The Hockey News: Mike Brophy's blog: THN.com Playoff Blog: Sid in the final just what the NHL ordered

THN.com Playoff Blog: Sid in the final just what the NHL ordered

Sidney Crosby celebrates after his team's 6-0 victory. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Mike Brophy
2008-05-18 21:22:26

American TV executives must be tickled pink. It doesn’t matter who the Western Conference champion is, they got The Kid.

Sid the Kid.

Say what you want about the best two teams making the final each year; it means squat to American television and no matter what your sensibilities are concerning this issue, the NHL is still very much trying to sell itself as a major attraction in the USA.

Having Sidney Crosby in the final does that.

Tampa Bay makes the final? Yawn. Carolina? Ho-hum. Anaheim? Yikes!

This is no knock on those teams, all of which won the Stanley Cup. They earned it and they deserved it. But you don’t sell the game when Calgary meets Tampa Bay. Not outside of Calgary and Tampa Bay.

The Penguins waddled all over the Flyers in Game 5 Sunday. Philadelphia, for what it is worth, made a valiant effort to extend the series in Game 4 at home, but does anybody out there really expect a team to go from 30th overall one year to the Stanley Cup final the next?

Let us applaud the strides the Flyers made this season. They are the real deal and having watched GM Paul Holmgren build this team into a contender in such a short time, I have no doubt whatsoever Philly will be an impact team next season.

But back to the Pens.

So what can we expect in the final? I say it doesn’t matter which team they face, Dallas or Detroit, the Penguins have a legitimate shot to win it all. And here is why: Marc-Andre Fleury has proven himself through three rounds to be a money goaltender. It took the 23-year-old a few years to acclimatize himself to the NHL, but he has arrived.

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And what a comforting feeling that must be to the Penguins whose bread and butter is its offense. The Pens know they can take chances at the other end and if they mess up, Fleury will save the day. That is what championship teams are built on.

This is going to be a great final!

THN.com's Playoff Blogs, featuring analysis and opinion on the action from the night before, with insight on what happened and what it all means going forward, will appear daily throughout the NHL playoffs. Read more entries HERE.

Mike Brophy, the co-author of the book Walking with Legends, is a senior writer for The Hockey News and a regular contributor on THN.com. His blog appears Mondays and his column, Double OT, appears Wednesday.

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COMMENTS (38)

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Michael Kramer Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:45)

Just a thought -- "separated at birth": Sidney Crosby (the sweet, yet cheesy "Kid" finalist from the NHL season's version of "Canadian Idol") and David Archuleta (the sweet, yet cheesy kid finalist from this season's "American Idol")...!?! What do you think...?!?

Bill Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:01)

Rob, I didn't forget about those teams at all. However, you are proving my point. You can't compare point totals between conferences because the schedule in imbalanced. That doesn't mean the Red Wings are a bad team. Maybe the West is better (or maybe not) but you can't use point totals as a guage.

Rob M Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:00)

Bill, Pittsburgh did have teams to beat up on, did your forget about Tampa Bay, Florida, NYI? They just didn't take advantage. The West is best no question, but I do agree that the Pens are no average East team. I dislike them a lot but no disputing their talent.

Bill Posted
(2009-04-30 06:19:56)

Yes, Pittsburgh is a better Hockeytown than Detroit. Forget about the attendance at the games and let's talk about tv ratings. Saturday's Red Wings-Stars game drew a 14.1 rating in Detroit. Sunday's Pens-Flyers game drew a 26.1 rating in Pittsburgh. If you think the Pens' troubles had anything to do with a lack of fan support, then you simply don't know what you a talking about.

Bill Posted
(2009-04-30 06:19:56)

Oh, by the way, what is 8-1-1? That's right, the Pens' record against the overrated West this year. Since there are so few games against teams from the other conference, point totals mean absolutely nothing when comparing the strength of the conferences. How many points would the Pens have if they got to beat up on L.A., Columbus, or St. Louis?

Rob M Posted
(2009-04-30 06:19:54)

Good for the NHL, not good for true hockey fans. Crosby is not nor ever will be a huge draw for people who genuinely love hockey. Frankly I think the league is going to kill itself for trying to market the game around him especially since their are so many down to earth non-crybaby hockey players with extreme talent out there. As for the teams in the West being better than the Pens, take a look at the stats in East and West. Anaheim was the fourth seed in the West, tied with the Penguins in points and that was with having Neidermeyer and Selanne out for more than half the season. I don't like either teams in the finals, but I hope the Wings win just to slam it in the leagues face in hopes they can get the game back on track.

Chris Posted
(2009-04-30 06:19:51)

I would not call this a "great finals" or as Barry Melrose tried to seell it being the "dream matchup". Gary Bettman finally got what he wanted, Crosby in the Finals. that's great, so now when the ratings go from that super 0.7 to 0.8 on Versus and NBC, Gary can come out and say the NHL has such a great game. it's sad when the NHL has to be the only major sport that is STILL trying to sell itself.

Brian Posted
(2009-04-30 06:19:49)

I've watched most of the playoff games this year (hooray!) and it's clear that Detroit by far has faced the tougher opponents. While the Pens do have an edge in goal, Holmstrom negates that edge. The Pens have three great centers, but Detroit is deeper all around. The Pens have not faced anything as fearsome as Detroit and their confidence could be shattered in the first game. Watch in that first game how gunshy the Pens defense gets when they start getting burned by those insanely quick Wings forecheckers. I'd be genuinely surprised if the Pens win more than one. I strongly disagree with you. Wings in FIVE

Joe Willix Posted
(2009-04-30 06:19:46)

I'm not bemoaning the Pens' ability to draft, Travis. I'm saying they don't get Crosby, they don't "guarantee" the club's success, they don't get a deal, and the Pens waddle (cuz Penguins don't fly) out of town. The next impact player that year was Jack Johnson, and he's not keeping the Pens in Pittsburgh. There was not a single player on that list as valuable to their team (with maybe the exception of Carey Price) as Crosby was, and with no future superstar there was no way they could continue there, "hockeytown" or not.

derek sanderson's moustache Posted
(2009-04-30 06:19:45)

Joe Willix, you have no clue. The team had problems for one reason, and one reason only--MONEY. Howard Baldwin's inept ownership, and the deceitfulness of local politcians regarding a new arena severely crippled the financial situation. Mario only tried to sell when moving the team seemed to be the only option.The fan base has always been here. Only in Toronto do sellouts come to see a horrible hockey team. Spare us the conspiracy nonsense, you have beaten that horse to death.