Wings win the Stanley Cup

The Detroit Red Wings won the 2008 Stanley Cup. Henrik Zetterberg took home the Conn Smythe Trophy, and Niklas Lidstrom is the first European to have his name etched on the Cup as team captain. Some thoughts:

• There's an argument that the Conn Smythe should have gone to Sidney Crosby, who led the playoffs in scoring. You have to show up in the finals, though, to get the votes and Detroit effectively shut him down. The Penguins' best player was Marc-Andre Fleury, who kept his team in it despite being outshot in 17 of 20 full periods of hockey played.
  
• Speaking of Fleury, the Cup winning goal, which he pushed into the net with his butt, was the second wonky GWG the young netminder has given up in a championship game. You may recall when Fleury shot the puck off Braydon Coburn and back into the net at the 2004 World Junior Championship, giving Team USA the gold.
  
• Scary how close Pittsburgh came to tying it up in the dying seconds. The Red Wings completely dominated the Penguins for the majority of the series. They were embarrassingly out shot. They couldn't stop Detroit from carrying it over the blue line. And their top guns couldn't generate much against the Wings' scoring line (which admittedly features two Selke nominees). Yet it almost all came down to a deciding game 7.
  
• Despite talk that paints the Penguins as the second coming of the 1980's Oilers, Pittsburgh will not become a dynasty. They'll never be able to keep that team together under the salary cap. The new CBA has redefined the definition of a dynasty. It's no longer a core group of players that string together a number of Cup victories. The new dynasty is a team which drafts and develops talent well, fills its roster with character players that fit the team's philosophy, perennially earns a playoff berth, and wins the Cup every few years. Sound familiar? Yep, the Red Wings are the closest thing the NHL will see to a dynasty for a long time.
  
• The novelty of the man-between-the-benches TV coverage has worn off. There's only so many ice condition report you can take. And I'm pretty sure Michel Thierren appreciated Pierre Maguire's coaching tips. Maybe Maguire is bucking to make a return to behind the bench like fellow TV analyst Barry Melrose? I was secretly hoping he'd take a deflected puck off the kisser so we wouldn't be subjected to his know-it-all commentary anymore.

And so another hockey season ends.

Wings beat Pens in game 1

It's the beginning of the end of the hockey season: the Stanley Cup Finals. Enjoy it while it lasts, because we all go golfing at the end of the series, waiting for our next kick at the Cup.

The Red Wings opened the Finals with a decisive 4-0 victory over the Penguins. This is the first loss in these playoffs for Pittsburgh where they didn't beat themselves. They simply don't yet have an answer for Detroit at even strength. They also couldn't solve Chris Osgood, "the worst goalie to win the Cup", who stopped the few dangerous chances the Penguins mustered.

The key to this series for the Wings will be to stay out of the box. They were lucky the Pens didn't strike first on any of their four first period power plays.
The key for Pittsburgh will be to draw penalties and get their goals on the power play. Sid the Kid has to know it after being shut down repeatedly, not just by Detroit's stingy defense but also by the Wings' scoring line of Datsuyk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom. Will we see Crosby return to his embellishing ways to get his team the man advantage?

Coming into this series the Penguins were the hottest team in the league. The questions remain: Are they better than the middling Eastern Conference teams they had to dispatch to reach the Stanley Cup Finals but no match for the West? Or are they the 1983 Oilers redux? (Not a bad thing to be truthfully.) Or is this a young team on a date with destiny, that merely tripped out of the gate much like Marc-Andre Fleury's entry onto the ice last night?

Cancel those tee times...

...the Rangers are still in it.

Finally, Henrik Lundqvist looked like the golden goalie capable of stealing one for his team. You had the feeling halfway through the game that he wasn't going to let one slip by him. It also helped that the Penguins played a conservative road game, until finally loading up Crosby and Malkin on the same line for the third period.

The series now goes back to Pittsburgh, where the Pens will be a bit more serious about trying to finish the Rangers off. The Blueshirts will need King Henrik to step up again...and again...and again to pull off the miracle New York needs to advance to the conference finals.

Rangers down and almost out

Not that I'm taking the blame for the Rangers' inevitable second round exit, but it's not like I didn't ask for it. Obviously, my desire to face the Penguins in the quarterfinals wasn't from watching them steamroll the Senators. Ottawa was in such a state of collapse, I figured just about any team would have swept them. After all, their own coach accused the Pens of tanking the final game of the season so they could face the Sens. And he's probably right.

But the Penguins are a steam engine without breaks. They have beaten the Rangers to just about every loose puck, every player back checks hard, and their 1-2-2 trap seems unbreakable. I still think Sidney Crosby's a turd, but boy are the Pens fun to watch.

New York hasn't actually played all that badly, the third period of game one notwithstanding. They've had their chances. Jaromir Jagr is playing like a man possessed. But Marc-Andre Fleury has clearly out dueled Henrik Lundqvist, who's doing little to live up to his 6-year, $41 million contract. That's good news for Fleury, an RFA at the end of the season and surely seeking a substantial raise.

The difference has been intensity, and the Pens have it it spades. The Flyers will surely try to pound Crosby, Malkin & Co. into submission in the next round, but I don't think there's a team remaining that can match their energy for a full 60 minutes or longer. It will take some lucky bounces to put the Pens on their heels, something the Rangers haven't had much of.

Things clearly aren't looking up for the Blueshirts. Only two teams in NHL history have overcome a 3-0 series deficit - the Maple Leafs in 1942 and the Islanders in 1975. They also have to deal with the possible loss of key penalty killer Blair Betts (fractured cheek) and the real loss of megapest Sean Avery (lacerated spleen - not cardiac arrest as first reported by the loosely fact checking NY Daily News).

Ranger fans better run down to the bodega and get a candle to light. We'll need the power of St. Michael behind our boys.

Conference quarterfinals come to a close

After a couple game 7s tonight, the Flyers and Sharks advance to the Eastern and Western conference semi-finals respectively.

The Flyers dumped the Caps on an OT goal by Joffrey Lupul, his first of the playoffs. They'll meet the Canadiens in the next round. Before Montreal was taken to a game 7 in their series against Boston, I would have given the edge to the Canadiens. But both teams seem plagued by inconsistency, so it could be a toss up. I'll go with CANADIENS IN SIX. If the Flyers win, the city of Montreal will burn. Heck, it may burn if they do win.

In the West tonight, the Flames crumpled after allowing four unanswered goals in the 2nd period. The story of the night, though, is 2 goals and 2 assists from Jeremy Roenick to lead the charge for the Sharks, his first points of the post-season. Coach Ron Wilson sat Roenick for game 6. Styles must have gotten the message loud and clear because the old man clearly stepped up his game. San Jose moves on to face Dallas, who are hot hot hot after eliminating the defending Stanley Cup Champion Ducks. Unlike Anaheim, San Jose won't hit themselves out of position. Dallas can't simply wait for the Sharks to make the same mistakes. My pick, STARS IN SEVEN.

Tonight's games decided the other two match ups as well.

The Rangers will face the Penguins in the East's other semi-final. This is the match up I wished for. Let's hope I'm not wrong. Both teams are well rested so it should be an exciting, fast-paced series. I predict RANGERS IN SIX. What, did you think I'd pick the Pens?

Back in the West, the Red Wings and the Avalanche will meet for the sixth time since 1996. (That's as far back as hockey-reference.com has stats for.) Colorado has the edge 3-2 in series wins during that time frame. Detroit has made the playoffs for 17 consecutive years, winning three Stanley Cups, but have had little to show for their efforts in recent years. I think the Red Wings finally understand that the Stanley Cup is much more pleasurable than the President's Trophy. As with Nashville, Detroit will take the path of most resistance but ultimately defeat Colorado. RED WINGS IN SEVEN.

Bettman cooks Detroit's octupus

Commissioner Gary Bettman is determined to take all the fun out of the NHL. On the heals the Sean Avery Rule (no more waving your stick in front of the goalie's face), Zamboni drivers are no longer allowed to remove debris thrown on the ice or they'll be dinged for a $10K fine...or at least they're not allowed to twirl it. Depends on your interpretation.

While the new rule doesn't name the Detroit Red Wings specifically, the league isn't veiling the fact that this is in relation to Wings fans throwing octupi at the Joe Louis Arena. I guess it just took them 56 years to figure out it may be a problem.

NHL spokesman Frank Brown gave this explanation: "Because matter flies off the octopus and gets on the ice when he does it."

- Detroit Free Press

Hmm, that's a complete 180 from the league's recent stance on the sin.

As recently as last year's playoffs, the NHL tacitly endorsed [Zamboni driver Al] Sobotka's antics.

"Every so often, an octopus slips out of someone's hands, and Al is right there to take care of the matter," Brown told the New York Times last May. "And he cannot be blamed if, as it tries to break free from Al's grasp, the octopus lifts Al's arm and twirls itself in the air."

- The Detroit News

This is all a little bit deja vu for my fellow Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) fans. If you're not familiar, that loud hippie in section 101 is Zamboni John. Before he took on the role of unofficial team cheerleader, he was the Zamboni driver at the old Mercer Arena. The city (who ran the arena) didn't take kindly to his high-fiving the audience while cutting the ice and his waving the large fish that T-Birds fans threw at every game versus longtime rival Portland Winter Hawks. "Zamboni John" Scannell is now a labor and employment attorney. Maybe Zamboni John can represent Sobotka should he defy Bettman's ruling.

Bruins force game 7

Well, that was exciting.

An end-to-end third period including 5 goals in the final 10 minutes, the Bruins defeated the Canadiens in game 6, staying alive and turning it into a one-game series. If you're a believer in momentum, then your money's on Boston.

If the Capitals were the Cinderella story of the regular season, then the Bruins are the Cinderella story of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Boston struggled with injuries all season. Only the Islanders and the Panthers had more man-games lost this season. And the Bruins' key injuries - Patrice Bergeron, Alexei Zhamnov and Manny Fernandez - are out indefinitely with little hope of returning for the post-season. When you've got Milan Lucic logging power play time, you know you have some challenges to overcome.

Game 7 is Monday night. Set your DVRs.

Rangers advance to Eastern semis

For the second season in a row, the Rangers have advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. They did so by knocking off the Devils, who dispatched the Blueshirts from the playoffs in 2006.

The moment we all were waiting for, will Marty shake Avery's hand?

And the answer is no. He wouldn't even look his nemesis in the eye. Brodeur actually took all the bumps in stride. It was his teammates and coach Brent Sutter who did all the complaining. I guess he was just holding it all in, waiting for the handshake line to let the world know how he really feels.

To add insult to injury, Avery finally broke his self-imposed media silence.

“Everyone talks about how unclassy I am, but Fatso there just forgot to shake my hand, I guess.”

- Sean Avery

We all know how well it ended last year when Avery lipped off after New York beat Atlanta in four straight. If you need a reminder, Avery was ineffectual in the next round and the Rangers lost to a heart-breaking series to the Sabres.

I was surprised by how many pundits were picking New Jersey to win this series. New York owned Brodeur & Company all season long, going 7-0-1 and earning an important 15 of 16 possible points. In fact, the Devils' game 3 victory was their only win over Henrik Lundqvist all year. (Steven Valiquette was in net for the overtime loss in their final meeting of the regular season.)

The Rangers have been their own worst enemy this season, but when they commit to playing their best game all 60 minutes (or longer if necessary), they're a pretty sound club defensively with the offensive depth to wait for their chances. As much press as their crease-crashing has received, consistency was really the key to New York winning the opening round.

Now Tom Renney and his soldiers wait for Washington-Philadelphia series to conclude. If the Flyers finish off the Capitals, then the Rangers will face the Penguins. If the Caps some how perform a miracle and comeback from a 3-1 deficit, then the Blueshirts will take on the Canadiens.

While the Rangers won the season series against both the Habs and the Pens, Montreal is a different team than they were at the beginning of the season when New York had most of their success against them. Pittsburgh is a hard working team but not strong defensively and can be easily exposed, particularly if they're forced to open up. Scoring first and disciplined defensive zone coverage would be the keys to a Rangers-Penguins match up. Of the those two potentials second round opponents, I'd prefer New York to face Pittsburgh. So, go Flyers!

If Boston upsets Montreal, then New York would face off against the winner of the Philadelphia-Boston series. Doubtful the Rangers would start Flyer-killer Valiquette between the pipes if they draw Philly.

With a goal and two assists tonight, Jaromir Jagr moves into a four five-way tie for the lead in playoff scoring. The last and final trigger to renew Jagr's contract for next season (including the Caps' 50% subsidy) is if he wins the Conn Smythe trophy. Larry Brooks of the New York Post points out that he and two other writers who cover the Rangers beat are among the press who cast ballots for playoffs MVP. I don't think there's any rule that says the Smythe winner has to play in the finals. Hopefully they know their jobs are much easier with Jagr on Broadway.