Pittsburgh Penguins – Stanley Cup Champions

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins for capturing their 3rd Stanley Cup on Friday night as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in game 7 of the finals.

Earlier in the series many people, including myself, thought that Detroit was going to take this one easily, but the Pens fought back hard (other than game 5) and won the cup on the Wing’s home ice. How sweet that must have been considering that the opposite took place last season.

I was in Ontario for the weekend and got to watch game 7 at a place called Rusty’s at Blue Mountain Resort. I wasn’t too sure who the crowd would be going for, but even as I walked past the hotel rooms on the way to the bar I figured it out quickly. “Let’s go Pens! Let’s go Pens!” Upon arriving at the bar it was even more clear as there was a surprising sea of black and gold, with a lone 12 year old in a wings jersey… yeah, there was a 12 year old in the bar somehow.

Anyway, it was a great game, and a stellar way to finish off the season. Before the Penguins win I was pulling for the Wings for no reason other than I didn’t want to see Crosby hoist the cup. After they won though, I once again realized that it doesn’t matter who wins, being the lucky captain to be able to lift that thing (away from that weasel Bettman) is one hell of an accomplishment, and you have to be happy for them.

Anyway, I can go on and on, but considering that I’m writing this three days after the win, I’ll just close out with two of my favourite quotes from the post game interviews on CBC:

Marc Andre Fluery when asked what he was thinking when the Wings were buzzing in his zone with only a few seconds to go:

“Oh Shit! Sorry guys, but that’s what I was thinking!”

Matt Cooke’s 5 year old son when asked if he had any thoughts to share:

“I skipped school” (with a huge grin)

Special thanks to CBC for this years intro and closing videos. That video before game one of the series with Coldplay was unreal, and the closing video with Dallas Green’s Sleeping Sickness was awesome as well. Those things give me goosebumps!