Just 5 minutes until puck drop in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Detroit Red Wings are looking for the win that will give them the Cup. The Penguins trying to force a series deciding game 7.
Keys to the game:
M.A. Fleury repeating his stellar performance that helped win game 6. If he can, the Penguins can make a game of this.
Pittsburgh need to shut down the Red Wings top line. If Zetterberg and Datsyuk are free to skate on open ice they will do damage. The Penguins need to shut that line down.
Evgeni Malkin. He was quiet in most games of this series, but got the assist on Sykoras game winner in game 6. If Malkin can get on a roll, he could be the difference maker.
It took 129 minutes to achieve, but the Dallas Stars finally eliminated the pesky San Jose Sharks from the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Brenden Morrow netted the puck 9:03 into the 4th overtime period to give the Stars their first Conference Finals appearance since 2000.
Marty Turco faced 61 shots in the epic battle, making him the 1st star of the game. Evgeni Nabokov of the Sharks was 2nd star and Brenden Morrow was 3rd.
The Dallas Stars now go on to face the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference finals.
Earlier tonight the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the New York Rangers, making way for an all Pen State EC final between the Penguins and Flyers.
Try as they might, the Calgary Flames simply could not hold back the San Jose Sharks attack in todays game 7 matchup between the 2 teams. Jeremy Roenick scored back to back goals in the 2nd period, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead. The Sharks went into the 3rd period with a 5-2 lead. Wayne Primeau and the Flames tried to mount a comeback and scored to bring the game to within 2 goals, but could not get the puck past Evgeni Nabakov. The game ended with the Sharks winning 5-2.
The Sharks will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Not since 2003 has a Stanley Cup champion made it through the first round of the playoffs the following year. That trend has continued today after a highly underestimated Dallas Stars routed the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 in Dallas, TX.
The victory in todays game 6 not only eliminated the defending Stanley Cup champions from the playoffs, but broke the “first round” curse that has plagued the Dallas Stars for 5 long painful years.
Marty Turco, who has taken the brunt of the criticism over the previous years showed that he is one of the elite netminders in the NHL, finishing the round with a GAA of 2.01, including a shutout in game 1.
Anaheim, who were one of the strongest teams going down the final stretch into the playoffs faltered under the constant Dallas Attack, and struggled to get past the Dallas Defensive group; a group that included 3 rookies and was missing Sergei Zubov and (for most games) Philippe Boucher.
“It’s disappointing because we believe we could do better,” said Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer, the Conn Smythe winner as MVP of last year’s postseason who retired then decided to return to chase another Cup. “Our sights were set higher than this.”
- Yahoo! Sports
Dallas now have a few days to relax before the Western Conference Semi-Finals begin. The Stars will face either the Colorado Avalanche or the San Jose Sharks in round 2, but wont know who until after game 7 between the Flames and Sharks on Tuesday evening.
NHL Disciplinarian Colin Campbell announced today that Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks will receive an 8 game suspension after stomping on the calf of Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler.
“In attempting to free himself, Pronger carelessly and recklessly brought his foot down,” Campbell said in a statement.
- Yahoo! Sport
The suspension has raised an outcry among the public who are shocked to yet again see a double standard from the NHL when it comes to handing out discipline to players.
Earlier this season the NHL suspended Chris Simon for 30 games after he was found guilty of stomping on the ankle of Pittsburgh Penguin Jarkko Ruutu. Does it not seem odd then that Chris Pronger would only receive 8 games?
The Chris Simon suspension was long because Simon was considered a “repeat offender”, and someone that needed to learn the hard way.
What does that make Pronger, who now has been suspended 8 times in his career. Surely we don’t need to remind you of last season where he received 2 suspensions during the playoffs for rough / dirty play, including that elbow to the head of Dean McAmmond in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The answer is there, if you look hard enough. Chris Simon is not an all star player, nor a big point scorer, or a crowd drawing player. Chris Pronger is. Chris Simon is not a Norris quality player. Chris Pronger is.
Is the NHL too scared, maybe even gutless to come down hard on an all star player? Chris Pronger has shown that these stupidly small suspensions do nothing to encourage him to clean up his game, so why don’t Gary Bettman and the NHL do something about him?
Something to think about.
Pronger will be able to play again on the last day of the regular season, meaning he will be free to throw his weight around in the playoffs. Let’s hope, for the sake of the opposition players that he learns to control himself before then.
As we head towards the NHL Playoffs we start to hear phrases like underdogs, rental players or cinderella stories. The trade deadline is where these phrases really start to be thrown around. Teams battling for 7th and 8th spot on the ladders start looking to bolster their lineups with trades, often picking up players they know they will only keep until the end of the season. ie. rental players.
The most recent cinderella story team was the Edmonton Oilers who 2 years back went into the playoffs in 8th spot in the West and battled hard to make it right to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals, only to be beaten by the Carolina Hurricanes.
While the cinderella story teams are fantastic to watch, the fact is, the chance of them actually winning the cup is minimal. 30% of the time, top 3 teams have won the Cup. 80% of the time, teams in the top 5 have ended up hoisting the cup. In fact in recent years i believe only 1 team who started the playoffs in 8th place have won the cup.
But in a world of battlers, doing it hard and fighting to the end, there will always be that spark of belief that says the underdog, the great Cinderella team will once again be victors come June/July.
NHL Disciplinarian Colin Campbell announced today that Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks will receive an 8 game suspension after stomping on the calf of Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler.
What does that make Pronger, who now has been suspended 8 times in his career. Surely we don’t need to remind you of last season where he received 2 suspensions during the playoffs for rough / dirty play, including that elbow to the head of Dean McAmmond in the Stanley Cup Finals.
