hockey

DETROIT -- It all sounded so hollow at the time, strictly false bravado from a team that looked to be little more than a speed bump on the Detroit Red Wings' way to their Stanley Cup parade.

There is no greater individual honor for a hockey player than to have a "C" stitched onto the front of his jersey, signifying the revered status of team captain.Two of the NHL's best are facing off in the Stanley Cup Finals: Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby.

PITTSBURGH -- This was exactly what the Pittsburgh Penguins had in mind when the most significant ping-pong ball in NHL history bounced their way back in the summer of 2005: Sidney Crosby would grow up in front of our eyes and become a hero in a Stanley Cup playoff game.

DETROIT -- Sidney Crosby hasn't scored a goal since Mother's Day.Evgeni Malkin skates in quicksand.Ryan Malone can't function unless he's under the world's largest formerly retractable stainless steel roof.And that Marian Hossa trade so widely hailed? Did it really happen? I mean, is he here?

The man who coached the Pittsburgh Penguins to their last Stanley Cup championship, Scotty Bowman, was also behind the bench for the Detroit Red Wings' most recent victory, in the spring of 2002.Those championship seasons came a decade apart, proof that even Bowman's teams didn't win every single year. It just seemed that way sometimes.

They have been playing this game for most of their lives, but only a handful ever have experienced anything like this.The passion. The pressure. And, especially, the reward.

PITTSBURGH -- On the ice and off, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is so, so, so ..."Mature," linemate Pascal Dupuis volunteered, helpfully.That will work.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Flyers goalie Martin Biron sank into Game 3 like a septuagenarian descending the steps of the Broad Street Subway at midnight.He was cautious. He was creaky. He was, in those first minutes, more than just a little pathetic.

This NHL postseason has been a major stage, a coming out party so to speak, for Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who is staking his claim to being one of the best players in the world.

Perhaps the Pittsburgh Penguins long ago should have called in the best archeologists. Even as methodical as they are, maybe they could have unearthed Evgeni Malkin's personality a little faster than it has emerged on its own in a new language.