11/05/24
June 12, 2009
Penguins hold off Red Wings to take third Stanley Cup: The Penguins rang in a new era tonight, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1992 and the third time in franchise history. Max Talbot scored two second-period goals, and the Penguins overcame the loss of captain Sidney Crosby and a whole lot of history to beat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Friday night in Game 7 and win the Stanley Cup for the third time.
posted by tommytrump to hockey at 11:00 PM - 23 comments
Being a big Red Wings fan, that game was hard to swallow, but it was a very well played series, and the Pens deserved it. Hopefully the Wings will be right there again next year.
Also, busted a gut laughing at how nearly everyone at the Joe was booing loudly every time Bettman touched the mic. Priceless.
posted by fadetoblack5 at 11:39 PM on June 12, 2009
I was able to attend both Game 5 and Game 7. I must say I enjoyed game 7 more. Congrats to the Pens though, they outplayed the Wings and deserved to win. It is really cool to see how excited these guys get when they win the cup.
Oh and I did enjoy booing loudly for Bettman. Loudest boos I've heard at the Joe.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 11:50 PM on June 12, 2009
That was an unbelievable game.
It's a great year to be a Pittsburgh sports fan.
posted by dirigibleman at 11:50 PM on June 12, 2009
A few euphoric thoughts:
As a Pens fan, it was a great night for me. Fleury really exercised his demons tonight (or were they really just media spin all along?). Fleury's save with one tick left was amazing, not just b/c of how tough a spot he was in, but when he did it. People forget that despite his occasional lapses, when he is on, he is almost unbeatable. And tonight he showed up when it mattered the most.
Conversely, Osgood, who everyone loved, has now dropped to 2-4 in game 7's. With this postseason alone Fleury has tied him in this area of the "clutch" department.
Detroit, i freely admit that you are still easily the class of the NHL, but i am pumped that the Pens broke through, and i would be lying if i said beating Hossa & his new team on their ice after last year wasn't sweet. Let's do it again next year!
Lastly, love him or hate him, Crosby is the youngest captain to ever skate the cup. If this isn't a testament to him, then i am not sure what else would be. Hopefully the 1st of many for the kid.
(Homer post ends now)
posted by brainofdtrain at 12:01 AM on June 13, 2009
Definitely it is a great Pittsburgh sports year. Since there is no NBA franchise in Pittsburgh, we have to also include the U. Pitt hoops team and some of the colossal games they were involved in this past season.
But when reading a revised AP story on tonight's game, I was haunted by the last line:
"The last road team to win Game 7 of the championship round in any major league was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates."
That was 30 years ago.
Against the backdrop of the success enjoyed by the other area teams, my heart goes out to the Pirates fans. Maybe someday the Pirates will be able to compete again. There's a lot of pride and past glory in that franchise. It is not good for baseball for the Pirates to have been out of the hunt for so long.
In the meantime, congrats, Pens.
posted by beaverboard at 02:00 AM on June 13, 2009
A few notes from my flurry of emotions...
1) This sucks...sure, I remember 1995, but in my eyes, this was worse...
2) Congrats to the Pens and their fans. Flat out, they were the better team this year...
3) Hossa can go away. He's Curtis Joseph. He's Mike Gartner. He's cursed. Love you Marian, but go curse someone else...
4) Brad Stuart can go away too. Loved you last season, when you were hitting everything Kronwall missed. The honeymoon is over, and you turn the puck over WAAAAAAY too much in your own end. Gimme a bag of pucks and he's yours...
5) 15 years ago this year, the Wings were knocked out in the first round by San Jose, a year after losing in the first round to Toronto. If any of you showed up at my door then from 2009, and told me the Wings would make 6 Finals appearances in the next 15 years, and win 4 of them, I would've had you commited, a la Bruce Willis in 12 Monkeys. We Wings fans have led a charmed life for a while, and I think we mighta needed this to bring us back to Earth. We'll be back soon...
6) Gary Bettman sucks...
posted by MeatSaber at 02:16 AM on June 13, 2009
First off, congrats Pens, a job well done. The playoffs this year were epic, eventhough my Isles missed them ... again, and my new fav the blue jackets, bj's for short, didnt suck this year. Now more than ever, we need to get rid of Bettman. He's, by far, the worst commissioner in all of sports, and is keeping hockey as a niche sport instead of the major sport it should be. The game itself, is as good as it's ever been (play wise) and a good commissioner could take the game to new heights, if we could just get one.
posted by jagsnumberone at 02:49 AM on June 13, 2009
I guess maybe you could call me a sore loser, but after watching HOCKEY for so many years I think the officials are in the way all to often. I mean this both during action (getting hit with the puck) and in the wrong. I saw way too many blown calls, both against the Wings and the Pens. They say that officials don't win or lose games but last night I think they did. I think the players themselves could officiate a better game like we used to on the ponds when I was a kid. Good job Pens. You accomplished what Bettman and commontaters wanted, an East win.
posted by coach at 07:39 AM on June 13, 2009
Congrats to the Pens,they deserved the cup. Lest we not forget that after losing the first two, they won four of five. Sorry you can't blame Bettman or the officals on that. They were the better team. It was nice to see Hossa get cooked after he dumped the Pens, so he could be on a winning team.
posted by Doehead at 08:28 AM on June 13, 2009
We Wings fans have led a charmed life for a while, and I think we mighta needed this to bring us back to Earth
Losing in game 7 of the finals is not back to earth. They'll be the top bet to win the Stanley Cup next year, as usual.
posted by dfleming at 09:46 AM on June 13, 2009
Brad Stuart can go away too. Loved you last season, when you were hitting everything Kronwall missed. The honeymoon is over, and you turn the puck over WAAAAAAY too much in your own end. Gimme a bag of pucks and he's yours...
That was my first thought. IIRC, he turned over the puck on both Pitssburgh goals. All the credit to the Pens for capitalizing, but you can't win a game 7 with those turnovers.
Sometimes I wonder why teams don't play like the Red Wings did in the third period more often. They were a team possessed who came damn close to tying it while allowing almost no Penguin offensive pressure.
I also wonder how much longer Lindstrom has left on those legs. He's played a lot of hockey since entering the league and is 39.
posted by jmd82 at 11:01 AM on June 13, 2009
If you had told me going in to Games 6 and 7 that the Penguins would get one point total between Malkin and Crosby in the final two games, I would have liked the odds for the Wings very much. Hats of the the Pens. Now if you Steel City folks could just get those Pirates respectable, you would have a pretty good run of things there. (On an incidental note, how cool is it that all of the Pittsburgh professional sports teams sport the same general color scheme?)
posted by holden at 01:08 PM on June 13, 2009
Was it just me, or did Rafalski do a less than stellar job in his own end, as well? He looked fairly comfortable in the offensive zone, but when he was headed back to pick up a puck behind his own net, he seemed to hear footsteps and panic. On more than a few occasions, he hurried and made very sloppy plays, not the type that go unforgiven in Detroit.
posted by tahoemoj at 01:11 PM on June 13, 2009
Congratulations to both teams for a very exciting and well-played final. One of the nice things about being a hockey fan in New England is that there are local connections on almost every NHL team. That gives you someone to root for and a reason to feel good, no matter who wins. Despite Gary Bettman's best efforts, this series was a strong win for the NHL. Give NBC some props for their decision to stay with the game no matter what. It might have cost them some ratings, but it really gave some exposure to good hockey to many who would not otherwise have seen this.
posted by Howard_T at 01:47 PM on June 13, 2009
Stuart had giveaways like the 2 in game 7 all playoffs long. Most times Osgood or someone else covered it, but they were still there, and they are unforgivable. Rafalski's mistakes usually went to the point, not the slot...easier to recover from a 60 ft mistake than a 5 ft mistake...
posted by MeatSaber at 04:22 PM on June 13, 2009
Yeah Stuart had a bad game but he is still a top 4 defenceman on any team in the league. The Pens were forechecking really well which definitely cramped the Wings' ability to move pucks from the rear. Any other defence might have been blown out 6 to 1 in that game.
I'm not a big Pens fan and I am pretty sick of the Crosby-as-Second_coming bullshit all over Canada, but they played their best when they had to all through the playoffs and so much respect to them. I have to say, though, that they were not very gracious in victory --- they kept the wings waiting forever for the handshakes and then they straggled in, with Crosby one of the worst offenders. Not very classy, maybe excusable under the circumstances but it was by far the least sportsmanlike win I've seen in hockey. Also, none of them said anything to the effect of "well played Wings" -- and I watched all the interviews post-game on CBC and in the wrap-ups.
But anyway, they did play very well, Fleury pulled it out for them, with that last diving save on Lidstrom destined to be iconic I think.
posted by rumple at 05:07 PM on June 13, 2009
Not very classy, maybe excusable under the circumstances but it was by far the least sportsmanlike win I've seen in hockey. Also, none of them said anything to the effect of "well played Wings" -- and I watched all the interviews post-game on CBC and in the wrap-ups.
Platitudes and stock words have absolutely nothing to do with being sportsmanlike. I appreciate meaningless gestures as much as the next guy but if we could do away with the whole pre/post-game media whoring and, you know, appreciate sportsmanlike play when it matters, that'd be a better gauge of who is sportsmanlike.
Crosby et al. are in their early twenties and just won the freaking Stanley Cup; it's understandable they'd get a little worked up over it. If they were seasoned vets, I'd be a little less likely to cut them some slack, but these are kids we're talking about.
posted by dfleming at 05:23 PM on June 13, 2009
Yeah, I don't want to start an argument (especially as I am going out to the boonies for a week) -- the Pens certainly deserved their celebration, I just thought they lost sight of the bigger picture -- which I don't think is meaningless gesture but is one of the traditions of the game.
And there was waaaay too much media on the ice, not to mention hangers on and so forth.
I guess I am becoming a crusty old fart -- call me frumple -- and get off opf my lawn!
posted by rumple at 06:31 PM on June 13, 2009
The NHL has to figure out how to call penalties in the finals without getting screamed at for determining the outcome of the game. Sooo much obstruction, holding, interference, etc. It made the finals more boring than it could have been. (Not that it was boring, but it wasn't the best series by a long shot.)
posted by fabulon7 at 10:12 PM on June 14, 2009
The NHL has to figure out how to call penalties in the finals without getting screamed at for determining the outcome of the game.
I concur, and that is one of my biggest pet peaves. I don't buy the "let the players decide!!" mantra at all. By calling the finals differently than before, the refs are the ones making the decision.
posted by jmd82 at 10:46 PM on June 14, 2009
am i going against the grain to say that i wished that detroit should have won?
posted by hammertime at 02:36 PM on June 15, 2009
am i going against the grain to say that i wished that detroit should have won?
I think YYM and myself agree with you...but we're Wings fans...
posted by MeatSaber at 04:21 PM on June 15, 2009
Amazing saves by Fleury at the very end. I really thought that Lidstrom's shot was going to go in for sure.