“Tradition” states that the only trophy one dares touch once the Stanley Cup playoffs begin is Lord Stanley’s Cup itself. To do anything else is said to anger the hockey gods by embracing a lesser achievement and that said gods will be more than happy to allow you to settle for less than the grand prize of hockey if that is the way you want to be.

Last night after the Penguins scored an empty net goal to ice the Eastern Conference Championship, I stood up and declared to my buddy who I was watching the game with that Sidney should skate over to the Prince of Wales Trophy after the game and skate around the ice proudly with it in defiance of “tradition”. Of course I also jokingly suggested that he spike it on the ice and proclaim aloud, “WHO’S NEXT?” Imagine my pleasure when somehow my thoughts were magically read by His Sidness and he defied the gods themselves to try and smite him. He and the team also sent a clear challenge to whomever may win the Western Conference Finals (which will probably be Detroit); do you have the balls to touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl?

Essentially the Penguins have challenged the manhood of the Western Conference Champs who are still to be determined. Perhaps they have even spotted them a few goals by granting the favor of the hockey gods upon either Detroit or Chicago should they stick with the “tradition.” We will have to wait and see.

Last night, the Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in a clean sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals and the record is intact – no team has ever come back from a 4-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The game started like many this spring with the Penguins opposition scoring early on a soft goal. At 1:26 of the first, Staal (10) scored on a wrap around that squeezed under Marc-Andre Fleury’s pad. It gave Carolina fans hope but that was all they had to cheer about as the Penguins rolled the rest of the way with only minor speed bumps put up by a feisty, yet tired, Carolina team.

Fedotenko (6) scored at 8:21 off a Boucher shot pass to the far post that caught Ward way out of the net, a theme for the entire game. Then with 1:29 left in the period, Max Tablot (4) scored off a fluttering pass that Ward half swiped at, bounced off the top of his glove, over his head and landed softly in the net. BLAMO – 2-1 Pens.

Then in the second, Crosby and Guerin stuck. In a reversal of a previous goal where Guerin fed Crosby at the far post in front of ward, it was Guerin’s turn. Guerin popped a puck out of the Pens zone which Crosby picked up. Crosby skated down the wall and had a 1-1 in font of Ward with Guerin following behind him and Kunitz trailing the play in the middle of the ice. Guerin turned on the jets and swept to the far post as Crosby pulled up at the circle to Ward’s right. Crosby flowed the puck over and Ward was not able to move post to post fast enough to stop the dagger from being placed in their hopes for a comeback. Guerin’s goal was his seventh of these playoffs.

Adams (3) added an empty net goal in the final two minutes and it was over and the brooms came out.

Pittsburgh only managed 24 shots on net against Ward which is a far cry from the 40+ they have been putting up. Fleury faced a total of 31 shots including 16 in the second period constantly flashing leather and kicking out a pad to stop pucks fired by the Hurricanes.

Now with the question of who will represent the East settled, the question of who will represent the West remains. And if Detroit has the wherewithal to end the hopes of the Blackhawks tonight will the NHL courageously move the Finals up to this weekend as my sources in the NHL tell me they are considering?

Yesterday Chicago not only looked defeated, but played like a defeated hockey club racking up senseless penalties and allowing Detroit to pretty much have their way with them up and down the ice. All in all the Hawks took 16 penalties including three game misconducts as they self-destructed in front of the home crowd.

Now with the Redwings up 3-1 in the series and Pittsburgh up 3-0 over Carolina, both teams look to be on the verge of a rematch. When was the last time that happened? I think it was 76-77 and 77-78 when the Canadiens beat the Bruins in consecutive years.

However comebacks do happen. Although from what I saw out of Chicago, it would be more than a miracle for them to rise up and win the series which would spoil a rematch. More likely, yet still improbable, is for Carolina to find itself and beat the Penguins. But the odds favor another show down between Detriot and Pittsburgh.

Chicago saw Detroit erase a 3-0 deficit at the end of the second period with three goals in the final six minutes of the period. But it was Patrick Sharp (7) that won the game for the Blackhawks just 1:52 into overtime after both teams managed only six shots each in the third period and failed to score.

The win makes the series 2-1 Detroit instead of 3-0 which would have been a tall order for Chicago to overcome and it was an outcome that looked in doubt after that second period explosion by Detroit. Chicago pretty much looked like the better team for most of the game except for that late second period lapse but what it proved once again is that you cannot let up when you have Detroit down. However, after Detroit tore down the (Khabi)Bulin Wall again, it was Cristobal Huet that came in and rescued the Hawks.

Both teams go at it again at 3:00 PM on Sunday.

Sharp’s post game interview:

Kunitz had better pay dividends for the Penguins because they gave up a lot in Ryan Whitney to get him. In his first game with the Penguins, Kunitz helped power the Penguins past Chicago by providing a powerful and aggressive presence on the ice netting a goal and an assist playing along with Jordan Staal. With the way those two played together they might still be looking for someone to slap on the wing with Crosby even though Kunitz was supposed to be that man.

The Penguins jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead last night against the Blackhawks on a goal by Jordan Staal (16). A shot by Sarge was not handled well by Huet and Staal roofed the rebound with energy that he has not had since signing his contract extension. The Penguins then went up 2-0 as Kunitz (17) slipped a puck softly under Huet’s pads.

But penalties would be the Penguins nemesis. Late in the first period Tyler Kennedy (who later left the game with illness) took a hooking call and Toews (23) scored his first of three goals on the power play to make it a 2-1 game. Toews would have had four goals on the night had he not batted another power play chance down with what was, despite moans from Blackhawk fans, a clear high stick.

The Penguins regained a two goal cushion in the second after Toews (24) tied the game thanks to goals by Satan (16) and Talbot (9). But in the third, the Penguins went into a shell and let the Blackhawks beat on them with twenty shots. Two of those twenty found the net and tied the game. The Penguins had a golden opportunity to put pressure on Antti who replaced Huet in the third but simply could not.

So into overtime the contest went. The Penguins carrying over a late powerplay set up in the Chicago end 4 on 3. Gonchar came high and had only one man in sight – Evgeni Malkin. Sarge fed him the puck and Geno fired it to the back of the net behind Antti for the win.

The Blackhawks got really lucky last night as the only reason the game was not 4-0 or worse before they scored their first goal was the play of Huet who made some incredible saves on great opportunities by the Penguins who seem to be taking their playoff run seriously. Finally.

The win moved the Penguins record in February to 7-4-1 and their overall record to 31-26-6 (68pts) and still a point out of the playoff race. On Sunday the Penguins face another Western Conference foe in the Dallas Stars in Dallas.

Dallas is 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and are hanging on to eighth spot in the West and will be desperate for a win against the Penguins who are 6-3-1 in their last 10 and trying to get into the playoffs.