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Penguins' Stanley Cup run's five key moments
A look at some of the plays on which the Penguins' fortunes could have gone either way in the two months of their Stanley Cup journey:
Sunday, June 21, 2009

ONE: It's easy to overlook now, but Bill Guerin's overtime goal in Game 2 of the opening round allowed the Penguins to hold a 2-0 lead when the series shifted to Philadelphia.

TWO: With the Penguins trailing Philadelphia, 3-0, and in mortal peril of losing Game 6 at the Wachovia Center, Max Talbot accepted Daniel Carcillo's invitation to trade punches. Talbot lost the fight but won the series, as his selfless example inspired his teammates to run off five unanswered goals to clinch a spot in Round 2.

THREE: With the second round tied, 3-3, Marc-Andre Fleury denied hockey's most dangerous goal-scorer, Alex Ovechkin, three minutes into Game 7 at the Verizon Center. Not much chance of the Penguins winning, 6-2, if Ovechkin gets a goal there.

FOUR: Detroit held a 2-1 lead in the Cup final and, with a 2-1 lead in Game 4, was poised to take a chokehold on the series with a power-play goal. Instead, Jordan Staal scored the Penguins' first shorthanded goal in a Cup final since 1992, sparking a run of three goals in less than six minutes.

FIVE: The end of regulation in Game 7 is a heartbeat -- or nearly a heart attack -- away when Fleury lunges across the crease to stop Nicklas Lidstrom on a rebound, preserving the Penguins' 2-1 lead and their first Stanley Cup in 17 years.

Dave Molinari can be reached at DWMolinari@Yahoo.com.
First published on June 21, 2009 at 12:00 am