Stanley Cup

And now we come to the main event, the featured attraction. After three weeks we are now ready for some Stanley Cup action! For some its a dream that started on lakes and ponds in there youth and for some they are trying to add to their legacy.

Stanley Cup Finals (2)Detroit vs (4)Pittsburgh-An exact rematch of last years Stanley Cup final and for those of you who don't know Detroit won it last year. That puts a challenge on for the Redwings as there has not been a repeat Stanley winner in eleven years. In case your wondering it was Detroit that did it last back in 97 and 98. This years playoffs was full of intense action and drama filled games. The conference finals.....were a let down. Carolina came into the Eastern finals having upset 1 seed Boston while the Penguins had a dog fight with Washington. Pittsburgh destroyed the Hurricanes in a 4 game sweep. Carolina could not answer the Pens offensive assault. Crosby and Malkin both are 1 and 2 in goals scored this playoffs, Malkin with 14 and 11 for Crosby. Detroit had a tougher time facing Chicago but where still able to handle them in a easy fashion. This series was more competitive with Detroit and the Blackhawks going into overtime twice in the series. However this series was suppose to be great and it seldom was with only games 2 and 5 being close. Chicago with all of it's offense couldn't score on Detroit. Nicklas Lidstrom and goalie Chris Osgood. Breakdown- Pittsburgh brings the tandem of Crosby and Malkin but in addition to them Bill Guerin is a 400 goal plus veteran and center Jordan Staal can provide great defense. Detroit is anchored by Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg. Pavel Datsyuk was injured in game 4 with Chicago and is already out for game 1. Yet keep and eye on Dan Cleary. Cleary was a big factor in the win over Chicago. Edge-Detroit. Defenseman- Detroit brings Nicklas Lidstrom who in his career has won the Norris trophy 6 times in his career. Backing him up is Niklas Kronwal whose hit on Hawk's ace Martin Havlat is still being talked about. The Penguins bring  Sergei Gonchar who is great at power play kills and Rob Scuderi who has flown under the radar these playoffs but I think the veteran defense of the Redwings will outplay Pitt in the end. Edge-Detroit. On paper Detroit goalie Chris Osgood has the edge but lets take into the factor of Penguins net minder Marc Andre Fleury's opponents. He had to contend with Alexander Ovechkin no easy feat. Osgood was critical in Detroit's success over Chicago. One could even argue that without Osgood Detroit and Chicago could still be going on right now heading into a game 7. Both have similar stats but the one key for both teams will be how they play the power play. Edge-Pittsburgh. Keys- Detroit is a very puck control team. This is their key, by keeping it out of the hands of Crosby and Malkin. Detroit also will need to capitalize on power play opportunities. The Penguins will need to keep the puck away from their third of the ice. Staying on offense will be key for Pittsburgh letting their great offense try to wear out the injury dogged Redwings. Verdict- It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh has learned anything from last year. Pittsburgh can easily make this a fitness test with Detroit but I still think the Redwings can skate with the Penguins. I believe the injuries that surfaced during the Blackhawks series will come back to haunt Detroit. Penguins in 6.

photo courtesy of Carlos Osorio

Conference Finals

Two stars, only one can go on...
And so we were left with four; one team loaded with star power that held the nations attention, one team an upstart destroying every odd against them, one the defending champs trying to make it a repeat and give their town something to cheer about, and the other the youngest but hottest team right now. One series with one of the stars of the game against the underdog, can do team that everyone, including myself, thought would be done in the first round. The other a rivalry as old as the NHL itself. This is the conference finals....

East

(4)Pittsburgh vs (6)Carolina-With the games two biggest stars in the same series, it was a no brainer that Pittsburgh and Washington would gain the most media coverage. Crosby vs Ovechkin as it was dubbed. And it did not disappoint for the most part. Syd the kid and Alex the great both lead their teams with 12 and 11 goals respectively. 3 games went into overtime with the Penguins taking two of them. The Capitals David Steckel forced a game 7 when he sailed the puck past Pitt goalie Marc Andre-Fleury in overtime. Many thought with all the action that this would be a great game 7. One that would be the big explosive ending for this series. It ended up being a sparkler on the 4th of July. Pitt destroyed the Capitals 6-2 scoring 5 unanswered goals until Ovechkin answered with 2 minutes left in the 2nd. Carolina on paper should not be here. But they are a prime example if when a team gets hot its hot. Whether you think the Canes beating New Jersey was luck they still had the talent to force 7. Then they stun everyone in the room by knocking off Boston. Carolina's Scott Walker sealed it with a goal late in the first overtime in game 7. Walker you might have heard was the guy who dropped Bruin Aaron Ward with a good right hook that many are calling a cheap shot. The win gave Carolina its 4th game 7 win in a row. Now Carolina has a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup just 3 years removed from their 2006 championship. Verdict- The Penguins naturally have the edge heading into this matchup. Carolina has a case for defying the odds but one can't escape the feeling that luck is about to run out. Carolina seems to not matchup with Pittsburghs offense so their goalie Cam Ward will have to carry the load much like he did against New Jersey. The Penguins just need to stay the course and rely on Crosby and Malkin to carry them, Pittsburgh in 6

West-

(2)Detroit vs (4)Chicago-The Anaheim Ducks turned the post season on its head by beating 1st seed San Jose. Anaheim fought hard, game 2 went into triple overtime and fell in favor of the Ducks. The Ducks followed up with a game 3 win but Detroit then showed why they're the defending champs. The Redwings outscored the Ducks 10-4 over the next two games. Goalie Jonas Hiller forced a game 7. But in the end Dan Cleary's goal cemented that there was more hockey to be played in Joe Louis arena. Chicago had something to prove against a talented Vancouver side. Heading in it was a question on if the Blackhawks offense can get past Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo. The answer was a dramatic yes. There were times it seemed as though the Hawks could score on will. Vancouver had its moments but they couldn't contend with the fact that all 4 Hawk lines can score, and they did. Chicago's young talent, youngest team in the NHL, showed the critics that they were not phased by the postseason atmosphere. The team put a exclamation mark on their series clinching win in game 6. Scoring 7 goals including a hat trick from Patrick Kane against one of the premier goalies is nothing to sneeze at. Verdict- This is an "Original 6" matchup pitting two of the oldest hockey teams against each other. You could argue this is the NHL version of the Red Sox and Yankees. The Blackhawks are officially back from obscurity. The past decade has not been kind to Hawk fans who had to deal with poor play and the owner refusing to air games on TV. The Hawks success has done something rare in Chicago, they have stolen the spot light from the baseball teams. The Hawks will try to advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1991 were they lost to Pittsburgh. Detroit is the veteran, with players like Marian Hossa, Cris Osgood, and Nikolas Lidstrom. They are the champs and seeing the Hawks growing better with each game gets their attention. Detroit fans are hoping for one last ride out of their players. In tough economic times the Redwings mean a lot right now to the city of Detroit. And what better way then to battle with a familiar foe. Detroit's experience is what will win this series for them. The Hawks need to keep wave after wave of offense at Detroit's defense to have a chance. In some respect this could be a passing of the torch game for both sides. The roar may be back in Chicago but Detroit is still Hockey town. Detroit in 7 to set up a rematch with Pittsburgh.

image courtesy of Bruce Bennett