Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 4.35

www.afootinthecrease.com

So here we are, two rounds down, two rounds left to go. Twenty six teams have come and gone, four remain. The Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes remain with a shot at Lord Stanley’s Mug. Of the four that remain, you can’t be surprised that the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins – last year’s Stanley Cup Finalists - are among them.

After winning the 2008 Stanley Cup, the Detroit Red Wings made negligible changes to their roster and fielded much the same team in 2008/2009. With Nik Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Hendrick Zetterberg, and Johan Franzen leading the charge, if the Detroit Red Wings became the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions since the Detroit Red Wings, it certainly could not be considered an upset.

Last year’s Pittsburgh Penguins seem a lot like this year’s Chicago Blackhawks: too young to know any better but lacking just that much experience to go all the way. Therefore with another year of maturity and experience under their belts, the Penguins could have something to say by the time this season is said and done. Against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals, though battling a resilient opponent, the Penguins should prove to be too deep and too talented a team for the Hurricanes to continue their improbable journey through this year’s playoffs.

The youthful Chicago Blackhawks have had a tough road to this point taking out the remaining Canadian content in the 2009 playoffs through their first two match ups. The Calgary Flames were an experienced playoff team that ultimately fell victim to too many injuries. The Vancouver Canucks, well they just plain and simply got beat by a better team. Against the Red Wings though, the Blackhawks will face their biggest test. I predict a lesson in playoff hockey from the wily Red Wings for the energetic puppy dog Blackhawks.

In the end when all is said and done, expect a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Final. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.