Can Marian Hossa help the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup?

You couldn’t have scripted a better Stanley Cup final. The most talented teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences have survived the playoff grind - so far. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings are very closely matched; odds were still pending at press time, but the Wings figure to be slight favorites for the series and moderate faves for Saturday’s series opener at Joe Louis Arena.

Having home-ice advantage might be the only thing separating Detroit from the Penguins. The experience factor is certainly on the side of the Red Wings, but statheads have never really bought into the idea that you need to learn how to win a championship. If anything, age could be an anchor for Detroit at the end of a long season, facing a Penguins team loaded with marquee players in their early 20s.

The way I see it, deadline additions Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis make the Penguins the team to beat.

I could have sworn I read something not that long ago about Pittsburgh wanting to sell off its hockey team. Was I dreaming? Wasn’t Mario Lemieux having second thoughts? Good thing they didn’t, right? At least they made it to the Stanley Cup Final…

Even on paper this one is tough to call. The Penguins have a 12-2 post-season record; whereas the Wings have a 12-4 post-season record. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the undisputed dynamic duo who have led the offense for Pittsburgh (as well as Jordan Staal); and for Detroit, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom have been effective. (They’re wishing Johan Franzen was back in the lineup, but ours is an imperfect world.) Both teams have depth on the defense and the offense.

So, is this thing going to come down to the team that has the better goaltender? If that’s the case then I like Red Wings’ net minder Chris Osgood. He’s been big throughout these playoffs and he’s got the experience. Marc-Andre Fleury has posted some solid numbers and while his confidence may be growing as these playoffs continue — I don’t think he can stand up to the wisdom that Detroit brings to this final matchup.

Who do you think will win the Stanley Cup? Bet on it.

Stars’ goaltender Marty Turco was on fire Saturday in Detroit

These guys are not going to go down without putting up a fight. As visitors in Hockeytown, the Dallas Stars beat the home team Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in game five of the Stanley Cup playoffs Western Conference Finals. First star of the game Marty Turco stood on his head at Joe Louis Arena as he made 38 saves in the win. Turco was credited with an assist on the Stars’ second goal as he came way out of his net to play the puck to Joel Lundqvist, who picked up the goal.

“Any time I have an opportunity I’m getting out there to help our guys,” Turco said. “I was able to hit some guys long, assist on the game-winner. That doesn’t happen very often.”

For Turco, that sort of game-winning performance has never happened in Detroit before. This afternoon’s victory was his first NHL win in Detroit.

“What a gutty performance by my team to help me get over the slide,” Turco told reporters. “It was a great upper.”

Game six in this Western Conference series goes down on Monday in Dallas.

Better late than never for the City of Brotherly Love?

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Martin Biron made 36 saves on the night as the home team beat the visiting team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2 to send game 5 back to Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Joffrey Lupul scored twice while Danny Briere and Jeff Carter each scored for the Flyers. For the Penguins, it was Jordan Staal who put the puck between the pipes twice while Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was good for 30 saves.

The Penguins are 7-0 in the playoffs at home and have won 15 straight. They defeated the Flyers 4-2 there in the first two games of the series. Only two NHL teams have recovered from an 0-3 deficit to win, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders. But for the Penguins, they’ve got their sights set on bigger things: the Stanley Cup Finals. The last time they advanced to the finals was back in 1992.

Who knew the city of Pittsburgh looked this good?

We appear to be on a Stanley Cup collision course between the mighty Detroit Red Wings and the emerging Pittsburgh Penguins. But it’s been a strange road to get here.

The Philadelphia Flyers have provided more than their share of surprises, upsetting the Capitals twice in Washington and doing the same to the top seeds in the East, the Montreal Canadiens. Those four road wins added up to 5.99 units of profit; Philly led all playoff teams at 7.29 units in the black heading into Game 3 of their series against Pittsburgh.

The Dallas Stars tipped over the apple cart in the West by winning the first two games of their series against both the defending Cup champions from Anaheim and the imposing San Jose Sharks – all four games on the road for a total of 6.08 units. But after coming up empty in their first three games against Detroit, the Stars are 2.37 units in the hole. Surprise!

So what do you think? A Stanley Cup playoffs final matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings? It’s looking that way. So bet on it!

Ya! My favorite hockey commenator Don Cherry (”Coaches Corner”) is joining ESPN to cover the NHL Eastern Conference Finals and will be making regular appearances on SportsCenter. Oh and in case you’re wondering, my second favorite (and Cherry’s sidekick on the popular CBC show), Ron MacLean is coming too.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Canada’s dynamic duo, you can catch them at the end of each Flyers-Penguins game. And what does Don himself have to say about this?

“I guess they like my jackets.”

When it comes to hockey (IMHO) this is the best decision ESPN has made in a long time. Congratulations Don and Ron! You are my favorite hockey commentary team!

Don Cherry

We’ve moved into the Frozen Four section of the NHL playoffs. The Western Conference final got underway Thursday night with the Detroit Red Wings (-225) beating the Dallas Stars 4-1. The Red Wings went into this series as the 3-2 favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Dallas was 3-1 and on a roll after upsetting the San Jose Sharks in the Western semis. What looked like a very promising series will turn into a Detroit massacre if Game 1 is any indication.

The Eastern final between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins starts Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Penguins are heavy –230 favorites to win the series and 2-1 to take their third Cup in team history; Philadelphia is 11-2. The Flyers have the steeper uphill skate to add Cup No. 3 to their collection, more so now that All-Star defenseman Kimmo Timonen has developed a blood clot in is left ankle.

For me there is noting more suspenseful in a hockey game then overtime. Especially during the playoffs.

Here is a list of the longest Stanley Cup overtime playoff games and who ended it with the game winning goal (GWG)

Jaromir Jagr rocks the classic mullet.

Jaromir Jagr’s phenomenal NHL career may have come to an end. The impending free agent says he’ll play at least one more year of hockey, but that could wind up being in Europe. If so, Jagr leaves behind a Hall of Fame legacy that included two Stanley Cups, a Hart Trophy, an Olympic gold medal – and one of the best mullets ever to grace a hockey card. Business in front, party at the back.

Even in its prime, Jagr’s bouffant could never compare with George Parros. Check out the lid on this guy. Parros plays right wing for the Anaheim Ducks, but he’s more famous for his swarthiness. I’m sure he fit in quite nicely with his classmates at Princeton.

But my award for Best Hockey Hair goes to Alexei Kovalev of the Montreal Canadiens. Did you see Game 5 of the Bruins-Habs series where Kovalev lost his helmet and scored a goal? Or was it Guy Lafleur?

During the post-game interviews immediately following the New York Rangers’ third straight loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jaromir Jagr was quoted as saying this may be his last year. Clearly, the star forward was frustrated by the team’s inability to win a crucial game on home ice, but many are thinking that Jagr may be hinting at retiring or at the very least, leaving the New York Rangers. There’s talk the 36-year-old may be headed back to Russia to play hockey. (Read more Jaromir Jagr here.)

And then there’s Brendan Shanahan, whose one-year contract with the New York Rangers is up at the end of the season. At 38, Shanahan’s been in the game longer than most and his retirement wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, he’s not ready to give up just yet.

“I don’t want to talk about that stuff. I’m just thinking about that next game,” Shanahan told reporters. “I dig for everything I have on every shift of every game I play. But it’s now a matter where we’re facing the realization that, unless the production is there from us individually and as a team, obviously [the Penguins] found a way to be on top in each and every game.

Game 4 between the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers goes down tonight. Also facing elimination are the Colorado Avalanche, who are at home to the Detroit Red Wings. Get all your Stanley Cup playoffs betting here.