After an amazing season, a coaching change and quite a few heart-attack-games, The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup!!!
What an amazing run!!
My two cents about the Cup Final:
I can not count how many times one brawl or another broke out between the Pens and the Wings before game 7. There were so many fights and penalties and really nasty hits and so much of this series was defined by this. Malkin suddenly became emotional on the ice and got off a few really awesome punches on more than one occasion. The Wings were all over any Penguin who had the puck to point where turnovers were becoming ridiculous.
By game 3, when the Pens came home, it wasn't looking too good for us, but the argument had been made over and over again, especially after the disaster that was game 5, about how very important home-ice is for a team in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Game 6 was nerve wracking. I can remember shouting at the television when the cup was brought out of its box and was being polished, 'PUT IT BACK!! PUT IT BACK,' not wanting to re-live the disappointment of last year's Cup Final result.
Having won game 6 and forcing a game 7, the odds really were stacked against the Penguins to win. None of the commentators, sports writers or average Joes on the street were tired of pointing out that only 3 of the last 17 Stanley Cups were awarded to the visiting team in game 7. Contrary to this ubiquitous fact, I became overly fond of pointing out that there is something of a 'negative space' issue in these statistics during the time between game 6 and game 7.
It's not about what the statistics say, it's about what they don't say. It's the element of probability that is absent from the commentators', writers' and Joes' estimation of the chances for a Penguins win. The Penguins had more of a chance to win game 7 because of the stacked statistics. It was more probable that they would win because the numbers were due for a tick in the other direction. It's like playing the number 314 in the PA Lottery. 314 rarely comes up. It is the least hit-upon number combination. So, based on the history of the PA Lottery, one wouldn't play this number because it doesn't come up often, right? Wrong. 314 has a greater chance of hitting because it doesn't come up that often.
Regardless of the commentary, articles and conversations, the Red Wings didn't loose the game. The Penguins won the game; and it was the first time during the entire series that we lead the series. Detroit led four times.
It took all of six games, but the Red Wings finally looked at the Penguins and respected the team for having forced a game 7, for having the guts and the stamina to deny them a cup in game 6, even after the whipping we took in game 5. There were virtually no 'stupid penalties' in this game, no fights and the hit count was almost even- especially the real zingers. It wasn't tipped way in favor of the Wings this time. So good on them for having the guts to respect the Penguins. It takes alot for a team to put everything else aside and give an opponent some respect.
I could, at this point, say something really un-sportsman-like about Hossa right now; such as 'he's now reduced to a curse' or 'serves him right for bailing on Pittsburgh' or 'he got his just desserts' or something equally ironic about his situation. But I won't.
The Penguins so deserve this victory... and so do we, the fans.
WOW!! Two major national championships in the same year! What is my application of the 'negative space' theory of statistics to the Pittsburgh Pirates? Yeah, not so much.
The Penguins win marks the first time in professional sports history that a Super Bowl winning team is from the same city as a Stanley Cup winning team in the same year. That's a really clumsy way of putting that, but it's 4:13am and I've just realized that there will now be no more hockey for the next few months... but I think my point was made.
Congratulations, Penguins, on an amazing championship season!!
Some video from NHL.com:
#71 Malkin MVP!!!
I'm not sure exactly what happened a year ago at this time, but I'm pretty sure the fans in Mellon Arena were not booing this loudly...
Hold it high, gentlemen... you've earned it!!
Preview of the Wheaties box...
Posts
0 comments :
Post a Comment