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Detroit won game 6, the series, and the Stanley
Cup 3-2.
While Marc-Andre Fleury will be remembered for his all out performance
in game 5 in Detroit, he will likely want to forget his very poor
showing in game 6; with two very poor and soft goals coming at the
most inappropriate time (with the season on the line), handing the
Detroit Red Wings the game and the Cup.
The Red Wings came into the game hungry and showed it by scoring first
and taking the Pens and their fans out of the game for a bit.
They then notched a second tally and seemly had the Cup in their
grasp. Evgeni Malkin decided to shed his invisibility cloak and
scored a powerplay goal, but that was not until after the real damage
was done, including a botched early 5-3 powerplay for the
Penguins. The Red Wings, playing with the lead, simply shut down
the ice and gave the Penguins nothing to work with and 100% deserved
to win the game and this series. In the third, Detroit scored
their third goal (from Henrik Zetterberg) another soft goal to make it
3-1, taking the entire wind out of the sails of the Penguins. It
had to be humorous for those watching the replay to see the puck
sitting behind Fleury and Brooks Orpik doesn’t even bother to look to
ensure that the puck is covered by the goalie, what intuition.
The remainder of the game, for the most part, was dump and chase by
the Penguins, then clear by Detroit. They simply had no answers
for the great defense of the Red Wings, never really adjusting to find
ways to get pucks to the net, and not testing Chris Osgood anywhere
near enough.
With Marc-Andre Fleury at the bench, the Penguins were looking for
another miracle, a two-goal miracle at that. They notched the
first on a nice play by Sergei Gonchar and Marian Hossa, but it was not to be as the
horn sounded ending it all at 3-2 as the Pens were
pressing. The crowd gave a great farewell to their
players, chanting "Let’s Go Pens".
The series was more or less over when Detroit took the first two games
at home, and while they lost game 3 in Pittsburgh, they never seemed concerned,
winning game 4. They could taste the cup with less than a minute
to play in game 5, but ended up losing it in triple overtime.
However, they had two more cracks at it, and didn’t need the second,
taking it to the Pens in game 6 and walking away with the ultimate
prize.
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Comments
TIM
Jun 5, 12:05 AM
I am going to write this a lot over the next couple of days here, but I want to thank Matt, Mike, Jonathan, Ashley, Dabich, HEAD COACH MT, for all the great coverage and comments this year. Thank you very much FF Team and supporters. Pens are going to be a great team for the next few years. Let’s Go Pens!
Jonathan Farzalo
Jun 5, 12:20 AM
I know I speak for everyone on your list, thank you for visiting.
I also want to state for the record, that while my above recap may be a bit harsh on the Pens in some eyes, I can’t in good faith say something that I honestly don’t mean, nor not say things I feel. I do the recaps at the very moment the game ends, win or lose, and emotion gets tied up in them at times. For this one, I truly had to convey a few things.
1. MAF lost us this game
2. 5-3 chance, lost us this game
3. Geno not showing up in 5 of 6 games, lost us this series
4. Coaching lost us chances (you have to adjust MT, you just have to)
5. MAF won us game 5
6. Hossa proved himself
7. Our PK proved itself
8. The officials need fixing (I hate to say it, but, it was bad on both sides, every game, every series)
9. The entire team not showing up in games 1 and 2 put us down an inevitable path
10. These truly are the “Cardiac Kids”
TIM
Jun 5, 12:51 AM
No worries man emotion is the best part of being a sports fan. I agree that MAF let in 2 very very very soft goals. One being a bit of bad luck that was tough to see. I still think he played well this whole playoffs, and I think he will only get better I really do believe that.
I think this sport is coming into a transition period, and I hope that the rules and officiating will get better as they anticipate the new NHL game. I am a massive Malkin fan and I am surprised at how poorly he played. He seemed really really tired out there. In all the games. Injury may be a part of it. I hope Hossa comes back at the right price. I hope that Malone stays.
Jonathan Farzalo
Jun 5, 01:01 AM
I agree, MAF did play overall well….but he lets in too many soft goals. What’s the point of making the killer save to let in a soft goal instead? With Malkin, he had to be injured, as has been report Sid was, Groin, Ribs, and of course his not 100% ankle.
I’d love to see Hossa back, but doubt it, and depending on Malone’s cost, it goes back and forth for me. I like him and love what he brings, but not at too high a price.
I know many people don’t want to hear it, but MT, I just don’t think he does a good job. Sure, he has taken the team from nothing to almost a cup, but, in all honesty, was it him or the players? I say the players. His reluctance to adjust anything but tossing out random line changes and never thinking HIS system could be tweaked, really hurts. Also, Yeo, my god, what is up with this dude and his poor poor choices on the PP looks? Everyone, EVERYONE said he should be spliting up the units, with Sid, Hoss and Staal, with Whitney and Gonchar, and then Malkin, Malone, Sykora with Gonchar and Letang. Putting one out and then the other, depending who was on the ice when the call was made. Then, you have one FULL unit rested when the PP is over, goal or not. The way it’s setup, he has to play the 3rd or 4th line after a PP or stick out players who are tired OR put out 2nd teir players for almost a freakin FULL MINUTE of PP time. Makes no sense.
Sorry, rant, happens when angered.
DAVID
Jun 5, 01:44 AM
I cannot blame a SINGLE player on the Pens for this loss. They played an incredible game against a great team. From the heart they showed, to the never-say-die attitude, the Pens showed why they deserved to be in the Stanley Cup Finals.
MT showed a commitment to his players that actually played out. Malkin has 4 games he no shows, MT keeps the faith and is rewarded with the best game Malkin played through the finals.
Gonch, Malone, Sykora, et al play through injuries and show the commitment and sacrafice it takes to play at this level.
Talbot was a dirvish on the ice, and never gave up on a play.
Stall was delivering hits and was playing the role of Shut down centerman, and in only his second year in theleage and first in that role, showed the promise that he will be long into the future.
To the the entire Pens team and staff, CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Unfortunately, the officiating in this game, more so than any others, decided the game. The no calls on knocking Fluery down, the no calls when a Wing has his stick inside a pens jersey, the no call on the slew foot the prevented a 2 on 1…I could go on. It was the worst officiated game I can recall.
In the goal that Fluery pushed in, where was the Ref yelling “loose puck”? in almost every game this season, when the puck is in a position like that and the players seem to be letting up, the ref calls out, “Loose Puck!” to let the players know to keep playing…
Detroit was the one team that I felt could possibly beat the Pens this season, and nothing should be taken from the game they played. They put together 60 minutes of hockey that could be used as a coaching aide on how to play aggressive defensive-transition hockey.
Just wish the refs hadn’t tainted it!
henkegbgskea
Jun 5, 05:33 AM
congrats to the wings …..
i am from sweden but i dont andf never will have Detroit as “my team”
My team are Pittsburgh Penguins!
Here in sweden everyone is happy for Nick LIdströms sake…
Well i have to give them credit fot their type of play hopefully penguins can learn from red wings and come out even stonger next season…..
=))
now its tine to talk what will happen with Fleury,Orpik,Malone and Hossa.
and hopefully u guys can give me advice what pens need to draft this year i have
left some commen on the site Nhl entry draft…..
Dabich
Jun 5, 06:56 AM
Johnathan, we are ALL disappointed. This was definitely a season and a Stanley Cup series to remember from this young team. But…
I said it before and I’ll say it again. Win or lose, they are still my team :)
They’ll be fun to watch again next season.
Tim ~ Why, thank you very much! I thoroughly enjoy this blog and can’t wait to see what is posted next!
Everyone ~ Don’t lose the faith. This team will be great next season.
Dabich
Jun 5, 07:24 AM
I forgot to say, Hi Henke, it’s good to see you around again =D
Jonathan Farzalo
Jun 5, 07:53 AM
Win or lose, yup, your team, my team, of course! Once you’ve been through Fico Fata and Company, and survived, you are a lifer!
Dabich
Jun 5, 08:03 AM
LOL Jonathan, how true! =D
Jonathan Farzalo
Jun 5, 08:55 AM
Fico Fata, man, his time here was so lifeless and pointless I couldn’t even type his name correctly. Rico, there I did it!
Dabich
Jun 5, 09:28 AM
LOL I knew what you meant! Poor Fico! ;)
Ashley Gallant
Jun 5, 09:38 AM
I know a lot of people are disappointed, angry, and whatnot, but I’m not going to go down that road at all. Considering everything this team has gone through this year, and considering that this team is still very young and susceptible to errors when nervous, it’s nearly impossible to really point fingers.
Everyone compared this team to the 1980’s Oilers. Well, think about this: Gretzky and Messier on that 1983 team were older than Crosby and Malkin, and that team was swept by the Islanders. This young Penguins team may not have won the Cup, but they did win two games, they fought back, and they showed more heart and courage than I thought was possible.
The Penguins were ousted from the playoffs in 5 games in 2007, and in 2008 they were 2 games from winning it all. This team will learn from this experience and will be much better prepared the next time around.
I can’t feel disappointed because it somehow takes away from the pride that I feel for this team, and nothing is more important than that feeling right now.
Dabich
Jun 5, 10:02 AM
Well said, Ashley. They definitely are still OUR BOYS!
Matt Bodenschatz
Jun 5, 10:16 AM
The only thing I have to say is in response to this quote from Jon: “What’s the point of making the killer save to let in a soft goal instead?”
Fleury’s stats were pretty solid this year. He posted a 1.97 GAA and .933 save percentage in the playoffs (both of which were second best in the postseason). He also posted a 2.33 GAA (11th) and .921 save percentage (5th) during the regular season. Those are rather remarkable numbers considering the start of the season he had.
So, my point is this: what does it matter what type of goal he gives up? He makes the huge saves, which makes some of his weaker goals look that much worse, but can he really be expected to be a brick wall? I can say with certainty that he makes many, many more big saves than he gives up soft goals. Would you rather him play a more conservative style and not make those big saves, but instead make the easy saves? If so, I think we’d actually see a Fleury that gives up many more goals and isn’t nearly as solid.
The kid is just 23 and already is among the league’s best. I have not a complaint about him.
Dabich
Jun 5, 11:24 AM
I think Jon is echoing everyone’s frustrations from all season long with MAF giving up soft goals. But hey, he has to give up some goals, no one is perfect. That being said, I fully expect MAF to be even better next season. In fact, when his career is all said and done, I expect he will be among the league’s elite goaltenders. As you said, Matt, he is only 23. I just hope the Pens are wise enough to keep him around for a loooong time!
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