Fedotenko revels in Pens’ win at Ice Zone

The Pittsburgh winger returned to town to watch his stepsons take part in Phantoms’ tryouts.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

BOARDMAN — Thirteen hours after skating with the Stanley Cup for the second time in his eight National Hockey League seasons, Pittsburgh Penguins left winger Ruslan Fedotenko was offering support to his stepsons in a tryout camp at the Ice Zone.

Friday night in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, Fedotenko and the Penguins defeated the Red Wings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. It was the 30-year-old Russian’s second championship since 2004. That season, he scored both goals in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2-1 victory in Game 7 over the Calgary Flames.

Fedotenko said Saturday that he slept for about two hours after the Penguins flew back to Pittsburgh before driving to the Ice Zone. His wife, Debbie, and stepsons Larkin (18) and Derek (19) Jacobson were at the Detroit arena for Game 7.

The Jacobsons are competing in this weekend’s Youngstown Phantoms’ tryout camp. The Phantoms will play in the United States Hockey League this fall.

Fedotenko described his championship experiences as being “similar. Both were young teams. The difference is that we won on the road this time.

“We were down 3-2 in both series and came back to win Games 6 and 7,” said Fedotenko who is a free agent after signing a one-year contract last summer. “Everything was almost the same.”

In 2004, the Lightning won Game 6 in Calgary on Martin St. Louis’ overtime goal.

The Penguins’ victory was only the third time (out of 15) in NHL history that the road team won Game 7 of the finals. The last time it happened was in 1971 when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Blackhawks in Chicago.

It also was the first time in 30 years of Game 7s in the NHL, NBA or Major League Baseball that a road team has won. The last time came in 1979 when the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Orioles in Baltimore in the World Series.

Fedotenko’s linemates had Game 7s to remember. Right wing Maxime Talbot scored both Penguins goals while center Evgeni Malkin was presented the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.

“Unbelievable,” said Fedotenko of Talbot’s performance. “That was great. I felt that our line had been playing well and he delivered in a big way.”

Fedotenko said that the second-period injury to captain Sidney Crosby increased his teammates’ intensity. Crosby was crunched into the boards by Johan Franzen and only played one shift the rest of the game.

“Everybody knew he needed to do extra,” Fedotenko said of his teammates after Crosby’s injury. “Everybody stepped up, everybody played outstanding from D to goalie to forwards — everybody.”

On the bench at game’s end, Fedotenko admitted he wasn’t sure exactly when the game ended as he watched Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom take a last-second shot that was stopped by Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

“I was not looking at the time,” said Fedotenko who had seven goals and seven assists in the playoffs. “I was watching to make sure [the puck] did not cross the [goal] line. Nerves were going but there was so much excitement.

“And then when you heard that buzzer, it was unbelievable. It was hard to hear because fans were screaming,” said Fedotenko, adding that he realized the game was over “when everybody was jumping on the ice.”

Lifting the Cup “felt the same. I feel really fortunate to have two Cups because a lot of people play their whole career and never make it to the finals. I’m very lucky and I felt like it was a great experience.”

Fedotenko left the Lightning after the 2006-07 season and spent a year with the New York Islanders. In the regular season, he scored 16 goals and 39 points, finishing a plus 18.

williams@vindy.com