PENGUINS 4
RED WINGS 3
TRIPLE OT
Now that people are starting to slowly awaken from their slumbers, it's time to try and decipher what we saw last night/morning. Everyone is going to have their unique angle today, be it depression [Albom], "last laugh" [Cook], or inspiration [Prisuta]. Of course, you could just ditch the Penguins discussion and write your umpteenth column about Mark Madden [Smizik], but instead I'm going with the question of where this game ranks in Pittsburgh sports history?
The way I see it, games are broken into two categories: most memorable games and most important games. A memorable game is a no-hitter, it's watching Mario score five goals five ways, it's a Steeler game played in a snowstorm. It can be in the regular season or the playoffs, and involve a good team or a bad team. An important game is a Stanley Cup-clincher, a Super Bowl victory, or something of great significance to your team's advancing.
Some games fall into both categories, most notably Bill Mazeroski's home run in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series, and for the wrong reasons, Game Seven of the 1992 NLCS (or as you may remember it: FRANCISCO CABRERA). This is the distinction that will be bestowed upon last night's contest.
But ultimately, where will Game Five rank in the pantheon of Pittsburgh sports (and Penguin) lore? Was it the greatest and/or most memorable Penguin game ever? That's up for debate. As far as memories go, multiple-OT or unusually lenghty games tend to stick with you, which will certainly strengthen the case for Game Five. I can tell you where I was for the "Petr Nedved Game" and the "Keith Primeau Game" all these years later, and they weren't in the Finals. I even vividly remember the Steelers-Falcons game a few years ago that ended in a tie after a ferocious rally led by Ron Mexico.
And in addition to the debate of what this game meant, we can also debate the great and memorable individual performances of all time based on what went down just a few hours ago. Last night featured 55 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury, a Willis Reed-like moment from Sergei Gonchar, an unreal goal on the brink of extinction from Max Talbot and a truly inspiring effort from the banged-up Ryan Malone. And that's before I even mentioned the words "Petr Sykora" and "Called Shot".
For Sykora, that goal defines his career. It's the moment that means he never has to pay for a meal or a drink in Pittsburgh for the rest of his life. It's the kind of play that allows a player to make a living by signing photos of that specific moment as long as he can scribble his name on an 8x10 photo. He joins Bill Buckner, Mookie Wilson, Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca, Don Larsen, and most recently, David Tyree in that unique category.
Yes, any way you slice it, Game Five had it all. Most important, though, was the fact that the Penguins actually, you know...won the game, because there were ample opportunities to add another name to another list: infamous players who took down Pittsburgh teams in the postseason. So to David Volek, Francisco Cabrera, Keith Primeau, and Larry Brown, sorry, but your exclusive club will not be getting any new members anytime soon.
Game 6 will be at 8:08 p.m. tomorrow at Mellon Arena. Our mental scrapbooks have a blank page ready and waiting.
