As usual, I was at work so I didn't get to see it, but I heard the score on the way home and cheered.

What will be nice is I might have a chance to to see a game when I am back there, even if it is only on the big screen outside the stadium. We arrive on the 27th and there is a game on the 29th. Whoo!

I think it's anyone's cup at this point. All of the most dominant teams are gone besides the Red Wings.

No predictions?

I think the Penguins have it this year.... they got so close last year and probably learned a lot from that loss.

And Detroit/Chicago going into overtime! Tied 2-2.... we'll see if Chicago can take home-ice advantage away from Detroit....

What a finish! Hudler to Filpulla to Samuelson for the game winner! Wings 2, Chicago 0!

yup, it was a very nice play.... hard to not score on a 3 on 1 play though....

Chicago got better this game though. Pushed it to o/t.... they're not even close to being done.

If Chicago keeps this up, it might just go to 7. They played really tough, especially in the 3rd period, and in overtime, they had their share of chances. It is pretty easy to score on a 3 on 1, but it was set up by a great defensive play.

yeah, I see Chicago tying up the series at home.... and it will probably go all the way to 7. It would definitely be a more exciting series if that happened.

Oh, it'll be a 7 game series. I never knew Chicago was that good, though.

Finals Prediction: I think the Red Wings beat the Pens in about the same way they did last year

I would agree ziggy, it looks like a re-match from last year. But, I think the Chicago-Detroit will go to 7, and Pittsburgh-Canes will probably go to 6.

Yeah, that sounds good, assuming the Pens don't win in 5, which is quite possible

I'd be happy if they win in 5, as game 5 will be the one that goes on while I am back there. No bias.

But no, I see a triumphant Pens this year. They played against the Wings last year for the cup, so they know what to expect now and they can better prepare for it.

They are about the same as last year, the Wings gained Hossa, the Pens lost Hossa, in my mind, neither team has changed much at all. I see a repeat

The players may not have changed much but that basically means that the younger Pens got more experience and the older Red Wings got older....

I think the Finals are going to be a much more even matchup than last year. Still very likely that the Red Wings will repeat but I think the Pens have a better chance to win this year than they did last year.

And this might be the break that Chicago needed....

"DETROIT -- Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk sat out the team's practice Thursday at Joe Louis Arena, leaving his status for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks in doubt.

Datsyuk was struck in the thigh by a shot in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime victory in Game 2.

Jiri Hudler skated Thursday in Datsyuk's place between Tomas Holmstrom and Marian Hossa. The Wings' second line of Henrik Zetterberg-Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary remained intact, but a new-look third line featured Kris Draper and two players who haven't seen the ice in the series -- Kirk Maltby and Ville Leino.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will hold a press conference later Thursday to discuss Datsyuk's status and any lineup changes."

I wonder how many games Datsyuk will miss because of this injury. It will definitely give Chicago a much better chance to get back into this series.

That doesn't sound serious, he'll probably only miss 1.


Overall, this is a disappointing playoffs to me. I wanted to see a couple dominant teams destroy their first two opponents, have an exciting 6 or 7 game series and then have a 7 game battle for the Cup.

I hate seeing teams lose in 4 games... there is no drama.... 7 game series are far more exciting...

I mean, washington and pittsburgh was an awesome series! Same with Boston and Carolina. The 4 game sweeps from the first round just didn't do anything for me.

Well, most of the Caps-Pens series was good, but the last game was laughably bad. And I didn't like the Boston-Carolina series, because Boston played with very little heart that series. I just don't like seeing inconsistent teams trade games (with the exception of the first 6 Caps-Pens games. I don't think Pens-Canes will be that way, though). It makes the playoffs too long

Well, I caught the last half of the third period for the Pens game tonight... just in time for the brawl. I did catch the highlights and Malkin's hat trick was pretty damn awesome. Overall, Pens won 7-4! It was really nice to finally catch another game, I haven't seen one since one of the earlier games against the Flyers.

yeah, that was a good game. That cross check to the face was pretty lame. I mean, blatant shot to the head with a stick and without any real reason for it. I hope that guy gets a game suspension. I mean come on, the league has to get serious about shots to the head. It fits the criteria perfectly. Late in the game, game was already decided, hit to the head, intentional... what more do you need?

And why wouldn't you want the playoffs to last?!?!?!?!? The sooner they end the sooner we have to watch baseball or football.... bleh!!! I would love to see every series go to seven games.

And even if it's not serious, missing one game will give Chicago a much better chance to bounce back. And even if he only misses the one game he won't be 100% coming back after that... sure I'd take Datsyuk at 50% over a lot of other players but he may just become a target if he comes back injured.... but again, it might not be serious and he may not even miss a game. He might have just taked a rest for one practice and it's nothing to worry about.