Game 3: Hope Reborn

"Raise a bright hope, that there is a brilliant tomorrow"
Small Towns Burn a Little Slower: "A Tune of Panic"

Ladies, gentlemen and Red Wings fans, we got ourselves a series again. And this despite Sid still being held to one point, and Geno not scoring this time round (although he did once again step forward as "the" Pens player of the series so far, assisting on three of the four goals). How's that "two players scoring on the team" schtick smell now?

It's all about Mad Max Talbot, be-yatch, scoring two goals-the opener and the dagger-to-the-heart empty netter. Although you wouldn't put him among the top offensive stars in the series, Max can finish when he needs to...


Or Chris Kunitz, throwing only two less hits by himself in the first two periods (10) than the entire Wings team (12)...by far the leader on a Pens team that out-hit their opponents by over three-to-one. Crash-and-bang playoff hockey at its best...


Or maybe Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar, blasting home a pair of bullet slapshots after the Wings looked like they'd weathered the storm to go 2-1 up, thanks to the Swedish tandem of Zetterberg and Franzen deciding that they'd do their bit to reclaim the superstar mantle after being shown up a little in the scoring stakes by the AHL line.


Whisper this...but maybe the Wings have a weakness-three penalties taken, two powerplay goals conceded. If you're looking for the ideal way to lose a game, then taking a 2-1 lead and throwing it away by failing to kill penalties must be up there somewhere.


Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader, where art thou? The Wings everyone have been talking about in this series appeared to be a little off their games for a change...pride comes before a fall, and all that...


Three goals on 20 shots, including two on seven in the first period alone? Not that Chris Osgood is cracking (he's far too much of a professional for that) but the aura of flawless invincibility he was slowly building over the first two games has, if not shattered (after all, this is just one game), at least now got a few blemishes on it. If the Pens out-duel him in game 4, suddenly the Wings will have to come to Pittsburgh at least once more...and with the ground-shaking noise produced by 17,000+ Pens fanatics plus the massive crowd outside, it is not a friendly place for anyone wearing the winged wheel, but Ozzie will be the one under the gun most of all...

Game Four is now the Pens' to lose. They can keep Sid and/or Geno away from Zetterberg and/or Lidstrom, Datsyuk ain't fit yet, and 17,216 roaring voices are a hell of a sixth man. But if they do lose, the Wings are not only in the driving seat but have the key in the ignition and the handbrake released in their drive towards victory. For so many reasons, the season for Sid and friends has now reached the point where losing with dignity and pride, as they did last time out, is simply not an option any more.

After the first two, many were saying that the Winged Wheel was rolling toward another Stanley Cup. After Game Three, the Penguins are preparing to march again.

Thursday is D-day.

We need a repeat of Tuesday night on Thursday, Kunitz to crash and bang like a demented destruction-derby racer again, Malkin to play like a demon playmaker again, and Sid to channel the spirit of Mario through himself to his team-mates, many of whom will need no telling of how important a win is. Nothing else will do.

All 82 regular season games and the 20 playoff games thus far are history now. Grounding the hated Flyers, storming the Capitals and blowing away the Hurricanes were great fun, great achievements and would be enough for many other teams. But not this Pens squad. Not now.

We know the Cup will be won, but we don't know who by. Thursday's game will have a massive say in deciding that question...

Let's go Pens...