INSIDE HOCKEY

As time ticked down, the Red Wings tried hard to get a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury. After all, they’re the Red Wings, surely they could get a goal when it counted right? No, not this time.

This time the fortunes were different and the Pittsburgh Penguins are Stanley Cup Champions.

With a 2-1 victory over Detroit in Game 7 on Friday, the Penguins earned their first title since 1992. Max Talbot scored both Penguins goals as the Pens finally solved their Joe Louis Arena woes, knocking off the defending champions.

With each shift, the Pens seemed to get better. They were always just a step ahead of Detroit. Always just in the right place to block a shot or break up a pass. Always there to make the big save to keep the Wings off the board.

Jonathan Ericsson cut the lead to one with just over six minutes left in the game, but even then it seemed too late. Nicklas Kronwall hit the crossbar with 2:14 left, but nothing doing. The Wings weren’t going down without a fight but once again the Wings found momentum too late in the game and ultimately it cost them another title.

Evgeni Malkin, who was almost non-existent in last year’s campaign, caught fire in the playoffs, tallying 35 points on the way to earning the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP.

Last year, they may have been young and inexperienced, but this year was different. They may have played physical and gotten frustrated at times in this series, but in the end the Pens are the victors. They could have bowed to the Wings in four or five games, but no. In the end, they were too determined to let another shot slip away. When Detroit couldn’t close out the series in Game 6, Pittsburgh took their opportunity and never looked back.

And what of the Red Wings who fell just short of a repeat. With as loaded a roster as they have, they never lacked the capacity to pour on the goals when it counted like they did in Game 5. Sure, players like Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk had their moments in these playoffs as did role players like Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula. Heck, even Justin Abdelkader, who spend most of the year in the minors pitched in a few goals. But injuries caught up with them and in the end the Wings ran out of tricks.

Chris Osgood, who may be on his last legs as Detroit’s goaltender, had a brilliant postseason, but got little help in Game 7. Instead Fleury outplayed him, finishing with 23 saves, including a diving stop on Nicklas Lidstrom as time expired.

It’s tough to say whether or not Marian Hossa made the right move coming to Detroit instead of staying in Pittsburgh. Certainly blame can be place at his feet. He led the Red Wings with 40 goals during the season and yet only managed 15 points in this years playoff, with only three assists during the finals. But the loss cannot be blamed solely on him.

How sweet is this for Sidney Crosby? Last year in his first final, he watched his team fall in six games and win the Cup in Mellon Arena. Now he returns the favor, hoisting his first Cup at The Joe. Midway thru the second period, Crosby was drilled hard into the boards by Johan Franzen and left the ice until the start of the third. Without him, his teammates kept the Wings in check in doing so secured the title. The Pens captain finished the playoffs with 31 points.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said afterward.

At 21 years old, the guy has done everything short of winning a championship. Now he has it. Sure, his rival Alex Ovechkin has scoring titles and is probably a better all around offensive player. But in four years in the league, Crosby has been to two finals and now Mr. NHL has a title. He came into this league heralded as the Next One, Gretzky’s successor and will probably be compared to the Great One his entire career. He’s now taken a step towards fulfilling the expectations placed upon him.

Kudos to the Red Wings, they waged a long and dreary campaign in an effort to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since they did it in 1997-98, but ultimately the Penguins were more aggressive when it counted and they were rewarded it for it. There’s no shame in going all the way Game 7 of the Finals to lose your title.

For now, the NHL can rejoice that its shining star is now on top of the hockey world and will return to the Stanley Cup summit for years to come.