I can't say I was in much of hurry to get this recap posted, but I know I've got to get it done. So here it is.

First and foremost you have to give the Detroit Red Wings their incredibly deserved due. They were the best team in the regular season. They recovered from an early hiccup in the first round against the Nashville Predators and played solid in front of Osgood, who came in to replace Domink Hasek. The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the Stanley Cup Finals the most dynamic offense in the league, and the talented Red Wings defense were able to shut them down. It's painfully tough to swallow, but they have earned it, the Detroit Red Wings are the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions.

As for the Penguins, they could have given up after the Wings shut them out in both games 1 and 2. But they battled back. Games 3 and 4 were hard fought, and entertaining games. Down 3-1 in the series and facing elimination the Penguins came back to win one of the most exciting games in the history of the Stanley Cup, tying it in under a minute, and winning it in the 3rd OT. The Penguins even took Game 6 down to the wire, pulling within one late in the 3rd and having multiple scoring opportunities in the final moments of the game.

In the end it was their performance in games 1 and 2 that did the Penguins in, but they showed what kind of team they were battling back. They have a talented young roster and should remain a Cup contender years down the line. The consensus says they will not be able to resign trade deadline acquisition Marian Hossa, but General Manager Ray Shero will remain busy through the off season trying to resign the other Penguins free agents [including: Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Pascal Dupuis, Brooks Orpik, and Ty Conklin].

All in all, it's been an incredible season, both for my Pittsburgh Penguins, and for the NHL on the whole. Both have showed growth over the past 8 months and hold incredible potential for the 2008-09 season.

But just because the season is now officially over, it doesn't mean Every Facet of the Game will fall silent. In a couple weeks we'll once again be back to the place where it all really starts, the NHL Entry Draft. Then one of my favorite holidays of the year, the 1st of July, free agency begins. And before you know it, in [if my count is correct] only 3 months, 4 weeks, and one day, the NHL will drop the puck on the 08-09 season with the Penguins and Senators in Sweden.

Until then I've got the Pirates [sigh].

Every Facet of the Game will be over at Greg Wyshynski's "Puck Daddy" along with a panel of bloggers and commentators for a live game blog of the Red Wings in Pittsburgh for game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The NHL Stanley Cup Finals is a match-up between the two titans in hockey right now, with the series almost being to close to call. However, while Every Facet of the Game could be considered a biased source [currently wearing Crosby jersey], I'm calling for Penguins to take Lord Stanley's Cup in front of the home crowd in Game 6.

Facing the paradox of Gary Bettman being either an bumbling idiot that couldn't successfully set up a game of Mouse Trap, or the evil mastermind hell bent on having the Pittsburgh Penguins' names etched onto Lord Stanley, Every Facet of the Game comes to the logical conclusion, the fix is in.

What better way to celebrate the end of week that was devoted entirely to finishing the semester then an impromptu live game blog? San Jose at home looking to stay alive against the Stars. Let the madness begin.

I'm sure not all of the Washington Capitals fans are classless idiots. But each and every team has their fair share. A handful of Canadien fans last night showed that even our friendly neighbors from the north have a few that get out of hand after they themselves have had a few. And in DC tonight following Joffrey Lupul's series winning overtime goal the hometown fans were somewhat discontent. Looking to channel this discontent into something positive, they littered their home ice with trash and beer bottles. Apparently they aren't big Earth Day fans.

During a post-game interview Philadelphia Flyer Jeff Carter became the target of one of these upright citizens. I'm sure someone else will get a decent copy of the video up, but for now all I've got for you is this. A masterpiece shot from my Treo camcorder and uploaded to the very sketchy Blogger video. [edit: youtube is much better]

- video -

Often I say no one hates the Flyers more than myself. I've personally sat in the Wachovia Center and received the verbal barbs of the Philadelphia faithful. But it guess it's apparent that while no one wants to see the Flyers lose as much as myself, there are plenty of idiots out there that harbor ill will that I simply can't match.

Everything being said, and assuming that this guy was at least somewhat sauced, you have to admit it's a pretty impressive shot. If the Wizards could shoot like that they probably wouldn't get bounced from the first round of the playoffs as well.

I've kept to my word a put together a nice little graphic to compare the playoff picks from a handful of places. The other blogs are, of course, Barry Melrose Rocks and Going Five Hole. Then I threw up the picks of the almighty James Mirtle, ESPN's mullet wearing Barry Melrose, and John Buccigross. I think I'll probably add a few more in the future. I wanted to get The Pens Blog picks up here, but all their contributors made different picks and I don't think they picked the amount of games. Either way, I figure I'll get around to tracking down some more picks*, suggestions are welcome.

Matched up against the commentators and bloggers, in a real battle of man versus machine, is the official EA Sports NHL '08 simulations. This is the real test, the day a robot predicts the playoffs more accurately than our favorite hockey media figures is the day the robot invasion officially begins. That's reserved for cute fuzzy monkeys.

* Because were all dying to know who a bunch of guys who have been fired from their NHL jobs think about the first round match-ups.

February brings a lot of things for a lot of different people. Some are openly prepared to severely overrate the weather forecasting abilities of a groundhog. Others will spend entirely too much on candies and cards to celebrate a Hallmark holiday. But for the select few that call themselves general managers in the National Hockey League, February means trade deadline rumors.

Join Every Facet of the Game as we explore the names being thrown around this trade deadline.

I can't even believe that I'm going to write this next sentence. But according to New Jersey Devils Travis Zajac, Derian Hatcher of the Philadelphia Flyers bite Zajac's finger during a scrum in front of the net last night.

Pittsburgh Penguin's irritant Jarko Ruutu and the Toronto Maple Leafs Darcy Tucker went a couple rounds in this evenings game. Now a certain poorly dressed ignorant Canadian broadcaster can shut his trap. The good news for him is that he can now allot further time to complaining about the instigator penalty, Andrew Ference's environmentally conscious lifestyle, players who wear visors, or just pimping Quizno's.

The holidays can be tough on some people. It can be a very stressful time with all the running around, chaotic shopping crowds, and inclement weather. Thankfully for the struggling Chicago Bulls head coach Scott Skiles, he'll have plenty of off time to recoup. Off to a dismal 9-16 start the Bulls have fired Skiles, with no replacement in the wings.

In their final game before the Christmas break the Penguins put together a victory, beating the Boston Bruins at home 4-2. It was a milestone night, as the Penguins sold out their record 31st straight game at the Mellon Arena, Sergei Gonchar picked up his 400th career assist, and Georges Laraque's 50th career goal turned out to be the game winner.

In another notable suspension handed down from the NHL league office, New York Islanders Chris Simon has found himself with a some mandated time off around the holidays, and a good deal after that. Simon, who already has a storied history with the leagues disciplinary committee, received a 30 game suspension for a stomping incident that occurred Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Cheating is all the rage in sports recently. Sure, gaining an edge on an opponent has probably always existed, from pitchers doctoring baseballs to bosses stacking inner-office basketball games in their favor. But this year, cheating has been taken to a new level, and as many as 20 Florida State football players are reminding everyone that it need not be defined to the actual realm of sports. It can occur, I don't know, say in an online college class.

According to a report from ESPN.com's Mark Schlabauch, as many as 20 football players at Florida State, as well as student athletes from other sports, will face suspensions following an investigation into a cheating scandal revolving around online courses. If the football players are suspended they can not participate in the teams New Year's Eve Music City Bowl against Kentucky, along with the first 3 games of the 2008 season.

I'm a little caught off guard about this, because before now I just kind of assumed that the players actually did not participate in any classes. In the ol' days I believe they just focused on what's most important, football, and their teachers just passed them on.

I don't know just how much I can add to this story, but I should say that I have some own personal experience in the temptation of academic cheating. Once in first grade during a spelling bee the bonus word was "baseball". Well, being the same obsessive sports fan I am today, only 2 1/2 feet shorter and with a Mario Lemieux poster on my wall (actually who am I kidding, I still have 66 on my wall), I was wearing a baseball t-shirt that had the word "baseball" spelled out clearly on it.

Sadly I must admit I gave in to the temptation and cheated off my apparel, and I still carry the guilt for it to this day.

The aftermath of the Mitchell Report has seen several phases. The initial was directed at the actual names named in the report. Next all eyes turned to the evidence behind the claims. Now all attention is on the actual players. Who is going to step up and admit to performance enhancing drug use? Who will fight the claims of the report?