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Playoff Main Page | Cup Finals Schedule
A quick glimpse at game seven courtesy Hockeytalk's band of columnists/usual suspects: DENNIS BERNSTEIN (PICKED PITTSBURGH IN 6): All the pressure is on the Wings. They've had leads of 2-0 and 3-2 and couldn't eliminate the plucky Pens. Major heat on Marian Hossa if he doesn't produce in Game 7. Detroit GM Ken Holland might have second thoughts about that multi-year contract sitting on his desk for Hossa if the player doesn't deliver. The Pens have matched the Wings forward line depth and defense through six games, so it's time for G Marc-Andre Fluery to finally stand up and play great at the Joe. On a late 3rd period power play goal, Pittsburgh wins 3-2. Fleury wins the MVP. KAREN FRANCIS (PICKED PITTSBURGH IN 6): The Red Wings have been stifling to opposing teams at home. If they are able to rattle the Penguins and get them off their game, as they did in Game 5, a repeat can be theirs. The odds are not in Pittsburgh’s favor, but the Penguins have the motivation of not wanting to see Detroit hoist the Cup in front of them for the second year in a row. If they stick to their game plan and execute well, they have a solid chance. Winning on Detroit’s ice would be doubly rewarding. JOSH BREWSTER (PICKED DETROIT IN 7): The Penguins will win game seven if they can do what they did in their three home games, 3, 4 and 6. That is, stifle Detroit's efforts to attack the slot in Pittsburgh's defensive zone, clogging passing lanes and sacrificing their bodies in front of Marc-Andre Fleury to contain the likes of Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary and Darren Helm. The Red Wings will emerge victorious if Pavel Datsyuk, Cleary and Henrik Zetterberg can be matched against Sid Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, a matchup that Detroit has owned. IVO JASCHICK (PICKED DETROIT IN 6): Last year Detroit won in six. This year it will depend on whether Crosby & Malkin will feed the offense with assists and goals. Together with Guerin - looking for his second and likely final Cup, the Penguins are even in the offensive department compared with Zetterberg, Franzen and returning Datsyuk. On defense the Red Wings seem to be a little bit better with Lidstrom & Rafalski vs. Letang & Gonchar. In goal, Chris Osgood is more experienced than his young counterpart Marc-Andre Fleury, who can be excellent. Despite my Wings pick, it looks like Pittsburgh will gain the first road win of this series. Detroit Coach Mike Babcock: "I thought they were better than us, though, at the start of the game, probably, for the first almost 32 minutes. They won more races and more battles, had more play, were on top of us more, and they kept us to the outside. I thought we started to build some momentum at the end of the second period, and then obviously we had a good third period." Pittsburgh Coach Dan Bylsma: "...Petr Sykora can get his puck on the stick and shoot it in the net. Turns out tonight he can block the shot and get it out as well. That's why Petr played, was to get that one chance to shoot the puck but he added in other ways tonight. I think I juggled the lines a fair amount at different times. But with Max Talbot killing penalties, then sometimes that gives a guy who is on our fourth line a chance to play on that second line with Geno and Fedotenko. Different things go into those line combinations. But I didn't think it was out of the order for what we normally do. "Rob Scuderi doesn't go unnoticed for our team. He gets more notoriety for doing the job he's done in the playoffs against guys like Ovechkin and Staal. But he's a steady defender, he dives in front of a puck. He'll pay the price in the corners to get a puck out or make a play defensively. He's also excellent on the penalty kill. He's charged with our match?up situation on a lot of nights, and that's something you can't really put a value on if you're not really there in the trenches with him. He's a big part of our team, and a big part of our defensive corps. And a lot of nights sets the tone for how we play defense."
On Dan Cleary's breakaway opportunity and game seven: "You know, I knew that could be a turning point if I could make the save. At first I was kind of thinking about forechecking, but I tried to be patient and wait for him to make the first move, and I got a piece of it...It's a great opportunity...Since I'm young I've been dreaming about making a save on a breakaway for the Cup. So to have a chance like this to get that thing, it's awesome." On confidence: "I think I've learned throughout my years that it doesn't matter how many goals you give up in a game. I think it's a matter if you lose, you lose. So it doesn't matter if I give one or five. So I try to forget about it. Put it in the back, and next day come to the rink with a smile on, try to be positive and confident for tonight's game."
On the emergence of role players in game six: "We lean on each other, and in a big game like this, TK, Staalsy, they've come up with some big goals, and those role players so to speak, they get big plays, and we've depended on them all season long." On Dan Cleary's breakaway opportunity: "Well, you don't like seeing their team have a breakaway like that. But you know what, I think myself, like a lot of guys, we expected Flower Fleury to stop it the way he was playing tonight. You know, he saved us many times, but we have all the confidence in the world. So not going to say I like seeing it. But I had all the confidence in the world that he was going to make that stop." On game seven: "(I've thought about it) probably hundreds of times. Like every kid growing up, you play street hockey, you play in the outdoor rinks, you always dream of that opportunity. I've watched Game 7 on TV, and you dream of making it to the NHL, but that's always something that sticks out is playing for the Cup in Game 7. So like I said, we've got an amazing opportunity here."
On whether the Penguins were more physical than the Wings in game six: "No, we expected them to play the way they did. No that we responded well as a team. We had our chances, but we couldn't capitalize on our chances to get that second goal." On home ice: "That's one of the reasons why you want to finish high in your own Conference to get that home ice advantage. Now we have it in Game 7."
On Fleury: "He came up with the saves when they needed it. There was a lot of pressure in the first and the second, and in the third as well, and he made some really big saves that definitely helped him out. But I think everybody on their team played really well tonight. It was just the whole team was ready to go." On home ice: " You know, going back home I think we're feeling pretty comfortable. We've won at home quite a bit. You know, they've won some big games on the road, too, when they needed. So it's going to be a big game. We have these couple days to get ready." Hockeytalk news and notes: Facts and
figures courtesy NHL media releases:
Only twice has a team hosted a game six, then won a Stanley Cup at the opponent's building. Will the Red Wings hold serve at home, continuing the trend set by Carolina ('06), New Jersey ('03), the NY Rangers ('93) and Edmonton ('87)? Will the Penguins make like the '71 Canadiens and pull off the shocker?
* Games 6 and 7 played in Detroit (New York's Madison Square Garden unavailable due to circus)
All-Time Results,
Stanley Cup Final Game 7
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Marc-Andre
Fleury:
Sidney
Crosby:
Nick
Lidstrom:
Darren
Helm:
