Penguins force Red Wings to return to the Igloo
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Review
By: Chance Harper | sbrforum.com
Hockeytown was so close to adding a new Stanley Cup to its collection Monday night. Less than a minute away from winning their 11th NHL Championship, the Red Wings saw Penguins center Max Talbot knot the score, whacking the puck past Detroit legend Chris Osgood to force OT with Pittsburgh ultimately winning in the third extra period. Now the series shifts to the Steel City.
The Detroit Red Wings were 35 seconds away from drinking champagne out of the Stanley Cup. So close.
Instead, Max Talbot became one of the least likely heroes in the strange and sometimes successful history of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Talbot scored the game-tying goal with the Pittsburgh net empty to rescue the Pens from elimination. It took another 50 minutes of overtime before Petr Sykora went top corner on Wings goaltender Chris Osgood to secure a 4-3 victory and a Game 6 in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
The Penguins were massive +230 underdogs in Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit showed why by outshooting the Pens 58-32, coming back from an early 2-0 deficit to take the lead with a pair in the third period. But Marc-Andre Fleury held up under the pressure. His 24 overtime saves extended Pittsburgh’s lifespan long enough to take advantage of a double-minor high-sticking penalty by Detroit’s Jiri Hudler.
Pittsburgh is now 0.30 units in the black in this series despite trailing three games to two. Odds had yet to be posted at press time because of the very late finish – just before 1:00 a.m. Eastern, which will certainly play a fatigue factor as both teams travel back to the Igloo for Game 6. Pittsburgh’s youth will be to its benefit in this case.
The Penguins will be very concerned about the health of defenseman and power-play quarterback Sergei Gonchar, who made a surprise appearance to help orchestrate Sykora’s game-winner with Hudler in the penalty box. Gonchar had been on the bench with back spasms for the entire overtime session after going heavily into the end boards during the second period. That left Pittsburgh with just five very tired defenseman against the Red Wings’ attack.
Gonchar indicated after the game that he believed he would be fine for Wednesday. “I will have to try and skate,” Gonchar told the Canadian Press. “We’ve made progress so far, and hopefully that will continue and I will be able to play in Game 6.”
Pittsburgh supporters share the same hope. Gonchar’s timely assist ties him with Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski with 13 playoff points from the blueline. Ryan Whitney is next on the list for Pittsburgh with six points. Gonchar’s importance was further illustrated during the overtime; the Red Wings had already been penalized twice in “sudden victory” for goaltender interference, but the third time was the charm with Gonchar at the point.
Special teams are the great equalizer that adds value to an underdog with a competent power-play unit. The Pens were fourth in the league during the regular season with a 20.4-percent success rate on the man advantage, bumping that up to 21.8 percent in the playoffs. That’s hard to do against the higher quality of opposition in the postseason. Detroit’s power play, on the other hand, has slipped from 20.7 percent to 18.4 percent. The Red Wings are 3-for-27 against Pittsburgh, while the Pens are 3-for-22, scoring once in each of the last three games.
The Penguins have played 10 games at the Igloo during the 2008 postseason. They won all eight in the first three rounds before splitting a pair with Detroit in this series. The under is 3-1-1 and was well on the way to 3-0-2 before Talbot’s goal extended the Stanley Cup final. The very early total for Game 6 was pegged once again at five goals, with the under priced at +120.
Wednesday night’s game is an 8:00 p.m. start on NBC in the United States, and on the CBC for Canadians and discerning American viewers near the border.
