NHL: 2008 - 2009 season is upon us

[Grace]

Red Wings - 5

Blackhawks - 2

1 down; 3 to go. And it isn't going to be easy.

[cassiesmom]

Red Wings - 5

Blackhawks - 2

1 down; 3 to go. And it isn't going to be easy.

Ever since the Hawks game at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day there has been a lot of interest in hockey in Chicago. I don't know a lot about hockey but it has been very fun to have a winning team around here again. I heard Quenneville saying on the news last night they are going to have their hands full with Detroit. Not that they didn't in the previous playoff games, but now they will twice as much.

[Grace]

The best thing about this series is that the two teams are part of the Original Six NHL teams. The others being Toronto, Montreal, Boston and New York.

Chicago and Detroit having been playing against each other for 83 years.

[JenBKR]

Let's go Pens!

After the crazy season the Pens had, I am more than thrilled that they are in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1 tonight...it should be a good one! Unlike with Philly and Washington though, I am finding it difficult to dislike Carolina. Both teams play a very similar game, so it should be great hockey!

[davidpizzica]

Let's go Pens!

After the crazy season the Pens had, I am more than thrilled that they are in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1 tonight...it should be a good one! Unlike with Philly and Washington though, I am finding it difficult to dislike Carolina. Both teams play a very similar game, so it should be great hockey!

Jen, the Pens put one in the WIN column last night 3-2. You're right, both teams play similar games, but the Pens have a better goalie in Fleury. GO PENS!

[Grace]

Detroit 3
Chicago 2
in OT.

Game winning goal by Mikael Samuelsson - the very same Mikael Samuelsson who scored the game winning goal in the first game with Chicago.

[Grace]

Couple of interesting articles from ESPN.

First, Joel Quenneville -

TORONTO -- The NHL has fined Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville $10,000 for harsh criticism of officiating in his team's loss to Detroit in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Quenneville fumed over a roughing call against defenseman Matt Walker during a scrum as the first period ended Sunday. The Red Wings scored on the ensuing power play 1:13 into the second period extending their lead to 3-0, and went on to win 6-1 and take a 3-1 edge in the series.

"I think we witnessed probably the worst call in the history of sports there," Quenneville said after the game. "Nothing play.

"They scored, it's 3-0. They ruined a good hockey game and absolutely destroyed what was going on the ice. ... Never seen anything like it."

The Blackhawks will try to avoid elimination Wednesday in Detroit.

Now regarding the TV schedule for the Cup Finals -

According to multiple sources, if the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings can wrap up their respective Conference final series by Wednesday night, the Stanley Cup finals likely would start on Saturday, May 30 in Detroit. In this scenario, Game 2 would be played on Sunday, May 31.

This is a change from a May 22 press release from the league that indicated that the championship series would begin on Friday, June 5, if both Conference final series didn't end in four-game sweeps.

The Penguins can close out their series with a victory over the Hurricanes in Raleigh on Tuesday night. The defending champion Red Wings, meanwhile, have positioned themselves to advance with a win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday in Detroit.

For the past several days, the league has been working behind the scenes with NBC, which has limited prime time real estate to devote to the Cup finals due to important "sweeps" week programming and the Tonight Show re-launch with new host Conan O'Brien.

The possible change would spare the league an embarrassing, television-created, eight-day hiatus and the competitive nature of the playoffs wouldn't be compromised by an unusually long layoff for both clubs.