<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<rss version="2.0">
	<channel>		<title>RUWT? News</title>
		<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com</link>
		<description>RUWT? News for Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings 6/13/2009</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
		<copyright>Copyright 2006-2007 areyouwatchingthis.com</copyright>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:10:53 GMT</lastBuildDate>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:10:53 GMT</pubDate>
		<generator>RUWT?</generator>

		
			<item>
				<title><![CDATA[Talbot's 2 lift Penguins to Stanley Cup title]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By IRA PODELL
AP Hockey Writer

DETROIT (AP) --  Slide over Super Mario and make room on the
Stanley Cup for a new batch of Pittsburgh Penguins.

Max Talbot scored two second-period goals, and the Penguins
overcame the loss of captain Sidney Crosby to beat the defending
champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 and win the Cup on
Friday night.

Instead of the Red Wings becoming the NHL's first repeat
champion since winning titles in 1997 and 1998, this turned into
a Penguins party. The last time Pittsburgh was crowned champion,
in 1991 and '92, it was captained by owner Mario Lemieux.

This one wouldn't have been possible without a clutch diving
save across the crease by Marc-Andre Fleury, who denied
four-time champion Nicklas Lidstrom with 1 second left.

"I knew there wasn't much time left," Fleury said. "The rebound
was wide. I just decided to get my body out there and it hit me
in the ribs so it was good."

Fleury was stellar in making 23 saves and erasing the memories
of a 5-0 loss in Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena that put the Penguins
on the brink of elimination. Pittsburgh returned home and gutted
out a 2-1 win, behind Fleury's 25 saves in Game 6, and forced
the winner-take-all matchup.

"When you're playing Game 7 for the Stanley Cup, and you're
playing at home, it makes it tough to lose," Lidstrom said.
"It's devastating when you're that close."

The sting was especially strong for Marian Hossa, who spurned
the Penguins after last year's Cup loss and signed a
less-lucrative, one-year deal with the Red Wings, the team he
thought had the best chance to win.

"Sometimes you make choices. I still had a great year in this
organization," said Hossa, who had no goals in the series. "If
you score one more, you can celebrate, but if not, they're
celebrating. That's life. You just have to move on."

This was Pittsburgh's second championship in four months,
following the Steelers' Super Bowl victory in February.

Jonathan Ericsson cut the Wings' deficit to 2-1 with 6:07
remaining, and Niklas Kronwall nearly tied it with 2:14 left,
but his drive smacked the crossbar. Detroit pressed further
after goalie Chris Osgood was pulled, but Fleury stood his
ground.

His last save started a wild scene that culminated in the
awarding of the Cup.

Crosby took it from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and skated to
center ice before handing it off to Bill Guerin, who joined the
team from the last-place New York Islanders at the trade
deadline and became a champion for the first time since 1995
with New Jersey.

"When I got traded to Pittsburgh, the Pens were in 10th and I
was in 30th," Guerin said. "We came together and bonded
quickly."

Lemieux, the No. 1 pick in the 1984 draft by Pittsburgh,
celebrated on the ice with Crosby - the phenom who has been
living in Lemieux's house since joining the team. The Penguins
are the second team to win two Game 7s on the road, following
their second-round victory against Washington - a series they
also trailed 2-0.

They turned the tables on the Red Wings and captured the Cup on
enemy ice, just as Detroit did in Pittsburgh last year. The
Penguins are the first to win the title the year after losing in
the finals since Edmonton 25 years ago against the Islanders -
the previous finals rematch.

So much for the Detroit dynasty. Not only were the Red Wings
shooting for their second straight title, but their fifth in 12
seasons and 12th overall.

"It is hard for people to believe. We don't take winning for
granted," Osgood said. "We know how hard it is. We do have a
good team but it's very, very difficult to win in this league.
We were pushed every series."

Evgeni Malkin, who led the playoffs with 36 points, won the Conn
Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP. He assisted on Talbot's
first.

Crosby, four years after being the No. 1 selection in the draft,
became the youngest captain of a champion at 21. He played just
one shift after leaving the ice during the second period after
taking a hard hit along the boards from Johan Franzen that left
him unable to walk due to a knee injury.

"It's a dream come true," Crosby said. "It's everything you
imagined and more. I would've loved to do it in four. It would
have been a lot easier on the nerves."

Pittsburgh was 1-5 in Detroit this year and last until Friday.
The Penguins' other victory at "The Joe" was a triple-overtime
win in Game 5 last year that kept them alive. Talbot made it
possible by scoring the tying goal with 35 seconds left in
regulation.

The Penguins are the first team since the 2004 Tampa Bay
Lightning to win the Cup after trailing the series 3-2. They are
the first to take Game 7 on the road after the home team won the
first six games, since the 1971 Montreal Canadiens.

Crosby crumpled against the boards after he was hit and got his
left leg caught. He glided to the bench hunched over and stayed
bent at the waist as he was guided to the dressing room 5 1/2
minutes into the period.

He was limited to two shifts, totaling 2 minutes, 39 seconds of
ice time in the frame, but his teammates doubled the lead while
he was gone. Crosby made it back to the ice midway through the
third period for the one shift.

"It was so painful, being a captain and seeing what the guys are
doing out there blocking shots," Crosby said of the third
period. "You get to the point where you've got to ask yourself
whether you're going to be hurting your team by being out there.
I knew I had everything I could to numb it or try to play
through it.

"At the same time, I'm playing against (Pavel) Datsyuk and
(Henrik) Zetterberg. One misstep and I could cost the guys a lot
of hard work. I didn't want to be the guy who did that."

Uncharacteristic mistakes by the experience-laden Red Wings led
to both Pittsburgh goals.

Malkin, the NHL's leading scorer in the regular season and the
playoffs, forced defenseman Brad Stuart into making a bad pass.
Talbot intercepted the puck in front and fired it between
Osgood's pads at 1:13.

"Max came up with some big goals there," Crosby said. "We don't
get to this point without everyone contributing. I knew the guys
were going to find a way to pull it off."

Talbot snapped a wrist shot from the middle of the left circle
on a 2-on-1 that sneaked in under the crossbar to make it 2-0 at
10:07.

Fleury took care of the rest. He wasn't fazed by Red Wings
crashing the net or screening him or any funky bounces off the
end boards that tortured him in earlier games in Detroit.

Rookie coach Dan Bylsma became the second to win the Stanley Cup
with a team he took over midseason. Bylsma helped rescue the
Penguins from a near-playoff miss by leading them to a 18-3-4
mark after replacing Michel Therrien on Feb. 15.

Bylsma was on the losing side as a player in 2003 with Anaheim
in the last series in which the home team won all seven games.
Those Mighty Ducks were coached by current Red Wings bench boss
Mike Babcock.

"It definitely does fill the void," Bylsma said. "I haven't won
a lot of things since high school. It elevates your career to a
different level.

"When you lift that Cup, Stanley Cup champion will go by your
name forever."

The Red Wings were the overwhelming favorite coming in with four
players on the verge of their fifth Stanley Cup rings. Detroit
had been 11-1 at home in the playoffs.

NOTES: Bylsma is the 14th rookie coach to win the Cup. ... The
last road team to win Game 7 of the championship round in any
major league was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[nhl]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nhl/news/102173-Talbots-2-lift-Penguins-to-Stanley-Cup-title</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nhl/news/102173-Talbots-2-lift-Penguins-to-Stanley-Cup-title</guid>
				<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:38:44 GMT</pubDate>
			</item>
		
			<item>
				<title><![CDATA[Penguins-Red Wings Preview]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[By IRA PODELL
AP Hockey Writer

Pittsburgh At Detroit, Game Seven, 8:00 p.m. EDT

DETROIT (AP) --  Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Osgood and Kirk Maltby
spread out like a perfectly shaped triangle in the Detroit Red
Wings dressing room and tried to explain how Game 7 of the
Stanley Cup finals is really like any other game.

When that seemingly unbelievable message comes from guys who
have championship rings that nearly cover a whole hand it begins
to sound plausible.

"It's hard to really mentally sell it to yourself that it's just
another game, but it is," Maltby said Thursday.

Lidstrom, Maltby, Tomas Holmstrom and Kris Draper are going for
their fifth title in 12 seasons Friday night in Game 7 against
the Pittsburgh Penguins. Osgood is on the verge of a fourth
ring, third as the Red Wings starting goalie.

Detroit had a shot for its second straight Cup on Tuesday night
in Game 6, but fell 2-1 in Pittsburgh. The Red Wings have one
more chance to secure it, and they will try at home where they
are 11-1 in the playoffs - 3-0 in this series.

"It's no different," said Osgood, 15-7 with a 2.00 goals-against
average in the playoffs. "Game 7 is just another game to win the
Cup. That was our Game 7 in Pittsburgh.

"It makes no difference if it's Game 4, 5, 6, or 7. If you can
win the Cup, you've got the exact same type of game. The only
difference is they have a chance now, too."

That depends on whom you ask.

The home team won each of the first six games. The Penguins went
1-2 at Joe Louis Arena in last year's finals and have been
outscored 11-2 in three losses in this series.

Given the chance to practice in Detroit on Thursday, Penguins
coach Dan Bylsma decided the upside wasn't enough to sacrifice
another day at home. The Penguins skated one last time in
Pittsburgh before flying to Detroit.

"I didn't think a seventh time or an eighth time ... was going
to show us one thing about the boards that we didn't already
know," Bylsma said. "I thought staying home would give us a
better chance to be more focused and more prepared in our
routine."

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby has been bottled up by forward
Henrik Zetterberg, who hits the ice pretty much every time
Crosby does, and hasn't scored a goal in six finals games in
Detroit.

Crosby and teammate Evgeni Malkin, who led the NHL with 113
points in the regular season, went pointless in the Game 6 win.
That was Pittsburgh's first postseason victory since the dynamic
duo joined the team in which neither star got on the score
sheet.

The Penguins can't expect to dethrone the Red Wings in Detroit
if Crosby and Malkin are blanked again.

"I'd always like to score more," said Crosby, who has a goal and
two assists in the series. "I look back, and on some of the
chances I've had just didn't really get a whole lot of luck. Now
is not the time to think about what could have been. The only
way I'm looking at here is it's a great opportunity, and I've
got to try to go out there and play my best game in the
playoffs.

"No matter what's happened before, whether I had one goal or 10,
doesn't really matter."

History strongly favors the Red Wings heading into the final
game of the season. Home teams are 12-2 in championship Game 7s
and have won 80 of the 128 playoff series that have gone the
distance (62.5 percent).

While the Red Wings have a wealth of overall experience and lots
of practice in hoisting the Cup, compared to the Penguins -
whose championships came well before this group was in
Pittsburgh - they haven't played a finals Game 7 with Detroit.

Defenseman Brian Rafalski, a Michigan native, went through it
twice with New Jersey. He was on the short end in 2001 against
Colorado, and came out on top two years later against Anaheim,
which was coached by current Red Wings bench boss Mike Babcock.

The Red Wings are 12-7 overall in Game 7s, but haven't played
one in the finals since 1964 and haven't hosted a decisive game
with the Cup on the line since 1955 - a 3-1 victory over
Montreal.

"I am sure there will be some butterflies early on, especially
here in the room before you hit the ice," captain Lidstrom said.
"Once you start playing, you are so focused on what you have to
do and your assignments out there. I think that will go away."

Ruslan Fedotenko is hardly a star for the Penguins, but his
voice carries a little farther these days. In 2004, Fedotenko
scored both goals for Tampa Bay in Game 7 and helped the
Lightning complete a comeback from a 3-2 series deficit against
Calgary and win the Stanley Cup.

Pittsburgh is trying to repeat the feat.

"I will have my moment, and I will talk to the team before the
game," Fedotenko said. "We won at home. We forced Game 7, and it
gave us the opportunity to play for the Cup, gave us a chance to
win. Right now we'll take that.

"We've been successful in probably the first 10 minutes in each
game. I feel like we've come out pretty strong ... but I feel
like we need to find a way to put in 60 minutes of that. I'm
sure if we do that, we'll have a chance to win."

That opportunity was lost in Game 5 when the series was tied
2-2. The Penguins started well, but failed to score on an early
power play. That was the jump that propelled the Red Wings to
the 5-0 victory that put them one win away from their 12th
Stanley Cup title.

That is the only game in the series decided by more than two
goals.

"We wanted to finish them off early, but the two teams have been
so even and playing so well at home that there haven't been big
differences between the two teams," Lidstrom said. "In a way it
might be fitting that the top two teams are playing a Game 7."]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[nhl]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nhl/news/101988-Penguins-Red-Wings-Preview</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nhl/news/101988-Penguins-Red-Wings-Preview</guid>
				<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:27:09 GMT</pubDate>
			</item>
		
	
			
	</channel>
</rss>









