Today is a dark day in Detroit. The Detroit Red Wings lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, 2-1. The Penguins won their first Stanley Cup since 1992, and became the first team in professional sports to win a championship in a Game 7 on the road since the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Orioles in Baltimore in Game 7 of the World Series 30 years ago. The Wings came up just short in their bid to win back-to-back Stanley Cups for the second time in the last 12 years. But let’s be clear on one thing: Ricky Bobby didn’t know what he was talking about. The Wings may not have won the Cup, but they had a great run and did Detroit proud.
The Wings seemed to sleep-walk through the first 35 minutes of this game. It didn’t help that Marc-Andre Fleury was a wall in net, making several big saves. Maxime Talbot scored two goals in the second period, the first on a Brad Stuart give-away, and the second on a beautiful wrist shot over Chris Osgood’s left shoulder on a two-on-one. The Red Wings put an all-out assault on the Pens net the last 25 minutes of the game, but were not able to tie the score. Jonathon Ericsson scored from the point with just over 6 minutes left to make it 2-1, but Henrik Zetterberg rang a shot off the crossbar with under a minute and a half left, and Fleury made a couple big saves with under 5 seconds remaining on the clock, the last a lunging save as he dove across the crease to stop a Lidstrom shot.
Marian Hossa is already taking criticism and cheap shots for signing with the Wings in the offseason after losing in the Cup Finals last year with Pittsburgh, but I don’t think that anyone can fairly attack his decision or deem it a bad one considering the guy came a shot off the crossbar away from possibly winning a Stanley Cup. Sure, his old team beat the Wings, but I don’t think the guy can be second-guessed. No team has a better chance of winning a Cup year in and year out than the Red Wings. And just a few years ago, Pittsburgh was on the brink of losing their hockey team. Of course, with a core of Crosby, Malkin and Fleury, if the Pens can keep their youngsters together they will be good for several years. But the Red Wings also have a tremendous core of young players, and all reports have Hossa signing a long term contract with the Wings soon. I doubt that the Game 7 loss will change that. If Hossa stays in Detroit, he will have more chances at getting his Slovakian hands on that elusive Cup.
It will be an interesting off-season for the Wings. The bulk of their roster should be coming back. However, they have some aging players whose fates next year are unclear. Of course, Chris Chelios’ career with the Wings should be over. I like the guy as a player and respect what he’s done, but he should be drinking prune juice and playing shuffleboard instead of taking up a roster spot. Captain Nick Lidstrom is still playing at a high level and should have at least one more good year left in him, but he is approaching the age of 40, and he does not strike me as someone who will hang around as a Black Ace until he is 64 like Chelios. He will probably retire while he is still playing at a reasonably high level. Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper and Tomas Holmstrom are all nearing the end of wonderful careers, and Brian Rafalski may only have one or two more decent seasons up his sleeve. Chris Osgood played tremendous hockey throughout the playoffs, but he will undoubtedly think long and hard this offseason about whether or not he wants to return for another season which can easily exceed 100 games if the Wings make another run in the playoffs.
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