Penguins Fail to Live Up to Stanley Cup Hype

After four games, I find myself kinda bored.

Sure, it was the Stanley Cup Final the league fantasized about. It was the matchup fans were excited to see. It was the series the broadcasters desperately wanted—with the exception of, perhaps, the CBC which has seen a drop in ratings in Canada.

Still, you had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin—the future of the NHL—squaring off against the wily veterans like Nicklas Lidstrom and the iron-man Chris Chelios. What's not to love?

It's a hard question to answer but I find there's just something missing and it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a Montreal Canadiens fan.

I like both of these teams, I really do.  I think the problem, though, is the Penguins.

They were the anointed, the team to pull the NHL out of the doldrums it fell into in the days following the return from the strike. Many have pointed to Sid the Kid as the chosen one.  If Wayne Gretzky is hockey's God, then Crosby is Moses, the superstar leading the league out of the shackles of mediocrity.

Unfortunately, mediocrity is the staple of this series, at least for the Pens.  Sorely lacking is the sense of urgency—do they not realize this is the Stanley Cup Finals? Isn't this the team who, on trade deadline day, made it abundantly clear it was the Championship or nothing? 

It's not all doom and gloom, if sports radio talk shows hosts and analysts are to be believed.  "It's a young team!", they say, "They will be real contenders next season, so watch out!"

I thought they were contenders this season.  If they weren't, shouldn't they be on the back nine by now?

Something happened on the way to the Motor City.  I'd like to say they got their wings clipped by Penguins can't fly. It seems they lost the passion, or the drive or whatever you want to call it. The bottom line: the Penguins just aren't living up to the hype.

Detroit, on the other hand, is and kudos to them. Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Osgood have been playing up to their potential.  It's just a shame their opponents are not.

Which takes me back to my original point.  When one team dominates the other, it makes for a bit of a snore-fest.  From the league's point of view, this may have been the series it hoped for but it hasn't turned in to the series it dreamed of.  A full, seven game stint would've been ideal but it's just not going to happen.  That means NHL exposure stateside will be limited, more of a naked man in a trench-coat flashing the ladies rather than a full monty.

I'm hoping things will turn around in Game 5 following a dismal game four  after what had been a promising game three.  When you fail to capitalize on a 5-on-3 in the third, however, optimism is out the window.  Desperation, though, may be the Penguins—and the league's—saving grace.

Unfortunately for the Pens, history is not on their side. The only other team to win the final three to snatch the Cup from the jaws of defeat is the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs.

So, if the series comes to end after five games, I won't be disappointed.  If the Red Wings hoist the Stanley Cup and flood their eyes and stomachs with champagne, it's well-deserved.

I may, however, see what else is on.