Pittsburgh Pens' Game Seven Win Also a Victory for NHL

Living with two gregarious roommates in a house that sees more traffic than the 405 at rush hour, every bit of quiet time comes at a premium.  So, whenever I'm in need of a little peace and want to clear the crowd out of the living room, I find myself relying on a fail-safe system: I just put a hockey game on TV.

At least I used to. Thanks to last night's epic conclusion the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, I'll need to install stadium seating and bulk-buy beer and nachos before the next NHL season kicks off.

The Penguins' stunning victory capped one of the best Cup Finals in history, and was as perfect an advertisement for the sport as Gary Bettman could dream of.  Following a knock-down battle in which both teams played like champions, the NHL may have come away the real winner.

Despite major improvements in the quality of play since the '05 lock-out, the NHL has struggled to find an audience in the US.  The play is more open and scoring is up, but no one is watching. 

This is due, at least in part, to the vast majority of regular season games being relegated to Versus network.  Despite solid coverage, the network simply cannot compete with the kind of exposure formerly offered by ESPN.

However, last night's 11 share in the Neilsens means that NBC's coverage reached a large viewership. An average of seven and a half million people were treated to a prime example of what hockey is all about.

If soccer is the beautiful game, then last night's game was reminder enough that hockey is it's gloriously gritty, bastard cousin—a marriage of silky skill and raw power, and an exaltation of the underdog.

And make no mistake, the fourth-seeded Pens were underdogs.  Despite the star-power of their marquee talents, this is a team that was fighting for playoff contention in February. 

This is a team that replaced experienced head coach Michel Therrien with 38-year old Dan Bylsma for the last 25 games of the season. 

Bylsma started his season as a first time AHL head coach, with the Pens Wilkes-Barre / Scranton affiliate.  He ended the season by drinking from Lord Stanley's finest silver (alloy).

In doing so, Bylsma followed Al MacNeil, coach of the 1971 Canadiens, and became only the second rookie coach to win the Cup after being hired mid-season.  Incidentally, the Pens share something else with that team—both came from two games down to triumph in the finals. 

Prior to Friday, the '71 Habs were the last team to bounce back from such a deficit to win the cup.  The Pens had experience on their side though, having already recovered from a two game hole against Washington in the Conference Semis.

On the ice, the same spirit of scrappy determination that fueled their incredible run had a face.  In a game laden with tremendous talents—Datsyuk, Crosby, Zetterberg, Malkin, Lidstrom, Hossa—that spirit was best exemplified by Max Talbot. 

The Pens forward, who contributed 22 points in the regular season, logged 19:08 of ice time (behind Malkin, the second-highest total for a Pens forward), hustled on the PK, and scored both Penguins goals. 

The first came off of a fortuitous bounce when Malkin blocked a clearance in Detroit's zone.  Talbot snagged the puck, bided his time, and neatly slotted the puck five-hole when Osgood raised his stick.

Shortly after a Johan Franzen check effectively ended Sidney Crosby's game, mid-way through the second, Talbot responded by firing the puck over Osgood's glove-hand to capitalize on a two-on-one break.

Talbot scored 13 points in 24 playoff games, but his contribution last night was the definition of clutch.  In the absence of his team's leader and star, Talbot dug deep.  He was not alone.

The Red Wings, their backs against the wall, surged late in the game, pressuring constantly and pinning the Penguins in their own zone.

A late slap-shot from defender Jonathan Ericsson gave the Wings a life-line, and moments later Valterri Filppula rattled the crossbar with a shot that was so nearly a goal, it brought a hush over the Joe.

The Red Wings can hold their heads high.  In fact, few would argue that the Wings didn't deserve to take something from this game.  They threw everything at the net in the final minutes, but the response from Pens' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and his teammates was nothing short of heroic.

In the closing seconds, shot after shot came flying in.  Black and white bodies flung themselves across the ice in a graceless but oddly balletic display, secure in the knowledge that the pain from blocking a hunk of rubber travelling 90 mph would be temporary, but that the pain of watching it cross the goal-line might last a lifetime.

And when the final whistle blew, the Pens had left their blood and sweat on the ice.  Their tired and bruised bodies were the price of their passion, the evidence of their commitment.  They had given their all, and people everywhere cheered: on the ice, in the stands, and, perhaps best of all, in my living room.