Gary Roberts a Scratch for Game One...?

Seasoned and respected vet Gary Roberts has been told that he will not be playing in tommorrow's game one of the Stanley Cup Finals. Apparently we'll find out after tommorrow's morning skate as to why, but it really doesn't matter.

42 year old Gary has only played 6 of Pittsburgh's 14 playoff games due to a mild case of pnuemonia, but he's so valued on the ice and in the lockerroom with Pittsburgh's young team, I can't imagine why they'd make him a healthy scratch.

Seems this is a case of hockey's many superstitions coming to light. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Pittsburgh's had an amazing run in this year's playoffs and Gary hasn't played too much, so I'm sure the real reason is Therrien doesn't want to mess with his team's chemistry going into the Finals and going against a bit of a juggernaut in Detroit. Still, Roberts won't hurt his team, especially on the fourth line, where he'd be.

I'd love to see the Penguins win the Cup because of Roberts, but I don't like that he's not going to be playing, even if it's only game one. This stinks to me!

Granato To Return As Colorado Coach

The Colorado Avalanche have re-hired Tony Granato as their Head Coach. Tony was the Av's head coach from 2002-2004 and "compiled a record of 72-33-17-11, giving him the top coaching mark in franchise history based on points percentage (.647)." -TSN.ca

After firing coach Quenneville due to his inability to carry the team to the Chapionship, they apparently feel this is the right way to go. It didn't work for the Oakland Raiders in their bringing back Art Shell as head coach, perhaps things will be different for Colorado and Granato.

We'll see how it goes...

We Interrupt This Marriage...

A fellow poster on the Florida Panthers message board posted this from ebay. It's a wedding cake topper. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see that they have all the teams.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Bridal-Garter-Set-Wedding-Cake-Topper-Florida-Panthers_W0QQitemZ290218919642QQcategoryZ0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3913.m87QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLS1%26its%3DK%26itu%3DMBMS%252BSS%252BFS%252BUCK%26otn%3D15%26po%3DOp2%26ps%3D26"]eBay[/url]

Lidstrom and the Cup

If the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup, Nicklas Lidstrom will be the first European captain in the NHL to lead his team to Finals victory. Through the history of the NHL, no Stanley Cup Champion has had a European captain.

Stanley Cup Final: Detroit vs. Pittsburgh

In a dream matchup for the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Detroit Red Wings in the Finals. Detroit has drawn big television crowds for over a decade and Pittsburgh has the NHL's golden boy Sidney Crosby who himself draws big television crowds. Neither team is short of stars as Detroit has the best defenseman in the league in Niklas Lidstrom, John Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and unsung heros Kris Draper and Tomas Holmstrom. Pittsburgh has of course Sid the Kid, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Marc Andre Fluery, and an up and comer in Jordan Staal. Gary Roberts could be playing his last year and is obviously looking to go out on top, hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup.

Both teams have proven to be very tough opposition. Detroit roared through the Western Conference playoffs, but had trouble closing the deal in their series against the Stars. If they do that against the hungry Penguins they won't know what's hit them. Pittsburgh has proven to be a very tough opponent in the playoffs as they've gone 12-2 throughout and are a perfect 8-0 at home. Very impressive records that few teams troughout history have been able to accomplish.

This should be a tough, hard fought series that should have huge hockey fans and the casual viewer alike revved up for some great hockey. If the NHL were smart, and when it comes to marketing they unfortunately are not, they'll market this series all over the place. From billboards, to commercials, to an internet blitz, they need to jump on the marketing wagon and finally promote the sport. In fact, they should go out and find NASCAR's marketing team and way overpay these guys to market this great game.

Some amazing hockey should be ahead. While I'd love to see Roberts hoist the Cup, I don't think Pittsburgh has enough to combat Detroit's overall game. I'm calling Detroit in 6.

Detroit Rolls Over Dallas to Advance

The Detroit Red Wings charged to a 4-0 lead in their Eastern Conference Finals game against the Dallas Stars. The Stars came roaring back in the 3rd period but fell one goal short in the end. Detroit clinched their series against the Stars and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final that starts on Saturday.

I called both these teams, but the series finished faster than I thought. I figured the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia series would to to seven games based on Philly's play against Montreal, but the Pens made pretty short work of the Flyers. I called the Detroit-Dallas series, though. Took 5 games for Detroit to finish off Dallas.

More on the upcoming Stanley Cup Final Series to come...

Penguins In Waiting

The Pittsburgh Penguins put a pretty solid exclamation point on their Eastern Conference Finals series yesterday, making short work of the Philadelphia Flyers in their 6-0 win.

They now await the winner of the Detroit-Dallas series to meet them in the Stanley Cup Final. Detroit leads the series 3-2. After charging ahead to a 3-0 series lead, Detroit has fallen twice to Dallas. I imagine Detroit will take the series and meet Pittsburgh, but they need to learn to put teams away when they're sitting vulnerable. Pittsburgh is a very tough team that will quickly capitalize on any mistake made by their opposition.

Almost ready to raise the Cup!