Wings Lose Game 7, Stanley Cup on Home Ice

Photo by Dave Reginek | Getty Images

It has been said that nobody remembers the runner up. “The winner takes it all, The loser standing small” according to Abba, hey — they’re also Swedish. Even Jerry Seinfeld mocks the second place finish by saying: “Congratulations! You… almost won.” “Of all the losers, you came in first of that group.”

Every Red Wings fan was hoping that harsh consequence would fall on the younger, Pittsburgh squad and not on our home team. The reverberations of a tough game 7 loss Friday seemed to linger along the Riverfront all night, if not all weekend. Some fans already planned their excuse to get the day off for the Stanley Cup parade before the puck dropped. Zetterberg’s attempt, millimeters away from an equalizer goal late in the third period may have kept the Cup in Detroit. Though when the buzzard sounded, it was too little, too late. Hockeytown simply underestimated the Penguins’ hunger.

Detroit’s own Wojo writes “It was an enormous letdown, one of the biggest ever for a prideful team, losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals at home to the young, energetic Penguins, who won with skill and desire and star power, nothing fluky about it.” We wholeheartedly agree that an emotional defeat such as this must be used as motivation for next season.

The fact of the matter is, we, Detroiters, will proudly remember second place when it’s our home town Red Wings. Four Stanley Cups in the past 12 seasons is definitely an accomplishment worth being proud of. It was a series that will go down in hockey history, unfortunately for Wing Nuts it was sealed with Pittsburgh’s pens.

See you at the Joe. Go Wings!