Petr Sykora felt good about his chances in overtime last night. So good, that he told his teammates and the TV reporters that he was going to score as he walked to the locker room between overtime periods. And at 9:57 of the 3rd OT, he took a pass from Evgeny Malkin and delivered on his promise, sending an ecstatic Pittsburgh team back home for Game 6.
The Joe Louis Arena was teeming with excitement, the Cup was in the building and officials were polishing it late in the 3rd as Detroit was leading 3-2 after coming back from a 2-0 Pittsburgh lead. But Maxime Talbot, not usually on the ice as an extra attacker, scored with 34 seconds remaining and Fleury on the bench. The next 50 minutes were a gift to hockey fans everywhere.
Detroit had 58 shots over the course of the game, and Fleury was perfect in overtime, making a number of highlight reel saves, totaling 24 saves in overtime.. Almost every Red Wing player had an opportunity to score and give their team the Cup. But the young goaltender from Quebec looked like Patrick Roy between the pipes, turning in one of the greatest playoff goaltending performances in NHL history.
In a series where it has looked like the Red Wings have simply wanted the Cup more than the Penguins, this game was totally different. The grit that Pittsburgh displayed was something that any sports fan could appreciate. Ryan Malone took a shot in the nose that had already been broken once this series, and despite playing the remainder of the game with a cotton wad up his nose to stop the bleeding, he was on the ice creating traffic in front of the net when Sykora scored the winner. Sergei Gonchar missed the first two overtime periods after sliding into the boards in the second period as he broke up a Detroit scoring chance. Yet when Pittsburgh got the powerplay in the 3rd overtime, Gonchar limped over the boards to take his usual place at the point where he contributed to Sykora’s winning tally.
Pittsburgh is doing their best to win this series, and if they continue to display the heart and emotion that they did in the closing moments of Game 5, they may have a chance to complete one of the greatest comebacks in Stanley Cup history.
