Datsyuk's Return Spells End For Pens

Alert the mayor, this one's over.

Despite not being officially eliminated after their 5-0 beatdown by the Detroit Red Wings, the Pittsburgh Penguins are simply over matched by the depth and experience of the Motor City. Now, with the return of Detroit's top center Pavel Datsyuk, the Penguins officially find themselves with no room for error. It's undoubtedly a tough reality to grasp for Penguins hopefuls and fans, but simply put, it's inevitable. Fact is, this team's not winning the Stanley Cup if their inability to play their game outside of the Mellon Arena continues. The Pens were completely out-hustled and worked by the elder Red Wings for 60 minutes at the Joe Louis Arena, for the 3rd time out of 3 visits to Motown.

For the Red Wings, the return of Datsyuk into the line-up and more importantly the powerplay was the difference maker in their Game 5 demolition of Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite gingerly skating on his injured foot during the pregame skate, the Russian center proved to be effective as ever. In his 17+ minutes of ice time Datsyuk didn't miss a beat, picking up a pair of assists including a great feed to Brian Rafalski on the powerplay to increase the Red Wings lead to 4-0.

In what has become typical Detroit-fashion, the Wings systemically destroyed the Penguins and exploited their youth throughout all three periods of Saturday night's tilt at the Joe. The Wings got the Penguins frustrated early and often, a tactic which led to 9 powerplay opportunities for the Red Wings. The Red Wings took advantage of this, scoring 3 straight powerplay goals in the 2nd period, putting themselves up 5-0 on the Penguins and leading to the exit of Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pittsburgh net.

As a confidence-less Fleury headed down the runway and back to the Pittsburgh locker room, the doubts of Pens Nation grew. The rumored fatigue of the Red Wings is gone; they're back, and they smell blood.

The Penguins defenders were unable to stop the one-footed Datsyuk and Wings, as they often resorted to swinging their sticks blinding from their knees in a feeble attempt to stop the Wings roaring offense. The series swings back to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the same setting where the Penguins felt their initial dream of bringing their 3rd Cup to the city of Pittsburgh crushed by Chris Osgood and the Red Wings.

It's not written in stone that the Penguins will not pull off the upset and capture the Stanley Cup, however, the continuing failures at the Joe Louis Arena are creating massive clouds of doubt among NHL fans worldwide, including myself. M.A Fleury has created the image of the Joe being his House of Horrors much like Tim Thomas' was seemingly tormented by the Bell Centre during his first few years in Boston. Fleury's record in Detroit during the past two Stanley Cup's is anything but flattering as he's gone just 1-4 with a GAA just under 3 and a .906 SV%. Fleury's only win came in 2008 Stanley Cup's epic Game 5 where the Penguins survived the Red Wings to avoid elimination with a win in the 3rd overtime.

Now with 2 days for both teams to rest their surely sore bodies, the Penguins have two options before their eyes: regain their confidence and believe that they can top this team or lose once again in front of their home crowd. Despite the added noise and spark the Igloo White-out will provide, the Red Wings are just too strong on their special teams with the return of Pavel Datsyuk. As Nicklas Lidstrom and the rest of the Red Wings will raise their 2nd Cup in as many years we'll learn that Hossa was right, he did have a better chance in Detroit because the Pens are simply done.

Motor City vs. The 'Burgh: Part II

"When I compared the two teams, I felt like I would have a little better of a chance to win the Cup in Detroit.". These now famous words were said by 2008's free agency top prize Marian Hossa following his signing of a one year, 7.45 million dollar deal with the Detroit Red Wings. The second team mentioned by Hossa is of course, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

During the 2008 trading deadline, Penguins GM Ray Shero took the monumental risk of trading away Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, top prospect Angelo Esposito and a 1st round draft pick to the Thrashers for Marian Hossa along with Pascal Dupuis. When the Penguins pulled the trigger to land the Slovakian winger, the goal was simple: win the Stanley Cup, now. Hossa's signing gave at-the-time Penguins coach Michel Therrien a legitimate sniper to play wing along captain Sidney Crosby.

Hossa's tenure as a Penguin didn't start off well as in the 1st period of his debut against Boston, Hossa suffered a lower body injury that caused him to miss 6 games. However, Hossa finished the regular season strong, registering 10 points in 12 games with Pittsburgh. His strong play continued into the Penguins push for their first Stanley Cup in 16 years, as Hossa led the Penguins in goals scored and was second to Sidney Crosby in point totals. Despite the winger's strong performance, it simply wasn't enough to top the NHL best Detroit Red Wings. As Hossa sat against the boards in disbelief along with the city of Pittsburgh following his inability to put the puck past Chris Osgood in the closing seconds of Game 6, the rumblings and concerns of his future immediately grew.

As free agency rapidly approached, Penguins GM Ray Shero found himself unable to reach an agreement to a long-term deal with Marian Hossa. Despite the Pens offering of a reported 7 year deal worth 50 million dollars, Hossa had elected to hit the free agency market. On July 1st, rumors ran rampant all over North America from Boston's rumored 77-million dollar total contract to Edmonton's 9-million a season contract but Hossa still had not accepted any of these reported offers. Then, the surprising and crushing news to every Pittsburgh fan broke: Hossa had opted to become a Red Wing. Yes, the same Red Wings that had just beat the Pittsburgh Penguins just a little less than a month ago.

Outrage was a light way to put it as a Penguins fan; it was pure salt in a still open wound. Hossa had kicked the Penguins to the curb, essentially stating their inferior chances of winning a Stanley Cup when compared to the Detroit Red Wings. It's been 335 days since Hossa traded a black-and-gold 18 for a red-and-white 81, but Penguin fans have surely not forgotten. Despite the possible underlying bitterness residing within Pens Nation, they have reason to be happy. First off, their team's back in the Finals and secondly, their failure to re-sign Hossa has surely made more fiscal sense for the Igloo's inhabitants.

When comparing these two combatants, their season's had undoubtedly taken different paths in route to the Stanley Cup. Detroit's easy ride through the regular season and Playoffs have come as no surprise, while Pittsburgh's rollercoaster season has led them back to the same stadium and in the same setting as they were a year ago. The mid-season firing of Michel Therrien has worked wonders for the 'Burgh, as Dan Bylsma has completely changed the mindset of the Penguins. At the deadline, the Pens added depth at the wings through acquisitions for veteran Bill Guerin and 29 year old Chris Kunitz. Whereas the Red Wings have once again relied on their post-season experience and know-how in their quest for the franchise's 12th Stanley Cup.

Despite the addition of Marian Hossa, I'm going to have to give the edge to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hossa's production and offensive capabilities have been replaced by the new found depth of the Penguins, as the 'new' guys on the Penguins such as Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz and even Ruslan Fedotenko have all provided the offensive upside the Penguins supposedly lost with the departure of Marian. Simply put, the Detroit Red Wings have cruised through the 2009 NHL Playoffs against teams that lack playoff experience. They steamrolled the Columbus Blue Jackets in 4 games, followed that up with a 6 game series win over Anaheim and a 5 game series win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The common factor with the Red Wings opponents throughout the course of their Western Conference dismantling? Inexperienced playoff goaltenders.

Marc-Andre Fluery, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby all gained valuable Playoff experience in their 2007-08 run for the Cup. Now, Pittsburgh's big three are a year older, more mature, hungry and ready to take on the wounded Wings. The Red Wings head into Game 1 with a battered captain in Nicklas Lidstrom and will possibly be without top-point man, number one center and powerplay machine Pavel Datsyuk for the start of the series. Despite the depth and experience of Detroit, Hossa's words will come back to bite him as the Penguins will raise their 3rd Stanley Cup banner to the rafters of the Igloo.

Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games.

Sweet Home Chicago: B's Fans Should Root For 'Hawks

With the Boston Bruins out of picture, Bruins fans are finding themselves in search of a new team to root for. With just four teams left in the chase to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup, the options are simple. Two in the East, two in the West. Simple, right? Oh, quite different.

In the Eastern Conference, the favorite to advance to the Stanley Cup has to be the Pittsburgh Penguins. They're led by the "face" of the NHL in Sidney Crosby and their talent stretches roster deep. This is the Penguins 2nd consecutive trip to the Conference Finals. Despite losing key pieces of their 2007-08 Cup run in Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa the Penguins fought their way back near the top of the East under at-the-time interim head coach Dan Byslma. If Crosby can continue to lead the way with his incredible playoff play, the Penguins odds to advance are quite high.

Just because they're the favorites, doesn't mean Bruins fans should root for them. Most Bruins/fans-of-teams-outside-of-Pittsburgh fans can't stand Sidney Crosby, myself included and still don't want to see him raise a Stanley Cup at the age of 21. Perhaps the one thing the Penguins had going for them with Bruins fans was the fact that former Bruin and Massachusetts native Billy Guerin was on their roster..then you look and see so is Hal Gill. Not only that, but they're not too far removed from a Stanley Cup Championship (1990-91 and 1991-92). I'm still not ready to cheer for a city who was a contract signing away from losing their hockey team to the city of Kansas City.

Opposing them are the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that broke, crushed, put back together and then re-broke the hearts of the Boston Bruins to get there. Like Pittsburgh, their push to the Conference Finals was led by the introduction of a new coach. However, for Carolina, this "new" coach was a familiar face in Paul Maurice. Maurice was the coach of the Hartford Whalers when they became the Carolina Hurricanes, and stayed with the 'Canes all the way until he was fired 30 games into the 2003-04 season. Under Maurice, the Hurricanes went on a torrid tear through the NHL, finishing with the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Although the wound is still fresh, the Hurricanes aren't necessarily a hate-worthy team. They simply outworked the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference with team-work, hard-work and never giving up. Even when their team was on the brink of elimination against the New Jersey Devils, the heartbeat of the Carolina Hurricanes simply wouldn't die. A sentimental note for those interested in the 'Canes is the fact that Boston villain Scott Walker's wife was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, adding an emotional touch into the 'Canes drive to their 2nd cup in 4 years. Despite the emotions, the arrogance of Eric Staal, Paul Maurice and Jussi Jokinen along with 18,000 cowbells (a criminal offence if you ask me) deem the 'Canes unworthy of your root. Plus, they just won it, nobody likes seeing a hard-to-market hockey market raise the Cup twice in a decade.

Out in the Western Conference, it's down to two Original Six rivals: the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. The Detroit Red Wings come into the series as the favorite to win not only the West, but also the Cup. The Red Wings have won 4 of their 11 Stanley Cups within the past 14 years. They only got better over the off-season by adding top-prize free agent Marian Hossa and Pittsburgh back-up Ty Conklin.

Their dominance over the NHL has grown tiresome. The octopus has been played, and their playoff slogan of "The Beard is Back" is just ridiculous. The ridiculous-ness lies within the idea that you can argue that "the Beard" never left considering the Detroit Red Wings haven't missed the NHL Playoffs since the 1989-90 NHL season. Even if the Motor City's economy is collapsing due to Ford's continuing downfall, you won't see me rooting for the Wings to add another Stanley Cup banner to their rafters. They have enough.

Going up against the Red Wings are the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago, much like Boston, is going through a revitalization of hockey within their city. Night in and night out this season the United Center (and even Wrigley Field) was packed with red, black and white. There was no arena in the NHL outside of Montreal that had better attendance than the Chicago Blackhawks and the future keeps growing brighter and brighter.

Before the Rocky Wirtz era began, the team was ran (very poorly) by Rocky's father, Bill. Bill, was a notoriously cheap owner who made controversial moves such as blacking out all Blackhawk home games unless they were national televised, something that never happened and created his own Pay-Per-View network where Hawks fans would have to subscribe for 30 dollars a month in order to watch their favorite team. There was no doubt that the elder Wirtz thrifty ways surely left scorn on to 'Hawks fans everywhere. When Bill Wirtz lost his battle to cancer, the new era of the Blackhawks officially took over.

The Blackhawks are the epitome of a up and coming team. Their off-season was headlined by the additions of Cristobal Huet and puck-moving defensemen Brian Campbell, adding a mix of youth and experience into their line-up. Since then, the Hawks have taken off, registering their 1st 100+ point season for the first time since 1992-93. Like the Penguins and Hurricanes, the Blackhawks went through a coaching change just 9 games into the NHL season, firing Denis Savard and replacing him with Joel Quenneville, a coach who's only missed the playoffs once in 13 seasons of coaching at the NHL level.

The Blackhawks are led by captain Jonathan Toews, who provides phenomenal leadership ability at a young age. Along side Toews, is the first American born player to be taken with the number 1 overall pick, Patrick Kane. Kane has had a phenomenal playoffs thus far, making Roberto Luongo look absolutely foolish in the Blackhawks 6-game series win over the Vancouver Canucks. Undoubtedly the biggest reason for Bruins fans to root for the Blackhawks is the empathy and similarities they share with Chicago fans. Bruins fans know what it's like to have a fan proclaimed "selfish" owner and be stuck in neutral as an organization for several years. Both cities hockey scenes are now alive and out of the bottom of the Conference standings, but still without a Cup. Chicago is currently on their 48th year without a Stanley Cup, the 1960-61 season being the last in which the Blackhawks raised a banner.

The Blackhawks as stated before, are a young team mixed with a group of veterans in a city regaining their love for hockey who are trying to end the significant drought of a Stanley Cup Championship, sound familiar? It's time to pack away that Tim Thomas shirt in favor for a a Nikolai Khabibulin t-shirt as for Bruins fans, the Chicago Blackhawks are the clear choice as to who to root for in this years Stanley Cup chase.

2009 NHL Playoffs: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Predictions

In the Eastern Conference, it was the year of the Bruins. Bruins stood atop of almost every offensive and goaltending catergory in the NHL and even Coach Claude Julien is considered the odds on favorite to win the Jack Adams Award. This year in the East also gave fans of teams like the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens severe heart attacks as their teams fell in and out of the playoff race as the season went on, but all three find themselves in the dance. It was also a year of disappointment as the Florida Panthers became so close to capturing their first playoff berth in 8 years, only to be denied by a Montreal overtime loss.

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens - Seriously, what would the NHL Playoffs be without a Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens showdown? The Bruins come in as the East's top seed, led by Norris-favorite Zdeno Chara and the best offense in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Habs late season push has to be credited to the revival of the powerplay in Montreal. However, the Habs are without leader of the powerplay Andrei Markov, who's sidelined with a knee injury and Mathieu Schneider is playing through what was at one point considered a season ending shoulder injury. With Montreal putting their three best offensive players on the same line (Tanguay-Koivu-Kovalev) their offense will surely lack depth and the inconsistent goaltending of Carey Price will ultimately make them unable to get the job done. Prediction: Bruins win in 5.

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers - Perhaps one of the most intriguing series in the NHL Playoffs is the battle between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers. The Rangers have proved to be a worthy adversary for every team they face since the trading deadline. For Washington, the juggernaut that is Alexander Ovechkin is coming off yet another MVP-like season and has one of the NHL's best supporting casts with Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alexander Semin skating alongside him. The biggest question mark for the Capitals will be in net, Jose Theodore. Theodore has lacked the consistency he had throughout his tenure in Colorado and is by far less superior to Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Prediction: Rangers win in 7.

(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes - Is this not the most boring series in the entire playoffs? Combine the Devils sleep-inducing defensive trap style of play and the over all bland team that is Carolina Hurricanes and what do you have? This series. The mystery for the New Jersey Devils is which Martin Brodeur will show up? Will it be the Marty of old Devils fans know and love or the Marty who's struggled since returning from his bicep injury. The Hurricanes have been on a tear since acquiring Erik Cole from the Oilers, and Cole has responded well to his return to Raleigh, posting 15 points in 17 games with the 'Canes. Prediction: Hurricanes win in 6.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers - The interstate rivals meet again in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals. There's no doubting that these two teams hate one another, as the battle for Pennsylvania continues in the 1st round. The Penguins are on fire since the hiring of Dan Bylsma behind the bench while Sidney Crosby has found his stride just in time for the playoffs. With the offensive additions of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz, and add in Russian sensation Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins have surely regained the offensive strength they had during last years Playoff run. Meanwhile, across the state in Philly, the Flyers late seasons struggles due to lack of strong goaltending left them in the fifth seed and without home ice advantage, something they fought for all season long. Prediction: Penguins win in 7.

Ideal Match-ups: Eastern Conference

Currently, there's 10 teams in the race for the Eastern Conference playoffs. Unfortunately for 2 of them, there's only 8 spots. With the Bruins, Devils, Caps and Flyers virtually being locks for playing beyond April 12th that leaves 6 teams vying for 4 spots. With 27 days remaining in the NHL season and a break in action for 26 teams tonight it's a good time to see what our ideal match-ups for the 1st round will be in the East.

Boston Bruins (1 seed) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (8 seed) - This match-up would undoubtedly leave Bruins fans salivating. The Bruins swept the season series against Cam Ward and the 'Canes. This series would either give the Bruins an easy 1st round sweep or 5 game series win or could turn out to be a grueling 6 or possibly even 7 game series. Considering both teams high-powered offensive style of play this series would definitely be entertaining for a 1 vs. 8 match-up. Prediction: Bruins win in 5.

New Jersey Devils (2 seed) vs. New York Rangers (7 seed) - Why wouldn't like this? It'd be the rematch of last seasons 1st round match-up between the Rangers and Devils. All eyes would surely be on Sean Avery and Martin Broduer, who got into a battle during last years series which led to the "Avery Rule" being implemented into the NHL, disallowing players from deliberately screening the goalie away from the play. Prediction: Devils win in 7.

Washington Capitals (3 seed) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (6 seed) - A showdown of NHL cover boys: Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby. The young duos of Semin and Ovechkin vs. Crosby and Malkin would definitely bring in the ratings and coverage the NHL could use to start off the playoffs. Although the Malkin vs. Ovechkin rivalry has been 'put to rest', one couldn't help but think a 7 game series would reawaken the feud. Prediction: Capitals win in 6.

Philadelphia Flyers (4 seed) vs. Montreal Canadiens (5 seed) - A rematch of last year's 2nd round match-up where the Flyers took down the Habs in 5 games. The Habs are currently in a tough spot but have been playing better under new coach and GM Bob Gainey. Prediction: Canadiens win in 6.

This would set the table for a Bruins vs. Canadiens conference semi-finals match-up and a Devils vs. Capitals semi-final. These two match-ups would certainly be two tilts for the ages. And frankly, I don't want to hazard a guess on what could happen in these series given the talent of all 4 squads.