friday night proved their fear wasn't irrational and that superstition may not at all be a myth. Those who were laughing at their tactics going into the big game we're now looking at the face of a champion.
*****
Sour Grapes?
For a moment I could understand how Kris Draper felt. In fact, I had the same feeling back in 4th grade when my favored Sharks lost in the prestigious Elizabeth school inter-mural floor hockey final. Filled with sadness and anger, I did what most 4th graders did at that time and put on my best pouty face, having no idea I was doing a first rate Kris Draper impression.
In a classic 'I'm not getting my own way' moment the four time Stanley cup champion could not bear to see a kid fulfill his lifelong dream and approach it graciously, instead accusing Crosby of taking too long before going over to the handshake line. Lost in this momentary 'snub' was the fact that Draper's teammate Chris Chelios who not only didn't shake hands with the captain two years ago but left the ice entirely without shaking a single hand. Sidney later came to the media and reiterated that there was no snub intended. I couldn't help but notice that Crosby never mentioned he would shake Lidstrom's hand the next time they end a playoff series. Detroit would have to get to the final again. Looking into the victorious eyes of King Sid, Draper knew he was passing the torch, that this may very well be his last chance to shine in the spotlight of the stanley cup final, while in the background you could hear the hum of "We are the champions, no time for losers" playing mercilessly in the background.
***
It's never too early to make prognostications for the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. For those of you who would rather skip the hype, excitement and long drawn out eight months of hockey, here's a brief look ahead at what to expect for the 2010 season.
Another star will shine, but this time it's Alexander the Great's chance in the spotlight. Spurred on by another 50 goal and dazzling playoff performance Ovechkin will carry his team to it's first Stanley Cup berth since 1998. This drive will fall short to a team who much like the Pittsburgh Penguins have risen from the dead of the NHL basement and loaded up on high draft picks. They made an all- star goalie look like a Beer League brother-in-law caught in a mid-life crisis, they plaed keep-away with a tired and slow Calagry Flames team, and lost to the defending champions.
You heard it here first
Chicago over Washington in 7 games crowning the Chicago Blackhawks as 2010 Stanley Cup champions.
BleacherBuff
posted by BleacherBuff @ 8:56 AM
1 Comments:
I think you should update this. It's been quite a long time.
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