Tears of Joy For Conn Smythe Malkin

Pittsburgh Penguins star forward Evgeni Malkin couldn’t stop the tears of joy after his team came back from very long odds to beat the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings in their rink and capture the Stanley Cup. A year after struggling in the finals and being criticized by the media for scoring only three points in a six game loss to the Red Wings, Malkin who was a 2004 second overall Penguins pick redeemed himself this time around by notching two goals and six assists in dethroning the defending champions in what was a tense seven game series. “I saw Gino crying, he’s from Russia, and this is how important and huge it is for him,” linemate Maxime Talbot who scored both goals in the deciding 2-1 victory said. The number one strength of the Penguins was that they never stopped working and never stopped believing in themselves. Critics more or less had Detroit winning the Cup when they went ahead in the series 2-0 and once again when they beat Pittsburgh 5-0 to take a 3-2 stranglehold. All through the series Pittsburgh showed how deep they are as their third and fourth line players in Tyler Kennedy, Talbot and Jordan Staal contributed in a major way. Even though he didn’t score a goal since game four of the finals, Malkin who won the Art Ross Trophy with 113 points this past season also finished on top among playoff scorers with 36 points which is the most since Wayne Gretzky scored 40 in 1993. Captain Sid Crosby was second among scorers with 31 points as these two became the first teammates in 15 years to accumulate more then 30 points each. “Before this game, someone asked me and I said I could see an Arizona Diamondback (scenario), co-MVP’s him (Malkin) and Crosby,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero said. “They’ve been unbelievable players and you have to pick one I guess.” Playing like a man on a mission for the entire post- season Malkin who is affectionately known as ‘Gino’ to his teammates produced two goals and six assists in the opening round against the Philadelphia Flyers. Malkin looked even stronger in the later rounds as he scored two goals and eight assists in a second round seven game series against the Washington Capitals and improved on those numbers in the Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes with 9 points in four games. “Any time you have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on a team, you have a chance,” said Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux.