Thursday, August 13, 2009

Stanley Cup Finals: Game 7 Recap

Scoring Summary

1ST PERIOD
7:14 PIT Malkin
14:46 PIT Cooke (Gonchar, Whitney)
16:30 VAN Kesler

2ND PERIOD
0:32 PIT Crosby (Gonchar, Whitney)
1:14 VAN Burrows (Salo, Kesler)
5:37 PIT Satan (Whitney, Gonchar)
6:37 PIT Dupuis (Crosby, Fedotenko)

3RD PERIOD
13:42 PIT Dupuis (Fedotenko, Gill)

Dupuis had another great night (8 goals in the series), but for only the second time in the series, everyone else showed up on the offensive end, too.

One of the things I really love about this game is how differently the games develop. We'd had two gritty, tense games in a row, and I was expecting a low-scoring nail biter. Instead, it was high octane.

In the end, Roberto Luongo was of this Earth after all, and with our improved defensive play, we were able to keep and then stretch the lead. It was impossible to relax, because in games with this kind of tempo, the other team can score in bunches, but once Dupuis scored in the third to make it 6-2, I started to think about winning.

Three seven game series in a row, five elimination games, and more drama than Shakespeare, but somehow we survived. Eli 8.0 was totally clutch, especially the way he picked up his defense in the Vancouver series.

Time was ticking down in the third period, and he turned to me, a huge smile on his face, and said "Dad, we won the Stanley Cup!"

"Yes, we did," I said, my smile just as big as his. "And we earned it."

Now, a few photos. This was taken right after the game ended:


The traditional team picture:


If you watch the Stanley Cup, or any other team sports championship, you know that one of the first things the winners do is rock their championship gear--t-shirts and hats in particular. So I ordered some Stanley Cup Championship gear for Eli 8.0 in case we won:


I'm ordering some for me, too.

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