Stanley Cup notebook
Orpik puts forth Herculean effort
PITTSBURGH — He’d had an IV in his arm. His body was so weary that it forced him to leave the game, even though his mind was screaming to stay on the ice. Despite all that, Brooks Orpik kept things in perspective.
He knew there were worse jobs to be working.
“There’s a lot harder things than playing hockey for six periods,” the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman said.
Yes, there are tougher jobs. It doesn’t diminish what Orpik went through Monday night into Tuesday morning.
The former East Amherst resident played 42:11 of the Penguins’ triple-overtime victory in Game Five, and he wanted to play more. But Orpik had to retreat to the dressing room during the second overtime because of cramping. He received intravenous fluids and a massage, and he returned for the 4-3 win over Detroit that forced Game Six of the Stanley Cup finals tonight.
“You never want to feel like you’re letting the team down,” said Orpik, who blocked 10 shots compared to 12 for the Red Wings. “You’ve just got to try and battle through it because all the guys on both sides are going through the same thing.”
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Mike Babcock wanted to bite his tongue. The Detroit coach knew his team received two head-shaking penalties for goaltender interference, but what good would it do to complain? Finally, after a little prodding, he acquiesced.
“I’ll jump on the soap box,” Babcock said Tuesday. “We talk about scoring more goals in the National Hockey League: ‘We want more goals.’ No they don’t. Don’t tell me that. I’ve never seen anything like that in my whole life.”
Henrik Zetterberg was whistled for goaltender interference in the first overtime and Dan Cleary received the same infraction the next period. Both players drove to the net and took quality shots before bumping goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
“I don’t think it’s a penalty, especially at that particular time of the game,” Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood said. “I don’t think it was proper. We get hit all the time when guys drive the net in the regular season, and we don’t have a problem with it. It seems to me like there’s such a gray area for that rule right now that it needs to be addressed.”
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Rob Scuderi would have made Dracula proud.
“I was just praying for blood,” Scuderi said.
The Pittsburgh defenseman drew the game-deciding penalty, taking a high stick in the face from Detroit’s Jiri Hudler. The Red Wings forward was going to the box for at least two minutes, and the refs had to determine if it was four for cutting Scuderi.
The answer was obvious a half-hour after the game when blood still was dripping above Scuderi’s top lip.
“You’re skating up the ice hoping you’re bleeding,” Scuderi said. “It turned out we didn’t need it, but it was nice.”
Petr Sykora scored just 36 seconds into the infraction.
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The Penguins snacked during Game Five’s intermissions, feasting on pizza. Where’d it come from?
“Domino’s,” Sykora said with a sly grin.
Actually, it was from Little Caesars, which is owned by Red Wings owner Mike Illitch.
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Defenseman Sergei Gonchar and forward Ryan Malone are expected to play for Pittsburgh. Gonchar missed most of Monday’s game after crashing into the boards, while Malone came back after getting hit in the face with teammate Hal Gill’s slap shot.
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Pittsburgh’s Maxime Talbot, who scored the tying goal with 34.3 seconds left in regulation, obviously was feeling the effects of the long night and journey home Tuesday.
“I think physically, it’s more mentally than anything, if you can understand what I’m saying,” he said to laughter, “because I can’t.”
