Friday

Lord Stanley's Cup will be in Joe Louis Arena. This time, both teams have the opportunity to hoist it high, this time the series is tied, this time the Penguins can enact revenge. It's a waiting game. It's a patient game. It's a beautiful game. But only one team truly wins, wins it all, wins the chance to get their names immortalized on the Stanley Cup.

Nobody will pick the Penguins. This I know. But they know it, too, and so do the Wings. The Wings have always been the favorite, even before we'd played a shift.

But the game 5 shutout doesn't mean a thing. The two dominating games in Pittsburgh don't mean a thing. Neither team's season means a thing. The only game that matters comes on a late Friday evening, in a run-down city that claims the title of Hockeytown. Nobody needs to be reminded what's at stake.

Always believe.