Just a few things that caught my eye:
- Maxime Talbot got both his wishes tonight -- he got to hoist the Cup and whisper "you picked the wrong team" while shaking Marian Hossa's hand.
- Sucks to be Ty Conklin, eh?
- The hoist-and-gloat with the Cup is the best sports celebration on the planet. The potty mouths in proximity to the live microphones are not.
- Goalies are odd ducks. Did you catch Marc-Andre Fleury talking to and caressing his crossbar after that ringer in the last few minutes? It almost blew the game's G rating.
- Evgeni Malkin is the first Russian to win the Conn Smythe. Sidney Crosby becomes the youngest captain in history to hoist the Cup. And the Pens win the Cup in Game 87 of the playoffs. You couldn't write a better story.
- What a relief -- Sid the Kid is actually old enough to legally drink in the state of Michigan. Poor Jordan Staal -- guess he has to drink Coke Zero instead. Wait! American beer would be OK -- it's really only near beer, right?
- Was it just me or did the Wings look scared at times? Brian Rafalski misfired on two outlet passes on the same shift. And they were collectively sloppy in stretches. Out of gas? Or just too much pressure?
- Class move -- Mike Illitch came down to ice level and shook Mario Lemieux's hand at centre ice. I'm pretty sure he offered him a pizza party for the boys and asked for some hair care tips.
- Sidney Crosby will not be ready for next season. Even a Grade 2 sprain of that knee (and it could actually be a lot worse) will keep him from training for a couple months. Camp opens in two-and-a-half... ouch.
- Gotta love the fans in Detroit. They boo (and drown out) Napoleon the whole time he's talking. And they cheer loudly for Sid, Marc-Andre and several other Penguins as they paraded the Cup. They sure know their hockey.
- Just how far up the ref's arses were their whistles? Do I need to show them the rule on obstruction? Like my Rotowire and Yahoo! buddy Scott Pianowski said to me tonight -- this was like "a tractor pull." Now, I'm a farm kid and I happen to like tractor pulls. But his comments have a real ring of truth to them, don't they?
- I'll be glad when the whole Phoenix Coyotes debacle is over. Talk about overshadowing the holy grail of hockey. Funny thing is, no-one really even cares down there but everyone up here does. So much so that it's the lead story on sports broadcasts and in papers way, way too much.