A Date with Destiny

Perhaps it was the NHL equivalent of Larry Fitzgerald's dramatic (and for some, sickening) sprint to the endzone in the fourth quarter of Superbowl 43. Perhaps it was just prevention of an enemy's celebration on the home battleground. Perhaps it was just a strong individual effort from a guy who has been enduring a turbulent ride of highs and lows over the last 8 weeks.

However you need to qualify or quantify the Penguins' epic performance in last night's Game 6, the end result is all the same: series tied, dramatic Game 7 looming. Kudos to M. A. Fleury for ridding his heart and mind of the embarrassing thumping he took on Game 5. A goalie is like an accountant, when he's doing his job, you aren't thinking about him all that much. Fleury quickly re-established his teammates' (and more importantly, his own) confidence in his ability to slam the door, and by doing so, he's afforded himself one last shot at redemption in his own personal House of Pain, aka, Joe Louis Arena. Oh, and for the record, let's hope that our spry netminder doesn't require the assistance of Rob Scuderi's left skate on Friday!

Quick Hitters:

• Kudos to MP for calling the goal from Tyler Kennedy of Whoville.
• Is it just me, or does it seem like Fleury needs to fall and/or lose his stick at least once every night?
• A quick nod to defensemen Gill and Orpik for stepping up and playing sound and solid defense.
• Another shout to "interim" coach Danny Bylsma for once again instilling the confidence in his boys to play like killers.

Brooks Orpik demonstrates the classic glove-to-the-face defense, as seen on early Three Stooges films