Finals Rematch Great for NHL

The NHL got their wish: the most popular team in hockey, the Red Wings, will face Sid the Kid and the Penguins in a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Finals in which the Wings won in six games.

The Pens will be fresh off their sweep of the Hurricanes, while Detroit is hoping to be healthy by the time game one rolls around.

Speaking of game one, congratulations to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for actually doing something right, this is truly a rare occurrence. After all, he did cause the NHL to have a lock-out resulting in the loss of the 2004-05 season. Bettman had game one moved up to this Saturday, and will have game two on Sunday. A smart move to find time when the NBA Playoffs are off for a day.

To backtrack back to last night's game five between Detroit and Chicago, I must say it might have been the most interesting game of the playoffs. Yes, I know that Crosby and Ovechkin had hat-tricks in the same game, but defense wins championships, which is why I expect the Red Wings to take this finals series in no more than six games. Both Wings goalie Chris Osgood and Blackhawks goaltender Cristobal Huet were phenomenal. This could have easily been an offensive shoot-out, but both goalies stood on their heads time and time again. Christobal Huet made the save of the season with less than 15 seconds to go in regulation as he kicked his leg up while on his stomach to stone Detroit's Johan Franzen.

Darren Helm would eventually get the overtime winner giving Detroit a 2-1 win. Helm played an outstanding game. At one point while the Wings were short-handed, Helm carried the puck for 25 seconds while avoiding multiple Blackhawk defenders. He went under and around Chicago skaters and nearly scored on a wrap-around shot at the end of his shift. This resulted in a long standing ovation from the Detroit faithful.

It speaks volumes about Detroit that they won games five and six without their best forward in Pavel Datsyuk and their captain, Nicklas Lidstrom. They are the deepest team in the NHL.

So were two days away from the finals, can Sid the Kid and Evgeni Malkin stay hot and strip the cup from Hockeytown? I don't think so, but the games aren't played on paper. The fans are in for a treat over the next week or so to watch the two most talented teams in hockey square off with the ultimate prize on the line.