INSTANT CLASSIC

PENGUINS 3

RED WINGS 2

Penguin fans: so excited, they don't even put away their change from the vendor

Wow. I was exhausted merely watching the Penguins' epic 3-2 win last night, so I can only imagine what the players are feeling like today. In order, I would probably guess: confident, relieved, energized, enthused, and then exhausted.

For NBC, the NHL, and the hockey-watching public, this was the kind of game everyone dreamed of. It was the sport of hockey at its highest level, and it was beautiful to witness. The intensity from both teams was unparalleled in this year's playoff. The hits were thunderous. The fans started loud and never let up. As the title would suggest, it was an instant classic, the kind of game where you might say, "You know, I paid $500 each for these tickets and they were a steal."

The hero of the game was obviously Sidney Crosby, for getting the million-pound gorilla off of the team's collective back with his first-period goal and his second goal at 2:34 of period two. But who can forget that memorable third-period shift from Brooks Orpik, who blew up what seemed like half the Red Wings' roster in a matter of seconds? What about a forgotten man like Adam Hall, who banked the eventual game-winner off of Chris Osgood? How about Gary Roberts and Darryl Sydor, whose veteran presence was obvious? Or Marc-Andre Fleury, who came up with a number of big saves? It was the epitome of a team victory, from top to bottom.

Were there any negatives? Well, it was tough to see those leads look like they might evaporate, but this is Detroit; as last night would indicate, it's going to take every bit of energy to win each and every game against this team. Rob Scuderi is still looking for his jock somewhere in front of the Penguins' net, and I'm pretty sure Hal Gill is still sitting in the penalty box; but the criticisms of this team for Game Three are few and far between. This was the game they needed to play and needed to win, and they came through on the biggest stage.

The series now takes a short hiatus and returns on Saturday night, which means a dilemma for those of you who are both Penguins and Kimbo Slice fans. But the pressure has clearly shifted to Detroit, because they're one game away from watching a 2-0 lead disappear before their very eyes. And if that happens on Saturday, we might just have another game to add to that instant classic inventory.

Notes and Links:

--Here's Mark Madden, wearing red in a sea of white, apparently getting into it with some fans. Double M is not talking to the media, but I don't see any press passes around these guys' necks.

--And here's Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who our photographer noted was busy text-messaging for most of the game. Luckily, it looks like no security was needed on this evening.--Here's a few more cool first-person shots from the inbox:

--Other celebs spotted at the game: Michael Keaton, Alex Ovechkin, a nacho-eating Mark Messier, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. And probably a few Steelers, since they're at every game.

--Marian Hossa has nine playoff goals. Is it me, or does it seem like he could have about 29?

--Raise your hand if you missed Georges Laraque last night.

--It was nice to see a sign of life from Geno Malkin, who managed to get three shots on net. I was starting to think that some goons sent by Metallurg Magnitogorsk found their way to Pittsburgh.

--NBC did a pretty nice job with the telecast, although I probably could've made do with a little less from Pierre McGuire, who was forced to scream his commentary due to the volume of the arena for most of the game.

--As my brother pointed out on the Hall goal that was banked off of Osgood's backside: "He didn't go five-hole, he went a-hole."

--I'm really enjoying the custom soundbytes done for DVE by Pens PA announcer John Barbaro [profiled by FSN here], such as "One minute remaining in the show."

It was a nice, subtle way of telling the Trib's Rob Rossi he was running out of time today.

--Keeping with tradition, here's a victory Dockers commercial, featuring the official song of the 2008 Penguins Stanley Cup run, California Soul: