Western Conference Review

June 12, 2009 4:10pm CDT

Tonight will be the fifteenth Game 7 ever in the Stanley Cup Finals as the Red Wings will be hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins in a rematch of last year's Finals. Will Detroit win the Cup for the second-straight year and the fifth time since 1997, or will Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin prove that they are more than just point-producing phenoms?

THE 2009 FINALS

* Previously there have been fourteen Game 7s in Stanley Cup Finals history. Of those fourteen matchups only twice has the visiting team triumphed, and that last occurred in 1971 when the Canadiens defeated the Blackhawks (the other time was 1945 when the Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings). In addition, in playoff series that have gone the full seven games, the home team has won 80 of 128 times (62.5 percent). Can the Penguins overcome history and the fact that they have been handed a defeat in all previous three games in Detroit in this series?

* Need some more Game 7 knowledge do you? In their history the Wings are 12-7 in Game 7s though they are just 3-3 in Game 7s in the Finals. Brian Rafalski has appeared in six Game 7s in his career and his team has won five times, though he is just 1-1 in Game 7s in the Cup Finals. "Emotions are very high and you just try to control those," Rafalski said. "Don't try to do too much. Everyone goes out and does what they have to do, and together we'll be fine."

* Tomas Holmstrom has gone 19 games without scoring a goal in these playoffs. How is that even possible for a man who plants himself in front of the goalie and simply will not allow himself to be moved? You almost would think that he would have scored one by osmosis, or at least off a pick deflecting off his leg or his rump. In 75 regular season and playoff games this year, Holmstrom has scored just 16 goals, this after scoring an average of 26 goals over the past three regular seasons during which he averaged 72 games a season. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see him step up in Game 7.

* Another forward struggling for points has been Marian Hossa, and he believes the main reason for his struggles is that he has placed too much pressure on his shoulders. Hossa has failed to score a goal in the first six games of the series and has only produced three assists in that time. In fact, Hossa has scored two goals three times in these playoffs, and the rest of the time, a stretch of 19 games, he has been held goalless.

* Andreas Lilja suffered a concussion on February 28 and he has been out of action ever since. He obviously won't be in the lineup tonight.

* Another Wing who will not play, barring something unforeseen, is Chris Chelios. Could this be the end of the road for arguably the best defensemen that the United States has every produced? He has appeared in 1,644 career games, sixth all-time, and he has racked up another 266 games in the playoffs - an NHL record. "I had an opportunity to play six games (in the postseason) and help out a little bit, and there's no other 47-year-old doing it in the league, so I'm just going to hope and pray that things work out and I'll be rooting just like the rest of our fans."

* Kris Draper (groin) and Dan Clearly (lower-body) have been out at practice but both are expected to suit up for Game 7.

* The return of Pavel Datsyuk has resulted in a rather daunting duo of Henrik Zetterberg and Datsyuk being teamed together on the same line. They didn't score in Game 6, but they were extremely involved while Zetterberg was likely the best player on the ice for the club.

* Chris Osgood will make his 23rd and final start in these playoffs in Game 7. Osgood is 41-16-8 overall this season and 15-7 in the playoffs as he has posted a 2.00 GAA and a .927 save percentage for the Wings. Can someone please give this man the credit he deserves? After all, he has 389 career victories and has a chance to be a part of his fifth championship squad.

* Valteri Filppula has two goals in this series, though otherwise he has been held off the score sheet. Still, he has 16 points in 22 games in the post-season.

* Johan Franzen still leads the club with 12 goals, he is second with 23 points (Zetterberg has 24), as he has recorded two goals and two assists in six Cup Finals games.

* Nicklas Lidstrom has 15 points and is +10 in these playoffs with 11 of his points coming with the man-advantage. He was held off the board in the first four games of this series before producing two assists the past two games.


WESTERN CONFERENCE REVIEW

* Bret Burns is doing well as he continues to recover from a concussion that caused him to miss the final quarter of the season. He also missed time over the season due to back and elbow issues which conspired to hold him to just 27 points in 59 games, this a year after he was able to post 15 goals and 28 assists in his second NHL season. "There's still a long way to go. It's a long summer. But I feel like I'm on the right path," Burns said. "I should be good." He could make a nice under-the-radar option in fantasy leagues next season if his body is able to hold up, so don't forget about him on draft day.

* The Coyotes situation still remains completely in the air. Bottom line for this author? If Wayne Gretzky cannot sell the area on hockey, no one can. The league should consider moving on.

* Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne still haven't informed the Ducks whether or not they plan on returning in 2009-10. The team has told both that they would like to know by the time of this season Draft giving them about two weeks to render their judgment.

* Alexander Radulov still hasn't made his intentions clear to the Predators. He could end up back in the NHL or spend another season in the KHL in Russia. Keep an eye on how the situation plays out as he clearly has the talent to be a 30-goal scorer in the NHL.

* The Sharks said that they plan on making changes to the roster, but those changes will not involve shipping out either Patrick Marleau or Joe Thornton. There had been some whispers that the team would look to trade Marleau given that his personality is very much like Thornton's in that neither is a very vocal leader. Ultimately it appears that the team will hold on to their two most dangerous offensive weapons and look to address other issues on a team that failed miserably losing in the playoff's first round after finishing the year with the best record in the game.

* The Stars signed a new GM, Joe Nieuwendyk, and then brought into the fold a new coach as well in Marc Crawford. They have also convinced Mike Modano to return for at least another season, and expect Brenden Morrow to be fully recovered from his knee surgery by the time the games count in October. If Marty Turco can return to his previous levels after a terrible season (2.81 GAA, .898 save percentage), this team could rebound quickly.

Pronger to Kings?

TheScore.com is reporting that Chris Pronger will be traded to the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Jack Johnson and the Kings' first-round selection in the coming NHL Draft (fifth overall). However, as of this writing, we have been unable to confirm the report, though the Vancouver Sun is also citing "several online sites" that the deal will happen. We will update this posting as more information becomes available, but for now this rumor is unsubstantiated by an "official" source. Question though - would the Ducks really trade Pronger to a division rival that plays its home games mere miles away? Seems pretty odd to this offer if this deal ends up being consummated. In addition, would the Ducks really trade Pronger if they thought they were also going to lose Scott Niedermayer to retirement? Seems like this potential deal has a lot of holes in it.