Battle For The Cup

The Stanley Cup is set to begin on Saturday night..novel idea I know! After a long layoff things are getting set to begin, and better yet, all the games are slated to be played at 8pm Eastern - no afternoon games!

Philadelphia will take on Chicago in a battle that on paper looks to be a very good match up. Throw out the fact that the Flyers are a 7th seed the teams seem to stack up well versus each other. Both are deep teams but Chicago looks like they may have just a little deeper skilled bench. What the Flyers may not have in speed they make up for in tough physical play. The Blackhawks have a lot of skill and speed and will need every bit of it to get away from the bruising attack from Philly. The showdown between the two young star captains Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews should be epic. One of these guys is going to complete a good year captaining their team to a championship and going home to polish the Olympic Gold Medal that they both have from the Vancouver Games...not too bad for 2 guys in their early 20’s.

There will be plenty to watch with all the little battles between players and lines. There will be some great match ups on the ice and the team that does better in those situations will likely take the Cup.

I am looking for Chicago to take it in 5 or 6 very close games. After 2 years of game 7’s I don’t think that we will see that again and despite both teams having questions in net, I think the Chicago bench may be a little more talented 1 thru 6.

Also in a less important factor but one that needs to be mentioned It would be best for Chicago to win as an original 6 team, a team that has not won since 1961 and most importantly the team with probably the best Ice Crew in the game. I think that those lovely ladies should get the chance to celebrate a championship!

Blackhawks Ice Crew

During a scouting mission for my new favorite Western Conference team I had to watch the Chicago Blackhawks vs LA Kings game on WGN. The Blackhawks would be a good team to throw my support behind but they are too good right now and are in the playoffs so that has taken them out of contention for my support. After years of being VERY bad they have managed to draft well (bad teams and top picks will help in that regard) and are now seeing the results paying off. Even the fans are getting behind them and are filling the United Center. I was watching this game to evaluate the LA Kings and see what they had and if they were worthy of my support. When I post my series on the teams I will make a case for them as they are an early front runner.

What I did see while watching the game was that of the many US arenas that I would like to watch a game, The United Center is one of the tops on the list. They always said that Old Chicago Stadium was one of the best and loudest places to play. That may be true but right now the United Center is more then holding their own. It has everything to do with the team on the Ice. Sure the Blackhawks are fun to watch but I am talking about the Hawks Ice Crew. They put every other team to shame. This is some fine marketing and a great idea. Not only do these lovely ladies do a great job managing the ice but they are all style while doing it.

I think that The Ottawa Senators should adopt this idea, it would be great for ice conditions as well as the total entertainment value while at the game.. Mr. Mlakar think about that for next year to turn around the fortunes of the team. Just look at what having Mike Fisher sign Carrie Underwood then trading for Hillary Duff...errr Mike Comrie did to help the team change their loosing ways.

To learn more about the Ice Crew visit the Chicago Blackhawks website: http://blackhawks.nhl.com/icecrew/0809icecrew.htm