Faceoff Factor

Tonight Is A Night For Superstars

Jesse Marshall | Pittsburgh Penguins

Jun 9, 12:04 PM | Hype this story!

This situation ought to seem familiar to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Last season, the Detroit Red Wings entered Pittsburgh up 3-2 in the Stanley Cup Final and put the icing on the cake. They lifted the Cup on Mellon Arena ice and celebrated victory within her depths, an act which no Penguin team has ever accomplished. In one of her waning seasons, Mellon Arena was seemingly defiled by these visitors from Detroit as the Penguins young superstars watched from the sidelines; dejected, worn down, and beaten by a group of staunch veterans.

The sight was so powerful that it caused Marian Hossa to jump ship so he could revel in the other side of it.

Here we are, a year later. The Red Wings are up 3-2 in the series and are heading back to Pittsburgh. The idea of history repeating itself ought to be enough to make you sick to your stomach.

But let’s get to the bottom line of this article. You can win all the Art Ross Trophy’s you want. You can be named to countless numbers of All-Star games. You can be the youngest to do this, that and the other.

But if you go home consecutive seasons failing to have won the Stanley Cup after reaching 14 playoff victories, you can flush the rest of those accolades right down the toilet.

This is the one that matters most. This is the one people will talk about and remember.

Enter Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

We are now at the point of this series where who is shadowing who has become irrelevant. Sheer will is what will decide the upcoming shifts. Who wants it more? It doesn’t matter who is on the ice against you. You find a way to win.

I don’t want to discount what Detroit has in the way of superstar talent. It’s obvious that they have it. It’s the reason they’re leading this series.

However, we in Pittsburgh are familiar with the extra gear our guys have. There are moments when Crosby and Malkin turn it on and become nearly unstoppable. They put on performances against teams like Washington and Carolina in clutch situations that make you mention their name alongside players like Mario Lemieux. They awe the crowd and create moments that will be etched in our minds for the rest of our lives.

To be frank, we need moments like that tonight.

We need nothing short of a career performance against a Detroit Red Wings team that is ready to taste victory on our home ice for the second consecutive year.

Let’s be honest. We’ve yet to see that type of performance from these guys in this series. Game 4 was a start, but it’s a wash after the stinker this team put forth on Saturday night in Game 5.

When the going gets tough, you have to look to your leaders to throw gas on the fire.

Keep a close eye on these young superstars for Pittsburgh tonight. If we know anything about them, we know the drive and determination they can exhibit in the face of elimination.

Tonight needs to be one for the ages, one that we will look back on in 10 years and equate with Mario’s performances against the North Stars and Blackhawks.

If the Penguins are going to prevent Henrik Zetterberg from lifting the Stanley Cup on Pittsburgh ice for the second year in a row, it starts with 87 and 71.

Like all of you, I don’t want this to be the last article I write about this season. If Crosby and Malkin can have anything to do with it, we’ll be talking about hockey all the way through Friday.