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Game Six Blog

Written by: Scott Vankoughnett on 9th June 2009

Game Six Blog | read this item

Pittsburgh, PA — It was an early morning for us today as we left Jesse’s place in Kitchener at 5:30a.m. We arrived at the rink around 10:30a.m. just in time for the Penguins morning skate.

The good news for Penguins’ fans is that the players looked much looser today than they did on Saturday in Detroit. Crosby looked especially loose as he joked with players and worked on his faceoffs and deflections.

Maxime Talbot has amazing hand-eye coordination. He was able to deflect about 95 per cent of the shots, into the net, from Gonchar slapshots.

I being a complete fool forgot to bring my digital recorder. Jesse had to go to the locker rooms alone and I stayed and snapped pictures of the practice.

Detroit looked equally loose. Something that has been impressive these entire playoffs. They have a been there done that way about them and seem to be on cruise control.

Pavel Datsyuk was moving much better today. Looks like he has most if not all his speed back.

After practice was finished Jesse and I embarked on a walk around the city, in an attempt to find an electronics place to buy a recorder. Such a waste of money.

I should point out that it’s hot here today. 27 degrees Celsius and it felt much hotter.

Anyway, we parked at the rink and made our way downtown. We were surprised at the amount of Penguins’ fans waiting outside to get a glimpse of the players as they left in their vehicles.

We stopped one lady wearing a Crosby jersey and asked her where we could walk to to buy my recorder. She was on her lunch break and just stopped by to see the players before the game. She did not talk to them. She merely watched them leave. But, she was kind enough to walk us two blocks until we were close.

It seems as though about 80 per cent of people had Penguins gear on. That’s not to say it wasn’t like that in Detroit with Wings’ fans but we weren’t in an area to see them. It was really a site to see.

We’re off to dinner now. It’s starting to thunder storm.

6:28
We made it back to the rink. It’s sunny and hot out once again. I took tour of Mellon arena because I wanted to finally pick up a program. It’s actually a lot cheaper to buy merchandise here than in Detroit. They gave me a discount.

They’re doing the winning goal pool right now. Last game I pulled Holmstrom and Jesse pulled Franzen. There’s only two guys left and the TFP guys are getting them. One was Datsyuk and the other was Satan. Bet he’s going to be pissed if Sykora dresses in his place.

7:55
Almost game time. There’s been a lot of talk in the media areas today about what’s going to happen. The only thing that everyone can agree upon is that the first 5-10 minutes are going to dictate who wins this game.

Our seats here are in the Club level seating. We are center ice at the top of the building. The seats are very comfortable. unfortunately we aren’t able to sit in them because you can’t see everything. So we (everyone in the pressbox) have to sit on those child booster seats that you can get at movie theaters.

Jesse had another adventure. He decided he wasn’t going to walk the extra five feet to the men’s washroom and instead made a girl from Detroit very uncomfortable when he went into the stall next to her.

It’s going to be another “White Out” as fans were handed t-shirts and towels on their way into the rink.

Jesse thought that Fleury had a terrible warm up. It leads me to believe that he’ll stand on his head tonight.

8:03
Peter Sykora is in tonight, Satan is out.

It’s starting to get loud in here.

First Period
18:17
Penguins are putting the pressure on. No surprise there. Crosby is playing along side Malkin and Gurerin for now.

16:32
Zetterberg has a glorious scoring opportunity. Fleury makes the big save and is then run over by Zetterberg. Pens PP.

11:41
The Wings have done a good job at weathering the early Penguin attack. The Pens are winning a lot of battles in the Detroit zone. Shots are currently 8-2 Penguins.

7:21
I know this is going to sound like a cliche but they’re playing at a feverish pace right now and Malkin looks like a man possessed.

Penguins are heading back to the power play. Detroit needs to keep doing what they are doing. They aren’t panicking even though they are getting outplayed right now.

Hits are pretty close right now by our counts. The Penguins seem to be more willing to leave the puck and go for a big hit though.

1:37
Wings finally get their third shot of the game and once again it’s from number 40. Fleury hasn’t had a lot of work but he’s looked solid on both of Zetterberg’s chances.

End of first
Shots at the end of the period are 12-3 for the Penguins. The Penguins have been able to get the pucks that they weren’t getting in any of the games in Detroit. The Wings D need to be more willing to take a hit to make a play if they want to get something going in the second.

Second Period

19:09
I was getting ready to say that the Wings have come out fast. But, Jordan Staal blocks a shot/pass takes the puck down the ice on a 2-on-1. He elected to shoot and it was the right choice. His frist shot went off Osgood’s cage, he got the rebound and buried it. That line has really looked strong again tonight.

17:47
A veteran move by Osgood to buy his team some rest after an icing. He asks the ref to get his helmet fixed.

7:28
Shots are 21-9 for the Penguins. It’s been a full team effort by them tonight with even Peter Sykora diving down for a blocked shot. There hasn’t been a lot from Crosby up to this point.

5:49
Darren Helm, who would have thought that a guy who hasn’t even played a full NHL season would be so dominate in the playoffs. Even coach Babcock was surprised of how good he’s played. He’s been one of the top Wings again tonight.

1:57
Zetterberg has another near goal, this time hitting the post behind Fleury. Shots are 22-12 Penguins.

End of the Second
The Penguins had their first solid scoring chance in the final 30 seconds of the period. Osgood made a couple of acrobatic saves to keep the game 1-0. A much better period for the Wings. Pavel Datsyuk is absolutely disgusting out there. He makes something out of nothing on nearly every shift. You get a better appreciation for his skill when you see it live.

Stuart and Kronwall are the minute munchers for Detroit after two. They’ve played 16:36 and 16:57 respectively. Lidstrom and Rafalski are around the 13 minute mark. Zetterberg is their top forward at 13:19.

Gonchar has played the most for the Pens at 15:45 followed by Malkin at 14:41. Crosby has been on for just 12:04.

Third Period
14:25
The Wings had been appyling most of the pressure in the first five minutes of the third but it’s Tyler Kennedy thatis Johnny on the Spot scoring his fifth of the playoffs to make the score 2-0. Shots are 27-17. This place is about to explode.

11:59
The Wings answer quickly. Fleury let out a big rebound off a point shot that the veteran Kris Draper was able to jump on and cut the lead in half.

10:42
Malkin gets called for cross-checking on what was a penalty but lots of the like had been let go up till now. Wings PP

7:20
A Guerin high stick leads to another Wings power play. The Wings are really pressing right now. The Penguins can’t keep possession of the puck.

5:01
Two HUGE penalty kills by the Penguins leave the building buzzing. Great shot blocking by Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill all game long tonight.

Heading down soon…. what a game by both teams thus far.

Topics: Detroit Red Wings, Game 6, Game Six, Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup finals