Wow - what a game! I stayed up until the middle of the second overtime period and then had to go to sleep. When I awoke this morning I read that the Pens won in triple OT.
That is why they play the games. It was all but a certainty that the Red Wings would close it out at home. The media trumpeted it, the fans felt it. But Pittsburgh was grinding away and scored the goal that tied the game with less than a minute left. What an ending to regulation!
Now the series goes back to Pittsburgh for Wednesday night. If Pittsburgh can win at home, it sets up a glorious game 7 possibility in Detroit. The Stanley Cup Finals are the ultimate in a passion play. Put the champagne away for a few more days. Keep the Stanley Cup in its crate. There is still hockey left to play.
Tags: Detroit Red Wings, Hockey, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup Finals, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take
Great game. I had to be up at midnight anyway to register my son for a swimming class at the rec center. So I stayed up and watched and watched and watched until ten minutes to one when it ended with the Pens winning 4-3.
Great, great game. Well worth it to stay up.
:34 away from the Cup and have the rug pulled from under you like that has got to be just brutal. That building was rocking with a minute left in regulation and then at :34 it was eerily silent after the Pens tied it. But that’s Stanley Cup playoff hockey and why this Cup is the hardest trophy to win in team sports.
I want the Wings to win. I just can’t root for the Caps arch enemy Pittsburgh, not after that franchise has ended the Caps season six times in seven playoff meetings. I think Pittsburgh as the younger team and as the home team, has the edge in game 6. I expect them to win to force a game 7.
Nothing is more exciting than a Stanley Cup Final game 7.
Amazingly, one of the goals “scored” by Pittsburgh was one that a Detroit defender shot into his own net. How many times are the Penguins going to benefit from that sort of silliness. If they Wings don’t do that, they win the game 3-1 or 3-2 at worst. The Pens are a good team, but they have been lucky as well. Detroit makes their own luck and are clearly the better team. They just need to play one more game like game one or two and they’ll win this thing.
Neat psych-out job for tomorrow night. Babcock surprises everyone and starts Hasek in Game 6!
My only complaint - Malone comes back from a broken nose from a puck in the face about 10 mins after it happened.
Meanwhile, Gonchar slides awkwardly into end boards, and doesn’t return….until the power play at the end, in which he looked 100% fine - crisp passes, skated well etc.
Now, I’m not a doctor, but how could you possibly sit on the bench/locker room when your team is fighting for it’s life and guys like Malone are playing with cotton balls up his nose while you sit and complain about a shoulder????
What a hockey game! I was waking up my kids in the last 30 seconds of regulation, then Pittsburgh scored! I was shocked. I sent them back to bed. I was thinking it was going to be an all-nighter! I am glad Pittsburgh won after all!
A wreckless high stick put the Wings in a terrible bind and it resulted in the winning effort for Pittsburgh. The officials once again need to be reprimanded for putting the whistles away in OT for everything but the most blatant penalties. The players are not really deciding the outcome if the officials officiate differently depending on the time in the game. It was a fantastic game, but that officiating aspect ALWAYS bothers me about the NHL and its officials.
Best reality show on TV this summer.
Awesome - this is why play-off hockey is the best. And old Number 55, Mr. Gonchar, came back from taking a header into the boards to get the second assist on the GWG.
The excitement and unpredictability of the Pens Vs. Red Wings reminds me of the April 18, 1987 Caps versus Islanders. It was the Stanley Cup semi-finals at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland.
I was luck enough to get a ticket at the last minute. Little did I know what an exciting evening was in store.
At the end of the third period, the score was tied.
The game went into SEVEN overtimes - until 1:30 in the morning! It was such a nail-biter that I would not have left my seat if the game went in to fourteen overtime periods!
The Caps played BEYOND the point of complete exhaustion. I remember Joe Juneau struggling to stand up after skating an exhausting period. Caps fans gained an even greater appreciation of the capabilities of these incredible athletes.
I am forever grateful to the kind person who gave me the ticket - to a sold out game - twenty years ago. An event I will always remember!
GO CAPS GO!
Seven overtimes? Prove it.
Good catch! You should be a goal tender! The game lasted seven periods. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/capitals/longterm/1998/stanleycup/articles/4ot87.htm