CUP BACK IN HOCKEYTOWN

The Detroit Red Wings are the 2008 Stanley Cup champions! They wrapped up the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning it 4-2, after beating the Pens 3-2 at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.

The best team during the regular season proved to be the best also in the playoffs. Eventhough Pittsburgh made a valiant effort to stave off elimination, the Wings were just too good in the end. I think we can all agree the Penguins have many great years ahead of them but this time the young Pens fell short against a wall of red.

Henrik Zetterberg recieved the Conn Smythe Trophy and it was well deserved. It wasn't the greatest or the prettiest goal Zetterberg has scored, but it certainly was one of the most important.

There is no doubt in my mind, Nicklas Lidstrom is the greatest Swedish player to ever lace up in the NHL. When he hoisted the cup, as the first European captain ever, I got goosebumps.

Chris Chelios is 46 years old, though he looks 35, and he won his first cup in 1986 with Montreal. How is that humanly possible!?

Some reflections from the game...

I had been waiting the whole game for Pavel Datsyuk to show some of his magic and with less than eight minutes left of the third period, there it was. A quick turn in the middle of the left circle and he had two Penguins going the wrong way. Beautiful!

When it comes to killing off time, few have mastered that art as well as Detroit veterans, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby. Late in the third, well over a minute past as they battled in the corner in the offensive zone. Stuff like that wins you Stanley Cups.

This Detroit team is by far one of the best teams I have seen in decades. The way they played throughout the regular season and the playoffs is unlike anything I have seen, they were in a league of their own. They didn't have as many Hall of famers as the 2002 cupwinners but the team was just perfectly composed. And it's not like they are an old team. Except for Chelios, Draper, Chris Osgood, Lidstrom and a few others, there is an abundance of young talent ready to take over the Red Wings and fight for the cup for many years to come. But for now they will all just enjoy the moment.

I sure wish I were back in Michigan to enjoy it with them. Go Wings! By the way, Minnesota, this is the reason they call Detroit Hockeytown.

WINGS ON THEIR WAY

What ever happened in Game 5, the Detroit Red Wings seem to have forgotten about it. After two periods they lead the Penguins by 2-1. So far they look less nervous than on Tuesday and more like the dominating team that they have been all season. As for Pittsburgh, they seem to have less jump than they did early in Game 5 when the rushed off to a 2-0 lead before the half-way mark of the first period. Perhaps the gravity of the situation has gotten the better of them.

At the end of the second period the Pens seemed to catch a second wind when Evgeni Malkin, who has finally regained some of the form that made him Pittsburgh's leading scorer during the regular season, scored his first goal of the finals. However, the Penguins will need to find more offense if they are to turn this around because Marc-Andre Fleury is not standing on his head tonight.

NO SHIFT IN MOMENTUM

At the start of the season my blog collegue and also eminent sportswriter, Per Bjurman, predicted the Detroit Red Wings would play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals and win. Until Game 5, I guess this was still true. However, in his latest article for Aftonbladet he writes that he is starting to have doubts about Detroit's abillity to close the bag on the Pens. Bjurman writes that Detroit has not been in a position where they have had to fight their way back in these playoffs and this is why their nerves crumbled in Game 4 and also why they're not favoured to win tonight at the Mellon Arena.

But the Red Wings aren't in a position where they have to come back. They still lead, though the lead has shrunk to 3-2, and still have a chance to oust the Penguins and snatch their forth cup in eleven years. In fact, this situation is not unlike the trouble they were in against Dallas, where they were up 3-0, then dropped two games only to crush the Stars in Game 6 in Texas. During that series many were also saying there was a momentum shift and that the Stars had figured out the Wings. That wasn't true, the Wings got themselves together and moved on, and it isn't true now. Also, the pressure is still on Pittsburgh to force a Game 7 and I wouldn't be surpriced if we'll see some nerves among the Penguins.

I agree the Red Wings will have to play their very best to beat the Pens tonight, but it's not like they have to be absolutely perfect or they will lose. I enjoyed the Bjorn Borg-likeness, and just like the king of Wimbledon, the Wings have to clear their minds of missed opportunities and just play Game 6 like any other game. Player by player, Detroit is the better team, far better than any of the teams the Pens rolled over out east, and the biggest reason Pittsburgh stole Game 4 was Marc-Andre Fleury who stood on his head, collecting 55 saves in the process. Should that game be played five more times Detroit would win four of them. If Fleury is as untouchable tonight, the Wings will be in trouble, but I expect the big red machine to make him work for it.

Either way I think we're all, diehard Wings fans excluded, happy we get to see more of the fantastic hockey these two teams have displayed so far.

JUST SECONDS AWAY

35 seconds. Normally, it qualifies as just a brief moment. In a hockey game it can seem like forever, especially when your team is leading 3-2 in the third period and Lord Stanley's cup is being polished (they really should know better than to jinx it like that).

The Detroit Red Wings did look a little nervous in the first two periods, while Pittsburgh, jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first period, looked better than ever during this final series. Marc-Andre Fleury turned into a human wall making 55 saves - 24 of them in OT - as the Penguins avoided elimination at the Joe.

This game was a perfect example of desperation beating quality. Now, I'm not suggesting the Pens aren't a quality team, on the contrary, but last night they got a win out of sheer desperation.

Though the Wings would have wanted to win in front of their home crowd, and boy were they close, they will have no problem shaking this loss as they head for Pittsburgh for Game 6. They are simply too good to let this get the better of them.

So a 2-0 series lead for the Red Wings turned into a 3-2 lead and we finally got the close battle we all hoped for. Is a deciding Game 7 too much to hope for?

WINGS BACK IN FRONT

In the first two periods, Pittsburgh seemed to have found a chink in the Detroit's perfect defensive armour. Now, fifteen minutes into the final period, the momentum has changed completely and Detroit, back in charge, are rolling. The Penguins will have to dig deep now if they are going to have a chance at getting back in this game. Should they do so, it would be an impressive feat since the Detroit defensive isn't giving them a lot of chances at all.

ONE WIN AWAY

Tonight the march of the Penguins can come to a crashing halt as Pittsburgh is on the brink of elimination heading into Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena. I have to be honest, it seems unlikely the Detroit Red Wings will drop this one, they are simply too good. Many thought the Penguins had a decent shot at the cup this year, including the Pens themselves, but so far they haven't been close to getting the better of Detroit. Sure they got one game at the Mellon Arena, but that was more because of misstakes on the Wings part. In the other three games, Detroit have dominated the Pens and odds are they will do the same in Game 5.

The Pittsburgh Penguins went through the Eastern Conference like a juggernaut but has since hit a red brick wall. While Hart Trophy nominee, Evgeni Malkin, has been a dissapointment for Pittsburgh through out the finals, Selke Trophy nominee, Henrik Zetterberg, has been a giant for the Wings. On a team that has no real flaws he has been a difference maker. Though Sidney Crosby hasn't been terrible, at least not in Games 3 and 4, he has been outplayed and outsmarted by Zetterberg who has been everywhere on the ice, dominating the offense as well as the defense. The 5 on 3 they killed off in Game 4 was some of the sweatiest hockey I have ever seen. Most agree, including the Detroit players, Henrik Zetterberg should win the Conn Smythe. But first the Red Wings have to beat the Peguins one more time. But make no mistake, it won't be easy. The Penguins are a desperate bunch right now.