NHL Stanley Cup Finals

[SteelSD]

Another fantastic game and I can't remember a series in my life where not only did a team survive two pulls of its goalie, it actually scored two goals with the goalie on the bench. Pittsburgh was obviously out-played during this entire series and sometimes a team needs to lose before it can learn how to win.

Congratulations to a top-notch Red Wings franchise and all Red Wings' fans have something to be very very proud of tonight. They won with great skill and class.

BTW, I am also very proud of the like-minded fans in Pittsburgh who are still standing in appreciation of what the 'Wings have accomplished.

[missionhockey21]

My heart is breaking, just absolutely breaking. I remember the days of Mario-Jagr-Franchise, etc but being born in '85, I obviously couldn't appreciate it quite like I could do today. I was hoping for a last-second miracle, but it wasn't in the cards.

Congratulations to the Red Wings and their fans, perhaps our teams will meet again next year... a year wiser.

[westofyou]

Good times.... good times... look at Dallas Drake in the right hand bottom corner.. the man lifted the cup and I shed a tear... that's how damn good this was.

[Raisor]

That last shot by Hossa was a hair away from going in, right at the buzzer.

Great ending.

[Patrick Bateman]

Congrats WOY.

[westofyou]

Thursday, June 5, 2008
Drake's dream comes true
Veteran, 38, is first to take Cup from captain Lidstrom as his wins his first championship.
Dana Wakiji / The Detroit News

PITTSBURGH -- Dallas Drake nearly called it quits. At age 38, he knew he didn't have many more chances to win a Stanley Cup.

Then he returned to the team that drafted him in the sixth round in the 1989 NHL entry draft -- the Detroit Red Wings.

Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, after the Red Wings had held on for a 3-2 victory in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Drake's lifelong dream came true.

After taking the Stanley Cup from commissioner Gary Bettman, captain Nick Lidstrom took his lap and then headed right for Drake.

"Unbelievable honor. I didn't expect that," Drake said of being the second player to hoist the Cup. "The guys pushed me out there. I couldn't be more thankful and grateful and so many words I want to say right now, I can't get them off my tongue."

Lidstrom said he had been planning the moment for quite a while.

"I started thinking about it, actually, in the first round," Lidstrom said. "I didn't tell anyone about it. But I started thinking about if we were to go the whole way, who should be the guy I gave it to first. And looking at all the players on our team, Dallas is one of the first ones I played with. He came in the year after I did. He's been in the league for 16 years. He had a long, good career. And he had never been to the Final before. So it felt natural for me to give it to him for all the effort and hours and everything he's put into the game, and not having a chance to hoist the Cup yet."

Drake's teammates were as thrilled for Drake as they were for themselves.

"I'm so happy for him," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "To be in the league for that long and to come to our team when he was basically going to quit the game, we're so happy to have him."

Drake said the last few moments of Game 6, when the Penguins had pulled goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and were peppering Chris Osgood with shots, were extremely nerve-wracking.

"It was a close game, too close for a lot of us old guys on the bench," Drake said. "Our tickers can't take all that stuff but we managed to get through it. Very special feeling.

"It's unbelievable. It's a lifelong dream of every kid growing up in Canada and the United States to win that thing. I can't put into words exactly how I feel right now."

But Drake said he knew exactly how the Cup felt when he lifted it for the first time.

"It felt very heavy to me," Drake said. "I think it's more than 35 pounds. I'm going to get a scale out when I get it home."

No matter how heavy the Cup is, Drake said he'll never forget the feeling.

"I didn't think I was ever going to get a chance to lift it up, but a dream came true tonight," Drake said.

[OldRightHander]

That's good for Drake. I've always like him. I wish he could have done it earlier, when he was still with the Blues, but better late than never. I reminds me of when Bourque finally won it with Colorado. I always liked seeing the aging athlete getting his first championship. That will bring a tear to your eye, even when it happens to a team you've spent your whole life rooting against.

[Caveat Emperor]

FWIW -- apparently the game did very well in the overnights here in Cincy, came in 2nd place overall for the evening.

The NHL couldn't have asked for a better final 2 games to showcase its product on national TV.

[missionhockey21]

The highest rated game 6 in eight years; obviously great news for the NHL. The ratings/share for the game in Pittsburgh was ridiculous as one might expect.

[westofyou]

"I've never touched that Cup before," Drake said. "I dreamed of holding it over my head like every other kid growing up in Canada. But I've been in the same building and I'd never go near the thing. I refused to touch it. If it was rolling down the street, I'd probably have let it keep rolling. That's kind of a hockey superstition. If you want to touch it, you better get your name on it. ...

"For me to put my hands on it for all the right reasons -- it made my whole career worthwhile."

[Chip R]

I didn't have a dog in this hunt since the Habs were knocked out but when the playoffs were up against an NBA game - even a game where the Celtics were playing - I was more interested in the hockey than the basketball. It was just non-stop action.

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

Can't say I'm too thrilled with the Red Wings championship, as the logo under my name may suggest. Great to see a good series though.

[westofyou]

Can't say I'm too thrilled with the Red Wings championship, as the logo under my name may suggest. Great to see a good series though.

Surprised that the Aves fired Joe Q. he's a damn good coach... I really think they leaned too much on the old legs this season with the late signings/trades.

That's a GM's issues not the coach.

[Chip R]

In a semi-related story, the Canadian Broadcasting Company may be shelving their long-time beloved theme song for Hockey Night In Canada.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slu...v=cp&type=lgns

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

Surprised that the Aves fired Joe Q. he's a damn good coach... I really think they leaned too much on the old legs this season with the late signings/trades.

That's a GM's issues not the coach.

Coach Q never could get the offense rolling in Colorado, despite having loads of weapons. He was solid but he couldn't seem to beat the Wings. The Avs were absolutely rolling and were playing, IMO, the best hockey in the league at the end of the year and during the first series vs. Minnesota. Then wham! Wings in a 4-game sweep.

Not sure Granato, who's a former Avs coach and was an assistant during the Avs' Cup runs in 96 and 01, is the answer either. But they'll be stacked offensively next season again. Hopefully Forsberg comes back. Then let's see.