There Was A Parade In Pittsburgh - Page 2

That's something the Penguins gained firsthand knowledge of a year ago against the Red Wings.

Sensing an opportunity to capture the Stanley Cup qualified as one of those. Dan Bylsma dug deep into his inspirational repertoire while trying to capture the spirit of the thing.

As has been his habit before games, Bylsma scribbled a famous quote onto the grease board in the Penguins' dressing room Friday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena. Although movie quotes had often been a popular choice — recall the recent reliance upon "winners want the ball" from "The Replacements" — Bylsma chose the occasion of Game 7 against the Red Wings to revisit Penguins history.
When the players arrived this day in search of the franchise's third Stanley Cup, they were greeted by a declaration from the coach who had delivered their first.

"It's A Great Day For Hockey — Badger Bob Johnson."

For those who ventured to say a Penguins win may only be possible because of ‘the two-headed monster’ Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, well, there was contribution from both, as expected. In fact, Evgeni Malkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy for MVP in the series. But the unexpected winning goals came from equally unexpected players. Maxime Talbot with his ever present "heart on his sleeve" play and Rob Scuderi picking up the slack much of the series for a wandering Marc-Andre Fleury. Perhaps the Pens should have signed Scuderi as backup goalie instead of Mathieu Garon.

This all sounds so very like some scripted story out of Hollywood but it is the real deal.

These entire playoffs have been so much more than their hype, really. Pens. vs Flyers was supposed to be a bloodbath. Pens vs. Caps, too, had people talking about Crosby and Malkin's supporting cast not being enough to fend off the Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin. Pens vs. Canes in the Eastern Conference finals saw the Staal brawl catchphrase pick up speed, but it ran it’s course and died a quiet death with the Penguins win over them. Then came the rematch.

Article Author: Ginger Haycox

I am an unwilling, nomadic soul looking for a place to put down permanent roots. I have lived in too many of these 50 states, as well as 3 Canadian provinces. So who am I? I admit I'm still learning. Suffice to say, I am different things to different people. …

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