Carrying the puck down the right hand side, Kane got his head up just in time to notice Hossa streaking towards the net.  After picking out his target, the only thing left for Kane was to figure out a way to get him the puck.  He decided to go with the spin-o-rama backhand pass, and it couldn’t have worked out any better, as the puck landed square on Hossa’s sick before being deposited in the back of the net.

That was just the beginning of Kane’s big night, as he added another assist and scored the shootout winner during the Blackhawks’ 3-2 victory.  Here is a look at his spin-o-rama assist.

Elliott not only made the amazing save, but it was early enough in the 3rd period that if the Hawks score there the outcome of the game could have been vastly different. If Hossa didn’t have a chin strap on his jaw probably would have hit the ice.

You also have to love the call by the play by play announcer: “Elliot somehow gets the magic wand on that and steals a goal!” Magic, indeed. The Sens went on to win the game 4-1. They’ve won 4 straight games and they are creeping up on Buffalo in the Northeast division.

The biggest loser in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Florida Panthers dropping a staggering 5 spots to end up at #28. After making a push for the playoffs last year people looked to the young Panthers team to get off to a decent start this season but so far they’ve disappointed and are running out of time to make up ground in the competitive Eastern Conference.

The biggest gainer in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins both climbing up 5 spots to land at #13 and #14 respectively. The Predators were a wild card coming into the season and so far they’ve solidified themselves as legit playoff contenders as they sit second in the central division. The Bruins on the other hand were expected to compete with Pittsburgh and Washington for top spot in the East but so far have disappointed but have shown signs in the last few games of turning things around.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for week 9.

Rank	Team	Record	PRV	Comment
1		18-6-4	-	Click Here to check out Rob Blake acting as a doctor for San Jose’s latest TV commercial.
2		18-9-0	-	Sidney Crosby finally got things going last week collecting 5 goals and 3 assists for 8 points, good enough to earn 1st Star honors.
3		15-5-6	-	Things should get interesting as the team will likely be without Alexander Ovechkin again either due to injury or suspension after his knee-on-knee hit to Tim Gleason.
4		17-6-1	3	Martin Brodeur‘s middle name must be Merlot because like a fine wine he appears to be getting better with age. Last week Brodeur posted a 0.97 GAA and .963 SAV% in his three victories which got him the 2nd star of the week honors.
5		16-6-3	1	Are on a nice little roll winning their last three games in a row.
6		16-6-3	1	Enjoyed finally having Marian Hossa in their lineup as he has two goals in his first three games as a Blackhawk.
7		14-8-5	1	Rookie Matt Duchene has started to become more comfortable in the NHL as he has three points in his last 5 games.
8		14-7-2	2	Have started to play some solid hockey again outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 9-3 in their last two wins.
9		15-11-1	2	Mikkel Boedker is making a case to stay with the big club as he has two points in his first two games since being recalled from the AHL on Friday.
10		15-10-2	3	Won two games last week and it appears that Ryan Smyth may be closer to returning than people thought.
11		13-10-1	2	Struggling as of late losing back-to-back games including a 1-0 loss to the Thrashers.
12		12-9-4	4	Riding a 5 game losing streak heading into week 10 and lost defenceman Rostislav Klesla to injury during their game against the Blues.
13		15-9-1	5	Unfortunately saw their 7 game winning streak come to an end but rebounded the next day with a solid 4-1 win over the Panthers.
14		13-8-5	5	Tough guy Milan Lucic just can’t stay healthy as the team has lost him for what appears to be another month after sustaining a high-ankle sprain against the Wild.
15		12-9-4	3	Were able to snap their three game losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win over the Blues.
16		13-12-1	2	Despite the Rangers up and down start Marian Gaborik has been consistently on fire since the first game of the season as he now has 37 points in 25 games.
17		13-7-4	2	Mike Fisher continues to carry a hot stick as he has 7 points in his last 5 games.
18		12-7-7	2	Good week for the Stars as they beat the Hurricanes 2-0 and the Lightning 4-3 in overtime.
19		13-7-3	3	Have been lead by talented young goaltender Ondrej Pavelec as he’s collected three wins and two shutouts in his last 5 games.
20		10-6-8	4	Despite getting some solid play out of guys like Steven Stamkos, Ryan Malone and Antero Niittymaki the Lightning have lost three of their last 5 games.
21		14-12-0	4	Kyle Wellwood finally scored his first goal of the season in the Canucks win over the Kings Thursday night.
22		12-12-2	2	Had a big win over the Blue Jackets that saw defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron score two goals.
23		10-10-7	2	Click Here to vote for the Islanders goal song. Make sure it’s a wise choice as with the young talented group of forwards they have on the island there’s a good chance you’ll be hearing it often.
24		10-11-4	3	Saw their three game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Coyotes Sunday night.
25		10-13-4	4	Things couldn’t get much worse for the Oilers right now as they’ve lost talented winger Ales Hemsky for the rest of the season and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin remains on the IR.
26		10-9-5	-	Click Here to check out David Perron‘s highlight reel goal that still has people talking about it in St.Louis.
27		10-12-3	1	Scored two big back-to-back wins over the Avalanche as the Wild appear to be heading in the right direction after a terrible start to the season.
28		10-11-4	5	Have lost their last 4 games in a row. If there’s a silver lining it’s Michael Frolik as the young forward has 5 points in his last 5 games.
29		6-11-7	1	Good week for both the Leafs and forward Niklas Hagman as he potted 5 goals which was good enough for him to earn 3rd star honors.
30		5-16-5	1	To try and put a positive spin on things we’ll give you a link for a nice little piece on Hurricanes promising prospect Drayson Bowman.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 10.

Hossa finally made his season debut on Wednesday night and the impact was immediate. He had four shots on goal and lit the lamp twice. His first goal was a shorty assisted by Jonathan Toews in the 2nd period. It put the Hawks up 2-0. Later in the 3rd period with the Hawks already pouring it on San Jose, Hossa scored again for his second of the night and the Hawks led 6-0. They went on to win 7-2.

The Blackhawks and their fans have to be thrilled. They are in first place in their division and just added a 40-goal scorer to their top line. And they beat the NHL’s top team in San Jose at a soldout HP Pavillion. For his 2-goal performance in his season debut, Marian Hossa gets The Stat Line of the Night for 11/25/09.

Total Pro Sports – With the 12:00pm EST July 1st deadline just hours away it’s time to take a look at some of the big fishes that will be available in this year’s UFA pond. With the salary cap speculated to decrease for the 2010-11 season it’ll be interesting to see what kind of contracts these players end up getting.

LW & C – Daniel & Henrik Sedin: Possibly the creepiest brothers in the NHL, they’re also two of the younger, highly skilled players available this summer. They’ll be signing as a package deal, but within that package you get two talented forwards who are in the prime of their careers and will average in the 70-80 points each per season range. Update: Re-signed w/Vancouver for 5 years @ 6.1 mil per

RW – Marian Gaborik: My personal favourite in this year’s free agent class. Gaborik has been bothered with injuries during his young career as he’s only been able to play a total of 207 games the past 4 seasons. However, despite this he still has a tremendous amount of talent and Martin Havlat showed this past season that it is possible to shake the injury bug. Update: Signed w/N.Y. Rangers for 5 years @ 7.5 mil per

RW – Marian Hossa: Poor, poor Marian. Loses in the Cup final with Pittsburgh, decides to sign a one-year deal with the Red Wings thinking they have a better shot at the Cup and then he ends up losing in the Cup final again against his former team in the Penguins. One of Hossa’s best traits is that he produces in both the regular season and playoffs. In 775 career regular season games he has 719 points and in 98 career playoff games he has 76 points. Update: Signed w/Chicago for 12 years @ 5.2 mil per

RW – Martin Havlat: The man made of glass was finally able to break whatever curse it was he had and showed just how much talent he has last season. Playing in 81 games for the Blackhawks last season, the most since the 2000-01 season with Ottawa, Havlat racked up 77 points. If Martin can make a habit of staying healthy he’d be a great addition for any team looking for a skilled winger. Update: Signed w/Minnesota for 6 years @ 5 mil per

LW/C – Mike Cammalleri: Mike enjoyed a great bounce back season with the Flames last year and will look to use that as leverage when signing his new contract this summer. Cammalleri scored the most goals out of the available UFAs this year with 39. Take that with the fact that he just turned 27 on June 8 and Mike shouldn’t have a shortage of teams willing to sign him to a big contract this week. Update: Signed w/Montreal for 5 years @ 6 mil per

LW – Alex Tanguay: Only played 50 games due to injury but was still able to put up 41 points with the Canadiens this past season. Thankfully for Alex he doesn’t have a big history of injuries like a Havlat or Gaborik and is in the prime of his career at the age of 29. Update: Signed w/Tampa Bay for 1 year @ 2.5 mil

D – Scott Niedermayer: Would be surprised if he signed with anyone but Anaheim. However, stranger things have happened. Scott brings great leadership, offence, solid defense and can still skate with the best of them at the age of 35 (will be turning 36 on August 31). Niedermayer would be a great short-term signing for any contending team looking for blueline help. Update: Re-signed w/Anaheim for 1 year @ 6 mil (including bonuses)

D – Mike Komisarek: Is mostly a one dimensional player but is great at that dimension. Komisarek is as hard-nosed as they come and is entering the prime of his career at the age of 27. Despite those positives I can’t help but see a team giving him a Jeff Finger-like overpayment which could end up handcuffing the team that signs him. Update: Signed w/Toronto for 5 years @ 4.5 mil per

RW – Alexei Kovalev: Possibly the most frustrating player available this summer. Is arguably the most talented UFA available and in the entire league, but is known for only playing when he wants to. If a coach out there thinks he can get the best out of Alexei and does, Kovalev could end up being the best signing out of the 2009 UFA group. Update: Signed w/Ottawa for 2 years @ 5 mil per

G – Nikolai Khabibulin: The best goaltender available this year, but at the age of 36, how much is left in the tank? If this past year’s playoffs were any indication, then his tank’s pretty full. He played great for Chicago in the playoffs and would be a terrific signing for a team that’s looking to contend and needs to shore up their goaltending…*cough*…Washington. Update: Signed w/Edmonton for 4 years @ 3.75 mil per

TPS was in attendance to catch the game at the Joe Louis Arena, and what a game it was.  A tight battle throughout, Pittsburgh scored two goals in the second period, both of Maxime Talbot, and held on for a 2-1 victory.  The Red Wings put some heat on the Pens late in the game, scoring with just over six minutes remaining to cut the lead in half, then hitting a post and forcing Marc-Andre Fleury to make his best save of the game with only a couple seconds left.  Following the intense moment, it was Pittsburgh who would storm the ice, throwing their gloves and mobbing their goaltender.

As expected, Evgeni Malkin was rewarded with the Conn Smythe trophy was playoff MVP, and Sidney Crosby would hoist the Lord Stanley in front of the traveling Penguin fans in attendance to support their team.

As originally predicted by TPS, this series was a hard fought battle that resulted in a seventh game, eventually won by the Penguins.  We hope you took our advice and bet on that.

Here are some pictures we got while at the game.  Stay tuned over the next couple of days as we bring you some additional footage, which include the Penguins leaving on their bus with the cup, and some notable members of the hockey world we were fortunate to come across.

Truck with the Cups

On the way to the Joe

Pre-Game warm up

Pens Win

Malkin reveives Conn Smythe

The Cup awaits

Mario Lemieux lifts the Cup

Team pic with the Cup

Guerin and the family with the Cup

Final score

Pens fan and an octopus

Crosby takes the Cup home

Many looked at this years final as panning out in similar fashion to that of 2008 when Detroit took a 3-2 lead into Pittsburgh and raised the Stanley Cup in the opposition’s building.  The Pens and their fans were forced to watch last year, but they had different ideas on their minds this time around.

Out-shooting the Wings after the first period 12-3, the Pens were unable to solve Chris Osgood, keeping the score knotted at zeros.  That changed in the second after a Jordan Staal goal made it 1-0.  Tyler Kennedy would add another in the third, and the Pens would survive a final period push from the Wings that saw them come within one goal after Kris Draper picked up a rebound, but that was all.  Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was marvelous, making 13 saves in the period, including one on a Dan Cleary breakaway with only minutes remaining.

With the win, the season now comes down to a final decisive game between the Pens and Wings.  Game 7 is set for Friday night at the joe Louis Arena in Detroit, and you can bet it will be rocking.  The Penguins have improved by at least one win this year, but you can bet they will want to make it two.  The Red Wings will have something to say about that as they look to continue the trend which has seen the home team win every game in this series.  They will need that to remain the same if they wish to hand winger Marian Hossa his first Stanley Cup, only one year after he lost in the finals with the Penguins.  Did he make the right choice leaving Pittsburgh?  That question will be answered Friday night, and TPS will be in attendance to witness it.  Check back with us for pics and a Stanley Cup round up as well.

Blame it on the schedule, the refs, or the goalies.  Whatever the problem is, the Penguins better find a way to solve it going home, else they will be watching the Wings raise the Cup in front of them for the second straight season.

Game one had its fair share of ugly goals and game two was much of the same.  The Pens opened the scoring in the first period with a Brad Stuart own goal that was credited to Evgeni Malkin on the power-play.  The Wings would even it up in the 2nd after an icing by the Pens led to a Jonathan Ericsson goal off the faceoff.  It was questioned whether Dan Bylsma should have used a timeout, but after doing so in a similar scenario last game and still having a goal scored against, he decided against it this time.  That would prove to be a costly error as the goal changed the momentum and the Pens’ timeout would not be utilized throughout the remainder of the game.

The Wings continue to come at the Penguins and after a very controversial non-call by Marian Hossa to keep the play in the offensive zone, Valtteri Filppula would backhand a loose puck past a sprawling Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 2-1.  Penguin players voiced their displeasure towards the men in stripes, but to no avail.

The Penguins got their fair share of chances, hitting the post on several occasions, but Sidney Crosby and the gang could not solve Chris Osgood, and the Wings Justin Abdelkader would put a slap shot on a rolling puck over the glove of Fleury to seal a 3-1 victory.

In the dying seconds of the game, as the Pens tried desperately to put one by Osgood, some rough stuff would break out, eventually leading to a mock-fight between Malkin and Henrik Zetterberg.  Malkin would be assessed an instigator penalty, automatically carrying with it a one game suspension, but the call was later rescinded by league officials. That was the right call and it is doubtful that any Wings’ player or coach will dispute that.

It is also unlikely they will dispute the no-call on their second goal, but don’t expect the same from the Pens.  The refs have decided to put their whistles away during this series and although it has resulted in “unfair” chances for both teams, it has also kept the flow going, leading some (like Don Cherry) to applaud the efforts of the referees thus far.

So now headed back to Pittsburgh for game three set for Tuesday night, the Penguins will need to find a way to score.  They have been getting the chances and even though they go back home with similar results as last year, they have been much more effective this time around and have played step for step with the Wings.  Game three will be a big one, but expect the Pens to come out hard, and if they can get Crosby going, they have every reason to believe that they even the series before going back to Detroit.  But if Zetterberg, Osgood and the rest of the Wings continue to stymie Pens offense, it could be a much shorter visit to the finals this time around.

TPS was at game one over the weekend, and we must say, it was quite the atmosphere.  The Pittsburgh fans traveled in large numbers and could be heard loudly throughout the first two periods of the game, but in the end, it was the Wing fans singing loudest.  Here are a couple of the more interesting moments shared by Wing and Pens fans we happened to witness:

• Following the game, one wing fan slapped a Pens fan in the face with my poster.  That’s right.  I was carrying my piece of Joe Louis memorabilia that someone donated to me.  She took it from my hands, smacked him, and gave it back.
• A larger Penguins fan in the row behind us had one too many to drink, and after the Penguins scored, he was caught off-balance and fell onto the family of Red Wing fans beside us.  One of the younger girls was actually injured in the incident, requiring an ice pack later in the game.
• It is pretty surprising, but there was actually Toronto Maple Leaf jerseys in attendance.  Those Leaf fans are everywhere, and who can blame them.  It’s been a while since they have seen playoff hockey in their own building.

We didn’t get to see any flying kicks, or hot dog shooters, but it was a great game nonetheless.  Here are some of the things we caught on camera.

Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Limo

Red Wings Limo

Joe Louis Arena

Stanley Cup Finals Pre-game Skate

Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Finals Pre-game Fire

2009 Game 1 Stanley Cup Finals Faceoff

Oilers Fans At The 2009 Cup Finals

There is no shortage of story lines this time around.  Marian Hossa left the Penguins after last season’s disappointing finale to join the opposition Red Wings for a lot less money.  Why?  Because he thought it was a better chance to win for him to win the Cup.  After this series, he will either be the one saying “I told you so,” or be left to ponder what could have been.

This is also the first time two teams have met in the finals in back-to-back seasons since the New York Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers did it in 1984.  Many have compared those teams to the two we are left with this time around.  The Red Wings would be your modern day Islanders, with depth, experience and a lot of fire power in their line up.  As for the Penguins, they resemble the Oilers of the ’80s.  Just like when young stars Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier were developing and lost in the finals their first year there before taking home the Cup the following year, many believe that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are traveling along a similar road.

Speaking of Crosby and Malkin, they will once agin be in the spotlight, and unlike last year, they will want to avoid being blanketed by the skilled two-way players of the Red Wings.  Tied at the top in NHL playoff scoring, the two young faces of the NHL will look to take the next step in cementing their legacies early in their career.  They will not want to let all of these chances pass them by.  It is any one’s guess how many more they will get.

The schedule and injury issues have also surfaced during the couple of off days prior to Game One.  With the likes of Niklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Jonathan Ericsson, and Kris Draper all suffering from injuries (and Rafalski and Osgood raising some questions as well), the back-to-back games scheduled for Games 1 and 2 on Saturday and Sunday may pose a problem.  What they will benefit from is the extra day of rest prior to game 6 and 7, should the series go that far.  How this affects the series remains to be seen, but you can be sure that if one team looks to be suffering, the NHL’s decision making will come into question.

So that takes us to the series itself.  It is a difficult one to predict, but we at TPS are going to take a shot at it.  Here is a breakdown of why each team will win, and lose.  After looking over such factors, we offer a final prediction.

The Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins

Why they will win: With the likes of Crosby, Malkin and Jordan Staal down the middle, they have three lines that they can roll out there without giving up much to the opposition.  They have been firing on all cylinders and look to have gotten stronger as they go deeper into the playoffs.  Their power-play will be especially important as it will need to connect against a Red Wings penalty-kill that has been well below par in the playoffs (14th out of all 16 playoff teams at 73.7%).  The Pens defense has also been effective throughout the playoffs, facing stars like Alex Ovechkin and Eric Staal and proving to be up for the test each time.  Much of that should also be attributed to the strong play of Marc-Andre Fleury, and if he continues to make the big save, he may be the X-Factor his team needs to exact their revenge on the Wings.

Why They Will Lose: Although the Pens can throw three great lines out there, the are not as deep as the Red Wings.  The have the luxury of playing Crosby and Malkin on the fourth line as well, but such a strategy may eventually wear their stars down against a tough checking Wing team.  Many would like to point to the back-to-back games as a disadvantage for the Red Wings, but it may actually be more of a problem for the Pens.  They can not match the depth of their opponents upfront or on the blue-line, and as a result, by the third period of game 2 it may be them who runs out of gas.

The Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings

Why They Will Win: They have proven that they can win without the likes of Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Draper.  They have even been forced to play without Brian Rafalski for some time.  They simply continue to win.  Their fourth line players step into third and second line roles, and their third line players have the ability to fill in on the top line.  Some people even question whether there is a first, second and third line on this team.  Their depth has consistently proven to be effective and when players like Dan Cleary, Darren Helm and Valtteri Filppula are producing, they become almost impossible to stop.  Their depth up front is equally matched along their blue line with the likes of Lidstrom, Rafalski, Brad Stuart, Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson.  Baring more injuries, they should always be able to neutralize both Crosby and Malkin with a dependable unit on the back end.

Why They Will Lose: One thing that many are pointing to, and it may in fact prove to be the difference, is the injury bug that has hit the Detroit Red Wing team this post-season.  With a short layoff and back-to-back games right away, the Wings will need to play like they are at least somewhat healthy, otherwise they may find themselves to be down early.  There is also question about their penalty-kill, and that is not a good thing prior to taking on the likes of Malkin and Crosby.  They will need to tighten up, and Osgood will have to that much sharper if the Red Wings want to avoid having special teams be the difference.

Outcome: I think Crosby will be his usual self, and Malkin we come around when needed.  I would also look for a big series out of Marian Hossa as he will want to make his decision the right one.  I expect this to be a close series.  Both teams have seemingly improved from last year, but I expect this to be an even tighter matchup than it was in ’08.  With last years series goin six, I would say that in ’09, we are looking at a seven game set.

Give me the Penguins in overtime of game 7!

TSP will be in attendance for game one, ane we hope to see some crazy things in the stands.  Maybe a flying kick, hotdog shooters, or someone flashing their breasts.  We will also be present should a game seven occur, so my prediction may not come as a surprise because of that.  Enjoy your Stanley Cup weekend and we look forward to bringing you more news from around the sporting world next week.

Even with two of their best players out, Detroit dominated the pace from start to finish, leading 2-0 after the first period, and 5-1 after the second.  The team’s other big names needed to step up if there wished to avoid losing their second game in a row and that was exactly what they did.  Henrik Zetterberg scored two, Marian Hossa had two of his own, and Johan Franzen and Valteri Filppula each added one apiece.

The firepower of the Wing players caused Blackhawks coach Joel Quenville to pull starting goalie Cristobal Huet at one point, only to put him back in for the start of the third.  Huet was in for an injured Nikolai Khabibulin.  Meanwhile, at the other end of the rink, Detroit goalie Chris Osgood also left the game with an undisclosed injury.

It is unsure what the status of Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Draper and Osgood are for game five on Wednesday night, but it is very likely that if they can play, they will.  Mike Babcock will leave nothing to chance against a resilient Chicago team.

Besides all the great goals, there was also another interesting play in yesterday’s game.  With the Wings comfortably in the lead late in the third, cameras caught an altercation between Hawks forward Patrick Kane and Johan Franzen.  As the two skated behind the net after the whistle, they continued to jaw at each other.  That’s when Franzen snatched the mouth guard from Kane’s mouth and threw it.

Kane was no longer the only thing that appeared to be lost on the ice.  Now he had to worry about his mouth guard too.  If the Blackhawks are to have any chance at coming back against the Wings, Kane will have to find his game.  As for finding his mouthguard.  Let’s just hope that if he did, he washed it first before using it again.