DETROIT, Mich – Late in the game the Stanley Cup was shown on national TV in the United States being shined up and being prepared for presentation to the Detroit Red Wings. But thanks to a late goal by Maxime Talbot and a triple-overtime goal over 50 minutes of game time later by Petr Sykora, the Cup went back into hiding for at least another day.
Trailing 2-0 the Red Wings took over the contest and moved into a 3-2 lead. The Stanley Cup was all but theirs as they were dominating play in the third period until Detroit suddenly, and inexplicably, went into a shell after Brian Rafalski had put them in the lead.
Despite the flawed strategy the Wings nearly held on for the win until Talbot scored with just a bit more than 34 seconds left on the clock. Detroit had held Pittsburgh hemmed away from a scoring opportunity until just over a minute left when the team was able to pull netminder Marc-Andre Fleury for an additional skater.
Talbot’s goal came when he took a pass from Marian Hossa and had not one, but two swipes at the puck before beating Detroit netminder Chris Osgood to stun a raucous Joe Louis Arena crowd.
It was a game the Red Wings should have won, and they and their fans have to hope this game will not become a contest which will haunt them for years.
“I thought we had every opportunity to win the game,” said Detroit Head Coach Mike Babcock. “Saying that, though, we started slow. I thought we were really nervous. We never made a play in the first period, for whatever reason. Whether that’s focusing on outcome rather than just process and doing what you always do. You know, we really battled our way back, we had every opportunity. We had it (a chance to stop the winning goal) twice, one at the red line and one on the half wall. We didn’t get it deep, and we never got it out. In the end, they scored, and we never scored on our chances in overtime. So that’s the game.”
After a pair of scoreless overtimes the Penguins capitalized on a double-minor for high-sticking assessed to Jiri Hudler who opened up a cut on Rob Scuderi’s face. The goal would add to Stanley Cup legend and provide a measure of redemption for a star who had disappointed all series long.
Earlier in the contest Pittsburgh defender Sergei Gonchar had slid into the end boards and was injured to the point he missed the first two overtimes after he had skated a few shifts during the remainder of the third period. Once the game advanced Gonchar said he felt well enough to play on the power play and would up picking up the secondary assist.
“He (Gonchar) was not ready to play,” said Pittsburgh Head Coach Michel Therrien. “They worked on it (Gonchar’s injury) during the third period and the overtime and they came up to us (and said) that he was not 100 percent. But we asked if he was okay to play for the power play, and certainly (he) made a big difference.”
The primary assist belonged to Evgeni Malkin who has been almost a cipher—despite working hard—during the series. Malkin sent a perfect centering pass to Sykora who made no mistake with a rising wrist shot into the short side of the goal. Earlier in the game Sykora had a “Babe Ruth” moment when he called his overtime game-winner on both national television and to his teammates in the dressing room.
“Yeah, I got a tough few games the last few games,” said Sykora. “No bounces, no real shots on net, and it’s nice to get over like that to keep us alive. About the shot, just between the periods, something stupid I said: Just guys, I’m just going to get one. So just don’t worry about the game. I’m going to get a goal. And luckily, I got a great pass from Gino. I missed it one time before, probably by 20 feet. And it was kind of a lucky play. It hit the ref and went behind the net and Gino got it, made a beautiful pass. I tried to put it upstairs, and the puck went in.”
Talbot’s score allowed the Penguins to erase the memory of a blown two-goal lead earlier in the contest. Hossa notched the first goal after a tremendous hit by Pascal Dupuis separated the puck from a Detroit defender. Dupuis then got the puck to Sidney Crosby who found Hossa, who subsequently fired a cross-seam wrist shot past Osgood.
“We need to have a better start,” said Kronwall. “We were a little too nervous out there. We were waiting around, standing around too much. We can’t have that happening. We can’t start playing the game with 2-0. So we need a better start for sure. We need to execute on chances.”
For a team who had held an advantage in play all night long, and would go on to outshoot the Penguins 58-32, the two-goal bulge was a disappointment, but it also served as a wake-up call.
The two clubs skated through a scoreless stretch until Pavel Datsyuk found the range with a tip-in of a Henrik Zetterberg pass while Tyler Kennedy was in the box for Pittsburgh serving a sentence for hooking. At this point Detroit held a strong advantage in play and kept pushing the issue until Rafalski’s goal from the top of the right circle put them in the lead with 9:23 expired in the final period. The goal appeared as it would stand as the Red Wings went into defensive mode until Talbot forced overtime with his goal.
Nearly lost in the excitement was the play of Fleury who made several outstanding stops during the overtime periods and was tested all game long. If there were any questions remaining about his playoff abilities, this game should have quieted even Fleury’s biggest detractors.
“That’s going to be huge for him (Fleury), said Therrien. “He was outstanding tonight. He was outstanding in overtime, and both goalies obviously played really well. But no doubt Fleury, probably his most important win in his career.”
When asked if Fleury had stolen the game for the Penguins, Babcock was sure to point out how well the Pittsburgh defense played, especially after Gonchar was knocked out of the game.
“Well, I thought he (Fleury) had some help,” said Babcock. “They got down to five “D”. Their “D” battled real hard. They got off to a good start tonight. They had two goals early. I hate to see Petr Sykora get that puck late. You just know it’s going in. He’s that kind of guy. He won a game for me like that in Dallas in five overtimes. So Petr has that ability to score, and Fleury was good, and we didn’t beat them.”
Obviously another game is terrific for both the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh , but nothing is guaranteed.
“We get to live another day, just another game on Wednesday,” said Sykora. “I think if you can come up with the win, it’s going to be a lot of pressure on them. But you just worry about the game on Wednesday and hopefully we can get that win.”
Notes
The Penguins became the first team in more than 70 years and just the second team ever to escape elimination in the Stanley Cup Final by scoring a game-tying goal in the final minute of the third period. The only other team to do so was the Toronto Maple Leafs, in Game 3 of the 1936 Final against Detroit . The Red Wings led the best-of-five series 2-0 and led the game 3-2 when Toronto ‘s Pep Kelly scored at 19:19 of the third period to tie the score at 3-3. The Maple Leafs went on to win the game in overtime, but lost the next game, and the series, to the Red Wings.
The game was the fifth-longest in Stanley Cup Final history just 5:16 less than the longest game which took place in 1990 when Petr Klima scored to give the Edmonton Oilers a 3-2 win in Game 1 of their series against the Boston Bruins.
Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury’s 55 saves tonight were the most in a Stanley Cup Final game since the Washington Capitals’ Olaf Kolzig turned aside 55 in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Red Wings in Game 1 of the 1998 Final (6/11/98), also at Joe Louis Arena.
You must be logged in to post a comment.