The 'Shush' That Forever Changed Yinzer History

Fortunately, my demeanor would soon change. Maybe I switched from Keystone’s to Iron City’s. It’s a bit foggy. What isn’t foggy is that shortly after the puck dropped with 15 minutes and some change left on the clock in the 2nd period, one of the most memorable fights in Penguins history ensued. Max Talbot and Daniel Carcillo dropped their gloves. I thought it was very odd given the moment. Why would Talbot decide to pick a fight with Carcillo? He HAD to know he was going to get dummied. Nevertheless, it was at the least something to get excited about in a game that looked all but over for Penguins Nation. 

What happened next was something that I don't think many fans would have considered significant at the time. Carcillo emerged from the fight first, the clear winner, pumping his arms in the air and urging the Philly crowd on. Next came Talbot. He had a black eye, and his bucket and sweater were disheveled. This was clearly the look of a guy who just lost a tilly. As he is being escorted to the box, Talbot looks to the Philly crowd, slowly brings his pointer finger to his lips - and gestures a shush that would change the course of Pittsburgh hockey history.

Former Pens Coach Eddie Olczyk was on the broadcast that day. If you go back and watch the re-rack on youtube, you can listen to him immediately understand the magnitude of the moment. If you don't have the time though I can sum it up for you in just a few words. No Carcillo! Bad! Why! 

Edzo knew the importance of momentum in that game, and he knew that Talbot had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Carcillo on the other hand, had everything to lose. The Hockey Gods would strike soon thereafter. 

Just seconds later, with 15:25 left in the second period, Evgeni Malkin made a nifty move around the net, brought the puck right in front of Martin Biron, and Ruslan Fedotenko cleaned up his garbage, putting the Pens on the board. Immediately after the goal, Philly D man Braydon Coburn gets up and shoves Fedotenko to the ice, causing an all out donnybrook, resulting in two minor roughing penalties to Coburn and Geno.

To recap - in less than a minute of game-action the Flyers took a 3-0 lead, Talbot got his butt handed to him and the Pens got on the board. Playoff hockey man, there really is nothing like it.

Now pictured is my updated reaction - still young and dumb, but happy.

The rest of the period was nothing short of disastrous for the Flyers. They had completely lost momentum and the Penguins were eager to take advantage and close out the series. Shortly after the Fedotenko goal, Pens blue-liner Mark Eaton scored with three seconds left on a four on four situation, swiping in a rebound off a good shot from Tyler Kennedy. Next, with 3:01 left on the clock, Sidney Crosby smacked a bobbled puck out of mid-air from Biron into the twine, to the tune of "Crosby sucks" from the ever classy Philly crowd. The goal tied the game at three.

And period three was no kinder to the Flyers. Sergei Gonchar scored early in the period, and Sid the kid put the nail in the coffin with an empty netter to end the game.

Wowzers. The Penguins had won the game and the series. Out of nowhere.

As you know by now, this would all eventually lead to the Penguins winning the cup against the Red Wings, giving the win an extra special Cinderella comeback story feel to it (and a special you know what to Marian Hossa who left the Penguins in 08 to join the Wings in the hopes of winning a cup). A win where Talbot would again prove to be the hero in a different fashion, scoring the only two goals in game seven, securing the win, and the Stanley Cup.

Momentum is a crazy thing in sports, but I don't think it shifts so rapidly in any other sport the way it does in hockey. Every penalty, every taunt, and every goal provides a wave that can have you flying high or crashing back down to earth. Much like the Flyers did that day (and really have ever since).

I miss classic fights such as that one. Fighting is the ultimate war tactic. It’s a teammate sacrificing his body to get his bench riled up. It’s a player trying to get the home team back into the game, or out of it depending on the circumstance and arena. Momentum could swing because of errors or bad judgment, but never in a way that a fight could provide. It can jump start a frustrated team and give an edge where otherwise none could be found. 

You can still catch a few scrums and scraps after players have had enough, but nothing like it used to be.

Who knows how game six of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009 would have ended had it not been for that fight. Talbot knew he wasn't going to come out on top. He was fully aware that Carcillo was going to give him a beating, but he also knew it could jump-start the boys. Probably never to the extent that it did. 

There are a thousand different ways to be immortalized in sports history - an amazing catch, the perfect throw, the buzzer beater to win it all. While Talbot had the tie and go-ahead goal to win the cup that year, I think that fight, and that shush, is what truly immortalized him as a Pittsburgh legend. 

Even if I only remember some of it. 

There is someone who remembers it well. His name is Max Talbot.

And he’s going to tell you about all of it in great detail soon on the Yinzer Crazy Podcast. 

Story by Yinzer Crazy Penguins Contributor Luke Ranalli