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After Saturday's massacre, every two-bit hockey analyst all but buried the Penguins and why not. They didn't show up. They couldn't muster anything offensively. They took horrendous penalties and made egregious turnovers. They lost their poise. Their composure. Their virginity. Coaching adjustments were none existant. The defense looked like an AHL unit.
There aren't any positives to take out of that game. It's just something you have to put behind you if possible. Can they do it?
Well, no according to everyone. You can look at history:
- The Red Wings are 3-1 this year in games they could eliminate opponents.
- They had won 13 of 14 Game 6s in which they had the chance to end a series and advance before the Anaheim Ducks stayed alive in this year’s second round.
- The history of best-of-7 NHL Finals series, teams leading 3-games-to-2 with Games 1-2 at home, Games 3-4 on the road, and Game 5 at home (such as Detroit) have a 19-1 (.950) series record with an active thirteen (13) series winning streak. The sole series loss in this situation was sustained by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1971 NHL Finals to the Montreal Canadiens.
You can look at the highlights:
You can look at Marc Andre Fleury and his horrendous game 5. Sure, he was hung out to dry by his defense but some of those are some awful goals that he's got to make. Fleury's potential is unreal but his consistency is terrible. The Red Wings are in his head.
You can look at the disappearing acts of Sidney Crosby, Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedetenko, Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz. These guys need to all come through in a big way if the Penguins have a shot. They have yet to. Fedetenko should have had 2 goals in about the first 10 minutes of game 5. Staal scored the supposed 'series changer' SHG in game 4 as annointed by the media but followed it up with a poor effort in game 5. The entire Crosby line has failed in a big way. Now is the time to finally show up in this series. If not for the unbelievable performance of Evgeni Malkin, this series should already be over.
You can look at the experts over at ESPN, Yahoo, CBC, TSN etc. all sticking a fork in the Penguins. I mean the media is never wrong guys. The Penguins might win tonight but there is NO CHANCE IN HELL of a victory in Detroit which has been the Penguins' personal hell for the past two seasons. Especially now that the BEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE back in the foil. He being Pavel Datsyuk who is god on both the offensive and defensive side of the ice. He who is god who decks Malkin and still nets 2 assists while playing at 50%. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a true god of men.
So what's left to do for our black and vegas gold heroes? Sit there and lose again in heinous fashion?You betcha. Don't even bother showing up Penguins cuz Barry Melrose/Puck Daddy and Pierre McGuire said so. The cup is in the building. The Stanley Cup champion tshirts are printed. So are the hats. Champagne is on ice. The parade is already being planned. It's only a matter of time. That creepy guy with the white gloves is oiling up the cup. Screw it Pens don't bother showing up.
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