Penguins

Penguins Take Game 6 Loss Hard

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Missing the chance to force overtime in the final seconds of Game 6, the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a stinging loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals at Mellon Arena.

Penguins Left Winger Ryan Malone shed some tears after last night's defeat.

"I don't have much to say right now," he said. "We shot it and we missed the net. We ran out of time." The shot Malone is speaking of is Sidney Crosby's backhander that just missed the goal post as time ran out. Marian Hossa's final attempt to force an overtime never crossed the goal line.

"The puck kind of just slid through the crease," Team captain Sidney Crosby said. "You have to give credit to the guys, we tried to leave it all out there, and we obviously came up short."

Saddened by the Penguins defeat, Crosby has high hopes for next season and plenty of pride in their beloved fans. "They've been great all year and we appreciate their support."

Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney is also proud of the fans. "It's the best place to play in the NHL that I've been at. They make all the difference. Look at our home record this year, a lot of it has to do with them. Obviously, it's tough to swallow and those fans make it unbelievable for us every time we come here."

Crosby says the season-ending loss wasn't easy. "It's pretty tough, it's not a fun time, but we got to remember this feeling for sure," he said. "We still had our chances, but that's the way it goes sometimes and somebody's got to lose."

"Obviously we got pretty far, but it's disappointing. I don't think we can be happy about losing in the final," Penguins Left Winger Jarkko Ruutu said. "You usually play for one thing, and winning is the only thing that matters."

Although others have high hopes for future seasons, Ruutu isn't ready to go there yet. "The future is whatever it is, and nobody knows that. I'll just have to live in the moment. I don't want to think about that too much."

The left winger humbly reflects on the series and comes to a clear conclusion. "We lost and that's it," he said. "When you go out there, you fight until the last buzzer goes off. It just wasn't enough [last night]."

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