Happy for the Pens

Well another season has come and gone and we have ourselves new Stanley Cup Champions.

I have to say that I was partial to Detroit winning again but honestly I didn't care all that much. I have no strong emotional ties to either team it's just that I've always liked watching Detroit compete and I never really liked the Pens. I don't hate them, but they just have never been a team that I could get behind. But I do love me some Marc-Andre Fleury. Timely saves and a thick French Canadian accent...what more could I want? So even though I thought I wanted Detroit to win, I was really happy for the Penguins and I've gained a lot of respect for them after not only this series, but the entire postseason. It's pretty neat considering at a point in the regular season they were really struggling and they were in 10th place. I remember when the Sabres were still in the hunt, some fans were wondering what team had the potential to knock them out of playoff contention. I remember some fans saying how Pittsburgh was not a threat. First of all it's foolish to rule out any team when they are right in the hunt, and secondly, Pittsburgh just has too much talent on their team to not worry about. It was not surprising for me to see them battle their way from 10th place to a playoff position after a coaching change.

I really did think Detroit was going to win the Cup again, even though I didn't think it was going to be easy for them to face the Pens. I was pretty sure they were going to win at the Mellon during Game 6, and I have to say that I was surprised that Pittsburgh won. It showed me that they have learned from last season and they had just as much as a right to compete for the Cup as Detroit. Hey, any team who eliminates Detroit in the playoffs deserves a shot at the Cup, right?

I'm happy for Fleury as well. I've noticed that sometimes during the regular season he doesn't always get the credit he deserves and fans can question how good he really is. I believe that he's a very good goaltender who still has his best years ahead of him. I think he'll only get better. He had a few struggles in the post season but all in all he (and with some help from his goal posts) was there for his teammates when they needed him the most. It was fitting that he made a fantastic save in the dying seconds of the third period when Detroit was frantically trying to tie up the game to send it into overtime.

So congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they deserved it.