The Pittsburgh Penguins, while acknowledging that the Detroit Red Wings have won enough games in the Stanley Cup Finals to take the Cup, have not made a decision on whether to suspend their quest for the championship this year.
Penguins coach Michel Therrien congratulated the Red Wings for their campaign, but he did not concede the Cup. "This has been a long campaign, and the Penguins will be making no decisions tonight," he said. There were reports after the Red Wings won the fourth game that Pittsburgh would concede, but Therrien said Pittsburgh was "absolutely not" prepared to do so.
"I am just enormously grateful," Therrien said, "because, in the millions of quiet moments, in thousands of places, you asked yourself a simple question: Who will be the strongest team. Who will be ready to hoist the Stanley Cup and take charge as champions and lead hockey to better tomorrows?
"You know, I understand that that a lot of people are asking, 'What do the Penguins want? What do they want?
"Well, the Penguins want what the Penguins have always fought for in this whole campaign. The Pengins want to win the Cup.
"Now, the question is: Where do we go from here? And given how far we've come and where we need to go as a sport, it's a question I don't take lightly. This has been a long campaign, and the Penguins will be making no decisions tonight.
"But this has always been the fans campaign. So, to the 800,000 people who came to Penguins games, and to our 18 million other supporters out there of all ages, we want to hear from you. I hope you'll go to the Penguins website at penguins.nhl.com and share your thoughts with the team and help in any way that you can.
"And in the coming days, the Penguins will be consulting with supporters and other teams in hockey to determine how to move forward with the best interests of our team and the NHL guiding our way."
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