Here I am … on the road again.

Sorry for the Bob Seger/Metallica reference, but I’m on about three hours of sleep following last night’s pulsating marathon.

After getting back to our hotel in Detroit at about 4 a.m., we basically packed our bags and were back on the bus by 6 o’clock. Covering the ECHL for five years, I may have a better understanding of what to expect with these long bus rides, but it has been a sheer joy covering this Stanley Cup Final.

And it ain’t over yet – far from it. It’s clear as day that the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be fired up tomorrow night, and it’s a guarantee that the crowd at Mellon Arena will be even louder than it was for Games 3 and 4.

Still, the Red Wings seemed pretty confident at their hotel in downtown Pittsburgh today. The experience was oozing during the press conference, as guys like Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Osgood, Brian Rafalski and Kris Draper spoke about how they know they can win here since they’ve done it already. They closed each of the first three rounds of this postseason in buildings not named Joe Louis Arena.

And, most importantly, they still have the lead in this series. Their season isn’t on the line tomorrow night, which can’t be said for their opponents.

The Red Wings must also remember that they’ve played well even in the games they’ve lost. They were a half-minute shy of winning the Stanley Cup last night. They outshot the Pens 13-2 in the first overtime and 58-32 overtime. Think about that – these teams played almost two full games last night, and Pittsburgh still only came away with 32 shots on goal.

Remarkable.

“We still have a great opportunity to win,” Lidstrom said. “Even though we lost last night, we didn’t play a bad game. We had some great chances, and things didn’t go our way. They played real well. They hung in there, and they got the tying goal. They played well in overtime, too.

“But I thought we did a lot of good things that we did that we can take to the next game.”
Mike Babcock was his old self on Tuesday. He reminded everyone that his team is still ahead in the series. He reminded everyone that the sun will rise again. And just like some of his players did on Tuesday, he reminded everyone that the Wings have been pretty darn good on the road this postseason.

“You never expect it to be easy,” Babcock said. “You knew it was going to be a battle, and it is. We’ve got a new day tomorrow here, and let’s get prepared for it.”

And once again, it could be a night they’ll never forget. It’s hard to imagine that if they get as close to winning the championship tomorrow as they did last night that they won’t seize the opportunity.

“We did have a great chance to win last night, but we didn’t,” Lidstrom said. “So, that’s it. You have to put that behind you and move on to the next game. I think that with the experience, I think that helps, too. It does stink right after when you had a chance, but that’s the beauty of sports. You have to be ready to play the next one again.”

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for the puck to drop tomorrow night. In the meantime, I’ll post again following the morning skate.

— BC