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Weary Penguins Hope To Retain Momentum

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The Associated Press

Published: June 4, 2008

PITTSBURGH - The Stanley Cup finals haven't seen anything like this in 72 years, a team staving off elimination by scoring in the last minute of regulation, then winning in overtime.

Just like that, the Penguins get to play another game against the Red Wings that not many outside Pittsburgh thought they would play.

If they have enough healthy bodies.
Ryan Malone broke his nose - for the second time in the series. Sergei Gonchar has a back or shoulder injury that wouldn't allow him to shoot during his only on-ice appearance in overtime. Petr Sykora has a significant but undisclosed upper body injury. Sidney Crosby's right ankle, injured in January, won't be healed until he takes significant time off.

All, of course, are expected to play in Game 6 tonight against Detroit. Injuries and exhaustion aren't a factor now, as the Penguins proved in rallying from a 3-2 deficit in the final minute for a 4-3, three-overtime victory Monday in Detroit.

"Physically, right now, it's more mental than anything," Max Talbot said Tuesday, barely eight hours after the Penguins arrived back in Pittsburgh. "If you can understand what I'm saying."

Thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury's 55 saves, Talbot's tying goal with 35 seconds left in the third period and Sykora's called-shot winner in the third overtime, the Penguins became the first team since the 1936 Maple Leafs against Detroit to win an elimination game in the Cup finals after trailing in the final minute.

TV RATINGS: Monday's game drew the highest ratings for a Game 5 since 2002, earning a 4.3 overnight rating and an 8 share on NBC. That's a 79 percent increase over last year's 2.4 for Game 5 between Anaheim and Ottawa. It was the best Game 5 rating since the Carolina-Detroit matchup in 2002 drew a 4.5.

FLYERS: Right wing Sami Kapanen, 34, retired from the NHL and said he plans to return to Finland and play for a team he owns there.

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