A long night's work, and play, in NHL's Stanley Cup finals
GUEST COMMENTARY
Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere says a triple-overtime classic such as Pittsburgh's 4-3 Game 5 win over Detroit is both exhilarating and exhausting for those involved.
Those games are fun and they're not fun. It's such a classic that by the end of the game, it almost doesn't matter whether you lose or win. You still have memories of it for the rest of your life. You battle so hard to win, but it's so exhausting.
I thought the Penguins were playing very well at the start. They were putting some pucks at the net. Probably the first period was their best. It seemed like they had more energy there than the rest of the game.
I think Detroit looked a little nervous. I can remember from last season that the fifth game of the Stanley Cup finals was probably the only game all season where I was nervous. Because you know if you win, that's it. And I had a hard time shaking it off.
The Red Wings were playing well. Both of Pittsburgh's goals came off mistakes. Once the Wings started playing their game and got some energy behind them, they just dominated the second and third periods. The only reason Pittsburgh was still in it was because Marc-Andre Fleury was real solid.
Both goalies were good. [Chris] Osgood has been solid. You can't take anything away from him. He's done his job. He doesn't face a whole lot of shots, but in Detroit, it's not about him winning games for them. It's about not losing games.
As far as Fleury goes, I think he's come out of his shell since he came back from his injury. Ty Conklin put a lot of pressure on him during the season by playing pretty well and he sort of saved Pittsburgh's season when it wasn't playing that well. It put pressure on Fleury to get his job back and he's been playing really well.
The Red Wings were down, 2-1, and they just came out with a ton of energy for the third. They were all over Pittsburgh. It was amazing how many turnovers Pittsburgh had in the neutral zone. But that's just the way Detroit plays.
I thought the Wings were in control of the game. But that's why a team like Pittsburgh has gotten this far. The Penguins have the talent and they have the team to do what they did. You don't get to the finals without having to be able to win tough games in tough situations.
In the final minute of the third period, the Penguins just put the puck at the net. It's something they haven't done enough in this series or even in this game. They just shot the puck at the net and guys were there for the rebound. It was a shot from a tough angle, but it still created a rebound.
