Penguins 2, Red Wings 1

THE PENGUINS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!

Fleury rose to the challenge. The team played as a team. Sid got hurt and they still held on. I went looking to see if anyone logged more ice time since Sid was out - besides Geno and Jordan, the truth is that everyone did their part.

They won it as a team.

First period:

The Wings came out with a fire lit under their collective butts. They threw everything at the Pens early on, but couldn't beat Fleury. This was due to a combination of great team defense and good luck bounces.

As the first went on, the Pens were able to turn the tide and earn the momentum. They earned several good chances, but like the Red Wings, they weren't able to convert on them.

The Pens had one power play chance in the first, and while they had several excellent chances, they were unable to beat Osgood.

Second period:

Just one minute into the second period, Max Talbot changed things for the Pens. He took advantage of a (possible) missed icing call when Orpik dumped the puck in. Geno forced the turnover when the puck deflected off of his skates straight to Talbot. Max used the skates of the defense as a screen and beat Osgood going five-hole. 1-0 Pens!!!

Things turned bleak in a hurry. Sid was injured on a hit by Franzen that was amazingly not called interference. Just as we were all worried about how the Pens would win without Sid, Hal Gill took a penalty. The police had to increase security on the area bridges instantly.

Things weren't as bleak as they appeared, however. The Pens weathered the storm, and just two minutes later, things cleared up even more. Chris Kunitz won a battle on the boards when Stuart pinched. That sprung Talbot on a two-on-one (don't remember who it was with). Talbot picked the top corner over Osgood's shoulder, putting the Pens up 2-0!!!

The remainder of the second period was a fire drill. No joke. Get the puck out of the zone, change lines and start all over again.

Third period:

The Wings brought it all period long. The Pens spent too much time in their own zone. You had to think things would go wrong.

You'd be wrong.

Fleury had some help from his shot-blocking defense and the crossbar, but he made one more HUGE save with less than two seconds remaining on Lidstrom. Flower lunged to his left and sealed the cup victory for the Pens.