They are still alive thanks to this guy!
The goal tending by Marc-Andre Fleury was some of the greatest in NHL history. He made 55 saves in Game 5 that went into 3 overtimes.
DETROIT – Blood was dribbling through Robert Scuderi’s beard, falling off his chin until it dropped onto his sweat-soaked shorts in the locker room postgame. This was from the fresh gash, not the one on the upper lip that had already been stitched up. The new one came courtesy of a high stick that earned the Pittsburgh Penguins the power play they would use to steal a 4-3 victory in the exhausted third overtime early Tuesday morning. The one that would postpone a Stanley Cup celebration here and force a Game 6 Wednesday back home. It was a welcome wound, its presence assuring a double minor. “I was just praying for blood,” Scuderi said after Jiri Hudler’s stick sliced him. “I skated up the ice going, ‘ I hope I’m bleeding.’ ” As he smiled slightly at the memory, more blood dripped. Finally a trainer showed up, declaring, “Stitch time.” Scuderi didn’t move. He didn’t care about the blood.
Across the Penguins locker room, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury sprawled back on a wooden bench, too exhausted to sip the Gatorade in his left hand, let alone take his 55-save pads off. He kept talking in short sentences, as if complete ones were too taxing. He was drenched in sweat, straight through his uniform, his long hair as wet as if he just got out of the shower. “Just one save at a time,” he kept repeating. “Make that next save. Give the guys another chance.” He shook his head and paused. He looked shell-shocked. He had forgotten the question. The pressure of 109 minutes of Cup finals hockey will do that to you. “It’s the longest game I’ve played,” Fleury said. “And the most tired one. But also the most satisfying one.” Blood, sweat and no tears.
It was well past 1 a.m., well past when the Penguins’ Cinderella story was supposed to end. It was more than two hours and three overtimes after the NHL had pulled Lord Stanley’s Cup out of its box and had the dudes with the no-smudge gloves set it up for a presentation.
Across the Penguins locker room, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury sprawled back on a wooden bench, too exhausted to sip the Gatorade in his left hand, let alone take his 55-save pads off. He kept talking in short sentences, as if complete ones were too taxing. He was drenched in sweat, straight through his uniform, his long hair as wet as if he just got out of the shower. “Just one save at a time,” he kept repeating. “Make that next save. Give the guys another chance.” He shook his head and paused. He looked shell-shocked. He had forgotten the question. The pressure of 109 minutes of Cup finals hockey will do that to you. “It’s the longest game I’ve played,” Fleury said. “And the most tired one. But also the most satisfying one.” Blood, sweat and no tears.
It was well past 1 a.m., well past when the Penguins’ Cinderella story was supposed to end. It was more than two hours and three overtimes after the NHL had pulled Lord Stanley’s Cup out of its box and had the dudes with the no-smudge gloves set it up for a presentation.
1 comment:
Sorry about your team, HA! HA! Don't forget I'm from MI : )
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