It All Comes Down To This...

I have said this multiple times, but it does not get any better.

While I counted myself among the skeptics once the 2009 Stanley Cup Final became a rematch of last year's six-game duel between the Penguins and Red Wings, I have been pleasantly proven wrong so far. This series has been downright incredible.

It's easy to pick the obvious storylines--Sidney Crosby's relative ineffectiveness in the first three games to Pavel Datsyuk's noted absence from the Detroit lineup, but the grand scheme is a remarkable one. Series like this do wonders for the game of hockey, and no one in the league office will complain when Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get some more air time.

Last night's Game 6 in Mellon Arena successfully blended together every element of exciting and enthralling hockey. The Penguins were on their heels early in the first period, but after Marc-Andre Fleury's point-blank save on Henrik Zetterberg, the home team settled down. After the first period, the Penguins owned a 12-3 shot advantage. But they had nothing to show for it in a 0-0 tie. Chris Osgood made momentum-halting saves on Ruslan Fedotenko and Crosby late in the first to carry his team into the locker room.

As playoff hockey usually goes, the unsung heroes led the way for the Penguins in this one.

Third-line center Jordan Staal opened the scoring in the first minute of the second period, burying his own rebound on a 2-on-1 rush. It appeared the floodgates would open for Pittsburgh, but Osgood stood just as tall. He stopped Max Talbot's deceptive backhand shot before robbing Bill Guerin on the door step. Osgood's stability between the pipes kept Detroit in the game while they were skating on tired legs.




The Penguins killed off multiple Red Wings power plays and took a 1-0 lead into the third period. Detroit countered hard in the opening minutes, but Pittsburgh's push back was equally strong. And again, the third line was responsible for the game-winning goal.

Matt Cooke took a drop pass from Staal behind Osgood and reversed the puck to Tyler Kennedy, who was waiting on the far post. Kennedy crept in front of the net and stuffed a tight-angle shot behind Osgood and put his team in control with a 2-0 lead.

But the ice would tilt again.

Center Kris Draper cashed a rebound from Nick Lidstrom minutes later to cut the deficit in half for Detroit, and Malkin took a cross-checking penalty soon after. The Red Wings peppered Fleury, but his defense swallowed up multiple shots from the point and effectively cleared the zone four times.

Pittsburgh felt the heat in the final 90 seconds with Osgood on the bench for an extra attacker. Most of the Red Wings' third-period attempts came in the final minutes, pushing hard for the tying goal. Defenseman Rob Scuderi made three straight saves in the crease while Fleury scrambled to get back into the net, leaving Red Wing forward Johan Franzen befuddled.

In theory, Scuderi made more key saves than his netminder, who only faced eight shots in the first two periods. But again, this is what makes playoff hockey both beautiful and chaotic: guys will sell out and do everything to get their name etched on the Stanley Cup.

Friday night, we will know whose names get the honor.