This And That

It will be the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup final. Who ya got? I said Boston and Anaheim when the playoffs started and I think I said Boston would win so I can't go back now. Vancouver is favoured and for good reason, but Boston will give them a run. The fact the series doesn't start till Wednesday helps Boston recharge the batteries after their seven game run and hurts Vancouver who will have been off for a while. The battle will be between Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo. Both have looked great in thse playoffs and both have looked shaky. I'll also be interested in seeing if Claude Julien puts Zdeno Chara out on the ice against the Sedin line or the Kesler line.
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Hats off to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is a team that will be back and can be considered a Stanley Cup contender for the next few years. All you had to do was take a look at the face of Marty St. Louis last night to see how much losing that game meant as he was in tears during the post-game handshake. I've always been a closet Lightning fan because of guys like St. Louis, Lecavalier and Brad Richards when he was there. If they can get a good young offensive defenceman and a younger goalie, they will be right there. Steve Yzerman will get his name on a Cup again and that is a guarantee.
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I didn't like the fact Boston didn't touch the Wales Trophy last night, but I did like the fact they had a group picture taken. That was different.
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Is it just me or has Zdeno Chara turned it down a little bit since the Max Pacioretty incident. He needs to play with more of an edge and I haven't really seen it.
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What will be bigger in this country? A Canucks Cup win or the return of the NHL to Winnipeg?
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Bill Daly has told a Seattle TV station that the league has looked into the possibility of having a team there. The Seattle Coyotes??? The Seattle Panthers??? What would the Canucks say about that?
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The Jays may have been forced to trade Roy Halladay, but getting Kyle Drabek was worth it. This guy might be another Halladay in the making.
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The Kootenay Ice couldn't get past the host team at the Memorial Cup so it will be Saint John against Missisauga in the final. It should be a good one, but without the WHL champs in it, I don't know if I'll watch.
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Dustin Penner isn't making any friends with his new team. Check out this statement from Kings GM Dean Lombardi.
Dustin is at the crossroads of his career," Kings general manager Dean Lombardi wrote in an e-mail to Sporting News.
"He can choose to use his athletic ability to either become a dominant power forward in the National Hockey League or be a dominant number four hitter for the El Cid Lounge in a men's softball league -- the choice is his."

Not a glowing endorsement.
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I'm starting to get the feeling that this spring/summer is going to resemble last years. Just as I type this, the sound of rain hitting the leaves begins.
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I don't know if there is such a thing as "the parking gods", but I continue to not have a tough time parking in downtown Regina (where parking is an issue) when doing "The Sportscage". I somehow manage to find a spot without much hassle close to the Harvard headquarters. I'm guessing going in mid to late afternoon helps that cause somewhat though because I'm thinking it wouldn't be that way late morning-early afternoon.
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Advice for the day: If you have a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: Take two, and keep away from children.