You need to win another game first but that should happen if not in game 6 then in game 7.
Thankfully I'm not a Detroit "fan"...I'm just cheering for them even though my heart says Pittsburgh wins the Cup...it would be freakin' awesome to see DET choke a 3-0 lead again (so they can continue to be labelled as playoff busts haha...and plus, they were one of the only two teams to ever choke a 3-0 series lead in NHL history).
FWIW - I am a lifelong Bruins fan who goes back to before Bobby Orr was a rookie. I go back to the real 6 team NHL when hockey was hockey but that is another story.
I do enjoy seeing teams turn it around like the Pens have done, so I started following them some.
Not to mention I have a serious hatred of the Flyers that dates back to the 1974 Stanley Cup playoffs, when Bobby Clarke and the old Broad Street Bullies stole game 2 at the Garden and beat the Big Bad Bruins in 6 games for the Cup. The B's have not been that close since.
The Red Wings I have never liked or disliked much either way. Usually they are favored over whoever they are playing and if I am not wagering anything on the game I root for the dog to win, human nature, I guess.
BOL. in the finals, wil..
FWIW, I'm a lifelong
Devils fan who goes back to 94-95 playoffs when the Devils swept Detroit as huge underdogs. Since then, the Devils have won two more Cups from solid defense and goaltending mostly inspired by Jacques Lemaire, someone who I truly consider "defensive-minded". I guess that's why I felt so compelled to reply to your post. Therien's team might be playing good defense right now, but he is far, far, away from being defensive minded. When you talk about defense, the first thing to pop up into your mind is usually NJ, Dallas, Minnesota, Boston. Those are the true definition of " defensive " teams. The last thing anyone would think is Pittsburgh but I do admit, their defense has improved A LOT since December.
Detroit is a hard team to hate because they are so much alike my beloved Devils. Or "were" anyways. Both teams are full of
hardworking non-selfish team and role players (Hasek maybe not so much LOL), both teams have
consistent regular season success in times with and without adversity (i.e. even when the big names retired or left for free agency, both teams still continued to succeed), both teams have
awesome drafting and scouting abilities that undoubtedly contribute to their amazing successses (just look at all the homegrown rookies that have been developed into amazing superstars - Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Rafalski, Neidermayer, Gomez, Elias, Parise, Madden, Brodeur, etc. just to name a few), both teams are
well respected and feared (NJ not so anymore sadly), and both teams are as close to a dynasty as you can get (NJ not so anymore sadly) as they both combine for
50%, or 6, of the last 12 Stanley Cups!
Pittsburgh has a great team and I think they'll win the Cup in 7 against Detroit but there's no way I could root for them. Not just because they are divisional rivalries, but because there are teams you " want " to win, and then there are teams that you " really want " to win. Meaning sure, it would be awesome and fun to see the league's most exciting players in Crosby, Malkin, Hossa win their first cup together because they're so young and good...but then there's also the
other team that deserves it just as much just for being the veterans, just for being there year in and year out, owning the league for a decade even when the game has changed and names like Yzerman and Fedorov fade away....I guess it's just hard for me to cheer for a team like Pittsburgh, a team who is solely built on #1 draft picks after tanking for a few consecutive seasons compared to a team like Detroit that hasn't had a #1 draft pick in what, 15 years?