Stanley Cup Finals. Discuss.

[Discipline of Steel]

Good grief, glad thats over and we are going to 7. After we win that, we can look back at Staal's short-handed goal to tie game 4 as the turning point in the series.

[Jigawatts]

Great win in a total team effort. Fleury played lights out. Scuderi saved the day on a
few occasions. Sykora pitched in with a nice defensive play. Both goals came from the
third line. You can't ask for anything more other than a blow out victory that would be
much better for my heart.

Only thing strange was Crosby logging less time than Talbot. Oh well, a win's a win.
Let's hope the stars come out Friday night as well as the "role players."

[RuthlessBurgher]

Solid game all around. Excellent defense and puck possession. Scuderi's three saves at the end (without putting his hand on the puck in the crease) were legendary...off the stick, off the shin, off the boot...and he was in perfect butterfly position for those kick saves!!!

I was even inspired to wear my old WB/S Pens autographed Brooks Orpik jersey (that my wife won in one of those "jersey off our back" promotions at the end of the season several years ago when Brooks was still in the AHL) to work today to commemorate the performance by unsung heroes like Orpik and Scuderi...even though the NBC guys were singing their praises at the end of the game last night (I have only ever worn a hockey jersey to work twice before, and it was my Talbot blue throwback after the series clinching wins against Washington and Carolina in this playoff).

So far, we have been in 2 potential elimination games (game 7 vs. Washington and game 6 vs. Detroit) and Fleury came up big by stoning Ovechkin on an early breakaway in the first game and by stoning Cleary on a late breakaway last night.

Although so far they haven't been able to beat us on our ice and we haven't been able to win on their ice, I'm not worried about home ice advantage in game 7. IT'S A GAME SEVEN!!! Anything can happen in a game 7. It's much more about heart and who wants it more at this point than who gets the last change or who puts their stick down first on faceoffs.

I'm not predicting a game like the clincher against the Caps, but I think our guys will be able to pull it off. Crosby and Malkin have another gear, and I think it shows up when we need it most, regardless of whether Zetterberg or Datszuk are shadowing them up and down the ice.

[Steeler Expat]

I realize the Pens are big underdogs Thursday night and deservedly so. Still, the ESPN.com NHL main page headline would make a Penguin upset oh so sweet.

Missed Opportunity
Detroit is happy to have the chance to win the Cup on home ice. Still, the defending champs lost an opportunity to close out the series against a hungry Pens team.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I realize the Pens are big underdogs Thursday night and deservedly so. Still, the ESPN.com NHL main page headline would make a Penguin upset oh so sweet.

Missed Opportunity
Detroit is happy to have the chance to win the Cup on home ice. Still, the defending champs lost an opportunity to close out the series against a hungry Pens team.

Yeah...Detroit is happy to have the chance to win the Cup on home ice. Whatever. We'll see how happy they are when Crosby is passing the Cup to Malkin on the Joe Louis ice. Payback is a bee-yotch.

I'm looking forward to Hossa's tears almost as much as Eric Cartman was craving Scott Tenorman's tears...If only we could convince Radiohead to sing the National Anthem at Joe Louis on Friday (not Thursday, by the way)..."Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness! Yummy!"

[Discipline of Steel]

I realize the Pens are big underdogs Thursday night and deservedly so. Still, the ESPN.com NHL main page headline would make a Penguin upset oh so sweet.

Missed Opportunity
Detroit is happy to have the chance to win the Cup on home ice. Still, the defending champs lost an opportunity to close out the series against a hungry Pens team.

Yeah...Detroit is happy to have the chance to win the Cup on home ice. Whatever. We'll see how happy they are when Crosby is passing the Cup to Malkin on the Joe Louis ice. Payback is a bee-yotch.

I'm looking forward to Hossa's tears almost as much as Eric Cartman was craving Scott Tenorman's tears...If only we could convince Radiohead to sing the National Anthem at Joe Louis on Friday (not Thursday, by the way)..."Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness! Yummy!"

Im sure Hossa is a big motivator for our guys. They cant possibly let HIM hoist the trophy!

[buckeyehoppy]

Game 7 is going to be a war. It's going to be close and everyone is going to be drained after this one. Remember back to the first Pens/Wings matchup this season. It was a 7-6 win by the Pens in OT in Detroit. Don't be surprised if Game 7 is eerily similar to that outcome.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Some interesting tidbits to digest leading up to tonight's game 7 while everyone and their grandmother is picking Detroit to win:

Pittsburgh has won 3 out of the last 4 game in this series, and they had legitimate shots to win either of the first two games as well. Outside of game 5 where the Penguins self-destructed with penalties, the Wings have not had a prolonged period of dominance against us like they did in the finals last year.

In their history, the Penguins have played in a game 7 on the road four times. The Penguins have won every time. The most recent example of this was the 6-2 drubbing of the Capitals in D.C. in round 2 of this year's playoffs.

If you look at the 3 American sports that decide their championship with a best-of-7 series (NHL with the Stanley Cup Finals, NBA with the NBA Finals, and MLB with the World Series), the last time a championship was won by the road team in a game 7, it was also a Pittsburgh team. The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates won game 7 of the World Series in Baltimore.

Just how young are the key players for the Penguins? We often forget. Jordan Staal is 20, Sidney Crosby is 21, Evgeni Malkin is 22, and Marc-Andre Fleury is 24. For comparison's sake, let's look at the Steeler draft class in April that has not yet played a down of football in the NFL. Kraig Urbik, Keenan Lewis, Frank Summers, and A.Q. Shipley are all 23. Ziggy Hood, Mike Wallace, Joe Burnett, and Sonny Harris are all 22. David Johnson is 21. Does it seem odd that guys in the running for the Conn Smythe trophy are as young or younger than recent Steeler draft class? Staal and Malkin have played 3 years in the NHL already, Crosby 4 years, and Fleury 5 years (and it would have been 6 years for Fleury if not for the lockout season following his rookie year).

My prediction for tonight:

First Period
Ruslan Fedotenko scores. Pens 1-0.
Kirk Maltby scores. Tied 1-1.
Darren Helm scores. Wings 2-1.

Second Period
Evgeni Malkin scores. Tied 2-2.
Bill Guerin scores. Pens 3-2.
Pavel Datsyuk scores. Tied 3-3.
Chris Kunitz scores. Pens 4-3.
Henrik Zetterberg scores. Tied 4-4.

Third Period
Sidney Crosby scores. Pens 5-4.
Evgeni Malkin scores. Pens 6-4. Final.

[Jigawatts]

I have to go out of town tonight and I probably won't get to log on here until Monday so
I'll say my piece now.

Well, it's been fun. A few months back when Bylsma was hired I expected the Pens to
make the playoffs, but I didn't think they would make it out of the second round, let alone make
it to game seven of the finals. But they built up some steam, got hot, and here we are.
I believe they are the better team and will bring home the cup. It's been a great season
and I hope Ruthless can finish his 16 wins thread.

Here's to watching game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals on a crappy hotel television.

[frankthetank1]

gotta win tonight, its been way too long the pens have won the cup. i think they do it tonight. crosby and geno will come up with big games. LETS GO PENS!!!!