Crosby's shootout goal made for an instant Classic

By Josh Yohe, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Friday, December 31, 2010


ORCHARD PARK, NY - JANUARY 01: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins gets the puck past goaltender Ryan Miller #35 of the Buffalo Sabres to win the NHL Winter Classic 2-1 in a shoot out at the Ralph Wilson Stadium on January 1, 2008 in Orchard Park, New York. The Penguins won the game 2-1 in a shoot out. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)


The inaugural Winter Classic was Sidney Crosby's unofficial introduction to American sports fans who largely ignore hockey but were captivated by the idea of an outdoor game.

With millions of Americans watching as snowflakes fell and the sky darkened around Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, Crosby scored one of his most famous goals and helped the Winter Classic become a blooming spectacle.

Crosby's flair for the dramatic had never been more evident.

"It was just so perfect," said Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek, who watched the game in Phoenix. "And when you saw it was him standing there with a chance to win the game, you just knew he would score. Of course he would score. It's Crosby."

The hype leading up to that Winter Classic trumpeted Crosby, then 20, as the game's best player.

Three years later, things haven't changed.

Crosby seems delighted to play in this year's Winter Classic and acknowledged that part of the charm in Buffalo revolved around its place as a singular event.

"I didn't expect it to be a yearly thing then," Crosby said. "It was definitely a special moment, especially considering the fact that we didn't know if there'd ever be another one."

The NHL would be crazy to stop showcasing the annual outdoor game. From Buffalo to Chicago to Boston, the game has grown in popularity each year. And yet, the signature moment in this short series remains Crosby staring down Miller that afternoon in Buffalo.

Crosby, doing his best Mario Lemieux impersonation, set up a goal only seconds into the contest. He also dazzled with his stickhandling, perhaps putting on a show more than usual knowing full well untapped fans were watching.

Always the humble superstar, Crosby doesn't remember it that way.

"I don't think of it like that," he said. "(But) I do think that game probably brought a lot of interest."

Although the game was an unprecedented success, there were issues that created problems. The steady snow forced numerous stoppages as crews frantically fixed the ice.

According to Michalek, the conditions only add to the Crosby legend.

"I remember it was snowing so much that people could barely see the puck and it was hard for anyone to score," he said. "Of course, he's the one who would come through in that situation and score the goal. It wasn't a surprise."

There are weather issues hovering over this season's game, but the NHL is hopeful that the contest will take place without any problems. After all, with Crosby playing and a huge number of North American sports fans expected to tune in, something special could happen.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman compares Crosby's goal in Buffalo to one of the great moments in Pittsburgh sports history.

"If you are a Penguins fan," Bettman said, "you probably remember Sid's goal the way you do the Immaculate Reception."

The NHL can only hope that Saturday at Heinz Field generates such a compelling memory. Regardless of what happens, the image of a joy-jumping Crosby that day in Buffalo will endure.

"It's a moment in time," Bettman said.

Penguins' Crosby recalls first Winter Classic win

Thursday, December 30, 2010
By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Snow falls on Sidney Crosby during the NHL Winter Classic against the Buffalo Sabres at the Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2008. (Photograph by Dave Sandford, Getty Images)


It was the ultimate freelance in an unorthodox setting.

Sidney Crosby approached the puck at center ice with the chance to lift the Penguins to a victory if he could convert his turn at a shootout.

"If you would have been in my mind, I'm telling you that all I was thinking about was trying to get a shot on net," he recalled recently.

That's right, the National Hockey League's premier and probably most detail-oriented player, the man who always formulates a plan, was flying by the seat of his icy hockey pants.

That's because this was no ordinary game, not one held in a generic arena. It was the 2008 Winter Classic at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.

Crosby whooshed his way down the slot that snowy late afternoon and slipped the puck under Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller -- a shot that not only secured a 2-1 New Year's Day victory but also painted a scene so Rockwellian that the NHL had no sensible choice but to make the game an annual event.

The Penguins make a return outdoor appearance for the 2011 Winter Classic. Saturday, it will be against rival Washington in Pittsburgh's most revered backyard -- the middle of Heinz Field.

Crosby had a lot to do with the NHL bringing what has grown into a signature event to town, but he wasn't thinking beyond the temporary boards and difficult ice conditions that day nearly three years ago.

It had started to snow on the teams and 71,217 fans during warmups, and the Zamboni had to make unusual mid-period sweeps to clear the accumulating snow.

"The ice was a little more fresh earlier in the game, so you didn't notice it as much," Crosby said. "But after the first [period], you could tell it was going to be tough to carry the puck a lot. You're pushing the puck and you're just trying to move it forward. You weren't even trying to stickhandle, chipping it in. It was pretty simple hockey. Even guys carrying it, it would just kind of pop up on them."

The Penguins debuted their baby blue jerseys that day. Crosby assisted on Colby Armstrong's goal in the first period, and Brian Campbell tied it for Buffalo in the second.

With a 1 p.m. start on one of the shortest days of the year, and with a game stretched longer than usual because of added ice cleanings, overtime and the shootout, the skies were darkening by the end of overtime, and the players were tiring.

"It was a tough game," Crosby said. "Guys were a little more tired than usual because you had to work harder to get around. It was hard-hitting. On top of that, with how cold it was, it kind of adds to you being tired."

A sellout crowd of 71,217 and a national TV audience saw the league's biggest star, Sidney Crosby, seize the spotlight with an assist and the shootout game-winner as the retro jersey-wearing Penguins downed the Sabres, 2-1.
(Photograph by David E. Klutho/SI)

In those days, Crosby was an offensive force but hadn't established himself as a strong shootout participant. He was 1 for 5 that season, 8 for 26 (30.8 percent) in his career going into the game.

The Penguins had two players who were budding shootout specialists, so he was in his customary spot at the time in the shootout order, third. He normally shoots second now.

Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin allowed Ales Kotalik's goal, then stymied Tim Connolly and Maxim Afinogenov.

The Penguins' Erik Christensen missed the net, but defenseman Kris Letang improved to 4 for 4 in shootout attempts that season with a lofted shot.

Crosby was up. The game was going to end or go into the sudden-death portion of the shootout.

He was in his third NHL season and had faced Miller several times. Of course, this was more than two years before he beat Miller in overtime at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics to give Canada the gold medal over the United States.

"Even if I did know him pretty well back then, I don't think in those conditions it mattered," Crosby said.

He watched the shooters before him. What stood out was the layer of snow on the ice and the difficulty it posed. So that became his focus when he gathered the puck and made several short stickhandle moves as he skated directly toward Miller, snow flying each time he nudged the puck.

"I just remember trying to hold onto the puck because I couldn't see it," he said. "I just wanted to get a shot away. Honestly, that's all I was worried about. You're dragging a lot of snow. You couldn't really go that fast because you didn't want to lose the puck. When you're carrying it, the snow was kind of going over your blade, so it was hiding the puck as you were pushing it. You just saw it in little spurts, and you felt it."

He got nearly on top of Miller, who opened himself up some when he attempted to poke-check the puck. That's when Crosby pushed the puck under the goalie's pads.

"I just tried to get a shot away," he said. "The last thing I wanted to do was lose the puck or miss the net or something. I just wanted to give it a chance to go in."

The puck might have been difficult to pick out that day, but Crosby saw it cross the goal line. He curled toward the right corner and headed up the ice. He whooped. He jumped up and down. He threw his arms in the air, needing someone to hug.

His teammates streamed off of the bench, met him at the blue line and obliged with a group celebration.

Beginning with that shot that beat Miller, Crosby is 14 of 25 (56 percent) in shootouts to raise his career success rate to 41.1 percent, but he said he doesn't consider that as any sort of turning point.

The game had been difficult, but exhilarating.

"I guarantee you not one guy complained about the ice," Crosby said. "I didn't hear one guy complain. We all knew it was awesome to be a part of it, and whether the ice was tough or the conditions were tough, it didn't matter. Guys were just happy to be a part of it."

The cold began to set in as he made his way to the locker room and started to take off his gear.

"I just wanted some warm clothes and hot chocolate," he said.


For much more on the Penguins, read the Pens Plus blog with Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Shelly Anderson: shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10364/1114300-61.stm#ixzz19bLQ2ytt

Malkin nears new deal with Penguins

Not interested in jumping to new league in Russia

Saturday, June 21, 2008
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Marian Hossa congratulates teammate Evgeni Malkin (R) after he scored in the second period of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

OTTAWA -- Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins a hefty discount when he accepted a contract worth an average of $8.7 million per season last summer.

Evgeni Malkin, however, is prepared to give them one that will dwarf Crosby's gesture.

Several teams in the new Continental Hockey League in Russia reportedly plan to offer Malkin a deal that would pay him roughly $12.5 million, tax-free, per season, making Malkin the highest-paid hockey player in the world.

Nonetheless, Malkin apparently is intent on remaining with the Penguins, who are expected to give him a five- or six-year deal worth $8.5 million per season.

"He wants to stay in Pittsburgh," said J.P. Barry, his agent. "He wants them to keep as many players as they can, so we're working on a term and a structure that will hopefully do that.

"He could make, if he chose to go [to Russia] next year after his contract expired, double or triple what he's going to make here. That's not what he's interested in doing."

Malkin's base salary for 2008-09 will be $984,200, the maximum allowed by the league's collective bargaining agreement. Barry said he and general manager Ray Shero have the "framework" of a new deal in place, and that "I don't see any major hurdles" that would prevent an agreement.

Ideally, Barry added, one will be worked out by early next month. Per the CBA, Malkin's new deal could not be put in place before July 1 since he has a year left on his current contract.

Barry said that, because Shero has an idea of the contract terms Malkin is seeking, he should have a feel for the resources he can invest in some of the Penguins' unrestricted-free-agents-to-be, particularly winger Marian Hossa and defenseman Brooks Orpik.

"That's the real purpose of why we gave them an idea up front, so they could go to Hossa and have some certainty about what they're doing," Barry said. "The very reason we got out in front of this with Pittsburgh was to help them.

"My understanding is that priority No. 1 is Evgeni Malkin, priority No. 2 is Marian Hossa and you move down from there. If that's not the priority, I'd like to hear that."

Having Malkin under contract at a cut rate could make him more tradeable. Even though Malkin won't be eligible for a no-trade clause for a few years, Barry was adamant that implicit in him accepting less money is that the Penguins won't deal him.

"There is a risk [of him being traded at some point in the future], and that's something we'll talk about, too," he said. "The purpose is not to negotiate a deal to help Pittsburgh and [have Malkin] not be in Pittsburgh."

Malkin played for his hometown team, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, in the Russian Super League, the forerunner to the Continental League. He left in 2006 and won a league challenge by Magnitogorsk, which contended he had a valid contract.

Malkin, however, insisted he signed that agreement under duress, and a federal court in New York ruled in his favor.

The Toronto Star reported yesterday that "several teams" in the new league were interested in having Malkin on their roster when it begins play Sept. 2. That prompted a hard-line reaction by Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation.

He issued a statement saying that if the Russian league signs Malkin while he is under contract in the NHL, sanctions could include denying the country an opportunity to compete in international tournaments such as the Olympics and world championships.

"We would view any signing, from either side, of a player under a valid contract, who does not have any legally valid out-clause, to be a clear violation of the mutual understanding and existing principle," Fasel said. "It would potentially be punishable with suspended national team eligibility and suspension from all competition or activity organized by the IIHF or any IIHF member national association.

"This would include events like the Olympic Winter Games, the IIHF World Championship or international club competitions like the Champions Hockey League. Given this [prospect of harsh sanctions], we are confident that the [Star] report is not substantiated."

That point apparently is moot, however, since Malkin prefers to stay with his current team.

"He came here for a reason," Shero said. "He came to the National Hockey League to play in Pittsburgh."

Dave Molinari can be reached at DWMolinari@Yahoo.com.
First published on June 21, 2008 at 12:00 am

Ovechkin tops Pens' Malkin for NHL MVP

By Rob Rossi
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 13, 2008



TORONTO, ON - JUNE 12: Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals poses with the Hart Memorial Trophy, the Lester B. Pearson Award, the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy during the 2008 NHL Awards at the at the Elgin Theatre on June 12, 2008 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Claus Anderson/Getty Images)


TORONTO -- The cold war between Penguins star Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was evident Thursday at the NHL Awards Show.

Prior to the event -- highlighted by Ovechkin trumping Malkin and Calgary Flames right wing Jarome Iginla for the Hart Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award -- Russian hockey's young dynamic duo deliberately avoided eye contact as their paths crossed in the lower bowels at the Elgin Theatre.

Ovechkin walked directly in front of Malkin as he pursued a mutual Russian associate. Ovechkin did not look at Malkin, who dipped his head as Ovechkin passed.

"It's not such a great friendship," said Malkin through an interpreter. "It's basically, 'Hi, how are you?' That's about it.

"We were never really close friends. It's nothing to talk about."

Ovechkin, whose 112 regular-season points bested Malkin's 106, echoed his Russian rival's sentiment.

"(Malkin) and I are buddies -- like, we say hi and we can go out, and we play for the Russian national team together," Ovechkin said. "We're not friends."

Their NHL careers date to the 2004 entry draft. Ovechkin was selected first, Malkin second.




TORONTO, ON - JUNE 12: Gordie Howe poses with his lifetime achievement award during the 2008 NHL Awards at the at the Elgin Theatre on June 12, 2008 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Claus Anderson/Getty Images)

By all accounts, their rivalry dates to shortly before that draft, when Malkin started to receive hype that had previously gone to Ovechkin alone.

Ovechkin won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2006. Malkin claimed that honor in 2007.

Last night, Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy, awarded to the league's most valuable player as voted on by select members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, and the Lester B. Pearson Award, which goes to the most outstanding player as judged by a Players' Association vote.

Ovechkin was first in Hart voting with 1,313 points, including 128 first-place votes. Malkin finished second with 659 points, including one first-place tally.

Malkin was also named to the league's first All-Star team.

Malkin led the Penguins during the regular season in points and goals (47). He hoped to supplant teammate Sidney Crosby as winner of the Hart and the Pearson; Crosby claimed those honors last season.

Current majority co-owner Mario Lemieux and former star right wing Jaromir Jagr also won the Hart and the Pearson while with the Penguins.

Lemieux and Jagr rate as two of the game's all-time finest players. Ovechkin said he and Malkin want to be recognized in that regard.

Ovechkin added that any rivalry between he and Malkin is based on "respect for each other as players," and said their rise to prominence is "good for Russia hockey."

"We're good players," said Ovechkin, who led the NHL during the regular season in points and goals (65). "But we're different players. We play different styles. We just have fun all the time and want to be the best of all-time.

"You can compare me to Malkin... or somebody else."



TORONTO, ON - JUNE 12: Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils poses with the Vezina Trophy during the 2008 NHL Awards at the at the Elgin Theatre on June 12, 2008 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)


Other award winners last night included:

* Detroit goaltenders Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood (William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals scored against)

* Toronto left wing Jason Blake (Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey)

* Tampa Bay center Vincent Lecavalier (King Clancy Memorial Trophy for on- and off-ice leadership and noteworthy humanitarian contribution to community)

* Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk (Frank Selke Trophy for defensive excellence by a forward and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the combination of sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and high standard of playing ability)

* Washington coach Bruce Boudreau (Jack Adams Award for top coach)

* Chicago right wing Patrick Kane (Calder Memorial Trophy for best rookie)

* Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (James Norris Memorial Trophy for greatest all-around ability at the position)

* New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur (Vezina Trophy for best player at the position)

Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or 412-380-5635

Pens' Malkin up for elite honors

By Rob Rossi
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 12, 2008



PITTSBURGH - JUNE 04: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins drops to his knees after being defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in game six of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Mellon Arena on June 4, 2008 in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. The Red Wings defeated the Penguins 3-2 to win the Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Evgeni Malkin probably picked the wrong year to attend the NHL Awards Show.

A no-show last year, when he won the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, Malkin is scheduled to join a Penguins contingent that will include general manager Ray Shero and team ticket sales account executive/Russian translator George Birman tonight at Toronto's Elgin Theatre.

Malkin is a finalist for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the league's MVP as voted upon by select members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, and the Lester B. Pearson Award, which goes to the most outstanding player according to the NHL's Players Association.

However, Malkin is not favored to win either honor.

Fellow Russian rival and Washington Capitals left wing Alexander Ovechkin is expected to claim the Hart and Pearson awards - leaving Malkin again in a position he knows all too well: second.

Malkin, whose 106 regular-season points were second to Ovechkin's 112, was the second overall pick in the 2004 entry draft behind Ovechkin.

Additionally, Malkin is only a week removed from a disappointing second-place finish with the Penguins, who lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup final.



PITTSBURGH - JUNE 04: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck under pressure from Brett Lebda #22 of the Detroit Red Wings during game six of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Mellon Arena on June 4, 2008 in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Malkin is also widely considered only the second-best player on his team - behind Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who last season won the Hart and Pearson awards and the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer.

Crosby said prior to the Stanley Cup playoffs that he hoped Malkin would become the fourth Penguins player to win the Hart and/or Pearson. Current majority co-owner Mario Lemieux won the Hart on three occasions (1988, '93 and '96) and Pearson four times (1986, '88, '93 and '96). Former right wing Jaromir Jagr won the Hart once (1999) and Pearson twice (1999, 2000).

Crosby won the Hart and Pearson last year for the first time.

Malkin is a finalist for each honor due in large part to his superb play in the aftermath of Crosby's right ankle injury in mid-January. Crosby missed 29 games due to a high ankle sprain, but the Penguins went 16-9-4 in those contests, as Malkin scored 20 goals and recorded 46 points.

Malkin finished the regular season with a career-best 47 goals, but his playmaking skill stood out in Crosby's absence. Malkin registered multiple assists in eight games missed by Crosby, compared to only five with Crosby healthy.

Still, Malkin's miserable past few weeks - he was widely criticized for scoring only two goals and recording just five points over the Penguins' final 10 playoff games (he finished fifth in overall playoff scoring with 22 points) - will likely conclude tonight with Ovechkin besting him for the Hart and Pearson.

Ovechkin won the Art Ross Trophy. His 65 goals were 13 more than second-leading goal-scorer Ilya Kovalcuk of the Atlanta Thrashers, and Ovechkin led the Capitals to a surprise first-place finish in the Southeast Division.

Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or 412-380-5635.

Longtime Pirates fan gives a strong voice to the NHL

Thursday, June 12, 2008
By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Mike "Doc" Emrick

Just as Sidney Crosby has become the face of hockey, Doc Emrick, passionate Pirates fan and one-time Penguins correspondent for the Beaver County Times, has become the voice of the sport.

In both cases, the game couldn't be in better hands.

Thanks, in part, to Crosby's passionate play and Emrick's passionate announcing, the NHL is making progress with television viewers. The recently completed Stanley Cup playoffs were a ratings success by NHL standards, but still pale next to the NFL, MLB and NBA.

Emrick, a Hoosier by birth and Pirates fan by virtue of Bob Prince and the powerful signal of KDKA Radio, has become the voice of hockey. His regular gig is as the television play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Devils. When the Devils aren't playing, he's liable to show up as the lead announcer on Versus, the NHL's cable television partner. When NBC carries NHL games, Emrick is their guy in the booth. He also does the Olympics.

No announcer in any sport dominates the way Emrick does in hockey.

He did 123 games this season, including, as if his passion for the game needed to be demonstrated, one on the college level.

"I have to keep in contact with these college kids," he said. "They're our future. I'd do it for nothing."

That's what Emrick earned in his first hockey job, covering the Penguins for the Beaver County Times.

He was teaching at Geneva College, on his way to a doctorate in radio, television and film at Bowling Green University, in 1969-70 and frequently making the trip from Beaver Falls to Pittsburgh to see the Penguins.

"I approached the [Beaver County Times] and told them I'd cover every Penguins home game. I didn't want to get paid. I just wanted to get into the game. All I wanted was to meet the hockey players."

It was a labor of love, with the emphasis on labor.

"It's a good thing it was an afternoon paper," Emrick said over the phone the other day. "I would rewrite and rewrite. I wouldn't get through until 3 in the morning."

Emrick's passion for hockey led him to Bowling Green, where he was promised the second period play-by-play duties of the college team. With his doctorate in hand, but with the intention of doing nothing with it, Emrick sent out application to every minor league hockey team. He landed a job with the Port Huron Flags in 1973. After four years in Port Huron, Mich., he moved to Portland, Maine, the top minor league club of the Philadelphia Flyers. In three years he was doing cable TV for the Flyers. Then it was on to radio work with the New York Rangers, back to the Flyers and then to the Devils, where he has been since 1993.

It didn't start out that way. He wanted to do baseball. Prince's Pirates broadcasts boomed into Indiana and Emrick became a dedicated fan. He still recalls his first Pirates game.

"My parents took us to Wrigley Field. It was Aug. 9, 1959. Ernie Banks hit a home run for the Cubs. What I marveled at was [Bill Mazeroski]. On the double play, it looked like the ball was going through a stove pipe. It changed directions by 90 degrees and it looked like Maz never touched it.

"I still have the ticket stub from that day."

When the Penguins won Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final in Detroit to bring the series back to Pittsburgh, Emrick had an unknown surprise awaiting him. Ben Bouma, a former Pirates employee working for NBC, set him up with a trip to PNC Park. He visited the Pirates clubhouse June 3 and admitted, "I'm like an 11 year old when I'm around the Pirates."

He threw out the first pitch and called it "a lifetime memory."

Emrick was pleased with the ratings NBC drew for the four games it carried. Game 6 earned a 4.0 rating and the four games carried by NBC averaged a 3.2. That's an improvement that makes NBC and the NHL happy but also shows how far hockey lags behind football, baseball and basketball. The Super Bowl had a 32.8 rating, the World Series a 10.6 and last year's NBA Finals a 6.2. The first two games between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers this year averaged an 8.6.

More alarming for hockey, it's not drawing well in the major markets. The top 10 markets for Game 6 included Buffalo, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; Columbus, Ohio; and Fort Myers, Fla., but not New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco, Washington or Houston.

"I'm happy with hockey's niche," Emrick said. "We've had better times in the past, like 1994 when the Rangers won, but I don't think there was a more important year than this one. For Game 5 we had people joining us in great numbers at 11 p.m. and 11:30 and they stayed. The numbers were in the 5.0 range for the rest of the game [which ended at 12:45 a.m.].

"I'm heartened by what happened."

Emrick, 61, spends his summer in Michigan where he relaxes with his wife, Joyce, follows the Pirates and awaits the start of the best time of the year -- another hockey season.

NHL Awards

Evgeni Malkin is a Hart Trophy nominee as the National Hockey League passes out its hardware at 7 p.m. on Versus.




Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
First published on June 12, 2008 at 12:00 am

Gutsy Pirates making different decisions

By Guy Junker
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 9, 2008


The Pirates chose Vanderbilt University third baseman Pedro Alvarez with the seond pick of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
AP Photo/Vanderbilt University, John Russell


• Credit the Pirates for doing some things they haven't had the guts to do in the past. Drafting Pedro Alvarez with the second overall pick last week tops on the list. Instead of fishing for an affordable diamond-in-the-rough, they went right after the player Baseball America Magazine pegged as the top one available in the draft. And he's a Scott Boras client to boot meaning negotiations, which could begin as early as today, will be difficult and expensive. If Alvarez winds up not signing and going back to Vanderbilt for his senior season, we may all look at that differently. But would they have dared draft him if they didn't plan on anything up in the first place?

The Pirates also last week sent catcher Ronny Paulino to the minor leagues when Ryan Doumit came off of the disabled list. Raul Chavez has played well, especially defensively and deserved to stay. This is a message to the entire roster that a major league job is not a right, but a privilege and attitude and work ethic should illustrate that.



Pirates starter Phil Dumatrait delivers a pitch during the fourth inning against the Diamondbacks Sunday, June 8, at PNC Park.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

And earlier this year the Pirate swallowed the rather large salary of pitcher Matt Morris when they cut him and replaced him with Phil Dumatrait in the rotation. Dumatrait has given the Pirates much more than just innings and he gives them a much better chance at winning than Morris did every fifth day. Don't be so jaded from 15 years of misery that you can't at least see some light at the end of the tunnel at least with the approach of the new administration.

• This fresh from a tremendous attempt at winning the Stanley Cup, it's hard not to want all the Penguin free agents to remain here and sign again. And while that is impossible, I saw enough of Marian Hossa to know that if I were Ray Shero, I would make every attempt to keep him. He is the best two-way player on the team and exorcised some old demons by performing well in the playoffs. Of all those who could leave, his talents would be the hardest to replace.



The Penguins' Marian Hossa sits on the ice after Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final at Mellon Arena. Hossa has said he might take less money to play for a Stanley Cup contender.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review file

• Some leftover thoughts from the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

1) The Penguins lost six games total and five of those six were officiated by referees Brad Watson and Marc Joanette.

2) It was fun watching the champagne, t-shirts and hats being wheeled back out of the Detroit locker room after Max Talbot tied game five in the final minute.

3) The Penguins were in the middle of getting shut out for the second straight time in game two in Detroit when a member of the armed forces was introduced to the crowd. Penguin defenseman Hal Gill leaned over the boards and banged his stick in appreciation despite the score. It was Memorial Day.

4) Marc Andre Fleury's spill coming out of the gate in game one really was a sign of things to come.

5) Detroit runs a classy organization.

6) Even though the wrong team won, before the wrecking ball gets to Mellon Arena in a few years, at least one Cup was won on it's ice. It was one of the most historical happenings to take place under the dome.

• I was watching game one of the NBA finals and a soccer game broke out. How can the Celtics' Paul Pierce be carried off the court one minute as though he had stepped on a land mine, and then return relatively unscathed and ready to go a few minutes later? And some chuckleheads compared this to Willis Reed returning from a hip injury suffered earlier in the series to lead the Knicks against the Lakers in game 7 in 1970? Come on!

What a contrast to what we witnessed in the Stanley Cup finals. Ryan Malone came back in the same game after breaking his nose for the second time in the series and was still diving to block shots in the final minute. Sergei Gonchar goes into the boards 35 mph face first and comes back several overtimes later to be one of the heros. And we expect it. Then again hockey players are nuts.

• I'm not sure what bothered me more about the passing of former Steeler Dwight White. The fact that another player from the legendary Steelers Super Bowl era died before his time, or that his time came when he was just a few years older than I.

Guy Junker is the co-host of the Junker and Crow Show, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. weekdays on ESPN Radio1250.

Analysis: Free agency, salary cap will test Shero's mettle

Sunday, June 08, 2008
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Penguins: A tough ending Wednesday to a wonderful two-month ride.

A popular adage holds that, difficult as it is to win a championship, defending one is even tougher.

The Penguins won't have to worry about that for at least a couple of years, but general manager Ray Shero is about to experience something similar: Having completed the task of assembling a contender just a few months ago, he now must do it again -- despite the certain loss of some key personnel.

If Shero had only to worry about negotiating fair-value deals with free-agents-to-be such as Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik, he could have his offseason chores wrapped up by, oh, noon tomorrow.

Unfortunately for Shero, 12 players on his major-league roster can become unrestricted free agents July 1, and he must find a way to shoehorn as much talent as possible under the NHL's salary-cap ceiling, which is expected to be around $55 million for 2008-09.

Who leaves, who stays and who Shero brings in during the next month or so will go a long way toward determining whether the Penguins will have a chance of competing for the Stanley Cup again next June.

DEFENSEMEN

By early spring, Orpik was alongside Sergei Gonchar on the Penguins' top pairing, killing penalties and hitting opponents as frequently -- and effectively -- as anyone in the NHL. Quite a performance by a guy coach Michel Therrien earlier had made a healthy scratch for four games and used on left wing for two others.

The way Therrien treated him clearly left some scars on Orpik and, for months, seemed certain to push him out of town. Orpik. however, now seems receptive to re-signing -- even though Therrien isn't going anywhere -- and getting him under contract should be a priority.

If Orpik stays, the Penguins' other unrestricted defenseman, Mark Eaton, might be expendable. He is an excellent shot-blocker and penalty-killer and was a nice complement to Gonchar when they were partners, but was sidelined by injuries for much of his two seasons here.

The only defenseman poised to move from the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre to their major-league roster is Alex Goligoski. Management must guard against force-feeding the NHL to him, but, if Goligoski, who has excellent offensive ability, has a strong training camp, he could be in uniform for the regular-season opener.

The Penguins' top two offensive defensemen, Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, had strikingly different seasons; Gonchar performed at a near Norris Trophy level, while Whitney looked out of sync much of the time, although he elevated his game in the Stanley Cup final.

With Goligoski on the way, Shero might be tempted to free some cap space by trading Whitney, who has a $4 million cap hit, but that would be shortsighted because Whitney has the potential to grow into a No. 1 defenseman and inherit Gonchar's role someday.

Hal Gill adds a solid, if not mobile, defensive presence -- and a good hedge against losing Orpik's physical play -- while Rob Scuderi is a reliable defensive defenseman. The wild card in the group is Kris Letang, who has great promise if his development doesn't plateau.

FORWARDS

Retaining Hossa, who reduced his reputation as a playoff underachiever to an historical artifact this spring, will be extremely difficult if, as expected, he commands a salary of $8 million or more on his next contract. Whether he's worth it isn't the issue; finding the cap space to accommodate such a deal is.

Malone seems likely to pull down something around $4.5 million or so, and that also might be prohibitive for a team that will be paying Crosby an average of $8.7 million and is about to discuss new deals with Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.

Figuring out how to hold onto some of his soon-to-be-unrestricted role players -- guys such as Pascal Dupuis, Jarkko Ruutu, Adam Hall, Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque -- could cause Shero some fitful nights because all have contributed to the team's success in varying degrees.

Laraque might be a cap victim, although the Penguins would miss having him around when they play teams such as Philadelphia, and Roberts should be allowed to leave. He has become a folk hero and left an indelible impression on his teammates, but his $2.5 million salary is a luxury the Penguins can't afford.

Losing some of their third- and fourth-liners will be more palatable if prospects such as Ryan Stone and Jonathan Filewich can step up, but neither distinguished himself in cameos in the NHL this season.

GOALIES

While Shero's to-do list for the next few weeks is long, it won't include anything more pressing than getting Marc-Andre Fleury under contract before he reaches restricted free agency July 1.

He won't come cheap -- up to $5 million per season seems reasonable, unless Fleury follows Crosby's lead and settles for less than he could get -- but management challenged him to prove he's worth a generous contract, and he did.

Ty Conklin earned not only a place in franchise lore with his brilliant play while filling in when Fleury had a high ankle sprain, but the right to compete for a No. 1 job somewhere in the league. His departure via free agency will allow Dany Sabourin to slip back into the No. 2 role he was signed to fill a year ago.

Dave Molinari can be reached at DWMolinari@Yahoo.com.
First published on June 8, 2008 at 12:00 am


LOOKING AHEAD: PENGUINS vs. THE 2008-09 CAP

Penguins under contract and how they'll count against the salary cap -- expected to be about $55 million:

Sidney Crosby- $8.7 million
Sergei Gonchar- $5 million
Ryan Whitney- $4 million
Evgeni Malkin- $3,834,200
Darryl Sydor- $2.5 million
Petr Sykora- $2.5 million
Jordan Staal- $2.2 million
Hal Gill- $2,075,000
Kris Letang- $835,000
Rob Scuderi- $712,500
Max Talbot- $675,000
Tyler Kennedy- $541,667
Dany Sabourin- $512,500

Note: The salary-cap hit is the average annual value of a player's contract, including potential bonus earnings for those on entry-level deals.

It's Shero's turn to reward Penguins followers

Friday, June 06, 2008
By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette
Ryan Richards, 2, went with his mother, Rebecca Richards, of Plum, trying to get tickets at Mellon Arena for Game Six of the Stanley Cup final. Ryan did his best to imitate the poster of Jordan Staal on the arena facade.


There's nothing quite so exhilarating for a city and a region than to jump on board with a sports team heading down a long and twisting championship road. And there's no sport that makes that ride so exciting as hockey. Love hockey or not, the Stanley Cup playoffs are the best postseason in sports.

It wasn't just the dedicated and passionate fans who took this ride. Casual fans and those who didn't know a thing about hockey shared the experience. In these tough times, the Penguins were a topic with which we all could relate.

Whether we were scratching our heads in wonderment over the team's floundering play in the first two games or reveling in the way it came back to make winning the Cup more than a possibility, the Penguins were the talk of the town.

There were memorable moments to savor, and for most none more so than Max Talbot's miracle goal that ushered in the epic three-overtime win in Game 5. But the memory of this two-month journey that most will stick with us did not involve Talbot or any of his teammates.

There was nothing classier or more unforgettable about this run than the way the Penguins fans, ranging from disappointed to heartbroken, sat in their seats at Mellon Arena to watch the Detroit Red Wings celebrate the winning of the Stanley Cup.

Yeah, hockey etiquette calls for such behavior, but who's thinking about good manners at such a crushing moment? There's no championship celebration in sports that can match the awarding of the Cup for drama and tradition. Even non-Detroit fans were wondering which teammate captain Nicklas Lidstrom would designate as the first, after him, to hoist the Cup. Even if it isn't your team, it's a neat bit of sports history and a moment to treasure. So to the great credit of Penguins fans, the most loyal in Pittsburgh, they sat, watched and wondered as the Red Wings celebrated.

Nothing would have been worse, and it could have happened elsewhere, if the fans turned their back on this special event and let the champions celebrate by themselves.

And so the question of the day is this: Will Penguins fans ever get to see their team raise the Cup? Will they some day get to wonder who captain Sidney Crosby will turn to first?

For the moment the answer to those questions rests not with Crosby or Evgeni Malkin or Marc-Andre Fleury or even coach Michel Therrien. The fate of the franchise left their hands Wednesday night around 10:45 and was passed to general manager Ray Shero. It will be the decision-making ability of Shero, steeped in hockey knowledge but an inexperienced GM, that will impact the team's future the most.

The Penguins were the first team to benefit greatly from the franchise-friendly aspect of the NHL's field-leveling collective bargaining agreement and now they must be first to navigate the player-friendly facet of that same agreement.

Under the old CBA, which did not have a salary cap, players could not be unrestricted free agents until they were 31. Under the new agreement, that age is dropped to 27 or seven years of experience. It's the change in age requirement that gives free agency to winger Ryan Malone and defenseman Brooks Orpik.



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury takes a moment to look at the team photo before packing away his gear for the season. The Penguins were together for one last time yesterday before the start of the offseason.

They, along with winger Marian Hossa, are free agents in line to receive more money than the Penguins should be willing to pay. But that's for Shero, with input from ownership, to decide. Maybe it would be wise for this center-rich team to keep one of its two best wingers. If not, players of similar talent must be brought in. That, too, falls to Shero.

A word about Hossa: If he does not come back, that does not mean the deal that brought him to the Penguins at the trading deadline was not a resounding success. And that's regardless of what the players Shero gave up for Hossa go on to do. Without Hossa, the Penguins don't make it to the sixth game of the final, maybe don't make it to the final. What he brought to the team in terms of success and how the game should be played will pay dividends for years to come.

The Penguins have enough talent. What they didn't have is what Hossa gave them.

It's pretty much given the team must meet any contract offers for Fleury, a restricted free agent. But what kind of agreement Shero can negotiate is all-important. Does he go long-term with Fleury or does he give himself maneuverability and go for a shorter deal? And how far does he go to keep Fleury, who will receive monster offers?

Centers Malkin and Jordan Staal will be restricted free agents after next season and Shero must determine what to do with both. Is now the time to sign them or does he wait the year that's still on their contracts? How much does he pay them? Can the team afford three high-priced centermen and still have enough money to bring in wingers to compliment them?

Finally, what does Shero do with Therrien? He gave him a disrespectful one-year extension after an exceptional 2006-07 season. To offer up another one-year extension to the coach who took his team to the Stanley Cup final would be nothing more than an indication Shero is just waiting for one stumble before he fires Therrien. The coach deserves two years -- at least.

And Penguins fans deserve all the right decisions from Shero. That's impossible, but if ever there was a fan base that deserve as much, it's this one.


Correction/Clarification: (Published June 7, 2008) Penguins forwards Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal will be restricted free agents after next season. Their status was incorrectly stated in this as originally published June 6, 2008.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
First published on June 6, 2008 at 12:00 am

A scrapbook full of goals, guts 'n' glory

Sunday, June 08, 2008
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
As much as everyone might want this season to go on, the bottom line is it ended Wednesday night. Now it's time to go home for the summer, driven home by players such as Evgeni Malkin packing his bags in the Penguins' locker room Friday.

The Penguins didn't bring the Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh, but, from Gary Roberts' goal just 68 seconds into the first playoff game against Ottawa to Marian Hossa's near-miss at the end of the final game against champion Detroit, they gave us wonderful memories that will last long after Sidney Crosby is a very old man.

See how my list compares to yours:

• Roberts' goal, 44 days before his 42nd birthday and in only his second game back from a broken left leg and high-ankle sprain ...

WWGRD? Become a cult hero, actually.

• Ryan Whitney's fight with Ottawa's Wade Redden in Game 1 ...

No one will ever confuse Whitney with Georges Laraque, but he makes it clear to the Senators they won't be able to take liberties with Crosby. "You earn respect by sticking up for your teammate," said appreciative Penguins coach Michel Therrien.

• Ryan Malone's wraparound goal with 1:02 left wins Game 2 against the Senators after the Penguins blow a 3-0 lead ...

• Jarkko Ruutu's spinning backhanded goal late in the second period of Game 4 is the series clincher against Ottawa ...

That name, that sliced-and-diced face, that edge to his game make Ruutu a cult hero of Roberts-like proportions.

• Second-period goals by Ruutu and Pascal Dupuis within a 24-second span and third-period goals by Hossa and Petr Sykora in a 20-second span help bring the Penguins back from a 3-0 deficit in Game 1 against the New York Rangers ...

Old friend Jaromir Jagr will say later this was when the series was decided.

• Young Jordan Staal breaks a scoreless second-period tie against the Rangers in Game 2 by chipping in a goal after a sweet pass from Evgeni Malkin, who beats Staal's brother, Marc, a Rangers defenseman, with an otherworldly move ...

• Malkin's two goals help the Penguins win Game 3 against the Rangers and go 7-0 in these playoffs ...

It's hard to believe the goals are Malkin's first at Madison Square Garden.

• Hossa's all-out dive to keep the puck in the Rangers' end in Game 5, setting up his power-play goal ...

"You don't see superstars diving for the puck like that very often," Whitney said.

• Hossa's Game 5 winner in overtime eliminates the Rangers ...

It's hard to say what made the old arena shake more -- that goal or big Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton jumping up and down like a kid in his first-row seat.

• Malkin's shorthanded breakaway goal -- on a slap shot, no less -- freezes Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Martin Biron in Game 1 ...

It was, simply, the most amazing Penguins goal of the playoffs.

• Tyler Kennedy's spirited fight with the Flyers' Scottie Upshall early in Game 2 after Upshall had cross-checked Kris Letang from behind late in Game 1 ...

Laraque jokingly referred to Kennedy -- the smallest player on the Penguins' roster -- as a "bantamweight," then said, "I thought that fight was spectacular to see. [Kennedy] wanted to fire up the crowd. He wanted to fire up our team. That's what he did."

• Max Talbot, returning after missing three games with a broken foot, gets the third-period goal that finishes off the Flyers in Game 2 ...

"Now I can say I did it. I could stop playing tomorrow and say I scored a game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs," said Mad Max, whose biggest goal was yet to come.

• Sergei Gonchar dives to poke check the puck away from the Flyers' Mike Richards on a shorthanded breakaway in Game 3 ...

It was, simply, the most amazing Penguins defensive play of the playoffs.

• Staal scores two goals against the Flyers in Game 4 a day after burying his grandfather ...

"It was my first funeral ever," Staal said. The kid grew up in a hurry this spring.

• Where's Jeff Reed when you need him? ...

The Penguins trounced the Flyers, 6-0, in Game 5 to win the series. Does it get any better than beating your hated rival by a touchdown?

• Marc-Andre Fleury trips and falls taking the ice for Game 1 against Detroit at Joe Louis Arena ...

It's OK to laugh at Fleury. He laughed at himself. A priceless moment the next day: Fleury repeatedly practiced stepping on and off the ice.

• Crosby gives the Penguins life at Mellon Arena by scoring the first two goals against Detroit in Game 3 ...

"What a true leader," Talbot said. "The rest of us have no choice but to follow."

• Brooks Orpik's seek-and-destroy shift late in Game 3 when he drills four Red Wings in a 15-second span ...

"That might have been the loudest moments I've heard with the crowd here," Talbot said.

• Is Adam Hall living right or what? ...

The fourth-line defensive specialist scored the winning goal in Game 3 against Detroit when he banked in a shot off goaltender Chris Osgood's rear end and was credited with a goal in Game 5 when Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall put the puck in his own net.

• Therrien's decision to use Talbot as an extra attacker late in Game 5 with the Penguins down, 3-2 ...

Talbot rewarded the faith by scoring the tying goal with 34.3 seconds left, temporarily silencing the bedlam in Joe Louis Arena.

• Sykora's power-play winner in the third overtime ...

This silenced the bedlam for the night after 109:57 of breathtaking hockey.

• The gauze in Malone's broken nose ...

He played through the pain and was on the ice for Sykora's winning goal.



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
If you had to put a face on these past two months, Ryan Malone's after coming back in Game 5 vs. Detroit would have to be a contender.

• Gonchar's back injury ...

He left Game 5 in the second period and didn't return until the deciding power play, picking up an assist on Sykora's goal.

• Whitney's 50:46 of ice time in Game 5 ...

And we say this guy is soft?

• Fleury's 55 saves ...

None was more spectacular than a toe save on Detroit winger Mikael Samuelsson.

• Hossa's goal on the deflection of a Gonchar slapper with 1:27 left cuts Detroit's lead to 3-2 in Game 6 and gives the Penguins a chance before last-second shots by Crosby and Hossa dance harmlessly through Osgood's crease ...

What? You thought this team was going to go out quietly?

• One final "Let's Go Pens!" chant even as Red Wings captain Nick Lidstrom prepares to lift the Stanley Cup ...

The fans' message was clear:

Thanks for the terrific season, the great effort, the spilled blood and the broken bones.

Thanks for the fabulous memories.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on June 8, 2008 at 12:00 am

Squandered opportunities doom Penguins

By Mike Prisuta
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 5, 2008



Chris Osgood celebrates with Henrik Zetterberg (the Conn Smythe Winner) during after defeating the Penguins, 3-2, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final at the Mellon Arena.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

At least they had their moments.

One occurred when Marian Hossa, working behind the Red Wings' net, found Sidney Crosby on the half-wall.

Crosby found Evgeni Malkin on the other side of the ice.

Malkin found the back of the net with a slap shot that went right through Chris Osgood.

Malkin raised his stick with one hand and let the frustration ooze from his body, as the adulation of 17,000-plus washed over him.

Malkin, mostly a no-show in the Stanley Cup final, was finally cleansed.

Malkin, the guy the Penguins desperately needed to get going to force a Game 7 on Saturday in Detroit, was at last redeemed.

Another such moment materialized with just 1:27 to play, when a power-play, sixth-attacker goal by Hossa gave the Mellon Arena faithful one more reason to scream.

But in the end "Whiteout Night" became "Lights Out Night" on Wednesday night.

The Penguins battled but ultimately surrendered Lord Stanley's Cup to Detroit, 3-2.

For the Red Wings, Os-good that ends good.



Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save on Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom during the second period in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday at Mellon Arena.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

For the Penguins, their frustration literally extended to the final second, when yet another opportunity, this one off the stick of Hossa, refused to go into the net.

The first of those occurred less than three minutes in, when a punishing check by Ryan Malone produced a turnover in the Detroit end, and Petr Sykora found himself with the puck and all the time and space he needed.

Sykora, who had picked a spot that was barely perceptible when he ended the marathon that Game 5 had become, this time hit Osgood right in the Winged Wheel on his chest.

In the offensive end, that was the story of the series for the Penguins.

Such opportunities too often eluded them.

They didn't get a ton of them, but they had enough to expect that they'd have scored more than 10 goals in six games.

The Red Wings didn't generate many chances themselves in Game 6, but as the contest wore on they once again became the beneficiaries of the type of goals you simply can not surrender in the Stanley Cup final if you hope to ultimately hoist the Cup.

The first of those in Game 6 made it 2-0 at 8:07 of the second. Marc-Andre Fleury gave up a bad rebound and then permitted a follow shot by Valtteri Filppula to squirt between his legs and in.

The second, credited to Henrik Zetterberg, was actually knocked into the net by Fleury after experiencing another five-hole issue.

Those were the only two even-strength goals scored in Game 6.



The Penguins' Marian Hossa scores past Detroit goalie Chris Osgood late in the third period in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday at Mellon Arena.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

In the defensive end, such developments were the other story of the series.

Fleury was heroic enough to cement himself as the Penguins' franchise-goaltender-in-waiting in Game 5, but he was nonetheless too often too inconsistent in the series, too susceptible to goals he'd like to have back, goals that became even more damaging considering the problems the Penguins' were having at the other end.

It was a series in which the Penguins proved they could play with the Red Wings.

When they're able to play consistently with teams of such caliber, they'll beat them.

They didn't get the goal-scoring or goaltending they needed this time.


Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.

Penguins go down fighting

By Joe Starkey
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 5, 2008



The Penguins' Gary Roberts can't get the puck past Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood during the second period in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday at Mellon Arena.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

It ended, fittingly, with the Penguins fighting until after the final buzzer and with the crowd standing and cheering and chanting, "Let's Go Pens!"

This team deserved that.

And the Detroit Red Wings deserved the Stanley Cup.

Two games into the series, you could see the Penguins were playing a superior opponent. Four games in, they were faced with the prospect of having to stage a monstrous comeback just to force a seventh game.

Give them immense credit for nearly pulling it off.

"They had no die in them," said Detroit forward Kris Draper. "No quit."



The Penguins' Marian Hossa watches the puck roll along the goal line behind Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood in the final seconds during third-period action between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final at the Mellon Arena.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

The dream finally melted Wednesday night at Mellon Arena, as Detroit skated off with a 3-2 victory and the Stanley Cup -- its fourth in 11 years.

The Red Wings are the NHL's gold standard.

The Penguins got the silver medal, and there is no shame in that.

Not after the way they poured their hearts into a never-to-be-forgotten Game 5.

Not after the way they tore through the Eastern Conference bracket by winning 12 of 14 games, then took the Red Wings to the precipice of Game 7.

Truly, it was a magical season.

That will become clear after a short cooling off period.

"Everyone left everything out there," said team captain Sidney Crosby. "We did everything we could."

Crosby appreciated the crowd's gesture at the end of the game and their amazing support through the playoffs.

"We don't take it for granted, but we don't expect anything different," he said. "They're a great group, and it's been a good ride."

A glance at the post-game locker room showed these Penguins for what they are -- passionate, stand-up guys who care deeply about winning.

And losing.



Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury shakes hands with Detroit goalie Chris Osgood after Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday at Mellon Arena.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury didn't hide after giving up two bad goals. He stood and faced reporters. Crosby spoke through watery red eyes when somebody asked about Fleury.

"Without him, we wouldn't be here," Crosby said. "He's got nothing to hang his head about."

What will Crosby take from this experience?

"Probably this feeling," he said, as teammate Ryan Malone sat slumped in the locker next to him, unable to bring himself to speak. "It's not a good feeling at all. It's not something you want to experience."

Down 3-1, the Penguins staged a furious rally, pulling to within 3-2 on Marian Hossa's goal with 1:27 left. They nearly forced overtime on a Crosby backhander which trickled past the post as time expired. Hossa's tip attempt would not have counted.

In the end, maybe the relatively painless run through the East didn't have the Penguins adequately prepared for the Big Red Machine. It was a quantum leap in competition, and it took two games for the Penguins to find their footing.

Fleury stole Game 5 but probably gave one back last night -- although the critical first goal wasn't his fault, and he had nothing to do with another 5-on-3 meltdown, either.

Detroit's first goal, just 5:03 into the game, was set up by an ill-advised penalty against veteran defenseman Darryl Sydor, who interfered with Kirk Maltby in the neutral zone.

Maltby's barely a threat with the puck in the slot, never mind without it 80 feet away.



Ryan Malone and Sidney Crosby sit in their locker after the Detroit Red Wings beat the Penguins in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final at Mellon Arena, June 4, 2008.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

Still, the Penguins had their chance to tie it on a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage midway through the first. The instant Draper was whistled for a hit from behind on Sergei Gonchar, giving the Penguins a two-man advantage for 1:33, you could feel the series riding on the outcome.

The Penguins' failure in a similar situation in Game 4 had cost them dearly. Maybe that's why an unspoken undercurrent of "Oh no!" laced the cheers as Maltby skated to the penalty box.

Sure enough, Crosby lost the faceoff in the Detroit zone -- he would lose eight of nine in the first period -- and the Penguins took 33 seconds merely to set up. A few near-misses later, they officially squandered their big chance. And probably the series.

"That's a young team," said veteran Detroit winger Darren McCarty. "We've been in that position, and they'll learn from it. Their resiliency is top-notch. They'll be back."

Do you doubt him?

Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com.

Pain of being bridesmaid tough for Penguins to handle

Thursday, June 05, 2008
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
The Penguins' Evgeni Malkin hangs his head after the Red Wings defeated his team in game 6 at Mellon Arena Wednesday night.

Two-time Stanley Cup champion Bob Errey, as recognizable a hockey name in Pittsburgh as just about any short of Lemieux and Crosby, laid out the hard truth before the Stanley Cup final.

"Only one team can win," he said. "Two weeks from now, you'll either be the happiest guy in the world or the forgotten bridesmaid."

Kind of makes you sick this morning, doesn't it?

With the Detroit Red Wings the kings of the hockey world and the Penguins, well, you know?

But something former Penguins Hall of Famer Ron Francis said before the final hurts even more.

"You never know when or even if you're going to get back," he said. "Look at our '93 team. That was our best team and we didn't win the Cup. You just never know."

Maybe that explains why the Penguins really didn't want to leave the Mellon Arena ice late last night. It's not that they had any interest in seeing the Red Wings lift the treasured Cup after their hard-earned 3-2 win in Game 6 shut the Penguins down for the summer. Who needed to watch that? Especially on your ice? In front of your disappointed fans?

No, the Penguins didn't want to exit the NHL's grandest stage because, well ...

Who really knows when they'll get back again?

That the Penguins lost the series to a superior team didn't ease the sting. After their surreal 4-3 triple-overtime win in Detroit in Game 5 Monday night and Tuesday morning, when Marc-Andre Fleury, Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora, Max Talbot and so many others took their place in franchise lore with valiant performances, they truly believed they were going to beat the Red Wings last night and force a Game 7. Their playoff run was too magical -- lasting through three rounds and one-sided battles with the Ottawa Senators, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers -- for it to end on home ice.



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Marc-Andre Fleury watches the puck roll across the line from a goal by the Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg in the third period.

But there was no amazing comeback this time, no late goal by Talbot to tie the score or Sykora to win it, although Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa -- going all out until the bitter end -- darn near pulled off a miracle with last-second shots that danced in Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood's crease. The Red Wings, showing no physical or emotional hangover from that brutal Game 5 loss, jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period-and-a-half and made it stand up. A second-period power-play goal by Evgeni Malkin -- finally -- and another by Gonchar in the final two minutes weren't quite enough.

It's easy to blame this loss -- and the Penguins' 2-1 home loss in Game 4, for that matter -- on the failure of their 5-on-3 power play. It didn't deliver in 1:33 in the first period last night after coming up short for 1:26 in the third period of Game 4.

But strictly fingering the Penguins would be doing a disservice to the Red Wings. They deserve enormous credit, not just for their spectacular penalty-killing -- the Penguins converted only 5 of 32 power-play opportunities in the series -- but their overall play. They dominated the action in each game. The puck always seemed to be in the Penguins' zone. They outshot the Penguins by a staggering 212-142.

Big-time teams win championships by dominating the third period. So it was for these Red Wings. In the six games, they outscored the Penguins, 9-3, in the final period and outshot them by a sick 71-34 margin, 12-6 last night.

Theirs was a title richly deserved.

It's nice to think the young Penguins will be back to this spot, maybe as soon as next June. They say you need to experience the pressure of a Cup final before you become good enough to win one. Well, consider the Penguins schooled. Tutorials just don't come any better than this series, especially that epic Game 5.

Crosby, the Penguins' captain, who won't turn 21 until Aug. 7, will benefit enormously from the past fortnight.

So will Malkin, 21, who had a rotten series before getting his first point in Game 5 and his first goal last night. He's too good not to bounce back from the tough finish to his marvelous season.

Fleury, 23, who wasn't at his best in goal last night after playing so tremendously in Game 5, will be consistently good enough one day to win a Cup.

Freakishly young Jordan Staal, 19, will continue to get better and better ...

Absolutely, the Penguins will be a lot more prepared for the bright lights the next time they get here.

If they get here, of course.

You just never know ...



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Penguins players watch trophy presentations.

Certainly, the Penguins will have a much different look next season. Although it seems likely they'll do big new contracts for Malkin, Fleury and Staal, it seems just as likely they'll lose Hossa, Brooks Orpik and maybe Malone to free agency.

Such is life in the new salary-capped NHL.

But no one wanted to hear that last night.

The Penguins couldn't get past the pain of the moment when they finally did leave the ice after offering the traditional congratulatory handshakes to the Red Wings.

On this night and in this series, their best wasn't quite good enough.

They won't get over that pain for a long, long time.

No one -- absolutely no one -- wants to be the forgotten bridesmaid.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on June 5, 2008 at 12:00 am

Magic of Game 5 couldn't carry Penguins

Red Wings' experience turns out to be the deciding factor in series

Thursday, June 05, 2008
By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



PITTSBURGH - JUNE 04: Goaltender Chris Osgood 30 of the Detroit Red Wings dives for a loose puck during game six of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena on June 4, 2008 in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. The Red Wings defeated the Penguins 3-2 to win the Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 2. (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

There is no momentum in hockey. And no Stanley Cup for the Penguins.

The momentum of magical Game 5 surfaced too late last night at Mellon Arena. The hoped-for, if not expected, impetus from the epic three-overtime victory two nights earlier was shoved aside every bit as much by Detroit superiority as it was by anything the Penguins did wrong.

Detroit scored the first two goals on its way to a 3-2 victory to win the best-of-seven series in six games.

Befitting the gallantry of the Penguins, the game was in doubt until the final seconds. Marian Hossa corralled a rebound as the clock was running down and with one hand flipped it across the goal mouth. Unfortunately for the Penguins, Hossa was at such an angle to the goal that he could do nothing but direct the puck in a straight line. It slowly and tauntingly drifted parallel to the goal line and then beyond it as time expired.

The Penguins played well. This was no repeat of the first two games of the final when the Red Wings scored shutout victories. But what was clear, what these six games proved, is that the Red Wings had an edge on the Penguins in most categories. No one likes to hear this but the better team won the Stanley Cup.

That was never more evident than midway through the first period when the Red Wings had the Penguins right where they wanted them: Down three skaters to five for 1 minute, 33 seconds. With two Red Wings in the penalty box and such first-rate talent as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Malone and Hossa on the ice for most of those 93 seconds, the Penguins should have scored. They did not.



Pittsburgh Penguins forward Marian Hossa (18), of Slovakia, reaches in on Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood (30) during the last play in the closing seconds of the third period in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup hockey finals in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

It was a crushing blow, much like it was in the third period of Game 4 when the Penguins had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:26 and did not score.

Max Talbot's tying goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation in Game 5 will be remembered as the high point of this series for the Penguins. The low point will be the team's failure to twice take advantage of 5-on-3 situations. For want of a power-play goal the Penguins faltered and lost.

But this is no time to dissect the strategy of the power play, no time to gripe, no time to be bitter.

The Penguins are an upstart franchise. They made the playoffs last season after finishing last in their division for four consecutive seasons. By comparison, the Red Wings are one of the reigning giants of the NHL. They've scored more than 100 points in each of the past five seasons and led the league four of those years.

The talent level between the teams was slight. The experience was the difference. The young legs of the Penguins could not overcome the experience of the Red Wings.

Defensively, the Penguins simply didn't have the players in front of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury that Detroit had in front of Chris Osgood.

"One of the things we said we had to do was shut down their offense," said Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom. "We knew we had to cut down their scoring chances, especially their first two lines."

The fact the Penguins scored 10 goals in six games is testimony to the success of that strategy.

Nor were the Red Wings short offensively. For all the brilliance of the Penguins young superstars, the best player on the ice in this series -- the winner of the Conn Smythe trophy -- was Henrik Zetterberg of the Red Wings, who operated at an exceptional level on both ends of the ice and had a goal and an assist last night. Zetterberg and Crosby tied for the playoff scoring lead with 27 points.

Traditionally, when the home team loses in championship competition -- especially in Pittsburgh -- a spate of finger-pointing breaks out. There should be none of that with this team. There's no reason for the players or coaches to hang their heads and absolutely no reason for anyone to assess blame. Sometimes the reason for defeat is as simple as the other team was better. That was the case in this series.

"I'm almost speechless," said coach Michel Therrien. "It's tough. We were that close. It's really tough because this is a group that gave what it got. They deserve a lot of respect."

The Penguins did all that could be expected of them this season. They overcame mammoth adversity in the regular season -- major injuries to Crosby and Fleury -- to win their division and finish second in the Eastern Conference. They blew threw the first three rounds of the playoffs, clearly demonstrating they were the best in the East.

Detroit was different.

"I thought we learned real quick because after Game 3 we started to play our game," said Therrien. "They were tight games, could go both ways. Tonight, this game could have gone both ways as well."

Could have, but didn't. It was a disappointing end to an exceptionally successfully season.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
First published on June 5, 2008 at 12:32 am

Effort reveals Gonchar's fire

By Rob Rossi
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 4, 2008



The Penguins' Sidney Crosby hugs Sergei Gonchar after returning for the winning shift in the third overtime in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final at Joe Louis Arena, June 2, 2008.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

He wants this.

He wants this badly.

Who knew soft-spoken defenseman Sergei Gonchar was made of this kind of stuff?

"What I didn't know about him when I first came here was how much he cares," general manager Ray Shero said Tuesday, after Gonchar, stiff from back spasms, returned from a three-period absence and helped orchestrate right wing Petr Sykora's winning power-play goal in a triple-overtime Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final.

"I knew how good he was. You see the goals and stats. But he's much more than that."

He is "Sarge" - a nickname that has followed Gonchar for years - and he is more in charge than anybody outside the Penguins' dressing room knows.

"Right away, I knew that," right wing Marian Hossa said. "I walked into the room on my first day after (a Feb. 26 trade) and I could see how important he was to this team, especially the young players.

"You could see that he commanded everybody's respect."

Teammates believe more accolades are due Gonchar, who was not named a finalist for the Norris Trophy - awarded annually to the NHL's top defenseman - despite ranking second among players at his position with 65 points and improving his plus/minus rating from plus-4 to plus-11.

They believed that long before Gonchar's inspired power-play shift in Game 5.

But that shift, defenseman Brooks Orpik suggested, should be remembered forever by Penguins fans.

"His back was completely packed (with ice), it was killing him," Orpik said, referring to Gonchar's spasms following a nasty, upper body-first collision into the end-zone boards during the third period. "(The coaches) asked him if he could push his way through a power play. He said he'd try it.

"He's the quarterback back there on the power play. It was a gutsy effort."

One that led to the winning goal by Sykora.

"I didn't think about the pain," Gonchar said. "I'm older, and right now all I'm thinking about is that Cup. I want this badly. Everything else -- you kind of put it out of your mind at this point."

Gonchar is expected to play tonight in Game 6 at Mellon Arena.

Gonchar gets criticized in some NHL circles apparently for what - or rather who - he is not: a bruising, shutdown defenseman such as Anaheim's Chris Pronger or a silky-smooth all-around gem such as Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom.

"He's maybe not at Lidstrom's level," said Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Murphy, who won four Cup titles with the Penguins and Red wings. "But there aren't many guys to ever play that have been.

"There aren't a lot of guys that right now that are on Gonchar's level, either."

There are very few who mean more to their team's success.

"He's our glue," defenseman Ryan Whitney said.

Few Penguins are more appreciative of Gonchar's dignified demeanor than their two young stars - captain Sidney Crosby and center Evgeni Malkin, who lives with Gonchar during the season.

Malkin said Gonchar, a fellow Russian who occasionally serves as his translator, is "like family."

Crosby has called Gonchar "probably (the Penguins') most under-appreciated player" due to his quiet nature.

"When you have a calm guy like that, as experienced as he is, it's just contagious," Crosby said. "When you have a leader such as him who is able to have that quiet sense of confidence, it just rubs off on everyone."


Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or 412-380-5635.