RICHMOND, Va. -- If I was making a list of my all-time favorite hockey goals, Jordan Staal’s shorty vs. the Red Wings in Game 4 might be at the very top.
I’m not ashamed to admit that the idea of a rematch with the Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final scared the heck out of me. Sure, I thought that the Penguins could win, but I thought the same thing in 2008 as they were laying waste the rest of the Eastern Conference, making capturing the Prince of Wales Trophy look exceedingly easy, before being smashed like bugs on a windshield by a couple thousand pounds of Detroit steel in the Final. When the Pens ended up down two games to none for the second straight year, it was tough not to feel an awful mix of dread and deja vu.
Still, they managed to win game 3, just like they had in 2008…and though they started off seemingly shot from a cannon in Game 4, they still found themselves down a goal in the second period, with the Wings’ formidable power play about to take the ice. Then came Staal’s opportunistic, rousing goal, a catalyst for a second-period surge that saw the team mount a 4-2 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Suddenly, Pens fans could hope … could believe ... that this year might be different. Sure, a 5-0 drubbing in Game 5 shook that confidence a little bit, but the team ultimately rewarded that belief with the ultimate prize.
The Penguins have never played a tougher series for a Stanley Cup title, and with apologies to the Sharks, Predators and North Stars, they’ve never faced a powerhouse opponent like those Wings. The hardest victories are the sweetest!
ROB ULLMAN / DKPS
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