By Bob Wojnowski
The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/section/sports
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Detroit
They skated as if lugging the pressure, as if feeling the strain. All night long, the Red Wings kept digging for something that wasn't there, not enough at least, digging right down to the frantic finish. There was one final desperate shot by Nicklas Lidstrom, one final diving save by Marc-Andre Fleury as the clock expired, and then it was over, and the unbelievable, bitter truth was revealed.
And at the end of a long, long run, the Wings ran into an opponent that had more.
DETROIT - JUNE 12: Sidney Crosby(notes) #87 and the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 2-1 to win Game Seven and the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena on June 12, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)More energy, more spunk, more goal scorers. The Penguins defied the odds and pulled a shocker that will resonate around here during a hot, somber summer. The Penguins are Stanley Cup champs, stunning the defending champs 2-1 Friday night in Game 7 and staggering the Joe Louis Arena crowd into utter silence.
The Wings had the experience, the home ice and the remarkable history, but on the biggest night, they didn't get it done. Attempting to become the NHL's first repeat champions in 11 years, they rediscovered what they already suspected -- it's incredibly hard to repeat, and even harder to hold off a hungry young upstart, led by superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
This will haunt the Wings because they had a 2-0 series lead, had several chances to keep the Penguins down, and ended up losing four of the last five games. And in the interest of fairness, this must be said: Ultimately, Marian Hossa chose wrong, picking the Wings over the Penguins last summer, a move that surely inspired the scorned team.
And yes, Hossa was scoreless in the Finals.
"Sometimes you have a tough pill to swallow," Hossa said in the quiet Wings dressing room. "Whether you like it or not, there's lots of pressure. It squeezes you. It's tough, and I tried to battle."
If that wasn't painful enough for Detroit fans, there on the Hockeytown ice was a scene they couldn't bear to watch -- the 21-year-old Crosby lifting the Stanley Cup. He'd limped off with a knee injury in the second period and came back briefly, the price that must be paid to win the Cup.
The Wings know the price, having beaten the Penguins last spring, having won four Cups since 1997. They were the last team to repeat, back in 1998, but this was a far more arduous task, as Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom and other key players battled injuries.
No excuses, of course, but the toll showed.
"I thought we looked out of gas pretty much all series," coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought we competed and I thought we tried. Everyone has injuries. But the guys that were injured on our team never got their game back to the level it could be."
They never reached that level Friday night, that's for sure. They were sloppy, and a turnover by Brad Stuart led to the first of two goals by Maxime Talbot. Jonathan Ericsson stirred hope by scoring with 6:07 left, and then it was a frenzied rush to the finish. Niklas Kronwall clanked a shot off the crossbar with two minutes left as the crowd gasped, but the Wings couldn't get the equalizer.
DETROIT - JUNE 12: Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a save with one second left in the game against the Detroit Red Wings during Game Seven of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena on June 12, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)Malkin was named the playoff MVP, richly earned. The Penguins just wouldn't go away, their young legs always churning, and the Wings seemed to be in a race with time. Would their experience hold up longer than their own weary legs?
By a narrow margin, it didn't. This was a grind for the Wings and they should be profoundly disappointed, but there's no horrible shame in losing to a very good team. The Wings pride themselves on depth and skill. The Penguins have that too, mixed with hunger, and it was enough, just barely enough.
"I'm not stunned, I'm disappointed," goalie Chris Osgood said. "I'm not gonna stand here and make excuses. They beat us, and that's the bottom line. But I know what the guys went through, and what it took to get here. Which is why I'm proud. People take it for granted that you'll win, but it's hard. We nipped them last year and they nipped us this year."
This was the most anticipated sports night around here in a while, the first Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 in Detroit since 1955. For all the winning the Wings have done, they'd never faced anything this tense, a solitary game that was the difference between wild celebration and sad reflection.
It was bulky pressure, and the Wings felt it. Their passing was off, and they seemed a stride or two behind the Penguins.
The old building by the river was lit from the start, and you knew immediately this was a different crowd, and this was a different game. The Wings attacked quickly, as if determined to prove their poor starts were behind them. But Fleury stood tall, and then suddenly, the Penguins countered.
Once Pittsburgh took control, the Wings struggled to keep up. During stretches, the Penguins pressed madly and the crowd shrieked as the pressure grew, and Osgood couldn't hold them off forever.
The Penguins kept coming, tension peeling off their backs. This was the unspoken fear of the Wings, that the Penguins would be looser and quicker, and they were. Early in the second period, Brad Stuart made a mistake, losing the puck to Malkin, who kicked it over to Talbot, who knocked it past Osgood for a 1-0 lead. The air went out of the Joe, and it lifted the Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby(notes), left, helps Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma drink champagne from the Stanley Cup after the Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win Game 7 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Detroit, Friday, June 12, 2009. (AP)
We saw this several times throughout the series. Even though the home team had won every game, the Penguins controlled chunks of play in Games 1 and 2 here, which is why the Wings absolutely couldn't risk a Game 7.
"It's a dream come true, everything you imagined and more," said Crosby, knee aching after the game. "It was so hard watching the clock tick down for that whole third period. But everything it took to win, we did it."
They did indeed, and you know, sometimes karma is bunk. And sometimes it's real. Talbot said before the series that he couldn't wait to shake Hossa's hand and tell him he'd made the wrong decision signing with Detroit. Hossa said he heard nothing harsh after the game, but the under-current always was present -- Hossa's choice might have initially inspired the Wings, but in this matchup, it certainly inspired the Penguins.
They celebrated on Detroit ice for a good long time while the Wings headed to their dressing room, looking stunned. Someone had done to them what they'd done to so many others, skated with amazing passion and never looked back.
It's the spirit of the underdog, and the Wings didn't have it, not as defending champs. There's no shame in failing to repeat, but there should be renewed inspiration now. When the disappointment fades, the Wings must dig deep again to find what was missing.
bob.wojnowski@detnews.com
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