We have a (Game) Winner

Stanley Cup Finals


Three overtimes to decide game 5... who would have thunk it?



I was barely alive on the East Coast for it since I was working at Banana Republic really early so I was up at 5 AM. But let's talk about the overtime.

This was supposed to be the "Great Cup Match up that would Save Hockey", but it hasn't. Sid was not the kid or even present the first two games. He made a great appearance in game 3 and now, the Penguins as a team have forced game 6 back in the Steel City.

Detroit was less than a minute away from lifting yet another Stanley Cup until Maxime Talbot's 6 on 5 goal tied it to force overtime. Though despite that boost of confidence on the Pittsburgh side, Detroit came out guns blazing in overtime. Without a doubt I thought the Wings would score early on and take the Cup. That first overtime, especially the first five minutes, the boys of Hockeytown wanted to end it right there. Somehow the Penguins stuck around and the refs gave them some help with a power play. More on this in a second.

Then the Penguins show a little bit of life, as Evgani Malkin was sucking on fumes the whole way, even though he was busting his ass to save the play. But regardless the first OT wasn't enough and so wasn't the second OT.

This game had all the makings of a classic; suspense, drama, a few posts being hit, a player calling his shot and yes, controversy. The referees really called some iffy penalties on Detroit for running into Marc Andre-Fluery. Granted Fleury was the main reason Pittsburgh was still alive in the game and if he got knocked down and Detroit scored and no penalty was called, we'd suffer through another "no goal" kind of thing. Yes it is a thing, you live in Rochester and hear people talk about it like it was their own family story.

Referees need to keep these games open, especially in overtime. They don't call ticky-tack penalties just because it's textbook or gray area. You call a definitive penalty to keep the game open and not create controversy. But those two penalties were blatantly not penalties in the NHL, maybe Pee Wee, but not in the Stanley Cup. It was refreshing to hear Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire openly chastise the officials on that. Though I'm not going to say kill the refs, but they needed to be in a better position on those calls, especially since the Zetterberg calls was made from the neutral zone.

The Penguins got the win at a crucial time. They got a double minor called on Jiri Hudler, the scorer of game 4's game winner, and Petr Sykora and Sergei Gonchar stepped out on the ice for the Pens. Sykora, pulled the Joe Namath and tapped on the glass where McGuire was standing for NBC and told him that he was going to score the game winner in the second OT. Gonchar was hurt from late in regulation and did not play any of the overtime until that point. It was a great call for Pittsburgh since everyone is exhausted and he would have the freshest legs out there, no matter how injured he was.

Sykora let rip a shot that beat Chris Osgood and Pittsburgh forces game 6. It was a great game and a fanatastic case to make when people dumb down hockey and their playoffs. These two teams played almost two games and the toll it take physically. Then to see a great call be made by Sykora and splendid goal tending made by both Fluery and Osgood. It was the best game I've seen in a while.