Stanley Cup Finals, Game Five: Pittsburgh Penguins Come of Age

For the first time in its 100+ year history, the NHL saw a team less than a minute away from being eliminated come back and win a Stanley Cup Finals game.

It started with Maxime Talbot, a role player whose picture was not even available on Bleacher Report's file photo list. With 35 seconds left in Pittsburgh's season, he pounded a loose puck in to Chris Osgood's left on the second try. 

It continued when Marc-Andre Fleury, who registered 55 saves to Osgood's 28, kept his team in the game with 24 overtime saves. It ended when Petr Sykora got a hard wrister under Osgood's glove arm in the third overtime for the win.

Not only do the Penguins get to return home for Game Six, but they are the instant favourites to win the Cup—in 2009. They already have the talent, they are getting the experience, and now they are developing grit.

If you survive a game like that, you have fully rebounded from the two consecutive shut-outs you suffered to start the series. It shows the kind of resiliency needed to win a Cup, and galvanizes you for adversity you'll face in the future.

But it also makes them a serious contender right now. Over the weekend, I wrote about why Pittsburgh was not out of contention yet. By winning Game Five, they have momentum and are coming home for Game Six, where they have to be the favourites.

Should they win that game, they will carry even more momentum into Game Seven. Detroit will also have intense pressure on them, which their experienced roster can handle.

But that experience starts to become just age as the series goes on—especially because the Red Wings have played two more games than Pittsburgh and had much more travel time to help wear them down. Beyond that, Detroit also played much more physical teams.

I still believe the Wings will win the series, but I would not offer long odds to someone wanting to bet on Pittsburgh anymore. And I have the over/under on Penguins championships in the next five years at two.