Hockey Makes A Comeback (For At Least A Few Days)

Last night’s Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings may have been the best hockey game I have ever seen. Facing elimination, the Penguins led most of the game before the Wings came roaring back late in the third period to take a 3-2 lead. Lord Stanley’s Cup was being polished by the guy with the Mickey Mouse gloves. Fans were ready to celebrate. With 34 seconds to go and an empty net at the other end, Maxime Talbot, the extra attacker for Pittsburgh, stuffed a rebound past Chris Osgood, tying the game and sending it to overtime.

Hopefully nobody saw me jumping up and down in the break room.

I have been pulling for the Penguins all series long. Last night, I had additional reasons. Despite this year’s Stanley Cup Finals pairing the league’s two best teams, it has been pretty boring. Detroit dominated the three games they won. Pittsburgh’s Game 3 victory carried a hint of drama. Finally, both teams were playing at their peak at the same time. With promise of more games like this one, I just wanted the series to continue.

After work, I flew home to catch the beginning of double overtime. The game carried an intensity of Game 7 throughout. It got even better in the overtime frames. With every forwarding of the puck toward the net a potential game-winner, and in the case of Detroit, championship-winner. I could not lay in bed and watch the game like an NFL playoff game or a World Series. I had to stand up. College basketball is the only sport that comes close, but nothing at all can match playoff overtime hockey. This comes from someone born and raised in the South who can’t ice skate.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 55 saves in a goaltending effort for the ages. Ryan Malone was hit in his recently-broken nose with a slapshot. Blood poured onto the ice. Malone was back within five minutes. In Ruthian fashion, Petr Sykora, who did not have a point in the entire series, told NBC’s Pierre McGuire that he was going to score the game-winner. In the third overtime, Sykora delivered his called shot, a blast that ended the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup Finals history.

Today, hockey was talked about on talk radio in Jackson, Miss., probably for the first time since the Bandits left town. I have been bombarded with e-mails and facebook messages from my hockey friends. People I have not heard from in years called me just to say, “Oh my goodness did you see that game?”

The NHL has been on a disastrous journey into obscurity over the past decade. This series is its chance to break back into the mainstream. The Red Wings are American hockey’s premiere franchise. The Penguins represent the new generation, led by Fleury and Sidney Crosby, an electric scorer often compared to Lemieux and Gretzky. After 4 rather disappointing games, Game 5 gave them their big moment. Thankfully, Pittsburgh won and we get to see this series continue for at least one more night.

Even if you have never watched hockey before in your life, you have got to see some of this series. Game 6 is Wednesday night at 7pm (CT) on NBC. It is the dog days of summer; there is nothing else on television. When it is 90 degrees outside, what could be better than watching, as the NHL used to market it, “The coolest game on earth?”