Joe Sakic returns to Avalanche for 20th season in the NHL.
August 31, 2008
Patience paid off for the Colorado Avalanche, who signed Joe Sakic to a one-year, $6 million contract on Wednesday after he decided to play a 20th season in the NHL rather than call it a career.
“Ultimately it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing,” the 39-year-old captain said in a statement released by the team. “I’m comfortable with my conditioning and my overall health. I’m ready for the start of camp and am looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Sakic’s agent, Don Baizley, said his client informed him of his decision late Tuesday. The sides had been talking over the summer, so it didn’t take long to finalize the contract.
Sakic was coming off his most difficult season, having missed 38 games following hernia surgery before returning to the lineup to help the team reach the playoffs after a one-year absence.
But unlike a year ago, when he signed a one-year, $6.75 million deal on the day after the season ended, Sakic left town this spring unsure whether he had worn the blue and maroon sweater for the last time.
And general manger Francois Giguere was fine with that. He told Sakic to take as much time as he needed, even if that meant informing the team of his decision on the eve of training camp in September.
Giguere explained that he wanted Sakic to be 100 percent committed either to returning or retiring lest he have any regrets.
Despite the uncertainly, that approach sat well with his teammates.
“He earned the right to take his time,” forward Ian Laperriere said. “He’s done everything for this organization.”
Sakic was drafted in 1987 and has spent his entire career with the franchise. In 1,363 career games, the Canadian has 623 goals and 1,629 points for eighth on the NHL’s all-time list.
An 11-time NHL All-Star, he was voted league MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players’ choice for the most outstanding player in 2001, when he helped Colorado win its second Stanley Cup.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Flyers invite defenseman Bryan Berard to training camp.
August 27, 2008
Veteran NHL defenseman Bryan Berard will attempt to make an NHL club on a tryout contract, after being invited to training camp with the Philadelphia Flyers.
“Bryan has been around a number of years now (and) he has been a good defenseman for quite some time,” said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. “I’m excited about Bryan’s willingness to come here on a tryout. It will certainly pick up the competition level of what is going to take place in training camp.”
The 31-year-old Berard was the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in 1995, but refused to sign and was traded to the New York Islanders.
In 619 career games covering 12 years with the Islanders, Toronto, New York Rangers, Boston, Chicago and Columbus, Berard has 76 goals and 247 assists. Last season with the Islanders, he had five goals and 17 assists in 54 games.
Berard, from Woonsocket, R.I., sustained a severe eye injury in 2000 while playing with Toronto that was thought to be career-ending. He made it back to the NHL but tested positive for steroids in 2005 after he was listed on a U.S. Olympic hockey preliminary roster, and was banned from international competition for two years.
He wasn’t suspended by the NHL because the failed test wasn’t a part of the league’s drug program.
“I thank the Flyers for giving me this opportunity to try out,” said Berard. “I am really looking forward to this. I have been around for a while and training camps are nothing new for me. I like to come in and compete at a high level.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Former Flyers coach Murray leading candidate for Kings job.
July 16, 2008
Terry Murray, who coached the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals 11 years ago, has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Marc Crawford as coach of the Los Angeles Kings.
Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said in a statement that no agreement was in place with Murray, but added: “We have met with Terry on more than one occasion and we consider him to be a strong candidate for this position.”
Murray, who turns 58 on Sunday, has been an assistant coach with the Flyers since the 2003-04 season. Before that, he was the head coach of the Flyers, the Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers. His teams have a 360-288-89 regular-season record and a 46-43 postseason mark. His last head coaching job was with Florida in the 2000-01 season.
Murray is not related to former Kings coach Andy Murray, but his brother, Bryan, was the coach and general manager for the Anaheim Ducks. Murray spent parts of eight seasons in the NHL and WHL as a defenseman and started his coaching career as an assistant with the Capitals in 1983.
The 47-year-old Crawford was fired June 10 after two years on the job, coaching the Kings to a 59-84-21 record. He had one year left on his contract. Los Angeles had 71 points last season, tied with Tampa Bay for the fewest in the NHL.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
The Blackhawks will host the Red Wings at Wrigley Field.
July 16, 2008
Wrigley Field is going to be the frozen confines on New Year’s Day 2009 when the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings meet the Chicago Blackhawks outdoors in the home park of the Chicago Cubs.
It will be the NHL’s second Winter Classic. Last year in Buffalo, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 before a crowd of 71,217. Snow fell during the game.
“We expect interest to be on an international level for this once-in-a-lifetime event,” Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz said.
The game will be televised nationally on NBC.
The matchup will be the 701st meeting between the Red Wings and Blackhawks — no two NHL opponents have played more regular-season games against one another than the two fierce rivals.
It will mark the third regular-season outdoor game in NHL history. The Edmonton Oilers hosted the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 22, 2003.
“The NHL is delighted to bring its most historic rivalry to one of the most historic venues in sports,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.
Wrigley Field is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues behind Boston’s Fenway Park. Wrigley Field opened in 1914. The park hosted two Sting concerts during the All-Star break of 2007 and patches of the outfield grass were torn and roughed up. The game could also be competing with college football bowl games for viewers.
“We’ve been a candidate to play in this for a long time and everybody in our organization is excited about being a part of what is becoming an annual outdoor classic,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to promote our game, our league and our team and have a one-in-a-lifetime experience at the same time.”
Bettman also said the league will continue discussions with the New York Yankees and the city of New York to perhaps bring an outdoor game to the new Yankee Stadium that opens next year.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Penguins sign goalie Fleury to a seven-year deal.
July 3, 2008
The Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday signed goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a seven-year, $35 million contract, the third long-term deal inked with one of their younger players in two days.
Penguins general manager Ray Shero called Fleury “one of the elite goaltenders of the game” and said he was instrumental in helping the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals.
“He is extremely gratified to be part of the Penguins core going forward,” Fleury’s agent, Allan Walsh, told the Associated Press. “The contract shows a lot of confidence the team is placing in him and Marc is making a statement to all that Pittsburgh is where he wants to be playing.”
Fleury, 23, was eligible for arbitration and a hearing was scheduled for later in the month, but the Penguins made no secret they considered that a formality as general manager Ray Shero continued to negotiate a long-term deal with the goaltender.
Fleury’s signing came a day after the Penguins signed two other players to long term deals. Center Evgeni Malkin signed for an average of $8.7 million over five years and defenseman Brooks Orpik signed a six-year, $22.5 million deal.
Fleury, the No. 1 overall draft pick for the Penguins in 2003, helped lead the team to the Eastern Conference championship before a six-game loss to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Fleury’s strong play down the stretch capped a season that saw him start slowly then miss three months due to a high-ankle sprain. His regular-season record was just 19-10-2.
In the playoffs, though, he was 14-6 with a 1.97 goals-against average, a .933 save percentage and three shutouts.
After struggling early in his career, Fleury came into his own in 2006-07, when he won 40 games in 67 appearances, the first Penguins goalie to win more than 40 since Tom Barrasso did it in 1992-93.
The Penguins also announced Thursday that they signed forwards Ruslan Fedotenko and Miroslav Satan to one-year contracts. Both had most recently played with the New York Islanders.
Satan, 33, had 41 points in 80 games, and was tied for third on the club in scoring. The native of Slovakia was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 1993 and has played in 12 seasons in the NHL
Fedotenko, 29, scored 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) in 67 games last season. In his career, he has 123 goals and 116 assists in 523 NHL games.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Barry Melrose is named head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
June 24, 2008
Barry Melrose was hired as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, returning to the NHL after 12 years as a television analyst because he wants to be “on the inside again.”
He replaces John Tortorella, who was fired June 3. The hiring of Melrose by the Lightning’s new owners ends weeks of speculation concerning the former Los Angeles Kings coach.
Tortorella was dismissed four years after leading Tampa Bay to its only Stanley Cup championship. The Lightning missed the playoffs this spring for the first time since 2002, finishing with the league’s worst record.
Melrose coached Los Angeles from 1992-95. He helped the Wayne Gretzky-led Kings to the Stanley Cup finals in his first season. He joined ESPN as an analyst in 1996.
“I wanted the challenge again. I wanted to find out if I can still do it,” Melrose said during a news conference. “I miss it. I’ve missed it since I left. I miss, the term I use is having a dog in a fight. I’m not a bystander. I’ve never been a bystander in my life. I hate to be a guy on the outside looking in. I want to be on the inside again.”
Hollywood producer Oren Koules and former NHL player Len Barrie are leading the group purchasing the Lightning for $206 million. They approached Melrose about two months ago and felt he was a perfect fit for Tampa Bay.
The decision to hire Melrose was the worst-kept secret in hockey. By the time Tortorella was dismissed, it was a foregone conclusion the job was his.
“Secrets from now on will be a lot better kept than this one,” Melrose said.
Gretzky was asked about the expected return last weekend during the NHL draft in Ottawa.
“I think it’s wonderful. I think it’s a great opportunity for Barry. He’s a tremendous coach, and he’s a player’s coach,” Gretzky said.
“And just as important, he understands the media and understands the marketplace that he’s in, Tampa Bay. It’s not the same as being in a place like Montreal or Toronto. His experience of being in L.A. and dealing with that, this will be a real positive. He’ll do a tremendous job.”
Melrose inherits a team that Tortorella helped transform from a perennial last-place club into a league champion. The Lightning made the playoffs four consecutive seasons before falling short this year and feel they’re not that far away from being a contender again.
The new owners have been negotiating a new contract extension for All-Star Vincent Lecavalier and said Monday they will be aggressive in free agency this summer to put players around No. 1 draft pick Steve Stamkos, who already has been penciled in to be Tampa Bay’s second line center next season.
Gretzky said one of Melrose’s strongest assests as a coach is dealing with players.
“He treats his role players with a great deal of respect. He treats those guys just as good as he treats his top players,” Gretzy said. “I think that’s a fine line and important because guys who don’t play as much … they need to have that reassurance that they’re part of the team also.”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Six-time Vezina winner Hasek set to retire from the NHL.
June 8, 2008
Dominik Hasek of the Czech Republic is expected to announce his retirement, a person in the NHL told the Associated Press on Sunday.
The Detroit Red Wings scheduled a news conference for Monday morning without revealing details.
A person within the league, who requested anonymity because the announcement was Hasek’s to make, said Hasek was expected to end his award-winning career.
Hasek won six Vezina Trophies as the NHL’s top goaltender and two Hart Trophies as the league’s Most Valuable Player. The 43-year-old star lost his job in goal during Detroit’s run to the Stanley Cup, getting replaced by Chris Osgood in the first round.
Hasek’s agent, Ritch Winter, declined to comment Sunday night.
The Dominator won 389 games with the Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks, who drafted Hasek in the 10th round in 1983 and had to wait until the 1990-91 season to get him on the ice. Chicago kept him just two seasons, then watched him become one of the game’s greats in Buffalo.
He won 65 playoff games — including 16 in 2002 when he won his first Stanley Cup by helping Detroit win it all — and gave up an average of just two goals in the postseason.
Hasek led the Czech Republic to gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
During this past regular season, he won 27 games and had a 2.14 goals-against average while alternating with Osgood in net.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock chose to start Hasek in the playoffs — saying “Dom’s not going to struggle” — then pulled him in favor of Osgood during Game 4 in the opening-round series against the Nashville Predators.
Osgood won his first nine games as a starter in the postseason and finished with a 14-4 record and a league-low 1.55 goals-against average, keeping Hasek on the bench.
Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said he would welcome Hasek back if he wanted to return.
“If Dom still has energy and passion, I’d be interested in having him back with Osgood again,” Holland said on the ice in Pittsburgh last week after Detroit won its 11th title.
Before drinking from the Cup, Hasek acknowledged having mixed emotions.
“Obviously, it’s not the same if you’re not in the net,” Hasek said in the jubilant, champagne-drenched dressing room. “But overall, it was a great experience and winning a Cup is why I came back and signed with the Red Wings.”
After an injury-shortened season with the Senators, Hasek returned to the Red Wings two years ago.
He signed a one-year contract worth $750,000 in 2006 and made $900,000 in bonuses. He chose to stick around last summer with a one-year contract worth more than $2 million in base salary with a chance to earn an additional $2 million in bonuses.
“Dom didn’t want more,” Winter said last July. “He’s taking one for the team. It’s not one of my fun deals, but Dom is happy and that’s important.”
Detroit acquired Hasek the first time in 2001 in a trade with Buffalo, where he had been since 1992. He backstopped the Red Wings to the championship during his first season in Detroit, then retired.
Hasek rejoined Detroit for the 2003-04 season, creating an uncomfortable goalie triangle with Curtis Joseph and Manny Legace already on the team. Hasek played in just 14 games, going 8-3-2 before a chronic groin injury ended that season.
Hasek went 28-10-4 with Ottawa, but didn’t play after injuring his groin while playing for the Czech Republic in the Turin Olympics. Hasek hoped to play during the postseason but never fully recovered.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
The Detroit Red Wings are the 2008 Stanley Cup Champs.
June 4, 2008
Hockeytown is home to the Stanley Cup — again.
Using a little Motown magic on the road, the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Finals.
The celebration came two nights later than expected. The Penguins forced the series back to Pennsylvania by tying Game 5 with 34.3 seconds left in regulation and winning it shortly before 1 a.m. in Detroit on Petr Sykora’s power-play goal in triple overtime.
Undeterred, the Red Wings hit the road and wrapped up their fourth straight series on the road in these playoffs. Detroit is third in NHL history with 11 Stanley Cup titles, trailing fellow Original Six clubs Montreal and Toronto.
Just like in Game 5, things got a little dicey for the Red Wings, who allowed Marian Hossa’s power-play goal with 1:27 remaining that got the Penguins to 3-2. Pittsburgh had already pulled Game 5 hero Marc-Andre Fleury to create a 6-on-4 skating edge.
With the final seconds ticking down, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby put a backhander on goal that Hossa just missed with a tip at the right post.
It set off a pile-on celebration behind the Detroit net for the Red Wings, as the disappointed fans in Mellon Arena saluted their club once more with a chant of “Let’s Go Pens!”
In the best night for Swedish hockey since the national squad won the gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics, defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European captain of a Stanley Cup champion, and Henrik Zetterberg, who had a goal and assist in the Cup clincher, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
His goal 7:36 into the third period, that was pushed in by the backside of Fleury, extended the Red Wings’ lead to 3-1. He tied teammate and countryman Johan Franzen for the playoff lead with 13 goals, and matched Crosby for the postseason scoring crown with 27 points.
Lidstrom is one of five players to be with the Red Wings for their four most recent titles (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008).
Crosby came close in his third NHL season to adding a Stanley Cup to his resume that already includes a scoring crown and a league MVP award.
Brian Rafalski gave Detroit a 1-0 lead in the first period and Valtteri Filppula doubled it in the second. Chris Osgood made 20 saves and improved to 14-4 in the playoffs after taking over for No. 1 goalie Dominik Hasek in the first round of the playoffs. Osgood allowed only 30 goals in 19 games.
Detroit earned its final two victories of the championship series in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins won their first nine postseason games. Until the Red Wings came to town, the Penguins hadn’t lost at home since February.
Fleury, brilliant in making 55 saves Monday night in Pittsburgh’s thrilling 4-3 win in triple overtime, couldn’t repeat that performance. Filppula’s rebound goal 8:07 into the second period was certainly one he’d like to have back.
Mikael Samuelsson faked a shot as he crept toward the right circle and then let go a drive that Fleury blocked with the stick. The rebound came right back out in front to Filppula, who didn’t get much on his shot but managed to squeeze the puck between Fleury’s pads to make it 2-0.
The “white-out” clad crowd tried to muster up a “Let’s Go Pens!” chant, but the stifling Red Wings defense took every bit as much out of the fans as it did the Penguins’ usually potent offense.
Pittsburgh shots were blocked, passing lanes were closed off, and the puck seemed to be constantly on the sticks of the Red Wings. That is until an interference call was made against Pavel Datsyuk, who protested the penalty all the way to the box and then while inside.
That set up the goal the Penguins have been waiting for all season, the one from NHL MVP finalist Evgeni Malkin, who hadn’t scored since the clinching game of the Eastern Conference finals.
Malkin, coming off a season in which he had 47 goals and 106 points, had been completely pointless until Petr Sykora’s scored the overtime goal off his pass to win Game 5. This time, Crosby found him in the left circle with a cross-ice feed, and Malkin ripped a shot between Osgood’s pass to cut the deficit in half at 15:26.
Rafalski struck first just 5:03 into the game, giving the Red Wings the critical 1-0 lead - an advantage that proved to be the precursor of the winning team in all but one game of the series.
The Dearborn, Mich., native in his first season with the hometown Red Wings was in line to have the Cup-winning goal when he gave Detroit a 3-2 lead in the third period of Monday night’s marathon.
Sykora wrecked those plans, but nothing could deny Rafalski after two failed clearing attempts by Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi. Datsyuk passed the puck into the right circle to Zetterberg, who while falling down moved it to Rafalski in the left circle. Rafalski snapped a shot that sailed through a screen by big Tomas Holmstrom right in front of Fleury and in to make it 1-0.
It was the fourth goal of the playoffs for Rafalski, a two-time Cup winner with New Jersey.
Although Malkin got Pittsburgh back in it with a power-play goal, it was a blown 5-on-3 advantage in the first period that really set the tone for the Penguins’ ouster.
With Dallas Drake already off for charging, Kris Draper joined him in the box 27 seconds later for roughing. That set up a two-man power play for the second time in the series. Both came with the Penguins down by a goal, and both ended with Detroit’s lead still intact.
Pittsburgh did record two shots on goal during this advantage unlike the third-period power play in its 2-1 home loss in Game 4 when the Penguins had none.
Hookscenter.com wire report.
2008 Stanley Cup Game 6 Preview - Red Wings vs Penguins.
June 4, 2008
The Detroit Red Wings are playing a game they didn’t want to play, in a city where they don’t want to be, against a growing-confident Pittsburgh Penguins team they were certain would be long gone by now.
Such are the perils of the Stanley Cup finals where, as the Red Wings discovered during a riveting but heartbreaking Game 5, no lead is truly safe and no team is safely eliminated until the final horn sounds.
Fifty-eight minutes won’t do it. Neither will 59 1/2 minutes, as the Red Wings were reminded during their history-making 4-3, triple-overtime loss Monday night that cut their lead to 3-2 and sent the series back to Pittsburgh for Game 6 on Wednesday night.
The Stanley Cup was unpacked and spiffed up, so close the Red Wings could touch it. Only they couldn’t after Pittsburgh’s Max Talbot tied it with only 34.3 seconds remaining and Petr Sykora won it in the third overtime, giving the Penguins new life in a finals that appeared over.
“Afterward, you realize we did have a great chance to win it. But we didn’t,” Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “So that’s it. You have to put that behind you and move on.”
Still, the disappointment was tangible. No NHL team has gone so deep into an elimination game with a lead only to have it yanked away, teased and tempted by the Cup before having it stowed for another night.
The Red Wings returned to Pittsburgh determined to make that Wednesday night, rather than waiting for a Game 7 back in Detroit on Saturday in which there would be no guarantees. No even for a team that once led the series 3-1.
“We still have a great opportunity here,” defenseman Brian Rafalski said. “That’s how you have to look at it. No one said it’s going to be easy. And it’s not going to happen, and obviously didn’t happen, in five games.”
The Penguins’ goal? To make sure it doesn’t happen in six games, either, and the franchise plays the first Stanley Cup Game 7 in its history.
To do that, the Penguins need some carryover momentum from one of the most remarkable wins in team history, more goaltending like they got during Marc-Andre Fleury’s 55-save game - and a belief.
Mostly, the belief that they’ve gotten into the Red Wings’ heads and created doubt that wasn’t there when Detroit won the first two games at home by a combined score of 7-0.
How rare was Pittsburgh’s comeback? No team in 72 years, or since the 1936 Maple Leafs against the Red Wings, extended the finals after scoring in the final minute of regulation in a potential elimination game.
“They kind of had it in their pocket, and it (is) going to be hard for them to get up for this game,” Sykora said. “So I think it’s going to be a huge game.”
For the first time since the Penguins were founded in 1967, the Stanley Cup will be in Mellon Arena, ready to be presented.
Only it can’t be to them, hence their determination that the Cup be packed up yet again and sent back to Detroit where, for the first time, the Penguins would also have a chance to win it.
“Let’s make sure, this our last game in Pittsburgh, (that) we’re going to really make sure that it’s going to be pretty special,” coach Michel Therrien said.
Red Wings coach Mike Babcock’s thinking is a team that won all three of its previous series this spring on the road will put aside the disappointment, shove aside the bad memories and respond with the kind of game that will win the Cup.
“As tough as it was at times (in Game 5), we’re up 3-2 in the Stanley Cup finals and let’s get ready,” Babcock said.
Babcock believes the Red Wings will be calmer and more poised on the road, away from the distractions and the incessant talk about victory parades and Stanley Cup displays. Even though the Penguins are 9-1 at home in the playoffs and have won 17 of 18 there.
“I think being on the road is a great thing,” Babcock said. “We’ve closed out every series on the road. As far as carryover from that (Game 5), it’s a lesson learned. They’re good players. It won’t happen again. Sometimes you need to be reminded.”
The Red Wings’ worry is they’ve given the Penguins reason to believe, an opening they can exploit, a chance they shouldn’t have had.
“We’re still here, still battling, and we still have an opportunity here,” Sidney Crosby said.
The Red Wings, with five players who can win their fourth Stanley Cup with the team, hope this is where their edge in age and experience pays off against the young, feisty Penguins.
“We’re a confident team, we’re a confident group,” Kris Draper said. “We feel that we can come into another team’s building and be successful.”
So successful, they don’t leave without the Stanley Cup this time.
“I think when we play on the road, it brings out the best in our team,” goalie Chris Osgood said. “It has all year, and it will again (in Game 6).”
Hookscenter.com wire report.
Pittsburgh wins 3OT thriller in Game 5 of Stanley Cup Finals.
June 3, 2008
The pizza was perfect for Petr Sykora and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Deep in overtime and the season hanging in the balance, Sykora scored a power-play goal 9:57 into the third extra session to give the Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night and send the Stanley Cup Finals back to the Steel City for Game 6.
“We basically just had to keep the fluids going, get some food in you,” Sykora said. “We had some pizza coming. We had some power bars and stuff like that.”
Asked if the pizza was Little Caesar’s, the company founded by Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, Sykora flashed a smile.
“Domino’s,” he said.
That delivery was right on time, but none of it would have been possible without Maxime Talbot’s goal with 34.3 seconds left in regulation that brought Pittsburgh into a 3-3 tie.
Undaunted with the Stanley Cup inside Joe Louis Arena, the Penguins kept the trophy out of the hands of the Red Wings for at least a few days. The series resumes in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
Another win there, and it will be back to Detroit for Game 7 on Saturday.
“If we can come up with the win, it’s going to be a lot of pressure on them,” Sykora said. “But you just worry about the game on Wednesday, and hopefully we can get it.”
With Jiri Hudler serving a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Rob Scuderi and causing a cut, Sykora wound up in the right circle and ripped a drive past Chris Osgood to end the marathon that lasted 4½ hours and ended at 12:46 a.m.
“I was just praying for blood,” Scuderi said.
Overtime heroics are nothing new for Sykora, who ended the fourth-longest NHL playoff game in a fifth extra session on April 24, 2003, during Anaheim’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals. That team was coached by current Detroit bench boss Mike Babcock.
“We have a great thing going right now. We just wanted to win this game,” Sykora said. “We didn’t really look ahead. Now we’re going back home. We’ve got nothing to lose. We know what we have to do and hopefully we can bring it back here to Detroit.”
The Red Wings, who fell to 9-2 at home in the postseason, gave the Penguins their first loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday in Game 4 to set up their championship chances.
Early on, a Penguins win in this one seemed likely after they scored twice in the first period and carried a 2-1 lead into the third. However, the Red Wings tied it on Pavel Datsyuk’s power-play goal at 6:43 and went ahead for the first time 2:40 later when Brian Rafalski scored.
The party was on in the final minute. Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was on the bench, the Pittsburgh net was empty and the seconds ticked down toward Detroit’s fourth Stanley Cup championship in 11 seasons.
Talbot put the fans back into their seats when he saved the Penguins’ season with a second whack of the puck at the left post in the final minute of regulation. Fleury kept them alive with a brilliant 55-save effort, including 24 in overtime.
Now, the treasured trophy will go back into its crate and head to Pennsylvania where the Red Wings will have another shot at their 11th title in franchise history.
“You were that close, and then, ‘Oh, tough,’” Babcock said. “I think it’s natural to feel bad for us for a bit, and feel bad for yourself. But it’s the Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s not supposed to be easy.”
Sykora’s goal ended the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup Finals history. The second assist went to defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who missed the first two overtime periods after crashing headfirst into the end boards in the second period. Gonchar took the ice to help Pittsburgh’s struggling power play.
“The game was so long. I wanted to help our guys,” Gonchar said. “I started feeling better at the end of the second overtime, so I thought there was a chance. Anyway I could help, I had to come back, so the goal was wait until the power play. They put me on the ice for the power play and we scored.”
That unit finally clicked on its fifth chance — including three in overtime — after converting only twice in 17 chances during the first four games.
Road teams have won 10 of the past 12 overtime games in the Finals and are 15-4 since 1990.
Marian Hossa and Adam Hall put the Penguins in that position by scoring 6:04 apart in the first.
Darren Helm cut Detroit’s deficit in half in the second, and the raucous home crowd was primed to carry the Red Wings home in the third. Datsyuk struck for the tying goal 22 seconds after Tyler Kennedy went off for hooking, the Red Wings’ first power-play goal in four chances on the night.
By then, the chants of “We Want the Cup” filled the old rink. Penguins coach Michel Therrien called his timeout with 11:41 remaining, but it would have been helpful just 1:04 later when Rafalski put the Penguins on the brink of elimination.
Johan Franzen sent a pass out front to Rafalski, who skated in from the right point and ripped a drive through a crowd in the crease and into the net. It was Rafalski’s third goal of the playoffs.
The bubbly was certainly on ice when Talbot — the extra skater on for Fleury — tied it.
Hossa swept a pass from the corner that bounced off Osgood’s left leg and came to Talbot. With a second jab, he got the puck through. The Penguins bench erupted in celebration as Red Wings players skated slowly as they realized how close they had come.
The Red Wings outshot the Penguins 13-2 in the first overtime and kept the puck in the Pittsburgh end for most of it. Detroit, however, took the only penalty but killed it off without much difficulty.
Fleury knocked aside Datsyuk’s drive 6½ minutes into overtime and then fought off a rebound try by Valtteri Filppula. Tomas Holmstrom, who returned from a one-game absence caused by an injured hamstring, got the puck while he was alone in the slot only to have his spin-o-rama attempt kept out by the Penguins’ 23-year-old netminder.
Pittsburgh’s best early overtime chance came from Evgeni Malkin, the MVP finalist, who earned the first assist on the winning goal for his first point in the series. Malkin took a pass from Jarkko Ruutu as he came off the bench and fired a drive from the right circle that bounced off Osgood’s arm before he gloved it.
Each team received a power play in the second overtime, and both penalties came in the offensive zone.
Pittsburgh earned its second goalie interference penalty after regulation when Dan Cleary drove hard to the net and bumped Fleury near the right post. The Red Wings failed to get a shot on Fleury after Sykora hooked Niklas Kronwall in front of the Detroit net following a scoring chance.
Fleury remained sharp and made 20 saves through two overtimes. He kept his cool even after losing sight of the puck, which popped over him and landed on top of the net.
With “The Joe” decked out in red and ready to rock, the Penguins drained the juice out of the building in the first.
Hall’s goal was particularly deflating because the puck was shot into the net by Kronwall with 5:19 left in the period.
Detroit seemed poised to end the series on home ice, where the Red Wings outscored the Penguins a combined 7-0 in the first two games of the series.
But just as they did in the Western Conference finals against Dallas, the Presidents’ Trophy winners dropped Game 5 with a chance to wrap things up.
Hookscenter.com wire report.