Pens fans: It ain’t over til it’s over
You may have heard by now the Penguins, up 3-1 on the San Jose Sharks, are on the verge of winning their fourth Stanley Cup championship.
You may also have heard from many fans and most of those in the media that this is an inevitability, and that those folks prefer it to be at home, since the Pens鈥� first three Cups were all won on the road.
There are discussions on the radio about how much one would pay to purchase a ticket for tonight鈥檚 game and be there for the Cup clincher.
Everyone seems so jubilant in the Pittsburgh area. They can鈥檛 lose it now. The Cup is coming back to Pittsburgh for sure.
Well 鈥� hold on just a minute there folks.
I hate to drudge up that old saying but it holds true here, that Yogi Berra famous quote: 鈥淚t ain鈥檛 over til it鈥檚 over.鈥�
Sure, it all looks set up for Sidney Crosby and crew.
It鈥檚 been pointed out by many that the Pens have never trailed in the series except for the overtime goal that gave San Jose its lone win in Game 3. The Pens are simply the better team, right?
But, then again, two of the Pens鈥� three wins were by one goal, including one in overtime, and Game 4 would鈥檝e been another one-goal game had it not been for an insurance goal by Eric Fehr with 2:02 left.
It鈥檚 not like Pittsburgh has cruised to four-goal victories. Each game has gone down to the final minutes or seconds or into OT.
This series hasn鈥檛 been nearly as lopsided, through these eyes, as has been portrayed.
It鈥檚 also been pointed out that only one team out of 32 in the history of the Stanley Cup Finals has come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Cup, that being the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs who stormed back to stun the Detroit Red Wings.
Pens fans see that and say, see, 96.9 percent, no way we can lose now.
You can bet the Sharks, however, are saying, hey, it鈥檚 been done before, it can be done again.
The fear you should have, if you鈥檙e a Penguin fan, is that these Pens, several of whom are rookies, are hearing all the hoopla despite coach Mike Sullivan鈥檚 attempts to try and block it.
You鈥檙e one win from the Cup, but just the smallest loss of focus could be enough for the Sharks to seize the momentum.
One Sharks win by any means 鈥� a lucky bounce, a bad play, a soft goal 鈥� and the Pens could be headed back to San Jose.
And then, just like that, you could be looking at a Game 7 where anything can happen.
Just remember, when the Pens won Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, everyone said the series was over, Pittsburgh was out-shooting the Lightning so badly that there was no way Tampa could come back.
The next thing you knew, the Lightning were up 3-2 and the Pens鈥� backs were up against the wall. They responded and moved on.
After winning the first two games against the Sharks at home, those on the Penguins home station were pondering what San Jose could be possibly latch onto as a positive as the Sharks headed back home. Nothing except that they鈥檙e going back home, according to those on the air.
Then the Sharks won Game 3. But Pittsburgh did respond in Game 4.
The thinking here is they鈥檒l lose at home tonight, and then be called on to respond one last time. And it won鈥檛 be easy.
Things have never gone that smoothly for the Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era. The one Cup they won was a seven-game grind over the Detroit Red Wings. Since then they鈥檝e come up empty several times 鈥� a couple with epic meltdowns 鈥� when everyone deemed them a Cup front-runner.
Now鈥檚 not the time to take anything for granted.
It ain鈥檛 over yet.
Rob Burchianti can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com