What to watch for: 2009 Stanley Cup Final (Game 6)

During the next few weeks AT&T SportsNet will be airing a series of "Pittsburgh Penguins Classic" content (click here for details). That includes re-airing the Penguins' four victories against Detroit in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final (Games 3, 4, 6, 7).
To get you set for these games I've provided a quick preview/recap of the game. Obviously, the Penguins won each game and we've all seen them before. So, I tried to highlight some stuff that you may not remember, or other interesting aspects of the game that may have gone under the radar in the grand scheme of things. It's the type of thing that hindsight can really bring into focus.
Enjoy!

SETUP:
The Penguins felt good about themselves after a huge Game 4 victory that evened the series at 2-2. However, the team melted down in an ugly 5-0 loss in Game 5 in Detroit to fall behind 3-2. Pittsburgh's penalty killing unit, which had been good all series, surrendered three man-advantage goals. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who had been excellent all series, was pulled late in the second period after allowing five goals. The Penguins came back to Pittsburgh for Game 6 knowing they had zero room for error. A Game 6 win would extend the series to seven games. A loss, and it was all over.
SUMMARY:
Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy, who were heroes in Game 4, stepped up again for the Penguins with a goal each. But it was Fleury, after being yanked in the previous game, who was the star. He made 25 saves, though many were high-quality chances. He saved his best for the final minute when he denied Dan Cleary on a breakaway to preserve a 2-1 win that forced a decisive Game 7 back in Detroit. He also got a little help from Rob "The Piece" Scuderi.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
FIRST PERIOD
20:00: Penguins opened Game 4 with the exact combos they used in Game 3. They started the game with Cooke-Staal-Kennedy and followed that with Guerin-Crosby-Malkin.
17:59: The Penguins came up with back-to-back shot blocks. Pittsburgh would block 20 shots in this game, a sign of the team's desperation and commitment to sacrifice for a win.
16:39: Detroit gets a Grade-A scoring chance, and there are two things to note here. First: Pavel Datsyuk, playing in just his second game of the series, showed why he is such a difference maker. He started the play with his surgical stick work and then found Henrik Zetterberg all alone in the slot with a ridiculous cross-ice feed.
Second: This play was HUGE. Marc-Andre Fleury, who was pulled in Game 5 after allowing five goals on 21 shots, came up with the big save. But the save was bigger than keeping the Red Wings off the board. It was a huge boost to the psyche of Fleury. He NEEDED to make that save for his own confidence, as much as he needed it to keep the score 0-0.
14:38: The Penguins put Petr Sykora back in the lineup for the first time since early in the Washington series. Sykora, Pascal Dupuis and Miroslav Satan were a rotating group during that playoff run. They all put their egos aside and did what was best for the team. Each got their playing time, even if sporadic. You need that kind of depth and those kinds of team-first players to win a championship.
12:34: Evgeni Malkin won the NHL's scoring title during the 2008-09 season with 113 points (35G-78A). But what is often overlooked was his defensive play during the year. He also led the NHL with 94 takeaways (second, Datsyuk, 89). Malkin really used his smarts and long reach to steal pucks from opponents. This play was an example of it as Malkin was backchecking and snatched the puck away from Zetterberg (no easy task).
11:56: Dan Bylsma really preached the "stretch pass" to his team. It was an effective tool for the Penguins and a big reason for their late-season turnaround. Here is a great display of Chris Kunitz, from his own zone, hitting Bill Guerin up ice with said stretch pass. The play allowed the 38-year-old to receive the puck at full speed and swoop around Brian Rafalski. When you see a player Guerin's age flying up ice like that, you could really see the Penguins were the faster, fresher and hungrier team.
9:19 and 8:42: Speaking of players making sacrifices and doing the little things, Sidney Crosby blocks a shot by dropping down to his knee. The block resulted in a 3-on-2 for Pittsburgh. A shift later Malkin threw a heavy hit into Rafalski. When your superstars are hitting and blocking shots, it sends a message to the rest of the team.
1:38: Remember that incredible play by Datsyuk early in the game? He did it again late in the game. Watch his move and setup to Zetterberg in the low circle in almost an identical play from earlier. Again, Fleury came up with the stop. Detroit only recorded three shots in the opening period, but two from Zetterberg were big-time scoring chances. Fleury wasn't tested often, but he was equal to the quality of those tests.
:00: Pittsburgh had a strong start to the game, edging the Wings in shots, 12-3. Though the Penguins looked like the better team, the score remained 0-0. The Penguins had to feel good, though, about the opening 20 minutes.
SECOND PERIOD
19:09: GOAL! Staal scored the clutch shorthanded goal in Game 4 and he scored the opening goal of Game 6. The goal speaks for itself, but watch the efforts that set up the play and you can see how the small plays add up to big plays. The play began in the Penguins zone. Brett Lebda pinched to keep the puck in the zone. Kennedy chipped the puck beyond him. Valtteri Filppula reloaded into Lebda's vacated position at the blue line. Staal chipped the puck around Filppula and retrieved it for a 2-on-1 break. Instead of passing, Staal smartly kept and shot, collected his own rebound and then buried for the goal.

17:47: This is a great example of the "game within the game." The Red Wings are guilty of icing the puck and their players are taxed and tired. All of a sudden, goaltender Chris Osgood "discovered" an issue with his mask. He went as far as to send the mask to the bench for "repair." And then gingerly took his time putting it back on. All the while, his tired teammates were catching their breath. Sneaky, smart, veteran move by the goalkeeper.
13:00: The Penguins really start taking over the game here. And it is again thanks to the Cooke-Staal-Kennedy trio. It started with Cooke stealing the puck from Datsyuk (a rare mistake). He found Staal in the slot for a shot (big stop by Osgood). Cooke then annihilated Datsyuk in the corner with a hit that knocked off his helmet. The Penguins had a 21-7 shot advantage.
11:00: Blocked shots. Brooks Orpik, in one of his best games of the series, denied a shot attempt by Mikael Samuelsson. Orpik finished with a game-high six blocked shots.
1:59: It takes a lot of luck to win a championship. Zetterberg hit the post on a nicely placed shot. Fleury laid back to cover the puck. Unlike Game 6 of 2008 when Fleury knocked the puck over the goal line (bad luck from the hockey gods), this time Fleury successfully covered (good luck from the hockey gods). It really was a different year, and different result.
:37: You want to know why Malkin won the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP? Plays like this. Just watch as Malkin made a pass from below the goal line and through the legs of Rafalski to Ruslan Fedotenko at the crease. Osgood, who had arguably his best game of the series, made the stop. Then Malkin had a chance of his own seconds later. What a force he was in the entire Cup run.
:00: The Penguins dominated the opening two periods and had all the momentum. But all they had was a 1-0 lead to show for it. Would it hold up? The Red Wings were not going to go down without a fight.
THIRD PERIOD
15:33: An awesome shift by the fourth line of Dupuis, Craig Adams and Max Talbot. Pittsburgh moved Talbot off the second line with Malkin-Fedotenko in favor of Sykora for this game. They would put Talbot back on that line for Game 7 (thankfully). Funny to think a game earlier, Talbot was playing on the fourth line in a limited role.
14:25: Cue John Barbero: "The Pittsburgh goal was scored by No. 48, Tyler Tyler Kennedyyyyy …… Kennedyyyy." Pittsburgh up 2-0. For some reason Samuelsson just backed off and allowed Kennedy to skate the puck from below the goal line and to the net. A huge mistake.

11:59: No room to breathe. Kris Draper scored to get Detroit on the board and cut the score to 2-1 just under three minutes after the Penguins took a 2-0 lead.
11:38: Fleury misplayed a puck behind the net. Anxiety ensued. Heart rates elevated for the sold-out 17,000-plus whiteout.
9:50: We will get to "The Piece" soon. But as big as Rob Scuderi's late save in the game was, so was this play. Zetterberg (what a series for him) shot a puck that squeaked through the legs of Fleury and slid dangerously by the paint. Nicklas Lidstrom AND Jiri Hudler both jumped for what would have been a slam dunk. But Scuderi cleared the puck away to help the Penguins kill a penalty. Consider it "The Piece: Prologue."
5:17: Back-to-back penalty kills for the Penguins. After giving up three power-play goals in Game 5, the unit rebounded with a strong performance.
3:47: Malkin takeaway. That reach.
1:45: Stanley Cup-saving save here from Fleury. After Orpik's dump attempt was snatched by Datsyuk, he found Dan Cleary for a breakaway. Fleury stayed with Cleary and pushed off to his left as Cleary went backhand. Fleury got his pad on the puck to save the game/season/championship.
:15.5: And "The Piece"! Fleury scrambling and trapped out of the net. A host of bodies at the crease. Johan Franzen got off two shots on goal. Scuderi with not one, but TWO saves. First with his stick, second on his knees with his skate. Who knew Scuderi was so good at the butterfly technique?
:00: Cue Blur "Song 2." The Penguins had thwarted elimination and extended the series to a winner-take-all do-or-die Game 7 in Detroit. They lived to fight another day. One game for all the glory. Or, as Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Mike Lange put it: "Meet me in the schoolyard for all the marbles on Friday night in Detroit!"
To view all Pens Classic Rewind content, click here.