The Pittsburgh Penguins were not going to let Game Six end in tragedy, as it did a season ago. They've seen the cup raised in Mellon Arena by the Red Wings before, and they made sure it wasn't going to happen twice in a row. Nor were they going to allow former Penguin Marian Hossa any breathing room to spoil their push for Game Seven at the Joe Louis Arena on Friday.

Not that the Penguins really needed to squeeze Hossa out of any plays on Tuesday night, or any other night in this series, for that matter. Hossa was non-existent in Game Six, and has been a non-factor in the championship series thus far. Held to one shot in Game Six, three points for the series, and not one of his shots has found the back of the net. Hossa's wings seem to be clipped, and he doesn't seem to be doing much at helping his own cause.

Beaten to pucks dumped in the corner, the Detroit right-winger seems to be playing without a sense of urgency. Many times during his shifts, Hossa seemed to play hot potato with the puck as soon as the puck made contact with the tar tape on his blade, almost like he couldn't stand the boo bird calls that cascaded upon him when he was in possession of the puck.

With the deciding game seven in a few days, Hossa will need to make a gut check for sure. He simply cannot be a mere observer in game seven, or he might end up watching the opposing team raise the cup for a second year in a row.