Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
by Jan Snyder
It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger
The boys sure were dancin' to this tune tonight! There has been a lot of talk about eyes in this series already. Kris Letang said he can see how much Sid and Geno want to win just by the look in their eyes. Yes, that IS the eye of the tiger. Tonight they again rose up to the challenge of their rival and showed them who was boss.
The Arena was rockin' again as the crowd cheered lustily for the team and spurred them on to another exciting win. Big Ben put in an appearance as did Paul Coffey. I personally think Mario and Paul should have dropped the puck -- that would have reminded us all of the past glory days when those two were hoisting the Cup this time of year.
Geno got all the fun started tonight with a little tap in that got by Osgood and made it 1-0. As has been the way this series has gone, Detroit tied it before the end of the first period when Helm scored.
Then onto a fantastic second period! Things didn't start out so well when Stuart scored in the first minute, but after that, the eye of the tiger got stronger and stronger. Jordan Staal did the same -- he got stronger and stronger, pushed Rafalski out of his way, and slammed home a short-handed goal that was a thing of beauty.
Finally what we've all been waiting for happened when Geno dished a nice pass over to Sid who effectively planted it behind Osgood. In his rush to share the happiness with Sid, Letang bowled him over, but Sid didn't seem to mine. Now it was 3-2 Pens and the place was on fire. Towels waved, grown men screamed, and people generally went nuts.
Staal's line had a big night and to cap it off, there was a nice goal by Tyler Kennedy (Kennedy!) T.K., also known as the Little Tiger, had his own eye of the tiger going tonight. He's played well in this series and it was nice to see him rewarded.
When all was said and done, Sid, Geno and Staal each had a goal and an assist and Hossa was nowhere to be found -- at least on the scoreboard. I loved one of the signs at the Arena that read: Nossa, Hossa! And no sir it was. None of the high octane players for the Wings were able to get loose and score tonight as the Pens were defensive as well as offensive and conintued the big hits. Geno himself had five hits and at times seemed to be all over the ice. He really made a difference in this game.
So my work here is done. I have to head back to Texas and won't get to any more games this year. I'm leaving the rest of the wins in the hands of all of you Pittsburgh fans! Keep rockin' and bring home two more!
Thanks to a great Pens fan, Ashli, who is now living in Hawaii, for suggesting Eye of the Tiger. She is awarded the primary assist for this column.
I'll have my eye on the TV on Saturday night, just like the rest of you. I'll be hoping to see another win, a road win, in Game 5.
Let's Go, Pens!!
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