Sunday, June 21, 2009
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
A fisheye lens for a team in the fish bowl. The Penguins were on the end of seemingly every camera in Detroit after winning Game 7 June 12 in Detroit. Sidney Crosby, left, and Dan Bylsma didn't seem to mind as the team celebrates.
Steelers Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll used to say the hardest part of the Super Bowl seasons of the 1970s was the moment after they handed the Vince Lombardi Trophy to owner Art Rooney Sr. That meant the team's incredible journey was over. For Noll, the journey always was the best part.
So it was for these Penguins.
Was theirs an amazing odyssey or what?
It started on a chilly April night in Pittsburgh when Sidney Crosby banged in the first goal of Game 1 against the hated Philadelphia Flyers. It ended on a warm June night in Detroit when Crosby was presented the Stanley Cup after a 2-1 win against the Red Wings in Game 7 of the final. These memories of the team's fascinating ride will last a lifetime:
• Big hits in Game 1 by Chris Kunitz and Rob Scuderi on the Flyers' Kimmo Timonen and Darroll Powe send a clear early message: Broad Street bullies? Yeah, right.
• Marc-Andre Fleury's toe save on the Flyers' Jeff Carter in Game 2, which was his best save of the playoffs until he robbed Washington's Alex Ovechkin on a breakaway in Game 7, which was his best save until he said no to Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom at the end of Game 7. "You show me a young goaltender that's done what he's done at his age," Penguins general manager Ray Shero says.
• Bill Guerin's winning goal in overtime in Game 2 to beat Philadelphia. Later in the playoffs, little Liam Guerin holds up a sign at Mellon Arena that says it all: "My Dad Rocks! No. 13!"
• Fleury's 45 saves to beat the Flyers in Game 4 in Philadelphia. It brought back great memories of his 55-save effort in Game 5 of the final at Detroit the spring before.
• Max Talbot's one-sided loss in fight with the Flyers' Daniel Carcillo in Game 6. To a man, the Penguins will tell you that ignited their comeback from a 3-0 deficit in their 5-3 win.
• Did you hear the silence? That was from the vulgarity-spewing Flyers fans after Crosby officially turned out the lights on their team's season with an empty-net goal in Game 6. Silence has never been more beautiful.
• Crosby's hat trick in Game 2 in Washington. Yes, it was in a 4-3 loss, but it still was spectacular.
• Evgeni Malkin scores the winning goal in overtime in Game 5 against the Capitals when defenseman Tom Poti knocks the puck into his net. "You need a little luck to win the Stanley Cup," Shero says.
• Sergei Gonchar returns to play Game 7 against the Capitals despite a serious right knee injury from a knee-on-knee hit from Ovechkin in Game 4. "He means everything to our team," defensive partner Brooks Orpik says.
• Fleury's save on Ovechkin. It was so good, it's worth mentioning again.
• Crosby and Craig Adams score eight seconds apart later in the first period of that Game 7 to provide a 2-0 lead and break the Capitals' spirit.
• Ovechkin lines up Malkin for a big hit only to miss and smack teammate Nicklas Backstrom instead. Somehow, that just seemed right.
• As superb as Crosby's first goal in Game 7 is -- he kicked the puck from his right skate to his stick in the blink of an eye -- his final goal in the 6-2 win is even better. He steals the puck from Ovechkin and beats goaltender Jose Theodore on a breakaway.
• A guess at Crosby's message to Ovechkin in the handshake line: "Have a nice vacation, Ovie."
• Jordan Staal wins the opening faceoff against brother Eric of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. It is a sign of things to come; the Penguins take out the Hurricanes in four games.
• Malkin scores twice in 3:35 in the third period to break a 4-4 tie and complete a hat trick in Game 2 against Carolina at Mellon Arena. His third goal is absolutely remarkable. "The Geno," coach Dan Bylsma calls the play. Malkin takes the faceoff, races behind the Carolina net to get the puck, circles around the net to come out in front and, as he's fighting off defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, spins to his left and beats goaltender Cam Ward high with a backhander. "An amazing display of skill," Crosby says.
• Is there anything better than the sight of all of those hats on your team's ice?
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Rock stars? Vladimir and Natalia Malkin, Evgeni's mom and dad, became the honorary first parents of Pittsburgh during the Cup run.
• The sight of Malkin's parents -- Vladimir and Natalia -- kissing in the stands also is adorable.
• Miroslav Satan -- anything but a noted fighter -- wails away at the Hurricanes' Patrick Eaves at the end of Game 2. "Team toughness is sticking together," Bylsma said.
• Crosby and Malkin score goals 31 seconds apart late in the first period of Game 3 in Carolina to break open a 1-1 game. "It's unbelievable. You're lucky to have one [player like that]. We have two," Kris Letang gushes.
• Then, there was the sight of former Steelers coach and current Raleigh, N.C., resident Bill Cowher cranking up the Hurricanes' warning siren before Game 4. He looked like a clown.
• Orpik's hit on old friend Marian Hossa of the Red Wings early in Game 1 sends Hossa flying onto his fanny. Is it me or did that hit all but knock Hossa out of the series? He didn't get a goal in the seven games.
• Fleury, defiantly, after the 3-1 loss in Game 2 in Detroit puts the Penguins in an 0-2 hole: "Nothing is over yet."
• Steelers coach Mike Tomlin on tape on the Mellon Arena scoreboard early in Game 3 of the final: "This is our house! Let's go Pens!"
• Gonchar, playing virtually on one leg, breaks a 2-2 tie in the third period of Game 3 with a power-play goal.
• Staal scores a short-handed goal against the Red Wings in Game 4 and the first goal in Game 6. They might have been the two biggest goals of the series.
• Petr Sykora, playing in Game 6 for the first time in more than five weeks, gives up his body to block a shot, breaking his right foot in the process. Hey, it's what a good teammate does.
• Fleury, who was yanked three days earlier in the 5-0 Game 5 loss, after rebounding and playing brilliantly in the 2-1 Game 6 win: "We're still alive. It's awesome."
• Team owner Mario Lemieux in a text message to each player the morning of Game 7: "Play without fear and you will be successful! See you at center ice."
• Two goals by Talbot -- "This is the best day of my life!" -- and 23 saves by Fleury, including that final one on Lidstrom, make The Boss' promise come true.
• Malkin is handed the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after getting 36 points in 24 games, the most points since somebody named Gretzky had 40 in 1993.
• Crosby, who missed all but one shift after being injured early in the second period, finds the strength to lift the precious Cup after accepting it from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
• Tell me, was Lemieux's smile when he hoisted the Cup even bigger than when he hoisted it as a player in 1991 and '92?
• Bylsma, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Feb. 14 and a Stanley Cup-winning coach June 12, after seeing a photo of himself drinking champagne from the Cup in last Sunday's Post-Gazette: "I can't believe that's me in the picture."
Michael Henninger/Post-Gazette
Marian Hossa was not forgotten in the hoopla that was Penguins' triumph.
• Sign of the day at the mind-blowing victory parade: "Hossa Are You Watching?"
No, the bearded man holding it wasn't nearly as cute as Liam Guerin, but his brilliant work probably best captured the spirit and meaning of the Penguins' extraordinary journey.
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author
First published on June 21, 2009 at 12:00 am
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