Great goals get remembered, but great goals with great play-by-play calls get enshrined.
While the players and the fans in the stands are going buck wild celebrating a big playoff goal, they have no idea when an announcer absolutely nails it with the television call. There are a few calls that have a legacy of their own, and one of those calls – made by Mike Lange – was minted during the 2009 Stanley Cup Final when the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins battled as the final two teams standing.
With the Penguins down 2-1 in the series, it became crucial that they get off to a hot start in Game 4 with the risk of going back to Detroit down 3-1 looming large. The nerves in the building were high, but Pens star (and eventual Conn Smythe Trophy recipient) Evgeni Malkin made sure to relieve some of that stress early on.
“MAKE ME A MILKSHAKE, MALKIN!”
That’s a call that any Pens fan that’s been around for a while remembers well, particularly because it led to the Pens tying the series which they would eventually go on to win.
12 years later, Malkin FINALLY made a milkshake for Lange!
What is this warm and fuzzy feeling inside my stomach right now?
It was a night to celebrate the longtime Pens broadcaster, one in which the fans were given cards with different "Langeisms" on them, and he was publicly honoured as well.
With Malkin healing on the Pens’ LTIR, he’s got time to fulfil some of the tasks he had been putting off for, oh you know, A DECADE. The video certainly plucked the heartstrings of Pens fans!
(H/T Pittsburgh Penguins)
