2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog

Max Talbot isn't a big-name player. He's a big-game player. And the games don't get any bigger than a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final.

And the performances don't get much larger than the one Talbot turned in during Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory over Detroit at Joe Louis Arena on Friday night as he scored both of the Penguins' goals to make the third Stanley Cup in franchise history – and the first since 1992 – possible.

"I don't have a good explanation about why this guy can come up big in tough situations or big games," Penguins rookie head coach Dan Bylsma said. "But he's done it enough to know that's what he can do.

"He's gritty, he's determined and he's not scared to go after it."

In the end, the Detroit Red Wings' Stanley Cup dream escaped because they were late in arriving. Friday's 2-1 Game 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at Joe Louis Arena not only finished with the same score, but the same storyline as Detroit's Game 6 setback at Mellon Arena.

The Penguins got the jump on the Red Wings and Detroit, playing catch-up hockey, simply couldn't.

"I thought we got off to a decent start," Detroit winger Kirk Maltby said. "In the second period, it's not that we played poorly, but two mistakes led to two goals. Obviously, that's the end of it there. In the last two games, we played great in the third period, but the clock just ran out on us."

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final Friday night at Joe Louis Arena will be the most important game many, if not most, of the Penguins will ever be part of, and they know it.

Which is why they made a point of treating the hours leading up to the opening faceoff the way they would any other game, at any other point in the season.

There won’t be any “win one for the Gipper” style pre-game speeches from Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock prior to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“No, I don't believe in that,” Babcock said. “You know, if anything, I'll probably be calmer and more boring. I believe that we're a prepared group, that we don't need to get them more excited. That's not the issue here. It's controlling your emotions so you're at the right level of activation so you can execute. That will be what we talk about.”

Among their many accomplishments over the past 12 years, during which they’ve won four Stanley Cups, this one is new to the Detroit Red Wings.

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

The Penguins understand completely what they’re going to be up against during Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in Detroit Friday night.

They recognize and respect that the Red Wings are the defending champions, and that Detroit is 11-1 on home ice during these playoffs.

It’s their home, it’s their fans and it’s their rink.

That’s why the Detroit Red Wings remain confident that Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 8 p.m. ET) at Joe Louis Arena will go their way.

With two full days before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final Friday night in Detroit, Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma gave his players Wednesday off, with only those needing medical treatment reporting to Mellon Arena.

Having a day without practice gave Bylsma and his staff a little more time to contemplate not only what the Penguins must do to win at Joe Louis Arena, where they are 0-3 in the series, but how they can score some goals there.

The Penguins have gotten just two in the three games to date. If they don’t pick up the pace a bit in Game 7, their chances of earning the franchise’s first Cup since 1992 figure to fall somewhere between nominal and nil.

When his teammates saw Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury deny Henrik Zetterberg from the slot about 3½ minutes into the opening period of Game 6 in the Stanley Cup final Tuesday night, they immediately concluded that he would play well enough to give them a chance to win.

"When Fleury's on his game, like he was tonight, you can tell from the first stop he makes," Penguins forward Max Talbot said.

But it was one of Fleury's final saves during the Penguins' 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena – a victory that tied the series 3-3 and sends it to a Game 7 Friday night at Joe Louis Arena – that left the most lasting impression.

With the Detroit Red Wings carrying a 3-2 series lead to the ice for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final Tuesday at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena, all the fixings were on hand to get the party started.