Tomas Holmstrom has made a miracle recovery — his hamstring is better and he is set to take part in tonights game. For a while we were getting lead to believe he might even be done for the series, but no such luck for the Penguins because every goalies nightmare will be back infront of the blue-paint tonight wearing Red and White.

It has been two days off for the players in this cup finals and although it has been a much needed rest for most of them before they go into battle again tonight it is a huge break for us the fans. Yep, getting used to this game-every-other-day routine means a two day break is like an off season!! Talking about off seasons should Detroit win the next two games we will indeed be heading into a four month non-hockey hell called Summer. Ok so that is a little over the top but although I want to the Wings to win out in the end I want them to do so in seven games and so tonight I have to make it my duty to cheer for the Penguins. Primarily I am a neutral and I am looking for entertaining hockey and so I want it to go the distance.

Anyway, tonight they are back at it at 12.30 a.m. UK time so another late night is set — but thankfully it’s a Saturday night and I can spend the Sunday in my bed making up for lost sleep and potential upcoming lost sleep during next week as the series goes into it’s 5th, 6th and hopefully 7th games.

Get ready people — this series is only getting going.

The hockey world was rocked this evening with the tragic news that 21-year old Vancouver Canucks defenceman Luc Bourdon was killed in a Motorcycle accident in New Brunswick, Canada.

This is absolutely tragic news for the hockey community, for the Vancouver Canucks and especially for the family of Luc. At just 21, Luc was seen as one of the most talented young defensemen in the N.H.L. and this past season was his break through year as he played 27-games with the Canucks. Luc was a winner of two World Junior Championships with Canada as well as a Memorial Cup with Moncton Wildcats.

Luc was such a talented player on the fringe of what was expected to be a long long career in the N.H.L. Something like this just reminds you how quickly things can all change.

For me personally this is a real shame and hard to believe. Only two-weeks there was the death of Robert Dunlop in practice for the NW200 motorbike race and so it is tragic to hear of another motorcycle accident, even in different circumstances.

Without a doubt this has cast a shadow over the 2008 Playoffs right now.

My thoughts go out to Luc, his family and friends at this difficult time.

I haven’t seen any of last nights game three yet but I’ve read the reports and I’ve seen the score. I fell asleep shortly after midnight and a short time before the game started. I woke up with the T.V. still blaring arond 3 a.m. with the game in the third period, Pittsburgh were leading 2-1. In the end they won out 3-2 and have found themselves back in the hunt for the Stanley Cup victory. Sidney Crosby got two of the goals and showed why he is the captain of the team.

It was a must win game for the Pens . . . What could have been a 3-0 defecit is now a 2-1 series score with the next game in Pittsburgh. Should the Pens win that it will be a 3 game series with two games in Detroit. Pittsburgh will have gained some confidence from the win and it will have settled the nerves. Should they win game four then the momentum may well shift in their favour for the final three games. They as well as Detroit must treat it as a game seven – neither want to lose this one and give the other a huge edge.

The cup finals have just got interesting.

A story on TSN.ca today as a preview to tonight’s game has suggested that the Penguins — desperate to get out of a two-nil, no goals scored hole — may put Malkin and Crosby on the same line. It’s not like they have never played together before but it would be a first for the playoffs 5-on-5. They have taken a few shifts together but not not played regularly together I must point out. I guess the Pens have nothing to lose as they play for the first time in the finals at home. It’s virtually a must win game for the Penguins if they want to have any chance and should they come back from the 2-0 defecit they will be only the second team to do it in cup finals history.

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Not the win for Detroit . . . Not them taking a two-nil series lead . . . But the fact they shut out the offensive Penguins in both games. It is the first time the Pens have been shutout in back-to-back games while Sidney Crosby has been at the team. Now they must find a way to rally, regain confidence, re-discover their scoring touch and get the series back on track. That starts tomorrow night in Pittsburgh were the Pens will have to get it into their head that if they can win two at home — just like Detroit did — then it’s a three game series and they are right back in it.

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As the Wings and Pens get ready to go for game two of the Stanley Cup finals, in what many are predicting will be one of the best cup finals in recent years, I came across this really neat article which compares this final to that of 1983 when the Islanders won their forth Stanley Cup in a row with a win over the Oilers. The Oilers who were swept in ‘83 went on to get revenge the following year setting up a dynasty of their own.

The article compares the youthful Pens to the youthful Oilers of ‘83 and how they had to ‘learn to lose’ before going all the way. Could this be a repeat case? Maybe so. The article tells how the Islanders won game one of that series 2-0. In this series the Pens were also shutout but by a greater margin, 4-0.

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