Is Our Magical Season Two Days from Done??

If you look at conventional wisdom, yes. First, the numbers( I am too lazy to look them up) against teams who fall behind in the Finals 2-0 are staggering, and the Pens fell behind 2-0 in these finals. The nimbers in favor of the team winning Game 5 winning a playoff series are also somewhat intimidating to read, and the Pens just lost Game 5, BADLY. The Penguins lost their composure as a team, got SHUT OUT, and Marc Andre Fleury's up and down playoffs performance hit bottom(I hope). I admit, as I shut off the TV last night, I had a sick feeling in my stomach, as I truly believed the Pens season would end Tuesday night, and we would again have to endure the Wings hoisting Lord Stanleys Cup on our ice. You just normally dont recover well at this point in the season from a beating such as that. Add to this, the Pens had the opportunity in Detroit to jump ahead with Datsyuk and Draper out, and did not, and the Pens had the Wings on the ropes going into Game 5 and let them off the ropes, and finally the fact that Datsyuk looked like a healthy freah Datsyuk and my gloom seemed well founded.

However, I do not believe the Pens season will end on Tuesday night based on the following:

I said at the beginning of the series that there would be moments you would think the Pens would lose the series......last night was the second time for me.....the first being when the Pens blew a 1-0 lead in Game 3 to fall behind 2-1 at home, already behind 2-0 nothing in the series......and the Pens stormed back and took that game and the next one too;

I know many die hard Wings fans thought the series was over for them the way the Pens dominated them in period 2 of game 4. Several told me so in the hockey chat rooms. and look how that turned out;

Despite the ugly score, it was really a 20 minute meld down in the second period that was the difference......the Pens were playing Detroit pretty even in the first, down 1-0 going into the second period, where they had a major meltdown and gave up 4 goals.

Fluery rarely plays poorly in back to back games;

The home team has won EVERY game in the series thus far:

The combination of home ice, and the will and skill of Malkin and Crosby lead me to believe the Pens will at least defend home ice again, and force a Game 7 in Detroit. Anything can happen in a Game 7. I know, I know, given the history in this series, that would only mean delaying the inevitable..............did you ever just have a feeling?? It took me all night and half of today to get it, but did you ever just believe? I am thinking we may have just experienced the "darkness before the dawn," I sure as hell hope so.

If I am wrong, and we have to watch the Wings skate with our Cup either here or in Detroit, remember a couple of things.......first any one of you who say you would not have bet your house in mid-February that these Pens had NO chance of playing hockey in May, let alone June are liars! Or really crazy.......and second, remember all of the truly exciting moments these guys have provided the past two seasons, and are likely to provide in coming years.......PENS DIE HARD!!!!!!!!