WHAT A GAME!

WHAT A GAME!! June 3, 2008
Last night’s game five of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins was a great example of what a compelling the sport of hockey is and can be. The game had everything (except, of course from my point of view, a Red Wing victory). Speed, hits, critical saves, questionable penalties, beautiful passes and scoring opportunities, a great comeback, blood, guts, players leaving everything out on the ice after nearly 110 breath taking minutes of classic hockey, and a crowd making more noise than I can remember ever coming out of Joe Louis Arena.
The game was also exactly what NBC and the NHL needed. On a night with limited competition on the major networks – sorry but reruns of Two and a Half Men should not count as compelling television, the Stanley Cup Finals gave the world a chance to see the beauty that hockey can be.
The game started with the public belief that the series was almost over, all the Wings needed to do was show up and they would be raising Lord Stanley’s Cup before the home crowd. After handing the Penguins their first home loss in Game 4 since February, most pundits thought the series was basically over. The one group that didn’t buy into this notion was the Penguins. They came out and played a terrific first period, which ended with them leading the Wings 2-0. It was not a very good period for the Wings. They looked a step slow, and made way too many turnovers which led to many opportunities for the Penguins. Against a team like Pittsburgh, when given the chance to bury them, you must take advantage of the opportunity. The team has too many soon-to-be and already stars to allow them any opportunity to gain any confidence.
However, midway through the second period, the tide started to change. Rookie Darren Helm scored a goal for the Wings and they started to dominate play. The crowd really got back into the game and it seemed like everyone was on the edge of their seats. I was watching the game at home and was certainly on the edge of my seat. Both teams had opportunities to score but each goalie made critical saves to keep the score 2-1.
With the start of the third period, the crowd at Joe Louis and Wings fans around the world was hoping that their favorite team could muster one or two more scoring opportunities so that the crowd and the City of Detroit could go home happy. The Wings scored two goals within five minutes and took the lead. All that was left for Wings fans was to count down the final few minutes before Commissioner Bettman would be handing the Stanley Cup to Captain Nick Lidstrom. However the hopes of the team, City and all its fans were dashed when with just 34 seconds left in regulation, the Penguins scored the tying goal. The game went into overtime, and continued into the third overtime period. There were power plays, and close calls, but both goalies kept the puck out of the net. Close to 1:00am eastern time, the Penguins won the game when Petr Sykora slapped a shot over Chris Osgood’s shoulder. It was a great game that was filled with two way action, closes calls, shots off the post, and everything that a hockey fan could want.
The finals first two games were on VS, while the rest of the Stanley Cup finals are on NBC. According to some press reports, last nights game garnered a 4.3 overnight rating and an 8 share. The league is also lucky that the N BA Finals has decided to take almost a week off before starting their “dream match up” series between the Celtics and Lakers on Thursday night. So the NHL will again have the stage to themselves on Wednesday night for Game 6 and hopefully the level of play will again match last nights game and fans and non-fans will see what the NHL really can be.