by The Tribune-Review , Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"It is disappointing," Sykora said. "I felt like I had a strong Hockey game in Game 6."

He planned to watch Game 7 on a television in the locker room. "I kind of like to be around the guys between periods," Sykora said. "I want to feel the intensity."

Asked if he'd thought about whether Game 6 was his last in a Penguins' sweater, Sykora, a potential unrestricted free agent, said, "That's the last thing on my mind right now. Who knows?"

Penguins merchandise available

In celebration of the 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Penguins , PenStation at Mellon Arena will be opening early today, June 13th, at 7 a.m. to accommodate fans who wish to purchase official Stanley Cup Championship merchandise. PenStation is also the exclusive outlet for Stanley Cup Final souvenir programs (while supplies last).

Free parking is also available in surrounding Mellon Arena parking lots.

Official PenStation hours for this weekend only:

Saturday (6/13) from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday (6/14) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Shelf life

During practice, Penguins C Sidney Crosby fired a top-shelf wrist shot that stuck between the webbing in the back right corner of the net for what seemed like an eternity. When asked if it was a good omen heading into Game 7, Crosby laughed and said, "I hope so. They don't usually go top shelf, so I'll take those ones."

Close call

During a 5-on-3 drill, C Jordan Staal took a deflected slap shot off the side of his helmet. Staal collected himself and shook off the cobwebs, surviving the scare without a scratch.

"That wasn't too fun," Staal said. "It happens, but I'm glad it hit the old helmet."

Added LW Matt Cooke: "Somebody was looking out for him, for sure. We're fortunate nothing came of it. Maybe it knocked some sense into him."

Three-for-all

The Penguins and Red Wings surely will be among the favorites to return to the Stanley Cup Final. Detroit has only five potential unrestricted agents - forwards Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Kopecky, D Chris Chelios and G Ty Conklin - and one potential restricted free agent, LW Jiri Hudler. The Penguins have more potential UFA's in forwards Ruslan Fedotenko, Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan, Bill Guerin, Mike Zigomanis and Craig Adams, plus defensemen Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi and Philippe Boucher and G Mathieu Garon. Also, potential power-play quarterback Alex Goligoski can be a restricted free agent.

Motown revival

Michigan State's march to the NCAA Championship Game at Ford Field in April was perceived as having provided a feel-good shot in the arm to a region experiencing some tough economic times.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock saw the hosting of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final as a similar boost.

"Obviously, the Spartans did a great job," Babcock said. "We were able to host the Final Four here, the community really got behind it and they were able to play in it and I think it was fantastic. The same has happened here with the Red Wings. The ladies (employed at Joe Louis Arena) always tell me in the playoffs, 'Coach, we got to get a win today, I want to work tomorrow.' That hits home. I respect that, I really do, because there's lots of people that get to work longer because we played better."

JOIN THE PARTY

The Penguins chartered a plane to bring 286 family and friends to Detroit for Game 7. The NHL allots the visiting team 100 tickets, and the Penguins picked up an additional 150 by trading tickets with the Red Wings for Games 6 and 7. The Red Wings also allowed the Penguins to use four suites, which sat 12 and held 20. A Penguins spokesperson said C Evgeni Malkin's parents, Vladimir and Natalia ? famously known as "The Genos" ? did not make the trip because they are superstitious and the Penguins lost when they attended Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena.

The Champ is here

Former world heavyweight champion and boxing legend Muhammad Ali was in attendance, wearing a Red Wings sweater, and received a standing ovation when introduced as "one of the greatest boxers of all time," in a not-so-subtle nod to Detroit native Joe Louis, for whom the Hockey arena is named.

SEVEN FOR SEVEN

Maxime Talbot became the seventh different player to score the game-winning goal in this Stanley Cup Final. He joins, in order, Detroit's Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula, the Penguins' Sergei Gonchar and Sidney Crosby, Detroit's Dan Cleary and the Penguins' Tyler Kennedy.

JUST SHORT

The Red Wings won 11-of-13 games at Joe Louis Arena, but fell one victory shy of tying the New Jersey Devils? single-playoff record for home victories. The Devils won 12-of-13 games in 2003. Detroit remains tied with the 1988 Edmonton Oilers, who won 11 times in as many games. The Red Wings? only other loss was a 4-3 triple-overtime defeat to Anaheim in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinal May 3.

Tough ticket

Although tickets were relatively easy to secure for Games 1, 2 and 5 at Joe Louis Arena, the demand for Game 7 was overwhelming.

"We could have played it at Ford Field," one Red Wings official said.

Digit

637 ? Wins, including playoffs, earned by the Detroit Red Wings since the 1996-67 season. That was the most of any NHL team heading into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Red Wings had won four championships, also the most of any team. Only the New Jersey Devils, who had won two, had claimed more than one title.

Copyright 2009 Tribune Review Publishing Company All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.