Penguins ended their run in the Stanley Cup Finals
By Cindy Ferguson
The first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals were a bit of a nightmare for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they weren’t able to score a single goal at the Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Red Wings home, where they finished 0-4 and 0-3 respectively.
But playing at home and the certainty that this was a must-win game definitely droved Pittsburgh 20 year old captain and star Sidney Crosby to end their 0-7 run and lead his team to their first victory against Detroit, which brings at least some confidence to the players to face rest of the series.
At the end of the first period, Sidney Crosby managed to score the first goal of the game and the second one at the beginning of the second period, giving his team a 2-0 advantage. Then Adam Hall scored the third goal for the Penguins at the middle of the third period and secured the victory. The game finished 3-2 with Johan Franzen and Mikael Samuelson scoring for the Red Wings.
This victory is very important for a Pittsburgh team that has been criticized and underestimated by many due to most of its players are 30 or younger facing up a strong and experienced Red Wings team filled with 30 or older players. Nevertheless, the Penguins intend to last as long as possible on the series. "Even when we were down 3-0 in Detroit, down 4-0, you want to keep pounding them," 27 year old Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said, "You look over there and you see they have a lot of older guys. They're talented guys, but they're getting up there (in age). You want to try to pound on them, especially if it's a long series."
Undoubtedly, Sidney Crosby is the Penguins leader, the man who brought back the hope to his teammates and reminded everyone why his team made it to the finals, and it was not by chance.
Crosby started his professional career when he was selected as the first pick of the 2005 Draft by Pittsburgh. At his second season he earned the three highest individual honors for an NHL forward: the Art Ross Trophy, title given to the top scorer in the NHL, as he finished the season with 120 points becoming the only teenager and the youngest player to win the title; and both the Hart Trophy (MVP determined by the Professional Hockey Writers Association) and the Lester B. Pearson Award (MVP determined by the NHL Players Association) As well, at the age of 19, Crosby became the youngest captain in NHL history, on May 31, 2007.
Game 4 will be next Saturday May 31 also at Pittsburgh Mellon Arena, so the Penguins could have a chance to even the series. This is the first time in sixteen years that the Penguins get to the playoffs finals; their last appearance was in the 1991-92 season when they won their second Stanley Cup Championship.
On the other hand, the Red Wings have 10 Stanley Cup titles in their history, the most recent one won in the 2001-02 season, and last year they also reached the finals losing the series 2-4 to the Anaheim Ducks.
About the Author:
Cindy Ferguson is a high-ranking sports writer for NHL Hockey in the sports betting industry. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.