Game Of the Year!

Ok, maybe labeling this the game of the year already is a little extreme, but those of you who missed the Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins game last night missed one of the more exciting hockey games you will see all season.

There were plenty of story lines going into last night's match up. It was the first time these two teams faced off since last year's Stanley Cup Final (won by Detroit 4 games to 2). It was also the first time that former Penguin Marian Hossa, who played a vital role in Pittsburgh's playoff run a year ago, would be playing against his former team since leaving via free agency during the off season.

The game started out just as many of last season's finals game had; the Penguins committed several early penalties and the Red Wings capitalized on their mistakes. Detroit took leads of 3-1, 5-2 and 6-4, but Pittsburgh battled back in the third period. Thanks to a hat trick by Jordan Staal the Penguins were able to tie it late in the third and force overtime. After weathering shot after shot from an early Penguins power play, it appeared that the Red Wings were going to regain the momentum in the final frame. That all changed however as an errant Pavel Datsyuk pass was picked off by Staal who thread the the needle to Ruslan Fedotenko for a beautiful goal to end the game.

It was a very gutsy win for a Penguins team that was without their top two defensemen: Sergi Gongar and Ryan Whitney. Both are expected to be out until January due to injuries. Hossa recorded a pair of assist in a losing effort against his former team. The star filled lineups did not disappoint on this night as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, among others, all scored.

The two teams will meet one more time this season on February 8th, this time in Pittsburgh. Circle that date on your calenders; its bound to be one heck of a game.