Hate it or Love it, They Are the Champs

Much to the surprise of most of the nation, and definitely myself included, the Pittsburgh Penguins won game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals at Detroit to bring the Cup back to Pittsburgh.

After last night's game, I have decided to take a break from predicting games, it appears that whenever I call a game I jinx the chosen team. I picked Detroit to win the series fairly easily in only six games, but in my defense, so did ESPN's Barry Melrose.

The Conn Smythe Trophy (most valuable player) went to Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin. Malkin was the best player on the ice in the final two rounds of the playoffs. Malkin finished with eight points in the finals (2 goals, 6 assists).

The x-factor for the Penguins was Maxime Talbot. Talbot scored both Pittsburgh goals in game seven. He finished with four goals in the series, the most by any player in the finals.

Although his team lost the series, Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood's statistics for the final round were better than those of Marc-Andre Fleury. But in the end, the Red Wings could not get past Fleury and tie either game six or game seven (both 2-1 wins for Pittsburgh).

With family from the Detroit area, and being raised a Red Wings fan, its hard to congratulate the Penguins, but the way they played this post-season makes them well-deserving of the Stanley Cup. Hats off to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins.