Tonight, the 2008-2009 season will officially and finally close.  It's been a long run, since the opening days of training camp in September, to the trip to Sweden to start the season, to the first-half morass in which the Pens were ensnared, to the hiring of Bylsma and the trades of Kunitz and Guerin.  It's been a long, challenging road.  Three tough series, the second-rounder being the hardest and most exciting - and nerve-wracking.  Another Finals series against the powerful Detroit Red Wings, and this time they've pushed the Wings to a seventh and deciding game.

In many ways, this rematch feels correct.  Both teams are laden with the best, or among the best, at their positions.  Both teams have goalies that are ho-hum during the year (leading to constant questioning), who then turn it on in the late season and playoffs.  The Pens have Crosby and Malkin, probably the 1-2 centers in the NHL.  Detroit counters with Zetterberg and Datsyuk, and if they're not 3-4 then I don't know who is.  The Wings play better defense, the Pens the better offense.  The Wings have perennial Norris Trophy winner Nik Lidstrom, and there's no better defenseman in the league.  It's not bone-crushing hits that makes him so good - it's his intelligence and sense for the game, the way that he denies ice and passing lanes with his big body and active stick.  It's guys like Darren Helm who (oh, by the way) scare the HELL out of me every time he touches the puck.  He's easily the fastest guy on the ice.  It's Cleary and Holstrom and yes, even Hossa.  The Wings are loaded, and they've had a dominant run for the past few years.  This rematch was necessary, and should Pittsburgh find a way to win it, you'll have to look at this as a passing of the torch. 

For Detroit, their season has been quiet but steady - another 50-win, 100+ point season.  Ho-hum.  Mike Babcock barely needs to coach this team - with such an experienced and deep group, they self-police better than he can.  Yes, he's doing the matchups and exploiting the weaknesses, but actually coaching the team, working with the team?  He doesn't need to do much because they all do it.  All of them, from the newest, youngest winger who sits back and watches and learns to Lidstrom and Datsyuk and Zetterberg who lead by example.  Maybe they don't have players on their team that are stuck in front of cameras every night, but they are super stars nevertheless.

Detroit will hold all of the advantages tonight.  They've earned it with their better regular season.  History works against Pittsburgh - they've never fared well at the Joe in this or last year.  They're trying to be the first team in over 30 years to not only come back to win the Cup after starting the series in an 0-2 hole, but also attempting to win a seventh and deciding game on the road.  If Bob Smizek of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is correct, then the last away team to win a seventh and final game of any kind in any sport is the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.  Yes, it can be done.  Can, and will, are vastly different words. 

Pens and Wings fans will be nervous this evening.  But tomorrow, both fans can reflect on a great season.  One group of fans will see their season tinged with a negative ending, and that will linger for some time while the other will celebrate.  The Stanley Cup is the most difficult trophy to win in all of sports.  It's the most cherished trophy, and winning it requires more than just dedication and skill.  Because it's so difficult to win it, the Cup represents all the other things that go into winning a championship.  The time, dedication, pain and other things.  Tonight one team's captain will joyously lift the Cup over his head and experience those feelings.  His heart will pound and his arms will be tired, yet that Cup will be lifted aloft as if it weighed a feather.  It will be his for a period of time, and he's earned that right.  He'll turn and hand it to teammates, and then they'll skate around the ice, celebrating.  Role players get a chance to hold that Cup, and the joy they'll feel won't be any more or less than that of the Captain. 

Will it be Marian Hossa?  He, who opted to sign with Detroit believing that the Wings gave him the best opportunity to win a Cup?  He will find redemption and joy, but perhaps more relief than anything else. 

Will it be the NHL's wonderkids Sid and Geno?  The NHL would dearly love that, because then they get to market the two kids even more heavily, and showing pictures of Crosby with that Cup will be great for them.

Will it be Bill Guerin, who won the Cup with the Devils in 1995, and hasn't been back since.  His mid-season trade from the hell that is the New York Islanders to the Cup-winning Penguins would be a stunning turn of events.

Will Nik Lidstrom lift the Cup again, and in so doing cement his legacy as one of the all-time greatest defenseman to ever play the game?

Or will it be one of the two goalies, guys who have played bad games and given up soft goals, and then the next night played out of this world hockey? 

Tonight at 8:15, the puck will drop.  The 60 minutes of hockey will commence.  I can hardly wait.  I get the feeling that it will be a close game.  I don't think the Pens will be in awe of the JLA any more.  I don't think Fleury will have a bad game.  So that means these two teams will simply have to outwork the other.  Win or lose, in my opinion, that's how it's supposed to be. 

GO PENS!!!

On a night like last night, not too many people would be out and about.  Driving up to Slippery Rock Creek was done through a steady rain.  The air temperatures were cool - only in the 50s.  I had to stop at home to pick up warmer gear because I'd only brought my lightweight, short sleeved summer gear.  When I got to the bridge, there were only a small group of people milling around, and two fisherman down on the water's edge.  The usual chaos of running shuttle wasn't necessary, so we were swiftly and easily packed up and on the road to the put in.

The Slip was low - about 1".  The rain fell gently but steadily, and the air temperatures didn't feel too bad all of a sudden.  We floated, paddling lightly if at all, discussing trips, rivers, drops, stupid moves and smart moves.  Local rivers like the Upper Yough, Cheat and Gauley were discussed, along with questions like which was more difficult, the Lower Yough or the Slip.  It was a very laid-back trip, without any whooping or hollering.  Just five boats, slowly meandering down the river.  The drops went quickly and without any problems.  We surfed at Ranger Station for a while, and then surfed the main wave at the Rapid Below Ranger Station (descriptive name, huh?).  I ran the right lines, tighter lines that required a creek-type move to exit the big eddy.  Basically it was to do an ultra-quick ferry into a tight channel of fast-flowing water between two rocks.  But it emptied into the main flow, and it's fun and quick.  Only at high water does that line become far more...challenging.  The top part of Airport rapid was it's usual low level run - very tight and constricted.  I ran the left line, which requires a double-move into the eddy and then across a dynamic channel of fast-flowing water into a larger eddy behind the river-center rock.  I tried the attainment move in my playboat, but didn't make it.  I didn't paddle aggressively enough, and then floated through the run-out of Pre-Flight backwards.  Not my preferred method of running that rapid, but not one that gave me too much pause, either.  The Hole at Airport was small and easy.  Martin went in there and threw some ends down, but then Martin can thrown down ends in pretty much any hole on that river, and along any rock on that river.  He's just a far better boater.  Plain and simple. 

Through the Mile I decided to work the lines hard.  The Slip Clinic is this coming weekend, and I wanted to work on my technique.  In the top drop of Triple Drop, I did about seven eddy moves, working laterally across the channel from the left and right-side eddies.  This was done without too much trouble, and zero fanfare.  I just did it; I needed the work.  At the second drop, I got into Martin's Eddy, and zipped out easily as well.  The second drop was it's usual low-water style - bigger waves, deeper drops but still basically nothing but splashing water.  The Third Drop was small - I tried to surf but it didn't hold me at all. 

At Fish Ladder I did the same thing, working left to right, and then into the tight, small river-center channel that's behind a large but sloping rock.  Making that kind of move - basically sliding down a steep, quick slide backwards into a boiling eddy - used to scare the hell out of me.  Now it's simply a move - nothing more or less.  Granted, low water makes that move several degrees of difficulty easier, but even at higher water the move is there and it's relatively simple to do.  It's on bigger water like the Lower Yough's Cucumber or Dartmouth where making that same move is far more difficult.  Anyway, I ran that, and then the tight creek-line on the right in the bottom drop of Fish Ladder.  And then, that was basically that.  The Last Rapid run was done on the extreme left at the top to go over the pourover and through the hole at the bottom just for fun.

What was most remarkable about that trip though had nothing to do with being on the water.  As we were changing into our dry clothes, the sky was darkening with the coming of sunset.  The low, gray clouds were still spitting very light rain consistently.  It created a sense of quiet lushness in the steep gorge, and there, looking downstream, you could gaze upon the quietly running water, the deep green of the trees and in some of the small valleys that are carved into the side of the gorge walls, the mist hanging just at the tops of the trees.  It was a serene sight, and was a perfect match for the mood of the day.  It was the best kind of natural beauty nature can offer, and making it better was the lack of crowds and the quietness of the night.  Who else but whitewater boaters would be out on such a night? 

I can't help but admire nature at times like that.  There was nothing all that special about it.  Slippery Rock Gorge is not so different from the New River Gorge, the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania or the Youghiogheny Gorge except in dimension.  The green trees, the river, the wet rocks - all of those things are found in any steep whitewater run.  It's just that the moment was perfect.  It was a moment of solitude, of profound quiet, and the feelings I have when I'm immersed in that surrounding.  Pictures don't do it justice; you simply have to be there to understand. 

Many comparisons are being made right now between the 1984 Edmonton Oilers team and the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins team.  Is that fair?  Or even accurate?

The 84 Oilers were a dynamo of a team, led by Gretzky, Messier, Kuri and Fuhr.  They were nearly an unstoppable force, and ushered into the NHL a new era of offensive hockey that was played in ways that the game had never before seen.  Gretzky was the key, and his ability to play from behind the net and find the open man led to point totals that may never again be rivaled in the NHL.  The entire team was built upon youth, speed and skill, and the Oilers were dazzling when they were playing at full speed.  It was a different era for goalies, though, before the wide-spread popularity of the butterfly goalie style, and the larger pads and bodies to match.  It was before the neutral zone trapping defenses that were created to stop teams like Gretzky's when the opponent couldn't match speed or skill.  The 84 Oilers played an Islanders team that had just won 4 straight titles, including against those same Oilers in the previous season.  So while Detroit isn't coming off of four straight titles, it is the first back to back Finals rematch since those two teams tangled.

So what is similar?  The Pens have the game's best young player in Crosby.  Like Gretzky, Crosby is a gifted athlete, subperb with the puck, has a dazzling shot when he needs it and is a tremendous passer.  He is driven to win, and is proving himself in this playoff year.  The Pens as a team are young, fast and have skill from top to bottom.  They have a young goalie, the secondary scoring, a second supreme goal-scorer in Malkin and they are obviously hungry for a title.  At face value, the teams are similar in that respect.

But the Oilers faced an aging, tired Islanders team on the last legs of their run.  It was not likely that they'd be able to beat the favored Oilers in the rematch, and that was proven when the Oilers swept them out of the Finals.  I don't think anyone that knows the slightest bit about hockey is expecting a sweep in this Finals; if anything most people are expecting it to go the full seven games.  Detroit is not on its last legs, either, getting to the Finals on smoke and mirrors.  They are a year older, and they are banged up, but they have a stable of younger players themselves, and they are a balanced team that generates scoring from top to bottom.  This is not an Islanders team served up as an appetizer for greatness to come.  They are a great team in their own right, and will be a huge challenge for Pittsburgh. 

This Finals is truly a strength on strength kind of matchup.  The Wings have Datsyuk to counter Crosby, and Zetterberg to match with Malkin.  The role players on both teams are tough, energetic guys that have a deft scoring touch.  Their goalies are playing quite well despite the constant suggestions that neither is up to the task of winning a series.  The only difference is that the Wings won last year.  But you can wonder whether or not getting to the Finals, and then finding some traction against this same Detroit team last year is enough experience for these Pens.  If there's a huge difference its between the coaches.  Bylsma is a rookie.  Will he make rookie coaching blunders?

It's not as if a Finals series needs to have something extra.  Both teams are the best in their respective conferences, and each have the burning desire to win the title.  No extra motivation is necessary.  But, the Pens have a great deal of extra motivation, and it will be played up in the media - this is the hype machine here.  Last year, the Pens swapped three young, talented players to rent the services of Marian Hossa.  AFter the Pens lost, Hossa had three offers on the table - a one-year deal from Detroit or more lucrative multi-year deals from both Pittsburgh and Edmonton.  Hossa chose Detroit, stating in his press conference that he believed the Detroit Red Wings gave him the best opportunity to win a Cup.

You have to understand Hossa's history to understand this decision.  He was among a stable of young stars in Ottawa, and signed a rich, multi-year deal with the expectation that he would be part of that franchise for a long time.  The Senators promptly traded him to Atlanta.  Hossa I believe was dismayed by that, and it opened it eyes.  He was aware that he was viewed only as an asset to a team.  Therefore, his one and only defense was to in effect become a mercenary.  If there was one way to offset the decisions that the teams made on his behalf, it was to become as hard-line on making his own decisions once he got that ability.  Furthermore, I think that Hossa quite clearly saw the dynamic in the Penguins locker room.  He saw there was significant personality conflicts between the coach Michel Therrien and the players.  And I think he more clearly saw that, in his opinion, Therrien's system was holding back this gifted group of forwards, and looked west to see a team that had a similar dynamic but played a very different system.  He saw a team stocked with stars, that was stable, that had a good locker room dynamic, and he was truly a mercenary.  So Hossa made what was probably the best decision for him at that time.  You cannot blame him for making that decision because he was convinced that it was the correct one, and so far this year he's seen nothing to convince him otherwise.

But in Pittsburgh, especially among his short-term teammates, it was seen as something else entirely.  It was a rejection - of a team, a city, a system and most importantly, its players.  Sidney Crosby reputedly lobbied extremely hard for Hossa to resign.  When Hossa spurned the Pens and Crosby, it was also rumored that Crosby took it personally.

For examples of what happens to teams when Crosby decides to take them personally, I suggest you talk to the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals.  Crosby was sheer dynamite in those two series.  He played with an edge, and at times so dominated the ice you had to wonder if anyone could stop him.  Now, he's playing against the Wings, and more specifically, against Hossa and his decision.  I believe that Crosby would take far greater pleasure in winning the Cup than proving Hossa wrong...but you've got to think that exacting a little personal revenge might make it just the tiniest bit more pleasurable.  You'll never, ever hear Crosby say anything like that, however.  Not now, not ever.  Crosby measures each and every word that he says in front of cameras and microphones, and you'll not hear him gloat or respond.  His stock answer will be that "Hossa made a decision that he believed was best for him, and we all wished him well in that decision."  Or some variation of that.  But inside, in his heart, Crosby burns for the Title, and for retribution.  Proof, that Hossa made a poor choice.

I cannot imagine any Finals except for a very exciting and competitive one.  It would take outside influences of a tremendous degree to alter the competitive landscape - a killer injury is the only thing that comes to mind.  Whether Pittsburgh can beat the Wings remains to be seen.  Not only am I hopeful, but I believe this year that they have a truly excellent chance to do so.  The sub-plot between the Pens and history, and between Crosby and Hossa, add some elements to the Finals that can only enhance it.  It should be a great, great series.  GO PENS!

Pens 6, Canes 2.  The score doesn't fully indicate the nature of this game, but at the same time it does.  I had expected a far different Canes team tonight.  My preview entry went so far as to suggest that the Canes would come out with a game plan and energy that would secure them the win.  But, as the game wore on, and this series wears on, it has become painfully obvious that the Canes defense has been terrorized by Evgeni Malkin primarily, and Sidney Crosby to boot.  They are turning and fleeing any time either one of these two players gets the puck on their stick in space, and then they are looking confused in their own end.  Whether they're mesmerized by the skill or simply outmatched by the speed it's hard to tell.  But the Malkin/Crosby show has struck once more, and the Canes season is on life support now.

The first period began in perfect form for Carolina.  An early goal got them the lead and some momentum.  The expected flurry came but not with the same intensity that you might expect.  A power play handed to the Pens, however, saw Malkin score his first on a really pretty bang-bang play that evened the score.  It remained that way through a pretty even first period as both teams traded some decent chances.  But the nature of this game and this series was clearly demonstrated in a :31 time span late in the first.  Crosby streaked towards the net and received a great feed, and just like that chipped it past Ward.  Then, :31 later, Malkin did basically the same exact thing.  The air went out of the building to a large degree, and out of Carolina.

Even a scoreless second period didn't boost the Canes, nor did the early third-period goal by Samsonov.  The crowd got back into it, but then Malkin - who'd been dazzling the Canes all night - drove hard to the net with someone on his flank.  This, after Ward had made a series of simply astounding saves that left me wondering if that was going to be the necessary spark for Carolina.  Instead, Malkin did the prettiest little drop pass which was picked up by Fedotenko and zipped past Ward's shoulder to give the Pens a 4-2 lead.  The empty net goal scored by Adams was fluky, and then Bill Guerin added insult to injury by backhanding a goal past Ward while the Pens were on a late power play. 

The Pens relentless attack, especially by their two dominant centers, has put Carolina's entire defense on their heels.  They're unable to respond effectively to the speed and wizardry of Malkin or Crosby, and now they are looking more confused than ever in their own end.  It's been an exciting playoff year for Carolina, and certainly their fans had a great deal of hope and excitement coming into this series.  Whether Pittsburgh has another gear or not is hard to tell.  I think that this series has snowballed against the Canes to a large degree.  It has the hallmarks of "whatever can go wrong will" right now, and how Carolina battles that and the highly skilled Pittsburgh players is a near-impossible double assignment.  It's not really the showcase the NHL had expected, nor the battle that I think Pens fans fears and Canes fans expected.  It's just been a one-sided series thus far, and really it boils down to the play of Malkin and Crosby.  They are flat-out winning the series and bringing the whole team with them.

Game 4 is on Tuesday.  How the extra day will impact the teams is hard to forecast.  If anything it might hurt Pittsburgh because they've built tremendous momentum in the past 4 days and that is at risk for being lost.  It may give the Canes time to regroup and reconsider.  But, there wasn't much difference in the Pens between games 1 and 2, so maybe this extra day break won't mean much.  This series certainly looks like it's only going to go 4 games.  I don't know.  I've enjoyed these wins, but refuse to look ahead.  The only game that matters is game 4 on Tuesday night.  Go Pens!

For any Pens fan that reads this, all you have to know about tonight's game is to watch highlights from last night's Detroit/Blackhawks game.  For any Canes fan that feels all hope is lost, all you have to do is recall that your opponent on this night came back in the previous round from an 0-2 deficit of their own.  There are no safe bets in Conference Finals games.  Hell, it's not that hockey and basketball have that much in common, but LeBron James's Cavs were down to the last seconds, and to the last shot of the game, and his tremendous game-winner completely changed the nature of that series.  The Hawks win last night changed the composition of the Western Conference Finals, just like the Nuggets drawing even with the Lakers. 

PIttsburgh will face a team that is angry and cornered.  They will be hugely inspired by playing in front of their fans.  Pittsburgh is a hockey town, but it's not really a hockey arena.  The fans grow quiet while watching the game from time to time; that won't be true at the RBC Center.  They'll be loud and raucous tonight, using that noise as a way to spur on their team to victory. 

Carolina is in a must-win situation.  There is simply no way that the Canes can win four straight against Pittsburgh.  The Canes are an excellent hockey team but in Pittsburgh they are facing a team that is slightly better than them.  Talent wins out in the long run, but the intangibles play roles when the teams are relatively evenly matched.  Expecting a four-game winning streak is probably not a good thing; therefore, the Canes are facing the all of the pressure this evening.  They have to win.  They simply cannot lose.

Eric Staal has been in a goal-scoring funk since game 4 of the conference semis.  He's had his chances, but has faced the oppositions top defensive units in three straight games; tonight he'll not have to face his younger brother's unit as much and may get a break against the defensive pairings as well.  To me, Staal is the key to this game.  He's the big gun, the high profile offensive player, and simply has to get on the board and get production.  He's more than capable of doing it - his size and strength combined with his speed make him a very tall order for defenses.  It also ought to be in Staal's favor that so far in this series neither team has played great defense in front of their own goalie.  The goalies have been hung out to dry for long stretches of game action.  I would think that Staal will find the going easier tonight, and it Pittsburgh again is lax in their own end then Staal should be able to get on the board. 

Carolina has to first and foremost play better defense in front of Cam Ward.  Yes, the man's a great goaltender, constantly overlooked and overshadowed by bigger names playing in bigger markets.  But he's a money goalie, and he has few weaknesses.  The trouble is that when you allow PIttsburgh forty-plus shots on net, you're hanging Ward out to dry.  He won't stop everything.  Pittsburgh has too many top offensive players to expect a shut-out.  But playing better defense is a good start, and Carolina must play in their own zone far better than they've done thus far.  If they don't, it might not matter if Staal earns a playoff hat trick of his own. 

Carolina has been getting good and consistent production from other scorers so far in the first two games.  Those guys - LaRose, Cole and Eaves - have gotten the big goals.  If they remain as productive as they've been - both in terms of scoring and in energy - and Staal can add in some scoring, then the Canes have a solid chance of winning this game.  But they can't make the mistake of thinking Eric Staal can do it all on his own. 

There are many reasons to expect Carolina to win tonight.  They have proven to be resilient in this playoff year, and won't see an 0-2 deficit as an insurmountable challenge.  They can play that solid punch/counter-punch game with anyone.  They have a Cup-proven goalie.  They are relentless in the attack, and have many players that feature great skill and speed.  Those are all of their positives.  They'll need every single one of them if they want to win tonight and force at least a fifth game in this series.  Finally, maybe most importantly, they are again playing at home.  They've been great at home so far, taking two in a row last round against Boston to earn that 3-1 series lead they held at one point.  If they can get more responsible in their own end and maintain that high intensity in the offensive zone they ought to be able to earn a win and get this series back to something they can handle.

All that being said, however, is pretty much being a master of the obvious (for which I apologize, by the way).  The Pens know this as well.  They already know about the Canes skill and speed, and know about Ward's ability to make dazzling saves and routine saves.  They know that they can't hold Eric Staal off the scoring sheets forever, and know that as the visiting team the matchups will favor the Canes. 

Pittsburgh last year was solid defensively, but leaned just a trifle too much on the top scoring line to provide most if not all of the offense.  They have gotten scoring now up and down the roster, with chip in goals from Miro Satan, Phillipe Boucher and Chris Kunitz.  Malkin and Crosby are lighting the lamp with such regularity, however, that everything Carolina does could be rendered moot by those two guys alone.  That's the danger of playing Pittsburgh.  Their offense is relentless and fluid like Carolina's, except that they have two of the NHL's five best players.  That's almost patently unfair - it's like fielding a basketball team where both Kobe and LeBron are in the back court.  You have virtually no chance of winning against those two, especially when they're truly on their game.  Crosby and Malkin are both on their game, and they have been making everyone look silly this year. 

Pittsburgh will have to find a way to match Carolina's intensity, especially in the first minutes of the opening period.  The Pens can expect a flurry of action, with Carolina pressing to get that all-important first goal, and to get that crowd really rocking behind them.  Marc-Andre Fleury has been absolutely stellar in such situations; he'll have to be again tonight.  If MAF can hold the Canes scoreless - weathering the storm - and allow his team to get into the flow of the game then the Pens can earn that third win.  The Pens are the better of the two teams in my opinion.  Tonight they'll have to prove that they are capable of going to yet another level if they want to take a 3-0 series lead.  They are capable of doing it.  Whether they can or not is the question.  Tune in!