Elvis Is Going Back to the Burgh!!

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Sykora Nets the Winner while Bugsy puts his nose in the way again

Classic Game 5. Has to rank as one of if not the best games in Pens history.

Hop in the Cordoba, Get in the Fast Lane, or Get Down to Archie's on Carson St for Game 6!!

Notes & Links:

• Who else but Mike Lange for the calls. His call of Talbot's tying goal is perfect.
• Some losers don't think Sykora should have been able to score the winning goal. Why do they insist on this stupidity??
• Mario Trasher Burnside tries to get back Burghers good side.
• Seems like lots of people, including Muir at si.com, are amazed at the Pens fighting spirit. And lots were saying they had to compete harder. Baloney. They were competing hard just couldn't do what they wanted because of Detroit. That's why last night wasn't a total surprise.
  
• What if it was Mario, or Gretzky, or NYC media darling Messier who called his shot instead of Petr Sykora? Movie producers would be fighting to make it. Instead, it's a nice mention.
• Little Mitchy Albom chimes in with a decent but typical story about the despair in Detroit.
• How many writers need to chime in on how difficult it will be for the Pens to keep the team together after this season? We've all heard it, there is nothing new to write. Just sit back and enjoy it while you can.
• The Flower's amazing save just before Sarge hits the boards:

• Talbot's goal with 34.3 seconds left was the latest goal scored in regulation in a Stanley Cup Final game by a team facing elimination.
• The Cup has been won on a goal that went further into OT: Brett Hull's skate in the crease goal that won the Cup for Dallas in 1999.
• Things That Made Me Smile This Morning:
  
• From the Grand Rapids Press: "Get Ready for a Championship Parade Detroit!"
• From the PG:
  "With a little less than six minutes left in the third period, workers rushed down a large corridor of Joe Louis Arena pushing carts of champagne on ice.

  Elsewhere in the bowels of the building, the Stanley Cup was receiving a final white-glove polish."

• Paul Kukla wonders if that was the worst loss in Detroit history.
  
• Game 6 is on.
  

Notes from GameDay #4

• Bucci was on my flight Thursday morning back to Hartford, and no I was not sitting in 17B. He gives a recap of his perfect day: ESPN - Traveling to the 'Burgh brings me back to my hockey roots - NHL
• Some people just can't stop bashing the NHL, no matter what the league does. First off, who cares how many players are made available to the media - nobody cares how difficult the media's job is. And second, would it really have made a difference to the average fan? No, but this guy from the Detroit Free Press makes a big deal of it anyway, because there is nothing else to complain about.
• Winning Game 3 was huge but won't mean too much if they lose Game 4 tonight. Going down 3-1 is not advisable and Petr Sykora agrees.
• After watching Detroit play three games, I wonder how anyone thought this would be a great offensive show that casual fans would be drawn to. The Pens came into the series with the best defensive numbers of any team in the playoffs. And the Wings control the puck so much that it limits what the other team can do. Finally, someone in Canada recognizes this.
• Not all of Michel Therrien's lineup changes have worked in the series, but Sydor played a good game after being out for so long. And perhaps he's regaining his touch. The lethal but makeshift line of Crosby, Hossa and Malkin that he put on the ice after the Wings first goal in Game 3 did a great job of thwarting any momentum the Wings may have gained from the goal.
• I don't understand why everyone is so up in arms about Therrien claiming the Wings are good at obstructing the Pens. First of all, they are, they do it well and more than any other team the Pens have played. Second, this is exactly what every other coach in NHL history has done, including Mikey Babcock. Mike Milbury's labeling of Badger Bob as a "Professor of Goonism" in 1991 was a laughable example of it, but it was no different. And finally, it seemed to work at least early on as the Wings were assessed an interference call early on.
• One guy thinks the NBC production of these Finals is "excellent". I like Pierre McGuire and his commentary from between the benches, but how can a TV production be called excellent if they repeatedly ignore replays (in a sport that is so fast moving that it demands replays to clarify what you saw) in favor of another commercial or in game graphic sponsored by Edge or whoever. If you have a choice, watch the CBC for a great broadcast. Why American networks don't hire Canadians to produce the NHL I have no idea.
• The Ghost of Mr. Muir over at si.com thinks the series will end in 5.
• Maybe the NHL doesn't get the attention it deserves, not because fans aren't interested,but because the media doesn't care to accurately report what happens or maybe even watch the game. This from some jobber at cbs.sportsline.com who thinks he's writing about Brooks Orpik's 4-wipeout shift:
  

  The stint lasted about 45 seconds and came with some five minutes remaining as the Penguins were struggling to protect a one-goal lead against the hard-charging Red Wings.
  

  Actually, the shift came with just over 10 minutes to play and the Pens had a 3-1 two goal lead at the time. And funny enough, the Wings scored a goal a few minutes later. So it wasn't exactly the game changing shift everyone thinks it was.
• Still, it is fun to watch the Wings skate into Orpik and get plastered:

Red Wings @ Penguins 5/28/08 Game 3 Orpik Hits

2008 Stanley Cup Finals will begin Saturday, May 24

NHL.com - 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs

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2008 Stanley Cup Final Schedule


Saturday, May 24 8:00 PM Pittsburgh at Detroit VERSUS
Monday, May 26 8:00 PM Pittsburgh at Detroit VERSUS
Wednesday, May 28 8:00 PM Detroit at Pittsburgh NBC
Saturday, May 31 8:00 PM Detroit at Pittsburgh NBC
Monday, June 2 8:00 PM Pittsburgh at Detroit NBC
Wednesday, June 4 8:00 PM Detroit at Pittsburgh NBC
Saturday, June 7 8:00 PM Pittsburgh at Detroit NBC

You Can Spit Shine Your Shoes, the Pens Are Going Dancing With Lord Stanley!

The Pens absolutely demolished the Filly Flyers this afternoon, 6-0, to clinch a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals vs Detroit or Dallas. The game was reminiscent of game 6 vs the North Stars in the 91 Cup Final and was never in doubt after about 30 minutes of action.

Bucs Fail for 4th Time This Week to Reach .500

Phil Dumatrait walked seven batters in 4 2/3 innings today, leading to a 4-3 win for the Chicago Cubs against the Pirates at chilly Wrigley Field.

Thus, for the fourth time this week the Pirates failed to reach .500 after being a game under at game time. Four of the seven batters Dumatrait walked scored. Adam LaRoche hit a two-run home run for the Pirates in the first inning and added a run-scoring single in the sixth inning.

The Pirates did cool off Alfonso Soriano a bit. The Cub left fielder, who had seven hits, including four home runs, in the first two games of this series, was 1 for 3 with a sacrifice fly today.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08139/882962-100.stm