The Sports Monitor

The wait is finally over. It's not as bad as the off week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, but the two days between Game 6 and Game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals has taken a long time to get here. Now that it's here, how will the Penguins do? I'm still confident in their chances tonight against the Red Wings. A guy at work last night asked me if I thought they could win at Detroit. "Oh, yeah," was my quick response. The Pens played well enough to win Games 1 and 2, they won in Detroit in the regular season and they won there in the finals last year. So, why not tonight? Odds certainly aren't in their favor, as the home team always seems to win Game 7s. That's OK. I'll take the Penguins' chances. Marc-Andre Fleury is coming off a great game, Sidney Crosby is due to break out, and the Pens are in line to have a few bouncing pucks go there way. Whatever happens, it's been a great ride during the postseason. This team was...

For 20 minutes Tuesday night, the Detroit Red Wings were perfect. At least that's what some people were saying at intermission of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. And the second period sure did look like a perfect effort, if you didn't glance at the scoreboard and see the game still tied 2-2. But it was tied and the Pens had life. They turned everything around, getting a power-play goal and empty-net goal to cap a 4-2 win and climb back into the series. I don't think this series is over. In fact, a win Thursday night and this series is the Penguins' to win. Why the optimism? The Red Wings got plenty of breaks and bounces in Games 1 and 2. Missed penalties? Check. Penguins' shots hitting posts instead of the back of the net? Check. 2-0 series lead like last year? Check. That's where the similarities end in my book. With all going right for the Wings, they should have won Game 3. Instead, the Pens' survived that second period Tuesday night and put on a displa...