Okay,I feel better now! Welcome back Hockey Tom AND Pavel Datsyuk who didn't score but his contribution was tremendous!

Welcome back hockeyTom. We've missed ya!

Thank you. I can't wait to see what kind of a response the Penguins have in the Igloo after they were totally dismantled last night at the Joe. To say the Pens were dominated would be a total injustice. Its amazing how much the home ice has helped each team in each game. I just don't see the Penguins being able to take 2 straight from the Wings at this point. They may win 1 game more, but I don't see them taking 2 in a row. The extra time off now will really benefit the Red Wings.

Well, the winning in five scenario didn't quite work out, but I'll take the 5-0 rout on Saturday any day. That game was SUCH a pleasure to watch! Onward and upward for the Wings . . .

Can't wait till Tuesday night! Will the Wings take it in game 6 in the Igloo last last year, or will the Penguins be able to get on the board and force a game 7. I am thinking the Wings are going to want to end it in Igloo land, just like they did last year and will not want to have to play a game 7. Go Wings!

Just read a small story in my local that game 4 in Pittsburgh had the highest ratings since 2002. I should imagine tonights game may, just may break that record.

Game 4 didn't have the highest ratings, it had the highest cable ratings for a Finals game since 2002.

Game 5's ratings, back on NBC, were down slightly from the ratings for Game 1 on NBC. That's not bad, considering how the Red Wings went up 5-0 in the second period and people probably tuned out. NBC still beat the other networks for the night.

Game 7 should be very interesting and highely entertaining. I would give a slight edge to the Pens play last night. Wings had their chances, but Fleury was solid. Far more than he was in the Wings 5-0 rout in the game before. Both goalies are best when in their home rinks. This should be something to see.

The problem is Pittsburgh has done little in this series to make me believe they can win Game 7 in Detroit. Especially after what happened in Game 5, it just seems to me that they'll need Detroit to play at less than their best.

Agreed. I just don't see Detroit losing at home in a game 7. Then again they have won quite a few game sevens now in a row. They will have to lose one eventually, but based on the play of both teams in Detroit, I just have to give Detroit an edge.

Looking forward to game seven. I'm really impressed with the Pens and the way they've bounced back. This series has been much more competitive than I originally thought it would be. It bodes well for the Pens club in the future.

That said, I have to give home ice the edge. The Joe will be rockin' on Friday. GO WINGS!

The overnight ratings for Game 6: 4.1 rating and 7 share. That's down 7 percent from last year's Game 6. But this year the game was up against Game 3 of the NBA finals -- interestingly enough, the NBA's overnight rating was also down, 6 percent lower than last year's Game 3. The NHL has Friday all to itself.

Anyone think the Pens have a fighting chance in Detroit tonight? I'm a Pen's fan and hope, at least, it's a good game, and not a repeat of Game 5.

Oh yeah sure they do. Especially if IMO they score the first goal or more, that will put alot of pressure on the Wings. Both teams are going to have to try to stay out of the penalty box. It just that the Wings are soooo good at home, much like the Pens. I think the Wings will win it again, but I do not expect a high scoring game...it should be HIGHLY entertaining. Drop the puck!

IMO it should be one heck of a game. I haven't seen such great hockey in quite a while.

The other thing I forgot to mention was if the Wings want to win tonight they will have to be the more physical team tonight. I thought the Pens outhit them alot in game 6. Both teams know that whoever dominates will wear down the other. Wings will need to be physically dominant tonight to hoist the Cup.

Even scoring first won't be enough for Pittsburgh. They did that in Game 2 in Detroit and still lost. They are going to have to be relentless and just about perfect. I think they'll have the relentlessness but that will lead to mistakes. The more mistakes Detroit can capitalize on, the better their odds of winning.

Let's Win That Cup Red Wings!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thrilled, but I never would have guessed the Pens could pull it off. Congrats to them.

Congrats to Pittsburgh and their fans. I am not happy about this at all but the world goes on.

That was a thrilling last few minutes and the Red Wings will see the one shot bounce off the crossbar forever.

That was a truly gutty effort by the Penguins -- and without Sidney Crosby for most of the last 2 periods.

I miss Eddies' enthusiasm already! Great effort by the Pens . . . they deserve the win. I don't understand why the Wings were so sluggish. IMO the biggest game of your life should be played like the biggest game of your life and I just didn't see it with the Wings. True, some of the Wings have multiple rings, but some rookies may never have this chance again.

On another note (and this will sound incredibly sappy), when I saw Osgood during post-game interviews and his voice and demeanor were just raw with emotion, I wanted to hug on him in the worst way.

We'll see what 2009-2010 brings.

This ultimate victory was really hard to imagine, especially after being down 2 games to 0, and then getting crushed in game 5 at Detroit. All-in-all, a very satisfying win, and another championship for the state of Pennsylvania!!!!!

This is the happiest I've been with a Stanley Cup result since the Rangers won in '94!

From the first drop of the puck the Wings just didn't look like they had much energy, or jump, not as much as the Pens. I think the physical play had taken its toll. The time spent in the Pens end was kept to a minimum, and the Wings had a pretty low total of shots on net. Pens were hungrier in my opinion. Had their chances but the hockey Gods were not favorable...towards Detroit in this one. It was a great series though overall.

Great game with the perfect outcome.......the March of the Penguins over Detroit.

The city of champions! Too bad the Pirates can't embody some of that winning attitude!

Congrats buddy! I am very happy for "you"

Geez I wish I had color-coded emoticons to convey how happy I am that the Penguins beat the Red Wings...Though I guess the color codes make it easier for everyone to know who I was rooting for!

The overnight ratings: 3.0 rating, 11 share, an estimated 7.51 million viewers. Viewership peaked between 10:30 and 11:00, with 9.07 million viewers during that time.

Great mement at PNC Park yesterday before the ballgame (oddly enough against the Detroit Tigers) when the Penguins showed up with Sid Crosby emerging last from the dugout hoisting The Cup. All the Pens came onto the field wearing Pirate Jerseys! Really cool, and the fans went nuts....

Certainly Hossa didn't deserve the Cup after his poor performance. HockeyTom is right . . . the Pens wanted it more.

...all 37 of them...sorry, I couldn't resist!

Did anyone else get any stories in their sports section of their respective newspapers about Crosby supposedly snubbing alot or all of the Wings? There was a mention of this in my paper today. I guess Lidstrom said he waited to shake Crosbys hand, but Crosby didn't seem to want to, so many of the Wings just skated off the ice instead. Crosby said he didn't snub anyone intentionally. Anyone else have a take?

Reportedly he was doing TV interviews on the ice for so long while the Red Wings were waiting to shake hands. The NHL needs to step in and keep the reporters off the ice until after the handshake.

Meanwhile -- the ratings were a smash:

LOL. Actually about 30,000 there, I think, for a "Turn back the Clock"game--players decked out in 1909 Pirates-Tigers uni's (they played one another in the 1909 World Series). However, I heard there was a big walk-up crowd as word spread that the Pens were gonna' be there.

Congrats Pens! That Game 7 finish was AMAZING! It was the perfect example of why hockey is my fave. No other sport can maintain that level of nail biting intensity uninterrupted for long stretches the way hockey can. No wait between pitches like baseball, no huddles between 5-8 seconds of play - like football, no 10 seconds of play followed by a full timeout - then 5 seconds of action followed by a 20 second timeout (that usually lasts a minute anyways lol) like basketball. Just crazy end to end action sometimes for minutes without even a faceoff to catch your breath. Simply awesome!

Great to hear 8 million + Americans watched on NBC. Undoubtedly some others watched CBC's coverage. Up here over 3.5 million watched CBC's coverage but how many of us watched NBC's coverage were not counted. I was one of those - because - at least on my TV - the game and crowd sounds were much clearer and louder on NBC than on CBC. If you flipped between the two it was like somebody had turned down the crowd and game noise by about 1/3 on CBC which made it feel like part of the energy and excitement was lost. Plus I like Emrick better as a play-by play guy than CBC's new # 1 guy - Jim Hughson. Hughson is OK - but just doesn't have one of those voices that can rise to the occasion - like a Dick Enberg. In fact the joke is that Jim Hughson is responsible for driving cable sales through the roof in the Quebec market a few years ago.

The Habs were playing the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs and CBC English had Hughson doing that series. That was the first year SRC (French CBC) had lost rights in Quebec to the French language ESPN equivalent RDS - a cable only network. Apparently after trying to watch the first couple of games in English on CBC with Hughson's lower key style thousands of Quebecers signed up for cable and RDS so they could get 'passionate' announcing again - that they are use to with full throated 'LE BUUUUT! when Montreal scored instead of the 'boring' English announcer. Hughson has improved a bit - but still doesn't quite have 'it'.

So by the time you add uncounted Canadians like me who watched NBC - and some Americans (particularly in Detroit) who may have watched on CBC the total numbers probably easily topped 12 million. Not bad at all! And that's not even counting how many were watching in Quebec on RDS.

Ranked in the top 20 for the week (16th), and number 4 among the coveted 19-49 age group. But just for perspective: NBA rated # 1,2,3,4 for the week....

It was a great run no matter how you look at it. Eddie, do you remember how bad the Wings were in the late 70s and early 80s?! We had to wait a long time for some success. Don't lose that smile! xo

Read a small story in my sports section yesterday. Sadly it sounds like Chris Chelios is hanging up the skates. He will be missed!!!! Some big skates to fill in the Red Wings lineup.