Live from Pittsburgh -- Wings win

PITTSBURGH -- The season is over. The right team won the Stanley Cup as Detroit took home the trophy with a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh that went down to the final seconds. It was a great series, and a great champion.

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8:09 p.m.: The whiteout is back in the Igloo, and the atmosphere about five minutes to introductions is between Game Three and Four. In four, the Pittsburgh crowd had a bit of nervousness in the 2-0 hole. In Game Four, they were ready to rock after winning once. Now, it's in the middle.

But as the Penguins hit the ice behind Marc-Andre Fleury, it's a towel-waving delight.

FIRST PERIOD

8:14 p.m.: Anthem singer Jeff Jimerson (he's no Doug Allen, but at least he doesn't get booed) completed the anthem without an octopus flying onto the ice. Game on!

8:28 p.m.: Red Wings open the scoring on the power play 5:03 in. Brian Rafalski's shot from the left circle appeared to deflect in off Penguins defenseman Hal Gill. Tough to tell, though, because NBC's replay showed way too much unnecessary stuff and didn't have time to focus on the goal.

8:36 p.m.: Another five-on-three for the Penguins, another blanking. With 1:26 in Game Four and 1:33 in Game Six, that's almost three minutes with no goals while up two men.

8:54 p.m.: End of period, Wings lead, 1-0, with a 9-8 shot advantage. Teams look tired, ice looks mediocre.

SECOND PERIOD

9:19 p.m.: Sidney Crosby gets creamed along the boards by Brad Stuart and slowly goes to bench with 16:50 left.

9:23 p.m.: Sid is back.

9:29 p.m.: So is the Wings' offense. Valtteri Filppula scores on a five-hole backhand with 11:53 left to make it 2-0.

9:42 p.m.: The fans have come back to life. Evgeni Malkin scores his first goal of the series on the power play with 4:34 left.

9:52 p.m.: End of two, Red Wings are 20 minutes from the Cup with 2-1 lead. Of course, they've been a lot closer and not won it.

THIRD PERIOD

10:15 p.m.: Not sure if the Penguins have enough to generate last-second heroics.

10:26 p.m.: Red Wings, with goal from Henrik Zetterberg, have two-goal lead and are 9:16 from Cup.

---John Vogl

Comments

[Bobbo Kane]

WAH,WAH,WAH, the game's heading back to being a MANS game instead of that prissy Euro crap we had to put up with the last few years.

[Steve]

Totally agree Tony. Teams like Buffalo and Carolina had great runs in 06 when they were calling the "new" rules and either skating free, or getting 7 PP's a game if impeded.

I will never forget the amount of 5 on 3's the Canes got at crucial points where the refs would normally be reluctant to even call one penalty.

Neither team has come close since.

I take nothing away from Detroit. They waited out the "new rule" fad and stuck to a system that works... while Buffalo has to rebuild from scratch.

When it's back to being legal to almost tackle the forechecker after he dumps the puck in, we're back to the late 90's.

If these playoffs were called like 06, Pittsburgh woulda walked away with the cup, having 7 PP's per game to aid them... just like the Canes did.

[Tony]

The 'NEW' NHL is dead. 'Obstruction Hockey' is back with a vengence. These are not Stevie Y's Red Wings. They might as well change their name to Devils West.

[OHS73]

Tremendous TEAM victory by the Red Wings. And a deserving nod to Zetterberg as the Conn Smythe winner.

All said and done, the Wings were simply better -- in puck possession, in penalty killing (esp. 5-on-3), and overall defensive prowess. A good mix of veterans and youth. I'm pleased for a guy like Dallas Drake who played all those games over the years and never let his dream die (to hoist the Cup). For a guy like Dan Cleary to be the first Newfoundlander to win the Cup, imagine the celebration that province will have when the Cup goes there this summer.

The Pens certainly were terrific during their run to the Cup finals, and they deserve credit for the gutsy way they won Game 5. But overall, they were outshot in every game by Detroit and some of their top-line guys (e.g. Malkin) disappeared.

The Red Wings, unlike the '07 Sabres, weren't satisfied by just earning the Presidents Trophy. They had the right stuff to win it all and are a deserving Cup champion. Man, I wish the Sabres had the kind of smothering defense the '08 Red Wings displayed. Another key for Detroit -- they stayed relatively injury-free.

It will be interesting to see what the Swordsmen can do to get back on track and try to regain status as an elite EC contender. "Our" time will come...someday (!?!)

[Greg]

6:25 left in the second... Gary Roberts has the puck right in front of Osgood and "Gary Roberts just not able to elevate the puck." Yeah, because Lidstrom hooked the crap out of him. Just one of a couple obstruction no-calls I've noticed tonight.