2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Game Five: Hey, Fat Lady, Take a Seat

They were out shot by an almost 2:1 margin. They were 35 seconds away from an off-season full of disappointment. By the end of the first overtime, they looked as though they had nothing more to give.

However, the Pittsburgh Penguins discovered things about themselves that they weren't even aware existed. Each and every player, coach, and fan was forced to reach down into the deep recesses of their very being and discover that they had the ability to do one thing: believe.

They discovered that they could stand toe-to-toe with adversity, and then give it a swift kick in the teeth.

Led by some last second heroics from Maxime Talbot, a goal that is well beyond the description of "clutch" by Petr Sykora, warrior-like performances by Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar, and Marc-Andre Fleury's game of his life, the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to stave off elimination in stunning fashion and force a Game Six, back in the 'Burgh.

Recap

This was the first road game which i chose to watch from inside the confines of the Mellon Arena. There were somewhere between five and six thousand fans on hand, every single one of whom shared a common belief in their beloved Penguins.

Don Cherry described the Penguins' morning skate and pregame warmup as "loosey-goosey" on a postgame SportsCenter segment. Then he said something about how the Penguins will never win three games in a row against the Wings, and I changed the channel. Thanks for the expert analysis, Donny.

The Penguins started the game playing how everyone expected them to play: like they had nothing to lose.

However, the momentum shifted when Brooks Orpik was called for hooking just two minutes into the game.

The Wings got some good looks on the ensuing power play, but the Penguins' penalty killers were able to prevent the majority of the shots from ever reaching the net. This would become a common trend throughout the six periods of hockey that would ultimately be required to determine a winner in this game.

The Pens killed the penalty, but were penalized again a few seconds later. It was their 400th too many men on the ice penalty of the season.

The next Wings' power play was short-lived, as Pavel Datsyuk was called for tripping to even things up, 4-on-4.

Shortly after returning to even strength, the Penguins found what they were looking for: the first goal of the game. Dupuis, Crosby and Hossa setup a quick game of tic-tac-toe in the offensive end, which resulted in Hossa beating Osgood over the shoulder to give the Penguins a 1-0 advantage.

Things were looking good, as the Penguins were skating with the Red Wings instead of behind them. Then, by the grace of Mario, Niklas Kronwall decided to switch teams for a brief second and shoot a puck into his own net.

Adam Hall was credited with the goal, his third of the playoffs and second of this series. 2-0 Penguins.

The Wings' best chance of the period came when Darryl Sydor tripped over the puck and coughed it up to Darren Helm. Helm flew in on Fleury, but Ryan Whitney backchecked like it was his job (only to later realize that it really is) and was able to get a stick on Helm and force the shot to sail wide.

The period ended with the Penguins enjoying the worst lead in hockey, 2-0.

The second period proved to be one of the best of the series. Both teams were playing their games, and both goalies were doing their part to keep the game close.

The Wings didn't waste any time in making the game a little closer as Filppula scored at 2:54 to make it 2-1 Pens.

The teams exchanged chances on the power play, and Marc-Andre Fleury put on his best display of the postseason between the pipes in the next 17 minutes.

Late in the second period, things began to look grim for the Penguins. Sergei Gonchar crashed into the boards, went to the locker room, and would eventually sit on the bench until the final play of the game. This left the Penguins with five defenseman for about 50 minutes of play.

Then, with under two minutes to play in the second, Hal Gill released a slap shot from the point that took a direct course en route to the face of Ryan Malone. Malone hit the ice like a ton of bricks, and looked down to see his hand stained red with blood. Malone quickly got to his feet and headed to the locker room.

If these two events were to be an omen for the Penguins in the following period, the Fat Lady would surely be earning her paycheck in another twenty minutes.

One good thing about being in the Mellon Arena with 5,000 people instead of 17,000 was that you could safely go to the bathroom during intermission and not miss the opening faceoff of the next period.

I relieved my bladder and returned to my seat, awaiting the start of the final period.

The third period started with one of the most inspiring images to ever grace a television screen. Ryan Malone, complete with a broken nose, blood soaked beard, and an upper lip that was more puffy than a toasted marshmallow, appeared on the Penguins' bench to start the third period.

Any negative feelings you had about the possible outcome of the game suddenly turned into a collective determination to win, supplied solely from the blood and guts of Pittsburgh's own, Bugsy Malone.

The Red Wings came out in the third period finally looking like they actually planned on winning the game. They were out-skating the Penguins, but not out-hitting them.

Just under three minutes into the period, Pavel Datsyuk thought he had tied the game and immediately went into a goal celebration. The play was not blown dead, and play continued until a stoppage was forced. Upon review, the officials determined that the puck had hit the crossbar and it was not a goal.

The Penguins must have felt good about getting another lucky break, however, the Red Wings tying the game seemed inevitable.

Finally, someone reminded Pavel Datsyuk that he used to score goals for the Red Wings, and he cashed in on a re-direction play on the power play to even the score, 2-2.

By the midway point of the period, the Wings had out shot the Penguins 6-0.

Michel Therrien called a timeout, only delaying the inevitable. At 9:23 of the third, Johan Franzen found Brian Rafalski on the right wing, and Rafalski snapped a quick wrist shot past Fleury to give the Wings their first lead of the game, 3-2.

During the next ten minutes, this young group of Penguins would find out more about themselves than they would during a three-week consultation with Dr. Phil.

NBC showed the Stanley Cup being removed from its carrying case, and being shined up to be handed to Nicklas Lidstrom in a few short minutes.

The champagne was being re-iced, the Fat Lady was doing her makeup in the bathroom, and Penguin fans could do nothing but hope.

The Penguins pushed and pushed, but the Wings kept shutting them down. Finally, Marc-Andre Fleury headed to the bench, and the extra attacker came on for Pittsburgh.

The Penguins were struggling to get a shot through the Wings' tight-knit defense, and hopes of any last second heroics seemed about as likely as Chris Osgood surpassing a height of five feet.

Then, suddenly, with about 40 seconds to play, the Penguins found an opening. Marian Hossa was able to slip a shot through the defense, which was turned away by Osjoke. The Mighty Midget was unable to secure the rebound, and Maxime Talbot was there on the doorstep, chopping away at the loose puck.

It went in? It went in! The Penguins had tied the game!

Mike Lange belts out "Get in the fast lane grandma, 'cause the bingo game is ready to roll", and the Penguins had given themselves the only thing that they could hope for: a second chance. The game was tied, 3-3, heading into overtime.

The teams would battle through two consecutive scoreless overtimes. Hal Gill, Ryan Whitney, Brooks Orpik, and Rob Scuderi carried the defensive load for the Penguins, with their all-star defenseman, Sergei Gonchar looking on from the bench.

Marc-Andre Fleury impersonated a bullet-proof vest, stopping over 20 shots during the two overtimes.

Then, after the second overtime had ended, scoreless, Petr "just call me Babe" Sykora made a bold statement.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper: "Calling the shot, it was just between the periods, it was something stupid I said" Sykora said. "I said, Guys, I'm going to get one. Don't worry about the game, I'm just going to get a goal."

Sykie made good on his promise at 9:57 of the third overtime.

The Penguins were awarded a four minute power play after Jiri Hudler lost control of his stick and it clipped the Penguins' Rob Scuderi in the chin, drawing blood.

Miraculously, Sergei Gonchar hopped over the boards and onto the ice for what would be his first shift since the middle of the second period.

Gonchar sent a puck behind the net to Evgeni Malkin. If you listened closely, you could hear Sykora calling for the puck. "Gino, Gino" he yelled.

Gino responded, feeding a perfect pass to Sykora who let go his patented wrist shot, beating Osgood, and giving the Penguins the win, 4-3.

The series now shifts back to Pittsburgh for Game Six on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM.

Notes

- Sykora's game-winner was the third multi-OT game-winning goal he has scored in his career.

- Evgeni Malkin got a point. Whooo.

- Hossa, Hossa, Hossa! Marian Hossa backchecked like a demon and was a definite presence on the ice in this game.

- Marc-Andre Fleury put on the performance of his life in this game. Fleury made 55 saves (24 of which came in overtime) on 58 shots.

- The game lasted 109 minutes, 57 seconds-- the fifth longest game in Finals history.

- Mike Imabigcock chews Bubblicious. Enough said.

- If you believe in momentum, losing a game in 3OT, when you were 35 seconds away from hoisting the Cup is about as deflating as it gets.

- Gary Roberts just celebrated his 22nd birthday, right? That's how he looked tonight.

- They don't come any tougher than Ryan Malone. It will be a sad day in Pittsburgh sports history if the Pens can't resign him this off-season, but whichever team is lucky enough to land Bugsy on their roster will be getting a true on-ice warrior.

- Take away all the shots that the Penguins blocked, and the Wings would have recorded close to 90 shots on goal.

- Our Father, who art in Heaven
Let our Kids win in Seven