Sunday, May 18th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
The Pens are headed to the Finals
There was no doubt about it. Mike Lange’s back was scratched with a hacksaw and Elvis left the building in one fell swoop on Sunday afternoon as the Penguins thoroughly defeated the Flyers by a score of 6-0 to head to the Stanley Cup Finals against either Detroit or Dallas. The game was never in any sense of doubt as the Penguins scored early and often, with all of the Penguins’ star forwards getting in on the act.
Marc-Andre Fleury continued his excellent play in net, getting his third shutout in these playoffs. As long as Fleury is good, the Penguins will have a chance against any team. And if Fleury is very good, the Penguins can beat any team. The emergence of “The Flower” has been one of the more interesting processes to watch over the course of his young career, as Fleury went from being someone who folded in the big games (the 2004 World Junior Championships) to someone who saves his best hockey for the playoffs.
The most impressive aspect about this team, though, is their depth, as Ryan Malone scored twice on the powerplay and had an assist, Sidney Crosby had two assists, Pascal Dupuis had a goal, Jordan Staal netted one, Evgeni Malkin got a goal and Marian Hossa had one goal and three assists. As long as there are that many threats on the ice, there is no defense in the league that can expect to match up against the Penguins over the length of a series and shut them down, even one led by Nicklas Lidstrom.
The Penguins were flat-out dominant again, just outgunning, outplaying and out-thinking the Flyers in every facet of the game. This performance was suitable revenge for all of the pain that the Flyers have inflicted on the Penguins throughout the years, proving that one series is actually retribution enough for years of pain. (And I always thought Red Sox fans were lying . . . weird.) The return of Kimmo Timmonen made absolutely no difference, showing that the Flyers would have lost whether they had had him for the full series or not and hopefully preventing any whining out of Philly about injuries.
Today is one of joy all throughout Pittsburgh and rightly so, but, as many Penguins were quick to point out, it is all for naught if they don’t win in the next round. If the Penguins can’t beat the Red Wings or the Stars, the trade for Hossa looks stupid and people will suddenly be wondering what Angelo Esposito would have looked like on Crosby’s wing in three years just like they’ll be wondering what the Penguins could have done with the first round pick that they traded away.
There will be fond memories and a Prince of Wales trophy, sure, but if the Stanley Cup, which is labeled the best trophy in all of sports for a reason, is not won, there will be no one drinking from the Prince of Wales trophy. In four to seven games, this ridiculously entertaining run will be complete and, good or bad, this team will have given all of Pittsburgh memories to savor and maybe, just maybe, have shown this city why the sport of hockey deserves to be saved.
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