Unbelievable

With the seconds ticking off in the last minute of Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, I stood only a few feet away from my television, quietly staring as the Detroit Red Wings were mere moments away from being inscribed as the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions.

The Pittsburgh Penguins 1st period 2-0 lead, along with their hopes of extending the series, had slowly deteriorated. Darren Helm first put the Wings on the board just shy of 3 minutes into the 2nd period when he took a feed from Maltby and threw a shot on net that deflected and beat Fleury short-side.

At the 13:17 mark of the 3rd the Red Wings took advantage of a Tyler Kennedy Hooking minor, tying the game with Datsyuk's five-hole deflection. Less than 3 minutes later Detroit took the lead when Brian Rafalski took a pass in the high slot and threw one passed Fleury.

And now with time dwindling away on their season, the Penguins pull goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who had been stellar throughout the game, for an extra attacker. I stood motionless. I'm not even sure if I'm breathing at this point. Chant's of "We Want the Cup" are echoing through the Joe Louis Arena.

The puck kicks to Crosby in the corner. Malkin is being tied up in the slot. Extra attacker Maxime Talbot gets himself to the side of the net. With under 40 seconds left in the game Crosby finds Talbot by the post. Wings tender Chris Osgood makes a pad save, but Talbot gets right back on the rebound. He makes another attempt at shuffling it by Osgood. I'm peering closely at the net. The revolution of the planet slows. Time is crawling. I've never wanted to see a red light so badly. Evgeni Malkin raises his arms towards the sky. Behind the net Talbot is celebrating. 3-3. Tie game. ESPN News would later report this as the latest game tying goal in a Stanley Cup elimination game, and I'm prone to believe them.

Throughout the game I had been posting to a Live Game Blog with a panel of other bloggers over at Greg Wysynski's Puck Daddy [which if you haven't noticed is becoming the best hockey blog on Al Gore's internet]. With the breath of life back in the lungs of the Penguins, the decidedly pro-Pittsburgh panel was reinvigorated. I didn't think Sean Leahy of Going Five Hole was going to make it through the night. At the beginning of the game I was hoping to offer impartial insightful commentary, by overtime I was posting a link to Kasparaitis's Game 7 OT goal against the Sabres in 2001.

Heading into overtime I knew the first few minutes would be dangerous. But after you get past a certain settling in period, both teams start playing for the long haul. In retrospect some of the people I've talked with have told me the Red Wings controlled play in the 1st OT. Others said the Penguins controlled the 2nd. I don't know, to me momentum seemed to be shifting ever possession, but everything has begun to blur together. This is probably because I was a ball of anxiety and not enough oxygen was getting to my brain [I held my breath every time the Red Wings possessed the puck in the Penguins zone].

One thing that is for sure, is that as one overtime became two, became three, it was clear that Marc-Andre Fleury was keeping the Penguins in the game. The young goaltender turned in a performance that will go down as one of the all-time greats in the Stanley Cup Finals, and made some saves that will live on forever or poor quality YouTube videos.

Towards the last few minutes of the 2nd OT period, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Petr Sykora caught the attention of Pierre McGuire, the NBC Commentator seated between the team benches. "I'm going to score." he said.

The Penguins caught a break in the 3rd OT when Jiri Hudler's stick caught Pittsburgh defenseman Rob Scuderi in the face. Scuderi never wanted to bleed so badly. They called the double minor and the Penguins had 4 minutes of power-play on the board.

Only a handful of seconds into the power-play Malkin settled down a errant shot behind the net. As he swung around the back of the net to Osgood's left the Red Wing's penalty killers collapsed ] in front of the net. Sneaking into the play, Petr Sykora set up in the left circle. Malkin's pass hit Sykora in stride, with plenty of room, and Sykora let a wrist shot go in the face of a Wing's player, sliding out to block the shot.

Once again time slowed. I'm searching for the puck with my eyes. I don't think it hit Osgood. I didn't hear it ring off the post. It wasn't wide. An eternity passes. Staring at the net, I see the puck falling to the ice. Game over. Jubilation ensues. Penguins win and stay alive to host Game 6 in Pittsburgh.

The game will go down as the 5th longest game in the history of the Stanley Cup Finals. Regardless of the outcome of the series, it will go down as one of the greatest games ever. Fleury's fifty-five saves. Talbot tying the game when the Wings could almost feel the Cup in their hands. Petr Sykora's called shot. Unbelievable.

You may have seen this picture on The Pens Blog. I'm also running it, with the permission of the creator, my clever and aptly skilled photoshop jobber brother John.

Game 36: 12/23/07: Penguins 4 - Bruins 2

In their final game before the Christmas break the Penguins put together a victory, beating the Boston Bruins at home 4-2. It was a milestone night, as the Penguins sold out their record 31st straight game at the Mellon Arena, Sergei Gonchar picked up his 400th career assist, and Georges Laraque's 50th career goal turned out to be the game winner.

After a rough game against the Islanders on Friday night, giving up 4 goals on 20 shots, Dany Sabourin was given the night off and Ty Conklin got the call. It was Conklin's second start of the season since being called up following the Marc-Andre Fleury high ankle sprain.

The Bruins PJ Alexsson opened up the scoring, taking advantage of a Evgeni Malkin turnover and beating Conklin only minutes into the 1st period.

But it was the Penguins who came out flying in the 2nd. Erik Christensen feed Georges Laraque behind the net, who found Gary Roberts in the crease for the tying goal.

Later in the 2nd on the power-play, Evgeni Malkin's slapshot found it's way over the shoulder of newly acquired Bruins goalie Alex Auld, and giving the Penguins the lead.

30 seconds later Georges Laraque increased the lead to 2 goals, crashing the net and deflecting a Roberts pass Auld.

In the last minute of the 3rd, with Auld pulled for a 6th skater, the Bruins pulled within one on a Petteri Nokelainen goal.

But when Sidney Crosby's bad angle attempt at an empty net goal hit the post, Gary Roberts was there to pick up the puck and burry it into the net to put the game away.

Conklin stopped 28 of 30 shots, picking up his 2nd win on the season.

It was the play of the Penguins 3rd line of Laraque-Roberts-Christensen that made the difference. Collectively they had 3 goals and 4 assists.

Brooks Orpik found himself a healthy scratch again, the 3rd straight game. The Penguins have had one too many defensemen since the call up of Kris Letang, and lately it's been Orpik who has been the odd man out. As explained by Rob Russi in this mornings Pittsburgh Tribune, Orpik's been upset about the recent scratches, especially in Boston where he had purchased tickets for family and friends.

With the win the Penguins jump to the 3rd spot in the incredibly tight Altantic Division, which sees only 5 points separate the first place New Jersey Devils and last place Philadelphia Flyers.

After a Christmas break the Penguins will welcome the Washington Capitals to the Mellon Arena on Thursday evening. The two teams have played once this season, with the Penguins skating away with the 2-1 victory in Washington.

Game 24: 11/30/07: Penguins 4 - Stars 1

After a six day layoff in action the Penguins made it three straight last night, defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1. They've only won 3 in a row once before this season, back in the third week of the season. The victory put the Penguins at .500 for the first time since November 7th.

Sidney Crosby came up big early, scoring 24 seconds into the first period, taking the puck from behind the net and beating Stars backup goaltender Mike Smith five-hole.

Just minutes later Tyler Kennedy jumped on a Stars turnover, and scored his 3rd of the season. Kennedy has seen increased playtime due to his solid play and the injury of Maxime Talbot, and rounded out the 3rd line with Gary Roberts and Jordan Staal.

Five minutes into the 2nd period Dallas pulled within one on a Mike Ribeiro shot that deflected of Daryl Sydor and beat Fleury high. The goal ended Fleury's shutout streak of 85 minutes and 31 seconds since he was pulled in the first period against the Ottawa Senators on November 22nd.

Crosby scored his second of the game, and 14th of the season, putting a Sydor rebound behind Smith and increasing the lead once again to 2.

Evgeni Malkin put the game away in the 3rd period when Petr Sykora found Malkin streaking down the wing, who made it 4-1.

Mark Reechi was a healthy scratch once again, further fueling trade rumors. Surely Reechi must be frustrated, but his poor performance has dictated the Penguins position. Rumors have it that Reechi is pursuing a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Reechi played under Columbus head coach Ken Hitchcock in Philadelphia.

I'm a little skeptical about whether the Penguins will find a trade partner for Reechi, but even if they do, I can not imagine anyone valuing him to the point that Pittsburgh receives in return anything that would be of use this season. Perhaps a draft pick.

Maxime Talbot and Sergei Gonchar were both scratched due to nagging injuries. Talbot's high ankle strain has kept him out of service since the 17th of November, but he has been skating with the Penguins in practice and should return to the lineup shortly.

Iron Man Gonchar left Saturday night's game against Atlanta with a groin injury, and saw his 105 game starting streak end. He is listed as day to day and is not expected to start on Saturday when the Penguins (11-11-2) take on the Maple Leafs(9-11-6) in Toronto.

Game 21: 11/21/07: Penguins 1 - Devils 2

The Penguins 2-1 loss late night against the New Jersey Devils wrapped up 8 straight Atlantic Division match-ups, in which the Penguins went a miserable 2-5-1 and fell to the bottom of the division.

The Devils Zach Parise had both New Jersey goals. One came on the power play in the 1st, the other in the 2nd, again on the power play.

The Penguins were shut out by the Devils until the Evgeni Malkin scored on a breakaway, extending his points streak to 14 games.

The poor ice surface of the Mellon Arena was once again an issue. The puck was unmanageable for Sidney Crosby on a potentially game changing breakaway, bouncing and going on end to the point that not much could be done. It's the oldest arena in the NHL, and while it's never been the greatest ice in the league, lately players have been calling it the worst surface they have ever played on.

Crosby's 19 game points streak came to an end with Martin Brodeur and the Devils keeping 87 off the scoring sheet.

The Penguins (8-12-1)will go right back to action Thanksgiving night in Ottawa against the Senators. It will be the first meeting between the two clubs since the Senators eliminated the Penguins in the first round of the postseason.

Game 20: 11/17/07: Penguins 3 - Rangers 4 OT

The Penguins squandered a 2-goal lead on home ice last night, eventually losing in overtime to the New York Rangers 3-4 in overtime.

Early in the first, with the Ranger's on the power play, Maxime Talbot blocked a shot from the blue line. The rebound bounced to Sidney Crosby, who lead the short-handed rush down the ice. Talbot recovered, joined the rush, and Crosby found him with a cross-crease pass that Tablot shuffled behind Ranger's goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Only recently has Crosby begun playing the penalty kill again, and the assist was Crosby's first shorthanded point since his rookie season.

Just minutes later, with a Ranger's penalty pending, the 6 Penguins skaters controlled the play, cycling the puck around the offensive zone. The puck bounced to Crosby who beat Lundqvist with a bad angle shot, bouncing the puck of the inside of Lundqvist's leg pad and into the net.

But after a decidedly Penguins 1st period, it was the New York Rangers who stormed out in the 2nd. Former Penguin Michal Rozsival scored 2 goals, one of which short-handed, in just over 3 minutes to knot the game all up at 2-2.

The Ranger's took the lead on Daniel Girardi's power play goal as the clock winded down in the 2nd. Ryan Whitney was unable to clear the rebound off a Fedor Tyutin shot, and Girardi picked it up and scored to give the Ranger's the lead.

In the 3rd, with the one goal lead, the Ranger's sat back defensively with aims on shutting down the Penguins attack. And they were successful until, with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game, Erik Christensen lead the rush, carrying the puck into the offensive zone. He beat the trap, throwing the puck behind the net just after crossing the blue line. After a fortunate bounce of the glass, Evgeni Malkin, with his stick tied up by the Ranger's defense, kicked the puck over to teammate Petr Sykora, who's back hand goal tied the game late in the 3rd.

In overtime the Ranger's Paul Mara found teammate Jason Strudwick for the game winner on a across the crease pass from an odd man rush.

Marc-Andre Fleury made some mistakes in this game, but none of them lead to goals. Rozsival's short handed tally and Strudwick's overtime winner both came off an odd man rush following a Penguins defenseman being caught too deep in the offensive zone. Whitney was guilty in the 2nd, Gonchar in OT.

The Penguins have yet to have the scoring breakout that they need to kick this November slump, though they did have a number of scoring opportunities which were thwarted by the stellar play of Lundqvist. Pittsburgh has scored more than 3 goals only once out of the 9 games this month. Of the 8 games in which they've scored 3 or less goals they have lost 7.

Again last night there were complaints about the poor ice surface at the Mellon Arena. It's to be expected from the oldest ice surface in the league, but it's just another reason why the Penguins will be looking ahead to that new arena that's on the way. For such a dynamic finesse squad, their game is hindered by the slow choppy home ice.

But they'll be back in the Mellon Arena on Wednesday night to finish off an incredibly difficult 8 straight Atlantic Division games, the Penguins (8-10-2) will face the New Jersey Devils.

Game 19: 11/15/07: Penguins 3 - Islanders 2

It took a goal from an unlikely source, the stick of Georges Laraque, but the Penguins put an end to their losing slump, beating the Islanders 3-2 at home Thursday night. The evening began with ceremonies inducting Paul Coffey into the Penguins Hall of Fame, and it ended with Marc-Andre Fleury picking up his first win since October 23rd.

There was a little bit of a roster shakeup, with Mark Recchi and Daryl Sydor healthy scratches, and Tyler Kennedy and Kristopher Letang getting the call-up. Kennedy was sent down to Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins for a game, in which he had 2 assists, before getting the call. Letang was expected to make the NHL roster after training camp, but after a poor showing he was assigned to Wilkes Barre.

The Penguins gave up the first goal again, on a deflection by Mike Comrie. But Gonchar tied it up before the end of the 1st with a slapshot from the blueline that beat Isles tender Rick DiPietro who was screened by Jordan Staal.

Less than a minute into the 2nd period the Penguins took advantage of a two-man advantage. Evgeni Malkin put the puck on net, but it was Petr Sykora who shoved it passed DiPietro. Later in the 2nd the Islanders evened it up when Josef Vasicek settled down a shot from the point and maneuvered it around a sprawling Fleury.

The eventually game winner came when Sidney Crosby feed Georges Laraque in front of the net. Laraque lifted it high glove side for his first goal in a Penguins uniform. With the assist Crosby extended his scoring streak to 18 games, and Malkins 2 assist extended his streak to 11 games.

It was only a matter of time before Laraque came through big on the scoreboard. He might not be a considerable scoring threat, but his image as just a goon and a fighter is somewhat misguided. He can throw a big hit, but he also knows how to move the puck, and thus far this season he's been a vital part of a hardworking 4th line.

Marc-Andre Fleury ended his personal losing streak with his first win in 5 starts, turning aside 26 of 28 shots. Hopefully the win will instill some confidence in Fleury, who hasn't been able to hold it together for much longer an a few selected games.

The Penguins (8-10-1) will be in New York Saturday night to take on the Rangers (11-7-1). They've already met twice, splitting the series 1-1,

10/10/07: Game 3: Penguins 2 - Canadiens 3

It was a disappointing one in Pittsburgh tonight, as the Penguins had their chances, but failed to make good on them. Instead the story was Carey Price's NHL debut for the Canadiens, making 26 saves on 28 shots in the 3-2 victory.

Sidney Crosby's bruised foot kept him out of practice Tuesday, but it didn't seem to be a problem during the game. Crosby assisted on the Penguins first goal, which Ryan Malone scored over a sprawling Carey Price, who had been knocked to the ice.

The Canadiens answered back with two goals in the six minutes of the 2nd period, taking the 2-1 lead.

Andrei Markov increased the lead in the 3rd, scoring off a rebound from an opportunity created by a Penguins defense-zone face-off loss.

Work horse Maxime Talbot put the Penguins within one, putting a no-look backhanded Evgeni Malkin behind-the-net pass behind Price. Malkin destroys me with his no-look backhand passes. I'll give him this one, but for every one that works out, he makes 9 that turn the puck and start rushes down the ice.

The Penguins spent the rest of the 3rd in the Canadiens zone, but were unable to wear down Price, who played very positionally sound throughout the game.

Fleury stopped 35 of 38 shots tonight, but continued to give up big rebounds. If the Penguins want to thwart opposing offense, they are going to have to cut down the amount of shots allowed, and Fleury is going to have to settle down. I'm pulling out hair every time I see him needlessly out of the net playing the puck.

One thing that catches me off guard from time to time is just how much of a monster Gary Roberts is. Of course he's in incredible shape and skates hard up and down the ice, but he can really throw a mean check. And he does, almost at random. I never see it coming, and neither did Kastsitsyn tonight. The hit really fired up the crowd as the Pens were battling to tie it up in the 3rd.

With his 2 assists tonight, Mark Recchi moved past Mike Gartner to 25th in all-time points.

The Penguins play the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday at 7:00 pm.

10/06/07: Game 2: Penguins 5 - Ducks 4

I'm a little late getting this out, but I was slightly under the weather over the weekend (I don't think I'm getting enough Vitamin-C) and duties were neglected.

ANYWAYS, the Penguins bounced back against the defending champs, the Anaheim Ducks, on Saturday. They had left something to be desired after Friday's season opener, but they seemed to be feeding off the intensity of the home opener at Mellon Arena on Saturday.

Petr Sykora picked up a couple goals and an assist, taking huge strides after missing part of the preseason with a broken nose. And Crosby had his first point of the season with an assist on what would turn out to be the game winner from Malone.

During the pregame introductions, I paid close attention to the reaction each player received. And I've got to say, while Crosby definitely brought down the house, Evgeni Malkin and Colby Armstrong received monstrous applauses themselves. Yes, Colby Armstrong. Pittsburgh loves the guy. And he rewarded the crowd with a pretty dynamic one-on-one goal later in the game.

It was a great game for the Penguins offensively, but they still need to limit the amount of opportunities they allow. Fleury has started a little shaky, so the Penguins defense really needs to step up and shut down opposing teams in the defensive zone.

The Penguins play again on Wednesday, when they'll take on the Montreal Canadiens at home.

10/05/07: Game 1: Penguins 1 - Hurricanes 4

After a long off-season a good part of me is just happy to see the Penguins playing again. But even through the opening night euphoria I must say, I really expect more. They were flat most of the preseason, but I was still holding out hope that the opener would flip a switch in them, and they'd come out and play with more passion and intensity. This was not the case Friday night. I know it's only one game, but after watching the MLB pennant race for the past few weeks, I'm fully aware of importance one game can play when the seasons over.

Marc-Andre Fleury gave up 2 in the first and 2 in the second, and was replaced by Danny Sabourin to start the third. He can only shoulder so much of the blame, though, with an uninspired team playing in front of him. I was disappointed with his rebound control, which was directly responsible for one of the goals. His play wasn't anywhere in the vicinity of warranting being pulled, so I imagine Therrien was only resting him so he can start tonight in the home opener against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks.

Sabourin did play well replacing Fleury. He blanked the hurricanes in the 3rd frame, making 7 saves.

Mark Recchi picked up the Penguins lone goal, with 3:23 left in the 3rd, tipping an Evgeni Malkin behind the net pass through Hurricanes tender Cam ward. It was Recchi's 1334 career point, putting him only 2 away from passing Hall of Famer Mike Gartner for 25th on the all-time scoring list.

Malkin still has major steps to take in the offensive zone. theres no doubt he can score the puck, but these no look passes continue to be a problem, often ending in an odd man rush the other way. He is in the nasty habit of the throwing the puck where he thinks a teammate should be, instead of taking in his options and moving the puck. I beginning to wonder if he deserves the 2nd line center position. For the time being Jordan Staal was been upgraded from the 3rd line center to the 1st line winger, but if Therrien doesn't feel like its a good fit, I wouldn't be surprised to see Malkin moved out of his position, and Staal centering the 2nd line.

The Penguins take on the Ducks tonight at 7:30 in their home opener.