Chris Chelios has been a healthy scratch in the Stanley Cup finals. Is he done?

Michael Wilbon really tore a strip off the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday afternoon. “Score a goal!” Wilbon demanded in his best angry hockey parent voice on Pardon The Interruption, after the Pens failed to light the red lamp against the Red Wings in Detroit.

The Penguins did play the role of a young and nervous team in losing the first two games of the Stanley Cup final. But chalking it up to inexperience is a bit of a red herring. There are more disadvantages with being a 20-year-old hockey player than lack of wisdom. Lack of physical maturity is a more tangible concern, and yet there comes a point in every player’s life when age becomes more of a burden than a benefit. Yes, even for Chris Chelios.

From a value-based handicapping perspective, experience is an important but overrated factor in winning a hockey game. Home-ice advantage should prove more critical in the end to Detroit’s chances of returning the Cup to Hockeytown.

With the second half of the regular season under way here then is a preview of which teams will be separating themselves from the rest of the pack:

1. Detroit: Having already set a franchise record for points in the first half of the season the Red Wings are strong Stanley Cup contenders.
2. Pittsburgh: Crosby and Conklin continue to work wonders with their team.
3. Calgary: Iginla continues to show why he should win this years MVP.
4. San Jose: Boring to watch, but tough to beat.
5. Philadelphia: Are the Broad Street Bullies back?
6. Ottawa: On par with last season’s run.
7. New Jersey: Contenders but they need to pick up their pace.
8. Vancouver: Luongo continues to inspire this team towards the finish line.
9. Montreal: No regulation losses since Christmas.
10. Nashville: Strong play against teams in the superior Western Conference.

Games played at indoor venues don’t have nearly as many environment-based variables (weather, park configuration and so on) to bring to the betting table as outdoor games. The Winter Classic gave ample proof of that, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres inched through the snow at Ralph Wilson Stadium. But some of the ice surfaces in the NHL make Buffalo look pristine by comparison.

Warmth comes at a price. The ice in most of the Sun Belt arenas looks like it came out of a Slurpee machine. The Staples Center in Los Angeles deserves extra scorn because the Kings share the venue with not one, but two NBA tenants: the Lakers and Clippers.

Or you could go to Edmonton, where the average daytime temperature in January is 11 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where you’ll find Rexall Place and what is widely considered the best ice surface in the NHL. Maybe the league should expand to Nunavut.