Our Games of the Decade Series continues with our next game coming exactly three months after the epic 6 OT game between UConn and Syracuse. This time, we go from the hardwood to the ice with our hockey game of the decade. Hockey suffered through a tumultuous decade, becoming the first American sports league to lose an entire season due to a work stoppage. The '04-'05 lockout, and subsequent drop from ESPN has left hockey in a distant 4th place amongst the 4 major pro sports in popularity. However, epic games like this one can slowly bring hockey back to the mainstream.
Who: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings
What: Stanley Cup Finals Game 7
Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
When: June 12, 2009
How It All Unfolded: The 2009 Stanley Cup Finals was a rematch of the previous season's championship round. The veteran Red Wings had held off the upstart Penguins in 6 games in 2008 to win their 2nd Stanley Cup of the Decade. All of hockey was rooting for a rematch when 2009, and the Penguins made a remarkable run back to the Cup Finals from the #4 seed. The Wings had a veteran roster with plenty of All-Star performers like Datsyuk, Franzen, and Holmstrom, along with veterans Osgood, Chelios, and Draper. The Penguins were led by hockey's next big thing Sidney Crosby, the league's youngest ever MVP in 2007, and Evgeni Malkin, winer of the Art Ross trophy. The series was set to be a classic.
The teams traded home wins all the way up until Game 7. Going into the game, Detroit's veteran leadership and championship experience had them the slight favorites. However, stars like Crosby and Malkin were capable of winning the Cup on the road for Pittsburgh's first title since the days of Super Mario. The first period was played like you would expect in a Game 7 with physical play and neither side giving an inch. As the 2nd Period began, the Penguins got the breakthrough with Max Talbot converting a turnover. As the Pens took the lead though, they lost their star Crosby to a big hit on the boards. But, it was Talbot who was leading Pittsburgh as the unlikely hero (12 G in '08-'09) as he got his 2nd of the period on a 2 on 1 breakaway. The Pens were 20 minutes away from the Cup.
With 6 minutes left, Detroit got one back, setting up one of the most dramatic finishes in hockey history. Niklas Kronwall drilled the crossbar with over 2 minutes to go, and as time expired Pens G Marc-Andre Fleury came up with one of the most famous saves of all-time as he dived across his goal to stop Wings Captain Nick Lidstrom as time expired and the Penguins won the Cup. It was everything the NHL could have hoped for as its star phenom Crosby celebrated with owner Mario Lemieux and lifted the Stanley Cup, here's the highlights!
Why We'll Remember It: This game wasn't just important for the Red Wings and the Penguins, but for the sport of hockey. The lockout of 2004 did untold damage to the sport. Love or hate ESPN, but they control the sports landscape. The NHL being off ESPN is a huge hill to climb for the league. Yes, you can point to attendance numbers all you want, but TV money and viewers rule the day. And, compared to the NFL, hockey is a gnat flying around on the Versus network. However, the game is more entertaining than ever, and stars like Crosby can bring back viewers and networks. 2009's Game 7 on NBC was the most watched hockey game in the US since 1973 drawing 8 Million viewers. In other words, hockey was once again relevant on the national sports landscape.
And, in truth, the NHL couldn't have asked for a better game to bring back the masses to the ice. You had two of the hallmark franchises of the league going toe-to-toe, you had stars all over the ice, an unlikely hero, and a thrilling finale. Of course, the NHL has a long way to go before it can come back to national prominence and compete with the other 3 major pro sports. Violence and injuries in the game have to be addressed before someone gets seriously injured as we've seen a high number of high impact injuries this season.
But, for one magical night in June, Lord Stanley's Cup drew the attention of a nation, and they were captivated from beginning to end. Let's hope that for the sake of hockey, and for sports in general, we can look back on Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals as the night that hockey was back.
Also Considered:
-2000: Eastern Conference Semis - Flyers 2 Penguins 1 5 OT
-2000: Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 - Stars 1 Devils 0 3 OT
-2002: Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 - Red Wings 3 Hurricanes 2 3 OT
-2006: Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 - Hurricanes 5 Oilers 4
We'll be back on Monday with all of the news from this weekend, including Tiger Woods and Bud Selig. See you then!
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