Penguins Season Ends With 3-2 Loss to Red Wings in Game 6

"Let's Go Pens"

That was the chant from the fans in the stands in the venerable Igloo after the Penguins lost game 6 -- and the chance to win the Stanley Cup -- to the Detroit Red Wings last night.

"Let's Go Pens"

It was a marvelous ride for the Penguins this year -- a ride that came to a crashing halt under the unrelenting Big Red Machine. Detroit took a 2-0 lead on a first period goal by Brad Stuart and then a second period soft goal by Valteri Filppula, had their lead cut to one on Penguins Center Evgeni Malkin's first goal of the series in the 2nd, ran the lead to 3-1 on a goal by Red Wings Center Henrik Zetterberg that Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury accidentally knocked into his own net, then survived a late rally by the Penguins in the final 90 seconds -- a rally which included a 6-on-4 power play goal by Marion Hossa with Fleury pulled, then last second attempts by Center Sidney Crosby and Hossa that resulted in the puck going behind Detroit goaltender Osgood, but through the crease and not across the goal line before time expired.

And with that, it was over.

The Red Wings Celebrated.

The Penguins were stunned.

They were stung from the loss, no more evident than in seeing Hossa slumped on the ice along the boards after the game, or in the red swelling in Crosby's eyes in the locker room.

Zetterburg won the Conn Smythe trophy as a deserving MVP. Osgood, who I have referred to in this space as Mr. Unimpressive, became the least deserving Stanley Cup winning goalie of all time -- at least in this writer's opinion.

The Penguins will have a long time to think about this series, including how hard it was to get this far and lose, as well as what they gained from the playoff run. Although it can only benefit them in the future, that's hard to appreciate at this point when the wounds from losing are so fresh.

Bigger questions await the Penguins in the summer, as they have 12 or 13 players eligible for free agency. I'll discuss that more in the coming week or so, after I talk more in the next few days about why the Penguins lost this series.

For now, it's all about the pain.

Seeing the Red Wings carry the Cup on Mellon Arena ice sickened me. The only reason I stayed to see the first part of that before I couldn't stand it anymore was to hear the crowd chant for our beloved team, saluting their heart, determination, and desire this season, while the Red Wings celebrated. They chanted repeatedly in a tremendous display of support while Detroit was trying to bask in victory.

"Let's Go Pens". "Let's Go Pens". "Let's Go Pens".

I don't know that I've been prouder.