AN 09
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2009
SPORTS
23
SPORTS
Red Wings face tough competition this season against Penguins
Detroit Red Wings defenceman Brian Rafalski celebrates with defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom, of Sweden, after scoring the fourth goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during second period of Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals in Detroit on June 6.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Associated Press
PITTSBURG — Nicklas Lidstrom carried his traveling bag back into the hotel for the Red Wings' final road trip of the season.
If all goes well for the Detroit captain and his teammates, Lidstrom will be lugging his luggage along with the Stanley Cup out of Pittsburgh for the second straight year.
The Red Wings returned to the Steel City on Monday, the eve of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. Like a year ago, Detroit owns a 3-2 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins and can wrap up another championship on the ice at Mellon Arena.
"We know as a team that we're not there yet," Lidstrom said upon his arrival. "We know we need another win to get to where we want to be."
If anyone knows what it takes to reach that supreme level it's Lidstrom and his teammates, many of whom join him in going for their fifth championship in 12 seasons.
Game 6 has been quite kind to the Red Wings. Detroit won 13 straight Game 6s when the opportunity was there to eliminate an opponent. The run ended when Anaheim forced a seventh game this year in the second round, but that was the only time Detroit has let a team of the hook in these playoffs.
What makes it even more impressive is that the Red Wings have had home-ice advantage so often in recent years that those Game 6s have largely been played on enemy ice.
If the Penguins keep the home-ice advantage going for the sixth straight time in this series, Game 7 will be played Friday night in Detroit. For the third time since 1978, the home team has won the first five games in the finals.
Detroit was 34.3 seconds away from claiming the prize when Talbot scored the tying goal and forced overtime.
"Last year was disappointing beyond belief when we lost Game 5," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We had the game won and we turned it over two times. ... The way
This is the second consecutive year the Penguins returned home for Game 6 of the finals, trailing the Red Wings 3-2. The difference is Pittsburgh pulled out a triple-overtime victory at Detroit in Game 5 to stay alive in 2008. This time they limped back following a 5-0 rout at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night.
it turned out in the end it's not a big deal. Can you imagine if you didn't win the Cup and you did that? You're 32 seconds away from winning. I can remember thinking that for a second.
The Red Wings recalled the sour taste they had in their mouths after blowing the chance a year ago to win the Cup in front of their home fans in Game 5.
"This year it was 2-2 and we play good at home. We're coming back for a Game 6 and the guys are confident. We're looser. We're ready to go. We know it won't be easy, but it's the biggest game of our career and we definitely don't want to have the same feeling as last year."
The Penguins will be facing elimination for the second time in these
playoffs. They blew out the Washington Capitals on the road in Game 7 the second round after overcoming a 2-0 series deficit and then a home loss in Game 6.
"This year's series there is a higher confidence," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said of the Red
Wings matchup. "We've seen a lot better...results with the way we've played. We'll draw on that experience — more so the results when we've played our game and the success we've had with it. We'll take that more from this series than we would last year's."
CRIME
Little League coach uses son and friends for burglary
ARLINGTON, Wash. — A Little League coach has been accused of using some of his players to help in a break-in.
Snohomish County prosecutors charged 31-year-old George Spady Jr. on Monday with burglary.
Court documents allege he took his son, a nephew and players from the team when he broke into a vacant shop and took overhead lights and other items.
Spady's son crawled through a vent and unlocked the door for his father, who then coached the boys to grab things.
One boy told his stepfather who called deputies.
The Everett Herald reports the boys are not to be charged.
Associated Press