The Hockey Stop

The Detroit Red Wings, who just forced Game 7 after being down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks, might not win the series. But if they do and make history, I wouldn't be surprised. There is a reason the Wings are the model NHL franchise.

They have fought their way back into this series by simply outworking the Sharks in the third period of the past two games after being down two goals in Game 5 and one goal in Game 6. There are not enough adjectives to describe Detroit, but a few choice words come to mind: Resilient, hard working, mentally tough, never say die, team first, disciplined, consistent, character, heart.

And this team defies the stereotype of European players as not caring or not being able to raise their game when it counts in the playoffs. It just goes to show that if you play in a system like Detroit's and for a coach like Mike Babcock, then the country of origin or name on the back of the jersey means absolutely nothing. Sweden, Russia, United States, Canada. It doesn't matter if everyone buys in.

The current roster continues the amazing legacy of 11 Stanley Cups and 20 consecutive playoff appearances. These players perform their best when it counts. They are the envy of every other team in the NHL. Todd Bertuzzi, Danny Cleary, Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Draper, Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves, Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen, Darren Helm, Tomas Holmstrom, Jiri Hudler, Drew Miller, Mike Modano, Henrik Zetterberg, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindl, Niklas Kronwall, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Ruslan Salei, Brad Stuart, Jimmy Howard, Joey Macdonald and Chris Osgood. That is the entire roster. A United Nations of teammates who have all bought in and play as one unit. That is how championships are won.

Like I said, the Wings might lose Game 7, but by fighting back in this series they have proven once again what every other NHL team has known since the Detroit hockey franchise was founded in 1926: The Wings won't go away.

At least one of my first-round predictions is already wrong: The Washington Capitals will not sweep the Montreal Canadiens. Les Habs beat the Caps 3-2 in overtime, stunning the sellout crowd at the Verizon Center in downtown D.C.

I was one of those stunned fans wearing my Caps red in the stands. And after exiting the arena with 18,000 other shell-shocked fans and mulling over this disappointing loss, I realized that we had plenty of company as favorites Pittsburgh, New Jersey, San Jose and Detroit all lost game one at home (except for the Red Wings who lost at Phoenix).

Welcome to the playoffs where any team can beat any other team on any night. Throw home ice "advantage" out because the truth is that there are no favorites in the NHL postseason.

Regular-season domination means nothing. The seedings are completely arbitrary. A hot goaltender can win a series and a cold netminder can lose one. A team that struggled in the regular season and just barely sneaked in, can suddenly become hot in the playoffs.

I don't fully understand it but on paper the Sharks, Devils, Penguins and Capitals should have rolled over their supposedly inferior opponents.

And they all just might win the next four games. Or not. But the playoffs are a marathon not a sprint and adjustments will be made in Game 2.

But what a start to the playoffs. And the Blackhawks-Predators series hasn't even started! Game 2 is going to be a must-win for Washington, San Jose, New Jersey and Pittsburgh as they don't want to go to Montreal, Denver, Philadelphia and Ottawa down 2-0.

Lots of great hockey action ahead. I'm going to throw all my predictions out the window and just enjoy the ride.

Pre-game scene video and pictures from in and around the Verizon Center:

The National Hockey League regular season wrapped today with a thrilling overtime shootout in Philadelphia to catapult the Flyers into the playoffs and send the Rangers home to New York.

Here are the first-round match-ups. For the full schedule with dates, times and TV coverage, click here.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1 Washington Capitals vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens

#2 New Jersey Devils vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers

#3 Buffalo Sabres vs. #6 Boston Bruins

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Ottawa Senators

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Colorado Avalanche

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #7 Nashville Predators

#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 Los Angeles Kings

#4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings

Also, some awards were decided on the final day of action.

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Tampa Bay's Steve Stamkos will share the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy because both players finished with 51 goals.

Vancouver's Henrik Sedin nabbed the Art Ross Trophy for scoring with 112 points (29 goals, 83 assists).

New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur and backup Yann Danis won the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed, with 191.

Some initial thoughts on the first-round match-ups (and guess what, it all comes down to the men between the pipes):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Caps-Canadiens

Washington is quickly putting its record-breaking regular season behind it (first non-Original Six team to reach 120 points) and focusing on Les Habs, a team it has never faced in the playoffs. Laval, Quebec native and former Montreal goaltender Jose Theodore should be pumped to play his old team and he is sure to hear it from the crowd, which should provide even extra motivation.

Prediction: Caps in 4

Devils-Flyers

Philadelphia is riding high after advancing to the playoffs in a last-game shootout against the Rangers. That won't last long. The Devils are a complete team. They already were one of the fiercest defensive teams in hockey, but with the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk they are now dangerous on offense. Flyers will sneak one win in but that is all.

Prediction: Devils in 5

Sabres-Bruins

A good match-up between two defensive-minded teams. But the edge goes to the Sabres because of Ryan Miller. If he shows the spark he had in the Olympics for Team USA, then Buffalo will be very hard to beat.

Prediction: Sabres in 6

Penguins-Senators

This is a very even match-up but the edge has to go to the Pens because of their experience winning the Cup last year and the Sidney Crosby factor. Also, Sens star Alexei Kovalev will miss the playoffs with a left knee injury. That said, Ottawa and head coach Cory Clouston should not be underestimated. They have weapons up front like Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson and the blue line is solid, especially with the addition of Andy Sutton.

Prediction: Sens in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Sharks-Avs

San Jose is a perennial playoff disappointment and that won't change this year. Despite another stellar regular season, Colorado could upset the Sharks. That is unless goalie Evgeni Nabakov plays up to his potential. If he does, the Sharks are pretty much unbeatable. But the Russian goalie has been known to put in mediocre performances just at the wrong time. Avs coach Joe Sacco has his group of young players believing.

Prediction: Avs in 7

Hawks-Preds

Next to the Capitals, Chicago has the most dynamic team in the NHL. With Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews leading the charge the Hawks are the best in the West. But there is still a question mark at goal. Can Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi take this team deep into the playoffs? Time will tell.

Prediction: Hawks in 5

Canucks-Kings

The City of Angels is excited the Kings are back in the playoffs after a long dry spell. And with a corps of young talented players like Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown there is a bright future ahead for the Los Angeles franchise. And they will give the Canucks everything they've got. But it won't be enough. Vancouver has more depth and experience and Team Canada gold medal winner Roberto Luongo and Art Ross winner Henrik Sedin.

Prediction: Canucks in 7

Coyotes-Wings

This is going to be a great series. Both teams are peaking just at the right time and have hot goaltenders. Phoenix has MVP candidate Ilya Bryzgalov and the Wings have rookie of the year candidate Jimmy Howard behind the net. With all the off-ice problems in Phoenix, it is amazing the Coyotes are in the playoffs. And Detroit had all kinds of on-ice problems earlier in the season. But with the kind of Cinderella season Phoenix is having, it has the edge.

Prediction: Coyotes in 6

The National Hockey League lags behind baseball, football and basketball when it comes to television ratings and national attention, however, when it comes to ESPN The Magazine's seventh annual Ultimate Standings, the fastest sport in the world simply dominates.

Many hockey fans will be pleasantly surprised as they read the latest issue of "The Mag," which hit newsstands on July 13. That's because five of the top 10 teams are from the NHL out of 122 professional franchises ranked from the NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA.

The teams are ranked based on eight major categories -- wins vs. ticket prices, fan relations, ownership, stadium experience, players, coaching and championships won or soon to be won.

The Carolina Hurricanes (2), Detroit Red Wings (4), Washington Capitals (6), Pittsburgh Penguins (8) and St. Louis Blues (10) are the five teams in the top 10. The Anaheim Ducks are ranked 11th.

There are only two NHL teams in the bottom 10 -- the New York Islanders (115) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (120).

The Islanders should be able to reverse their fortunes by recently signing No. 1 draft pick John Tavares to a 3-year deal and starting construction soon on their new arena, dubbed "The Lighthouse Project."

As for long-suffering Leafs fans? Maybe new president and GM Brian Burke can help bring the team back to its glory days just like he brought a Stanley Cup to Anaheim as GM of the Ducks.

Getting to the playoffs would be a nice start. While the Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup in 41 plus years, it's been four years since they skated into the postseason.

Friday night's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC was the most-watched NHL game in 36 years with an average of 8 million viewers.

The network's press release said the previous mark was a 1973 Stanley Cup Final Game 6 between Montreal and Chicago on NBC which drew 9.4 million.

The game earned a 4.3 rating, the best for a series-ending Final game since Anaheim-New Jersey's 4.6 rating in 2003.

NBC Sports' broadcast finished No. 1 for the night in every category including viewership and household ratings.

The closing minutes of the game, which saw Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury make a spectacular last-second save to preserve the 2-1 win (pictured above), drew about 10 million viewers.

These figures are likely higher because Nielsen only reports home television sets tuned into the program and since the game was on a Friday night there were many sports bars, airport lounges and hotel rooms tuned into the game.

Also, when CBC's Canadian coverage is factored in, plus international broadcasts in hot spots such as Russia and Sweden, the total audience grows even bigger.

In related news, Puck the Media blogger Steve Lepore reports that the NHL is on the verge of announcing a broadcast deal with NBC for the next two seasons. The revenue-sharing deal is great news for those hockey fans wanting more exposure for the league, as Game 7 on NBC clearly demonstrates the potential of the games being aired on network TV as opposed to specialty channels such as Versus.

The deal should hopefully include all seven Stanley Cup Finals games on NBC. Also, when the contract with Versus expires in 2011 the NHL should not renew but instead air regular season and playoff games on one of NBC Universal's basic cable channels, the most obvious fit being USA Network.

Maxime Talbot scored both Pittsburgh Penguins' goals and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 shots including two critical saves as time wound down in the third period to secure a 2-1 victory over the Red Wings and spoil a chance for Detroit to win their second straight Stanley Cup, fifth in 12 seasons and 12th overall.

The Penguins became only the third team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup in Game 7 on the road and the first team since 1971.

And Pittsburgh did it without Sidney Crosby, who was injured by a hard check in the second period and missed most of the third period. Evgeni Malkin, who led the playoffs with 36 points, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP.

After the win, 43-year-old Penguins owner Mario Lemieux celebrated on the ice with 21-year-old Crosby, the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup.

The Penguins overcame a mid-season coaching change (rookie Dan Bylsma replaced Michel Therrien) and 2-0 series deficits to both the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings on their way to the team's third title.

In other hockey news, the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals' top affiliate, won their 10th American Hockey League title with a 4-1 win over the Manitoba Moose, the Vancouver Canucks' top farm club, on Friday night. The Bears won the Calder Cup Finals series 4-2. Rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth made 24 saves and was selected playoffs MVP.

The NHL just might redeem itself this Friday night despite the league's best efforts to keep viewers in the penalty box by scheduling Game 6 the same night as the NBA Finals on ABC and showing Games 3 and 4 on Versus instead of NBC.

There are several reasons to believe Friday's Game 7 matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins could at the very least set a record for the most-watched Game 7 in NHL history. It will almost certainly draw a large amount of viewers. The question is, how many?

Before listing why this game might go down in ratings history, it helps to put the telecast in perspective. Game 4 of the Cup Finals averaged 3.45 million viewers on Versus in comparison to the NBA Finals Game 1 on ABC which drew 13.4 million. Game 6 of hockey's Stanley Cup Finals on NBC nabbed 5.81 million viewers while 14.2 million viewers tuned into Lakers-Magic Game 3.

So, obviously the NHL won't be competing with the NBA anytime soon in terms of ratings. But, there are some encouraging signs that point to a potential ratings bonanza for Game 7.

-- Despite all my complaints about the inaccessibility of Versus as a niche network not on basic cable, the sports channel did have a reason to boast as Game 4 was the most-watched telecast in the network's history and overall viewership was up 42 percent from Games 1 and 2 of last year's Final. Also, Game 4 earned the highest cable ratings for an NHL playoff series since 2002.

-- Game 6 on NBC earned the best numbers for the 2009 series despite competing with the NBA Finals on ABC, which bodes well for Friday night's coverage. Game 7 will be televised on NBC to a national audience and will have the night to itself as the NBA Finals series doesn't resume until Sunday. The game also falls on a Friday night when many people are welcoming the weekend at bars, many of which will be reluctantly forced to turn the game on.

-- Fridays are a weak ratings night for general programming which is why networks don't usually schedule the big shows that night. At the 8 p.m. puck drop (5 p.m. West Coast time) the hockey game will be going up against "Reba" on ABC, "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" on Fox, "Surviving Suburbia" on ABC and a repeat of "Ghost Whisperer" on CBS.

-- For the first time since 2003 there will be two American teams battling for the championship in Game 7. The 2003 game featured the New Jersey Devils shutting out the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 3-0. Since then there have been two more seventh games, both with at least one Canadian team, which means an entire city not on the ratings map -- Tampa Bay-Calgary in 2004 and Carolina-Edmonton in 2006.

-- Both the Penguins and Red Wings are marquee franchises with big-name stars. The Red Wings are one of the most recognizable franchises in professional sports and Forbes magazine recently rated the Penguins the fasted-growing team brand in hockey and third in the four major sports. With names such as Crosby, Malkin, Zetterberg and Osgood on the ice at Joe Louis Arena Friday there will be no shortage of star power and intrigue to draw viewers in.

-- There is high drama in this series which should hopefully make for some heart-pounding moments in Game 7, especially if it is close or goes into overtime. The Wings beat the Pens in six games last year so Pittsburgh has a chance to redeem themselves on enemy ice and prevent Detroit from winning its second straight Cup in front of the home crowd. Who will be the hero? Crosby? Malkin? Zetterberg? Datsyuk? A lesser-known player? Will Fleury and Osgood stand tall in front of the net or buckle under the pressure?

-- Lastly, the young Pittsburgh team has an opportunity to win a rare Game 7 Cup Final on the road. History is not on their side: only two road teams have won the Cup in a Stanley Cup Final Game 7. Montreal won 3-2 in Chicago in 1971. The other time? Way back in 1941 when Toronto beat the Red Wings 2-1 in Detroit.

The Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins play Game 6 at Mellon Arena Tuesday night to determine if the Wings will win the Cup or the Pens will send the series back to Joe Louis Arena for a deciding Game 7.

Since I work on a newspaper website for my full-time gig, I decided to peruse the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Detroit Free Press websites to find out what kind of online coverage they have.

So as a fun aside to the action on the ice I present the inaugural Stanley Cup Final city newspaper championship: PG vs. Freep.

PEDIGREE: The Post-Gazette was founded in 1786 while the Free Press was first printed in 1831. However, the Free Press has received eight Pulitzer Prizes while the Post-Gazette has yet to nab the coveted newspaper award.

Advantage: Detroit Free Press in a blowout. Pulitzers trump longevity.

SITE LAYOUT: The Penguins page on Post-Gazette NOW has a clean and organized look to it. Nice mix of video, stories, blog posts and photos. But perhaps the best feature of the site is the "Motown Breakdown" section, which aggregates headlines from the Free Press website and provides links to the stories and columns. It's a good thing for Penguins fans their team isn't so generous with the Red Wings, although some might argue they gave away Game 5 in which Detroit pounded Pittsburgh 5-0.

The Wings section of Freep.com is less polished. It has the look and feel of an amateur blog from Number1Osgoodfan.com. There is too much blank space on the left column and story scroll down is entirely too long. The site simply doesn't do justice to the defending Stanley Cup champs.

Advantage: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by a wide margin.

MULTIMEDIA: Post-Gazette features a scrollable video section at the top of the site that provides clickable access to the multimedia page with original video production, editing and reporting plus a virtual tour of the Penguins' new $290 million arena.

The Free Press site has some nicely packaged video with original production, editing and reporting. The difference is that you are able to watch the videos from the Red Wings landing page instead of having to click through to another page. There is a poignant video feature titled "Common Enemy" about the similar booming histories and current economic struggles of the two cities, one a center of the auto industry and the other a steel town, both trying to make a comeback and holding onto hope in these difficult times.



Advantage: Tie. Both sites have solid multimedia content.

CONTENT: Lots of great original reporting on both sides. Seth Rorabaugh's Empty Netters blog and contributions from general sports bloggers, columnists and reporters all provide comprehensive and insightful analysis of the Stanley Cup Finals from the Penguins' perspective.

Helene St. James' blog on Freep.com keeps Detroit fans up-to-date on the latest happenings. But it is long-time Free Press columnist and best-selling author Mitch Albom ("Tuesdays with Morrie") who is able to put it all in the proper perspective.

Advantage: Detroit Free Press. Mitch Albom. Enough said.

INTERACTIVITY: Post-Gazette has a Q&A section in which fans can submit questions to Penguins beat writer Dave Molinari. Fans can also upload photos to the site, participate in live chats, buy Penguins collectibles and sign up for mobile alerts. There is even a fan landing page called "The Icehouse" with printable cheer cards, games and more.

Visitors to the Free Press Wings page are able to comment, blog and share photos if they sign in first. There is even a photo contest in which fans submit images of their homemade posters. There is also a poll, but it is related to the Tigers, not the Wings.

Advantage: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. There is much more to keep fans engaged.

FUN FACTOR: The Post-Gazette features two poorly designed games, one lame beat-the-goalie game and the other a tiresome punch-the-Detroit-player takedown game.

The Free Press features a creative, hilarious and graphically pleasing game called "Smack a Penguin," which was designed by Free Press cartoonist Mike Thompson. Players use a hockey stick to smack as many penguins as possible within a 30 second time limit. The little penguins pop out of holes on the ice. The cartoon penguins are harder to hit than Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin barreling down the ice on a breakaway.

WINNER: Detroit Free Press. But only because of the "Smack a Penguin" game. Overall the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is a slightly better site. Now back to smacking penguins ...