The Penguins did it again.......left for dead after a horrible performance in Game 5, they deliver a team effort to win in Pittsburgh, forcing a Game 7 in this year's Finals. As I said in Sunday's posts, now that there is a Game 7, ANYTHING can happen. At first glance, again the task looks almost insurmountable. The Pens have played 6 games in the Finals in Detroit over the past two years, losing 5 and winning 1. The game they won, took 3 overtimes to do it, and our last visit resulted in a 5-0 whipping at the hands of the Wings! We have scored 2 goals in three games there in this year's finals and given up 11!! The Wings are 11-1 at home in this year's playoffs. The home team has won every game in this series. There have been 14 Game 7's in Stanley Cup Finals history, and the visiting team has lost 12 of those!! The Pens are the visiting team. Crosby and Malkin despite a red hot post season in general do not have any points at all in the past two games!!
As I think of these things, I wonder, should the Pens even make the trip to Detroit? If you look at all of the above, do they really stand a chance??
God damn right they do!! First, if I were a betting man, I would not want to bet that Crosby AND Malkin would be this quiet for 3 games in a row! Second, the Pens have been to 4 PLAYOFF Game 7's on the road in their history and they are 4-0. Third, in their 4 most recent Cup runs, the Wings have only failed to close out their opponent in two games in which the opponent faced elimination. Game 5 in last years series v the Penguins, and now Game 6 in this year's series. That says a lot about the Penguins character and resolve. It will take an effort for the ages to win this game, but I am betting on Sid the Kid. Think about it. His whole life has essentially been on a collision course for this moment since he was about 4. This is the moment he has been waiting for all of his 21 years, and after falling a bit short last year, I expect Sid the Kid to lead the Penguins all the way to the Holy Grail on Friday night...........or die trying!
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