The St.Louis Blues’ Alex Pietrangelo and Darryl Sydor appeared to be competing against each other for a spot on the team, both of them appear to be locks to make the squad — at least for the early part of the season.  Sydor is a much-needed veteran on the blue line, with Eric Brewer unavailable and Jay McKee gone.   Pietrangelo, the Blues’ top prospect, will at least get a nine-game tryout early on in the season because that will still allow him to be returned to his junior team without starting his NHL clock.

Washington Capitals’ stars Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Mike Green all got their first action of the season yesterday, and they all looked rusty.  Their timing was off and they all looked sluggish, I guess that’s why you have preseason games.  The Caps are hoping this year to overcome the hump that has been preventing them from getting to the Stanley Cup Finals.  Last year they blew a chance to advance in the playoffs when they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup winner, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Marian Gaborik made his debut for the New York Rangers against the Detroit Red Wings yesterday, and coach John Tortorella finally got to insert his new winger into the lineup.  Gaborik, who sat out the first four preseason games with a sore groin, played alongside newly acquired Vaclav Prospal and Christopher Higgins.  But Higgins played well with Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik in previous games, so it could be a sign that Tortorella is still experimenting with different combinations.

Following a six-year absence from the National Hockey League, Theoron Fleury is trying to crack the Calgary Flames’ lineup at the age of 41.  Last night he took one step closer to achieving his goal.  He scored on a breakaway with 7:53 left in the 3rd period and he assisted on another earlier in the game.  It was his 2nd goal of the preseason after he scored the game-winner in a shootout against the Islanders in his first game.  Many people in hockey were doubting whether or not Fleury would be able to still compete at such a high level, after last night’s performance it looks like he still has a little juice left in the tank.

A few days ago I said that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tyler Kennedy got the first chance to replace Max Talbot and play alongside Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko.  Since the move he’s playing so well that the question isn’t whether he’ll be able to substitute for Talbot — it’s whether he’ll replace Talbot, even when the injured player comes back.  Kennedy has been a pleasant surprise for the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.  This is just what the league wants to hear, the Pens getting stronger.

At some point, it looked like the Toronto Maple Leafs 2009 1st round draft pick Nazem Kadri wasn’t going to make the team — it was a sure thing.  But Kadri has played so well that the buzz is that he definitely has a chance to stick.  The thinking is that he could mesh well on a line with newly acquired Phil Kessel.  Both are young and can understand each others game.  Kessel will be looked upon to help Kadri develop.  It seems like the Maple Leafs future is bright.

Mats Sundin is no longer on the Canucks radar.  Vancouver has moved on and are now figuring out what to do with the forwards they have.  This just adds more fuel to the fire that Sundin is ready to retire from the NHL.  After recently getting married Sundin isn’t ready to make any final decisions on his career however we have all seen this ploy before from an aging NHL player.  We know what comes next.

With Max Talbot hurt, the Pittsburgh Penguins have to figure out who will play alongside Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko.  So Tyler Kennedy is getting the first shot.  Kennedy was on the third line with Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke last season.  If Kennedy fails, Pascal Dupuis will get the next shot to replace Talbot.  Nick Johnson is in the driver’s seat to replace Kennedy on the third line.

The Florida Panthers have signed defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to a one-year deal.  Seidenberg could have stayed in Carolina but Florida’s deal was to good to pass up.  Rumor has it that it was a one year deal for just under 3 million.

Petr Sykora will come to training camp on a tryout basis with the Minnesota Wild and he’ll likely sign, but what does that mean for other Wild players?  Well, for Coltan Gilles it means that he will probably be sent down to the AHL.  If that happens the Wild will save around $1 million on his contract.  It would also make Andy Hilbert and Craig Weller long shots to make the team.  GM Chuck Fletcher expects teams with salary cap problems to try to get rid of players, either through the waiver wire or via trade, so this may be his way of getting Sykora in the fold without committing money that he might want to spend later.

Their goaltending is in solid hands.  Marc Andre-Fleury showed his mettle by not only winning the Stanley cup but winning it on his opponents home ice which is even more impressive.  He showed mental toughness and is another one of Pittsburgh’s young stars who is locked up to a long term deal.  In fact the Penguins got lucky by re-signing both Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko, who both performed well in the playoffs, Pittsburgh is lucky to have them back in the fold.

The Penguins had the 30th pick in the draft and with that pick they selected defenseman Simon Despres from Saint John of the QMJHL.  Despres has got the size and mobility.  He never seems to make a bad play, now he’s never going to get 100 points, but definitely, when you want a guy to play defense, he’s your guy.  He does it all, he’ll block shots and he moves the puck at the right time.  The kid uses his head to make plays, that kind of player is always welcome on the blueline.

All in all Pittsburgh looks to be really strong again next year and if they can somehow trade for or sign a top notch forward for Malkin to play with then the Pens really will be unstoppable for years to come.

The Boston Bruins were also big winners at the NHL Awards Thursday night with Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas and Coach Claude Julien all taking home awards.  Journeyman Thomas was picked overwhelmingly by NHL general managers as the league’s top goalie.  Thomas earned 22 first-place votes to take the Vezina Trophy. Columbus’ Steve Mason was the next closest finalist with three first-place votes. Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom received one.  Chara edged Washington’s Mike Green and Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom to win the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. Chara snapped Lidstrom’s three-year Norris winning streak. Lidstrom had won the award six of the previous seven seasons.  The Bruins’ coach Julien was chosen as the NHL’s coach of the year, earning 35 first-place votes from the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

Blue Jackets goalie Mason won the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year, he beat Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan and Chicago’s Kris Versteeg to claim the award.  Mason topped the league with 10 shutouts and ranked second with a 2.29 goals-against average, leading Columbus to its first playoff appearance.  He was the first rookie to lead the NHL in shutouts since Chicago’s Tony Esposito in 1970.

All in all the players who won their respective awards definitely deserved them.  With the awards now handed out, that officailly puts an end to an unbelievable season.  Next year’s season seems to have the makings of an exciting continuation of high caliber play.  For me next season can’t get here quick enough.

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For the Pens right now life is just about enjoying the summer and the parties, they have definitely earned a nice vacation.  For Detroit, well they will take a few days off and then follow all the other teams that have started this process.  The front office will go back to the drawing board to come up with another player or two that can possibly make the difference next year.  The Wings will have to take a good look at their aging roster and see who will be back and who needs to be replaced.

As for the Pens, not much has to be changed.  Maybe they will look to add a couple of playoff veteran’s just to make sure if any injuries arise then they will be ready thus eliminating the possibility of a drop-off in team production.  With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc Andre-Fleury locked up for the next few years, look for the Penguins to make many repeat appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Both teams came out ready to do battle again for another 20 minutes.  Pittsburgh struck first just 1:13 into the 2nd period.  Talbot took a pass from Malkin from the side of the net, cut inside and beat Red Wing goaltender Chris Osgood right between the five hole.  Talbot scored his second of the period at the 10:07 mark.  He streaked up the left side on a two on one, held onto the puck and then beat Osgood with a wrister over his left shoulder.  Osgood allowed two goals in the second period after allowing just two goals total in the first three home games of this series.  Crosby however played just one shift after leaving the ice during the second period after taking a hard hit along the boards from Johan Franzen that left him unable to walk due to a knee injury.  Because he’s a hockey player and tough as nails Crosby made it back to the ice midway through the third period for the one shift.  He then just sat on the bench and watched his teammates hang on.  I’m sure it was tough for him not to play but like I said earlier, others stepped up in his absence.

Penguins goalie Marc Andre-Fleury really made a name for himself by playing a very solid game.  Coming back to the same arena where just days earlier he had been pulled in favor of their backup because he gave up 4 goals in that game, Fleury faced his opponents again but this time he won the battle and in the process the war.  He gave up only 1 goal to help pace the Pens.  Fleury was solid in the 1st and 2nd periods but he saved his magic for the 3rd period.  Yes he gave up a goal to Jonathan Ericsson with just over 6 minutes remaining in the game to cut the Pens lead in half but he stopped Detroit from scoring in the closing seconds of the game to seal the Stanley Cup clincher.

This is Sidney Crosby’s first Stanley Cup win.  He became the youngest team captain at 21years old in NHL history to hoist the Stanley Cup over his shoulders, only four years after he was drafted 1st overall.  Owner Mario Lemieux once again tasted the sweet victory of a cup win for the 3rd time, his first as an owner.  He won the Stanley Cup as a player twice when Pittsburgh repeated as Champions in 1991 and 1992.

This game will go down for sure as one of the top ten games in NHL history.  The Penguins are the first to win the title the year after losing in the finals since Edmonton 25 years ago against the New York Islanders.

Evgeni Malkin, who led all scorers in the playoffs with 36 points, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP.  This is on the heels of him winning the Art Ross Trophy as the player with the most points in the regular season.

Pittsburgh avoided a repeat of last season by staving off elimination with a heart stopping 2-1 win in game 6 and now find themselves in a position even they weren’t sure was possible in mid-February when they changed coaches and were struggling along in 10th place.  But they are still fighting history because home teams have won 12 of the 14 Stanley Cup Finals game 7’s since the NHL went to the best of seven format back in 1939, with the last being the Montreal Canadiens in 1971.  A team that had nine future hall of famers.

The Penguins will need to have their two superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin dialed in if they want to have any chance at pulling out a victory.  They need to create some traffic in front of the net and follow the golden rule of playing smart hockey, NO PENALTIES.  Penalties will doom whichever team has more since both teams’ powerplay units are extremely effective.

It should be a great game and I have definitely enjoyed this years playoffs, some of the most exciting overall hockey played in a long time.  I for one will be sad when the game is over because that means no more hockey until September.

The game belonged to Pittsburgh goaltender Marc Andre-Fluery.  After being shelled in game 5 and being pulled in that same game, Fluery came back in game 6 with a vengeance making big save after big save to preserve the one goal win.  He stopped 25 of 26 shots to hold off the Red Wings.  The Pens superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malikn were both held scoreless again but it was a complete team effort that won this match.  Fluery wasn’t the only one who made a big save.  With under a minute left the Wings were putting a lot of pressure on the Penguins net and while Fluery was out of position defenseman Rob Scuderi went to his knees and mad two kick saves denying the Wings the opportunity to tie things up.  It was a huge play.

One thing that happened after Pittsburgh’s victory was that history did not repeat itself, the Pens did not lose on their home ice and watch the Wings celebrate a Stanley Cup championship.  At least not yet, the Pens will have a tall order facing them as they must win at Joe Louis Arena on Friday night if they want the prized Stanley Cup Trophy.  Definitely no easy task considering in game 5 Pittsburgh was blown out.  But this game is different.  There’s only 60 minutes left in both these teams’ season unless there’s OT and anything can happen when it all comes down to those 60 minutes.  It will be an all out war.  There will be punishing hits all throughout the game and beautiful saves, as a fan I’m really looking forward to it.

Quick little facts; The home team has won all six games in the series. It’s only the fifth time in NHL history the home team has won the first six games of the Cup finals ( first since 2003 Anaheim Ducks ).  Also each of the last six Game 7s in the Stanley Cup final have been won by the home team.  The last road team to win a Game 7 in the Cup finals was the 1971 Montreal Canadiens in a 3-2 win over the Blackhawks.  That series saw the home team win the first six games of the series.

The Penguins impressively feed off its home crowd and is 8-2 at the Mellon Arena in the postseason.  It has the two most dangerous players in the playoffs and both will be itching to rebound from embarrassing individual performances in game 5.  The Pens have shown the ability to recover from adversity this season, coming from 10th place in the standings just after the All-Star game to make the playoffs and more recently winning a game 7 on the road in the second round.

The Red Wings will have their hands full but their players can smell blood in the water.  The Wings will throw everything at the Pens hoping to close the series out and repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.