10:05 p.m.- The 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings pose at centre ice for the classic team photograph. Dominik Hasek looks so happy that you would think that he actually got a win in the 2008 playoffs. CBC breaks to commercial and announces that it will have more post-game analysis and interviews. With that, the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs and this live blog come to a glorious end.
10:02 p.m.- Did I just see Justin Abdelkader hoisting the Cup? Didn’t he play the entire season with Michigan State University? Regardless, he gets his name on the Cup.
9:58 p.m. The Red Wings are still skating around the ice with the Cup over their heads.
Writer’s Note: Okay, it’s been eight minutes of this now. I mean it’s nice to see Winnipegger Darren Helm hoisting the Cup but enough is enough. Okay,now the players who haven’t played in two months are skating with the Cup. Hasek, Quincey, Meech, Kopecky. CBC announces that each player is going around the ice with the Cup for the second time.
9:50 p.m.- In true National Hockey League tradition, each Red Wings player now has the opportunity to skate around the Mellon Arena ice with the Cup. Lidstrom gets the first skate, then passes the Cup to Dallas Drake, a 16-year veteran of over 1,000 games who wins his first ever Stanley Cup championship.
9:49 p.m. Commissioner Bettman presents the Stanley Cup to Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom becomes the first European captain to hoist the Stanley Cup.
9:47 p.m.- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announces that Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg is the 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner, awarded to the best player in the playoffs.
Writer’s Note: Zetterberg really deserved this award. 27 points, the Stanley Cup game winning goal. It really wasn’t close. These were Zetterberg’s playoffs.
9:46 p.m.- The Pittsburgh Penguins salute their hometown fans and prepare to enter what promises to be a very quiet dressing room.
9:42 p.m.- Chris Osgood makes a stop with only seconds left, and as he is outstretched on the Pittsburgh ice, Marian Hossa tips the puck in as the time clock expires. THE DETROIT RED WINGS ARE THE 2008 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS. *** STAY TUNED FOR LIVE POST GAME COVERAGE.
9:37 p.m. 1:27 left in the Third Period- With goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury pulled for the extra attacker, Marian Hossa tips a Sergei Gonchar slapshot to bring the Penguins within one goal. The Mellon Arena crowd goes bonkers! Detroit now leads Pittsburgh 3-2 and suddenly Pittsburgh has life. Could we see another Pittsburgh last minute miracle goal?
9:35 p.m.- 18:13 of the Third Period- Malkin wrists a good shot on net which is stopped by Osgood. Jiri Hudler is called for a minor hooking penalty.
Writer’s Note: Hold on. This could be interesting.
9:33 p.m. 3:45 left in the Third Period- The shots in the Third Period- Detroit 12 Pittsburgh 1
Writer’s Note: Wow. 12-1. Complete domination by Detroit. Pittsburgh looks tired and demoralized. Just over three minutes left.
9:31 p.m.- 14:00 into the Third Period- Pittsburgh is pressured in their own zone by a tenacious Red Wings forecheck. The Penguins have no chance at tying this game up if they can’t even get out of their own zone.
9:28 p.m.- CBC shows a live feed from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, the hometown of Daniel Cleary. Should Detroit win this game, Daniel Cleary would become the first player from Newfoundland to have his name on Lord Stanley’s grail.
9:23 p.m.- CBC shows Phil Pritchard, the “keeper of the Cup”, as he rolls with the Stanley Cup, the oldest and prettiest trophy in professional sports.
9:17 p.m.- Mass Hysteria as it looks like Marc-Andre Fleury covers Henrik Zetterberg’s tricky wrist shot. However, after we are shown the video replay, we see that the puck trickled in through his pads. Detroit regains their two-goal lead with 12:28 left in the Third Period. Zetterberg scores his 13th goal of the postseason. Datsyuk and Kronwall get the assists.
Writer’s Note: A huge goal for Detroit. I really thought Fleury had that covered. Then, I thought Datsyuk tipped it in from the side. It turns out that the puck just sat there and Fleury put it in his own net.
9:14 p.m.- 5:23 into the Third Period- Pittsburgh is having a difficult time with their shoot-ins into the Red Wings zone. Lidstrom and Kronwall will spit those out like pinball machines if they don’t start getting the puck deeper.
9:11 p.m.- 3:30 into the Third Period- Hossa and Malkin start to turn around Pittsburgh’s fortunes with a couple of great individual efforts but they fail to get any shots on goal.
9:10 p.m.- 1:20 into the Third Period- A sluggish start from the Pittsbugh Penguins. Zetterberg has a good chance when he spins around in front of M-A Fleury but his shot goes way wide.
9:06 p.m.- Before the Third Period begins, CBC shows footage of Kris Draper winning face-offs at the 1990 World Junior Hockey Championships.
Writer’s Note: Draper was also traded to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a one dollar bill. A genius move courtesy of the Winnipeg Jets.
8:54 p.m.- Second Intermission….. NBC’s Heineken Light Intermission Report: Bob Neumeier, Mike Milbury and Pierre McGuire. Neumeier begins by previewing the upcoming U.S. Open golf tournament then talks about Detroit’s 2nd goal. YAWN. I switch my television to CBC and am indifferent when I see Ron MacLean, Craig Simpson and Kelly Hrudey sitting on their barstools. No After 40 Minutes? No Special Guest Interview? The only reason why I’m going to keep my television locked to CBC is because Simpson and Hrudey happen to be well-spoken when it comes to analyzing hockey.
8:50 p.m.- The second period ends with Pittsburgh looking like the hungrier team.
Writer’s Note: Pittsburgh SHOULD be the hungrier team right now. They are down 2-1 and have one period left to even this game up. If Pittsburgh can play anywhere near the way they played over the last five minutes in the 3rd period then we should be in for another great finish.
8:47 p.m.- The Hossa-Crosby-Malkin line is looking pretty pretty pretty good right about now. 8:45 p.m.- Franzen and Orpik each get called for minor roughing penalties.
8:44 p.m.- Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stops a barrage of shots, including an outside chance from Johan “The Mule” Franzen.
Writer’s Note: Fleury is looking more confident out there now that Pittsburgh has broken Osgood’s goose egg.
8:42 p.m.- 16:13 of the Second Period- Gary Roberts takes a high-sticking penalty.
8:41p.m.- 15:26 of the Second Period- Evgeni Malkin scores on a low shot that goes through Chris Osgood’s legs. Malkin gets his 10th goal of the 2008 NHL Playoffs and his first goal in six games. Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa pick up the assists on the goal. That was a tick-tack-toe goal from Pittsburgh’s three best players. Picture perfect.
Writer’s Note: See Evgeni score. Malkin breaks a brutal slump and the Penguins are back in the game. Malkin looks relieved as he should be. The Hart Trophy candidate can breathe a little easier now.
8:39 p.m.- Datsyuk’s penalty was for interference.
8:37 p.m. 14:22 of the Second Period- Pavel Datsyuk gets called for a penalty. We’ll find out what this mysterious call is all about after this Subaru commercial is over.
8:35 p.m. Pittsburgh’s Gary Roberts looks like Paul Henderson out there as he has a great chance in close on Osgood. Roberts had a Red Wings player draped all over him on that chance. Osgood makes a fantastic save and the play is called shortly after on a high-stick.
8:32 p.m.- 13:00 into the Second Period- Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa are moving the puck well in the Detroit zone as Pittsburgh is puting on some of their best pressure so far this period. Crosby appears from behind the net and feeds Whitney a great pass but Osgood makes a tremendous save.
Writer’s Note: A huge save by Osgood. Colossal. Hossa and Crosby need to start doing more of that and less of whatever they have been doing the rest of the game.
8:25 p.m. 8:07 of the Second Period- Marc-Andre Fleury gives up a juicy rebound off of a Mikael Samuelsson shot and Valterri Filppula makes no mistake about it as he sends the puck to the back of the net. Filppula gets his 5th goal of the playoffs and gives Detroit a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Writer’s Note: I’m not sure if Fleury thought his defenseman would clear that rebound but that was not good. Filppula was given a gift there by Fleury.
8:21 p.m.- NBC’s Pierre McGuire, in his usual hyper-intense style, narrates a hit package for the American fans. He appears especially excited as he watches bodychecks from Brad Stuart and Andreas Lilja.
Writer’s Note: Why do I keep switching over to NBC?
8:19 p.m.- 6 minutes into the Second Period- Detroit is skating confidently in the Pittsburgh zone. Mikael Samuelsson absolutely cranks Gary Roberts along the half boards.
Writer’s Note: Pittsburgh still hasn’t found their comfort level in this game. Detroit’s fast, skilled forwards continue to pressure Pittsburgh’s defensemen in their own zone and Pittsburgh just can’t break out effectively.
8:15 p.m. 3:36 into the Second Period- Gonchar and Whitney pass the puck around at the blueline and Gonchar wires a shot wide. Pittsburgh has better sustained pressure on this power play but still fails to put the biscuit in the basket.
Writer’s Note: Sidney Crosby looks injured on the bench after getting nailed by Wings defenseman Brad Stuart.
8:13 p.m.- 20 seconds into the Pens Power Play- Ryan Malone repeatedly jabs at the pads of Wings goalie Chris Osgood after a hard point shot by Gonchar is handled impressively.
8:12 p.m.- 2:06 into the Second Period- Ryan Malone has a decent scoring opportunity but fails to get a shot off. Andreas Lilja gets called for a slashing penalty.
8:11 p.m.- The Penguins do a nifty job of keeping the puck deep in the Wings zone early on, but fail to create any scoring chances.
8:10 p.m.- The CBC Sports HD Logo is plastered on the screen and the 2nd Period is underway.
8:01 p.m.- CBC shows a replay of the Game 3 press conference where Maxime Talbot praises the intensity and passion of Gary Roberts.
Writer’s Note: I think Don Cherry has found the new Doug Gilmour. CHERRY LOVES GARY ROBERTS.
7:58 p.m.- During the first intermission, CBC has Don Cherry and Ron MacLean in the Coach’s Corner. Cherry rolls a Sidney Crosby diving reel, illustrating how the young phenom is not given the star treatment by the league’s officials. I quickly switch over to NBC. After 5 seconds of watching Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury wax poetic, I switch back to CBC.
7:53 p.m.- The first period ends rather uneventfully. Detroit has a 1-0 lead on Pittsburgh after the opening frame. Shots in the period: Detroit 9 Pittsburgh 8 *****Stay Tuned for Period 2…..
7:50 p.m- Brooks Orpik takes a clearing shot off the ear.
Writer’s Note: Ouch. Bob Cole and Greg Millen remind us that a lot of the players are playing hurt and/or with injuries. Is this the History Channel?
7:47 p.m. 2:37 left in the First Period- Daniel Cleary, the pride of Newfoundland, gets a spin-around shot on the Penguins net which seems to surprise Fleury.
7:43 p.m.With 5 minutes left, I switch my television feed over to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). Eddie Olcyzk, color commentator and former head coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins, is complaining about a non-call on Pavel Datsyuk.
Writer’s Note: Olczyk has always been a refreshing voice in his hockey coverage forAmerican broadcast television. But I must return to CBC because they might interview Tyler Kennedy’s mom in the crowd.
7:42 p.m.- Darryl Sydor creates a decent scoring chance off a well-placed shot from the point. Gary Roberts narrowly avoids the rebound opportunity.
Writer’s Note: I was almost as excited as CBC’s Bob Cole there.
7:40 p.m.- Penalty-killer Pascal Dupuis clears the puck the length of the ice and the Penguins avoid a dangerous Detroit Red Wings flurry at the end of the power play.
7:38 p.m.- 11:15 of the First Period- Adam Hall takes a high-sticking penalty.
Writer’s Note: There have been a lot of penalties called early on in this game.
7:37 p.m.- It’s confirmed. Greg Millen thinks the Penguins need more traffic in front of Chris Osgood. Also confirmed: Pittsburgh is terrible when they have two extra men on the ice.
7:34 p.m.- Draper’s penalty expires.
Writer’s Note: The Pens need to get more creative with the extra man. Malkin had one shot on net there but it was from about 50 feet out and the rebound was handled easily. The Pens had three shots on the power play in total. The Wings seem content on letting the Pens stickhandle the puck from far out as long as they don’t give up any chances in close.
7:33 p.m.- Drake’s penalty time expires.
7:31 p.m.- 20 seconds into the first penalty, Kris Draper charges Sergei Gonchar and a delayed penalty is called. The Pens move the puck up the ice and will have a 5-on-3 for about a minute and 20 seconds.
Writer’s Note: That is two former Winnipeg Jets in the sin bin now. This could be a huge turning point for Pittsburgh but they haven’t been especially good in these situations this series.
7:30 p.m.- 8:28 into the First Period- Wings veteran Dallas Drake ( a former Winnipeg Jet) takes a charging penalty on Pens d-man Ryan Whitney.
7:28 p.m.- CBC’s Greg Millen informs everyone that Rafalski’s shot actually deflected off of mammoth defenseman Hal Gill in front of the Pittsburgh net.
Writer’s Note: Good eye Greg, Good eye.
7:26 p.m.- CBC shows that annoying Budweiser commercial again.
Writer’s Note: If you saw the dude from this commercial at a party, wouldn’t you want to vomit?
7:23 p.m. 5:03 of the First Period- Michigan-native Brian Rafalski moves in and wrists a bullet top corner over Fleury’s glove. The goal is Rafalski’s 4th of the playoffs and is assisted by Zetterberg and Datsyuk.
Writer’s Note: The power play was pretty harmless up until that point but the Penguins did collapse, allowing Rafalski way too much time to walk in for a shot. D-man Rob Scuderi looked weak on that penalty kill, failing to clear the puck twice.
7:21 p.m. 4:17 of the First Period- Darryl Sydor is called for an interference penalty.
7:20 p.m.- Lidstrom get a weak shot on Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Writer’s Note: Detroit looks like they are the nervous team now. Where is the dominant puck-possession team that won the President’s Trophy this year? Pittsburgh has the intensity edge early on.
7:17 p.m.- Game 6 hero Petr Sykora has a good scoring chance in close on Chris Osgood.
Writer’s Note: Sykora looks like a new player. Let’s not forget that Sykora won a cup with the Devils in 2000 and has put up solid offensive numbers his entire career.
7:16 p.m.- 1:30 into the First Period- Pens grinders Maxime Talbot and Adam Hall have a quality shift in the Detroit zone and continue to provide a spark for the rest of the Pens team.
7:15 p.m.- Game 6 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals is underway. The sold-out Mellon Arena crowd is looking sharp in white.
7:12 p.m.- Jeff Jimerson sings the Star Spangled Banner.
7:09 p.m.- We are only minutes away from the puck drop of Game 6 and the excitement is cathartic. CBC television has Coach Don Cherry and Ron McLean on the ice as Cherry has got his Penguins sock puppet with him again. NBC’s McGuire interviews a battle-weary Ryan Malone.
Writer’s Note: I’m switching back to CBC. Even though I really like Mike “Doc” Emrick as a play-by-play announcer, I feel like I am watching a college football game with this music.
7:06 p.m.- I switch my 27” Toshiba television over to NBC East to see how Pierre McGuire and the boys are doing and am not surprised that a car commercial is playing. I switch back to CBC and they are also playing a car commercial.
Writer’s Note: Well, I’ll be darned. GM Canada lays off 2,600 employees in Ontario but all we see is big time advertising dollars being spent by auto companies during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
7:03 p.m.- CBC’s Scott Oake interviews Brian Rafalski.
Writer’s Note: Worst interview ever.
7:02 p.m.- CBC’s Elliotte Friedman interviews Pens veteran blueliner Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar tells Elliotte that he is ready to go for Game 6.
Writer’s Note: Gonchar has silenced a lot of the critics who said Gonchar was soft or strictly an offensive defenseman. Gonchar has played big-time minutes for Pittsburgh in all situations and cannot be considered one-dimensional anymore.
7:00 p.m.- CBC’s broadcast production department puts together a very intense montage of Detroit Red Wings/ Pittsburgh Penguins highlights set to The Hive’s smash hit “Tick Tick Tick Boom”.
6:57 p.m. Another horrible episode of CBC’s Sophie is nearing an end (Thank you!) as I count down the minutes until CBC starts their hockey coverage at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Writer’s Note: I think I enjoyed Little Mosque on the Praire tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET on CBC. But Sophie is just awful. Awful.
For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.
