It All Comes Down To This...

I have said this multiple times, but it does not get any better.

While I counted myself among the skeptics once the 2009 Stanley Cup Final became a rematch of last year's six-game duel between the Penguins and Red Wings, I have been pleasantly proven wrong so far. This series has been downright incredible.

It's easy to pick the obvious storylines--Sidney Crosby's relative ineffectiveness in the first three games to Pavel Datsyuk's noted absence from the Detroit lineup, but the grand scheme is a remarkable one. Series like this do wonders for the game of hockey, and no one in the league office will complain when Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get some more air time.

Last night's Game 6 in Mellon Arena successfully blended together every element of exciting and enthralling hockey. The Penguins were on their heels early in the first period, but after Marc-Andre Fleury's point-blank save on Henrik Zetterberg, the home team settled down. After the first period, the Penguins owned a 12-3 shot advantage. But they had nothing to show for it in a 0-0 tie. Chris Osgood made momentum-halting saves on Ruslan Fedotenko and Crosby late in the first to carry his team into the locker room.

As playoff hockey usually goes, the unsung heroes led the way for the Penguins in this one.

Third-line center Jordan Staal opened the scoring in the first minute of the second period, burying his own rebound on a 2-on-1 rush. It appeared the floodgates would open for Pittsburgh, but Osgood stood just as tall. He stopped Max Talbot's deceptive backhand shot before robbing Bill Guerin on the door step. Osgood's stability between the pipes kept Detroit in the game while they were skating on tired legs.




The Penguins killed off multiple Red Wings power plays and took a 1-0 lead into the third period. Detroit countered hard in the opening minutes, but Pittsburgh's push back was equally strong. And again, the third line was responsible for the game-winning goal.

Matt Cooke took a drop pass from Staal behind Osgood and reversed the puck to Tyler Kennedy, who was waiting on the far post. Kennedy crept in front of the net and stuffed a tight-angle shot behind Osgood and put his team in control with a 2-0 lead.

But the ice would tilt again.

Center Kris Draper cashed a rebound from Nick Lidstrom minutes later to cut the deficit in half for Detroit, and Malkin took a cross-checking penalty soon after. The Red Wings peppered Fleury, but his defense swallowed up multiple shots from the point and effectively cleared the zone four times.

Pittsburgh felt the heat in the final 90 seconds with Osgood on the bench for an extra attacker. Most of the Red Wings' third-period attempts came in the final minutes, pushing hard for the tying goal. Defenseman Rob Scuderi made three straight saves in the crease while Fleury scrambled to get back into the net, leaving Red Wing forward Johan Franzen befuddled.

In theory, Scuderi made more key saves than his netminder, who only faced eight shots in the first two periods. But again, this is what makes playoff hockey both beautiful and chaotic: guys will sell out and do everything to get their name etched on the Stanley Cup.

Friday night, we will know whose names get the honor.

Q & A: Steve Osacky

I sat down with Ohio hockey defenseman Steve Osacky to talk about life in the OU locker room, friendly trash-talking among teammates about the Stanley Cup playoffs, and growing up hockey-crazy Chicago.


Q: Why is the future so bright for the Blackhawks?

Osacky: They're finally on the right track. I guess that's the best way to put it. For a while, there wasn't a lot to look forward to in terms of players or winning or anything like that. There wasn't a lot of energy in the United Center, either. Now, they have young stars like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg to build around.

Q: How has the atmosphere at the United Center changed in recent years?

O: Well, there's a lot more people there now (laughing). I mean, just the energy around the team is totally different. People expect to see the Hawks win, and they want to see the star players on the team, too. When you sell out every night, it makes things more exciting and definitely louder, too.


Q: There are a lot of Pittsburgh Penguins fans on the hockey team. Any other Chicago fans?

O: Few and far between (laughing). There are a couple other guys on the team from Chicago, like Mike Peota and Paul Marshall. I'm probably the loudest Hawks fan, but every now and then you'll see a couple of the guys wearing Hawks gear, even more so now that they're going deep into the playoffs.


Q: How much trash-talking is there among your teammates with the Penguins, Red Wings and Blackhawks all going far into the postseason?

O: A ton. Some guys keep it cool, but for the most part, the Penguins fans are all obnoxious. There are some Detroit fans, like (assistant coach) Stavros and Justin Farmer. Jeremy Browning is a Wings fan, too. But the loudest and cockiest of them all is definitely (former Bobcat) Jeff Jepson.


Q: How bright is the future in Chicago?

O: It's really bright. You look at all of the young talent and guys that have yet to make it to the NHL, there are a ton of good players both on the team and in the system. Now that they're winning again and this year they're doing some damage, hockey in Chicago is only going to get bigger.

A Second NHL Team in Toronto?

I don't usually delve into outside National Hockey League issues, but after withstanding three weeks of Phoenix Coyotes-Jim Balsillie madness, this one is too hard to pass up.

TSN, Canada's sports network leader and American comparison to ESPN, reported today that a group of investors led by Andrew Lopez would hold a press conference in Toronto to discuss its plans to bring a second NHL franchise to the Golden Horseshoe, the Canadian metropolitan hub.

According to the report, the investors have formed a group called the Toronto Legacy Group and the proposed expansion team would boast the same name (without the 'group'). Lopez and his fellow investors have reportedly allocated $1 billion (Canadian) to finance the franchise, as well as help build a 30,000-seat arena on the north side of Toronto.

At some point, the league has to take notice.

For years, commissioner Gary Bettman has spent the majority of his expansion teams on southern U.S. cities, those that have no professional sports teams or would be considered a non-traditional hockey market. I know, the most trite expression in the NHL.

The Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators have all experienced severe financial trouble in the past five years, and eventually losing all this money will come back to haunt the NHL. Getting investors in the league that truly care about hockey and that have deep pockets is only a good thing for the game and the NHL--yet for some reason, the Bettman administration does not think the same way.

I understand that these non-traditional market teams are his little project, and he refuses to see them die. But before too long, the losses are going to become insurmountable, and the Phoenix situation is no exception.

Sure, Balsillie is a different guy--he chooses not to abide by the league rules for acquiring a team and uses his multi-billion dollar wallet to do the talking. Using the round about way to buy a team is not a good method to endear yourself to the head honchos, but the BlackBerry founder sure has enough coin to make the NHL listen.

Since when were passion and dedication deemed bad things for people with money? Wise up, NHL, and grant these people their teams before you lose even more revenue.

Best Sights and Cities of the NHL Playoffs

This year's Stanley Cup Playoffs have been staged in some of North America's most beautiful cities. Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal are Canada's finest metropolitan areas, and the locals are crazy about the hometown teams.

South of the Canadian border, great cities such as Boston, St. Louis, Chicago and Washington D.C. played host to playoff games this season. The 16 teams that embarked on the journey to the Stanley Cup on April 15 have been whittled down to two. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings might not play in America's most picturesque cities, but the hockey they have displayed in the first three games of the final has been artistic.

This interactive map, created with the help of Google Maps, will take you around the continent and into some of the playoffs' best hockey cities. Click on the landmark above each city to learn a little more about their hockey team, and take a look at the pictures inside!


View The Best Sights and Cities of the NHL Playoffs in a larger map