The title of this post is a reference to the commentary of the Penguins legendary, high-octane announcer Mike Lange:
Lange has given us some gems over the years, from "Get in the fast-lane grandma, the bingo game's ready to roll!" to "He smoked him like a bad cigar!" to, on the occasion of the Pens' first Cup victory, "Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, get me the brandy!" And he had reason to celebrate again last night, as the Penguins atoned for last year's loss to the Red Wings by taking an exciting Game 7 2-1.
It is a great story for these young Penguins (who, by the way, the announcers did not constantly refer to as "too young to know any better" - hopefully that moniker is never heard again in NHL broadcasting unless, for some reason, a Timbits Hockey team takes on the Leafs, Senators, Lightning or any other team they may have a chance against).
First of all, there is the NHL's wonderboy Sidney Crosby becoming the youngest captain to lift the Stanley Cup. And he was the main reason that the Penguins even survived the first and second rounds, carrying the team on his shoulders against the Flyers and Capitals. He led the playoffs with 15 goals and finished second to teammate Evgeni Malkin with 31 points.
Malkin emerged as a playoff force, leading the playoffs with 36 points and becoming the first Russian to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy - which, incidentally, he can place on his mantle next to the Art Ross Trophy he earns this year for leading the league in scoring in the regular season.
Malkin turns 23 this year, and Crosby will be 22 by the time the 2009-10 season starts. These guys haven't even hit their prime yet, and seem poised for many years of greatness with the Penguins.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was excellent in Game 7, and shook the label of not being able to win the big game (hmm, I wish another French-Canadian goalie would do the same thing). Grinder Max Talbot emerged as the Stanley Cup hero, scoring both goals for the Penguins. And the Pens played a solid team game to defeat the very talented Wings.
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins, your 2009 Stanley Cup Champions.
And congratulations to the NHL's marketing department for producing this commercial, which captures some of the heartbreak of the Penguins to the Red Wings in last year's Final and somehow makes this year's victory seem all the sweeter for them:
Here's hoping they'll pull off something similar with the Canucks and Roberto Luongo this coming October, and the Canucks will proceed to knock off the Blackhawks in the Conference Final.
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3 comments:
I'm honestly still in shock the Penguins won and how they did it. No ridiculous 50 save performance by Fleury, no 'bad call against the Wings' that turned the tide, no enormous game from Crosby, Malkin or Gonchar. They just beat the Red Wings in Detroit through hard work.
I've got to wonder if we may see a changing of the guard now, with Pittsburgh becoming the leagues top franchise. Certainly the Penguins look much better built for the future than the Red Wings. Or maybe it's just a blip on the Red Wings massively impressive resume. Either way, Marian Hossa has terrible intuition.
Agreed with Jordan: Hossa must feel mighty unintuitive. This summer, still looking for the strongest contender, he resigns with the Penguins, but this time they have the misfortune of losing their title to Vancouver.
@Jordan - Yeah I agree. I was honestly expecting some sort of legendary, superhuman performance from Crosby or maybe Malkin. I didn't really expect it from Max Talbot.
Even though I picked the Pens to win, I did that based on a gut feeling not a logical thought process. I think Detroit was overall a more talented/balanced/experienced team, but like you said Pittsburgh seemed to want it more when it really mattered.
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