Observations from tonight's series clinching victory from the Joe:

* If Darren Helm isn't quickly becoming everyone's favourite Detroit Red Wing, I'd be surprised. He is the kind of player a blue-collar town like Detroit loves. Forget about the overtime winner which was just icing on the cake. He led the team with 12 hits tonight, seven more than anyone else on the ice. He received a standing ovation while killing a penalty during the 2nd period by holding onto the puck for an extended period of time and then almost scoring. Mike Babcock described him perfectly in his post-game press conference as the "Energizer Bunny".

* Big game by Brett Lebda, stepping up in the absence of Nicklas Lidstrom and Jonathan Ericsson. Over 25 minutes played, 2 assists. It's players like Lebda that are littered throughout Detroit's roster that are often overlooked but are more than capable of stepping up into the spotlight if needed.

* Marian Hossa was an absolute beast tonight! If his performances in Games 4 and 5 are any indication of what we can expect out of him in the Finals vs. his former mates, Pittsburgh's D could be in trouble. He was all over the place tonight and suddenly everyone seems to have forgotten his struggles offensively throughout the postseason.

* Chicago has to head into the off-season disappointed, but excited about their future. Despite not putting together a full 60 minutes during this entire series, they were extremely competitive in all 3 road games in Detroit. Their young superstars still need to grow, but this playoff run will be a huge benefit if this young group of talented players are able to learn from this experience down the road.

* Whereas Sidney Crosby practically groped the Prince of Wales Trophy Tuesday night in Raleigh, Henrik Zetterberg avoided the Clarence Campbell Bowl like it was the plague. Gotta love superstitious hockey players! Nevertheless, Coach Dan Bylsma made a valid point Tuesday night following his team's victory. Some teams touch the trophy and go on to win. Some teams have not touched the trophy and lost. In the end, it is the teams on the ice that will determine who wins the Stanely Cup.


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This is purely speculation on my part, but I think Nicklas Lidstrom may be more injured than the Wings are letting on. I find it odd that Datsyuk's injury was disclosed from the outset, whereas Lidstrom's injury has not been specified aside from the infamous "lower-body" injury.

Apparently, Datsyuk skated for about 20 minutes on Wednesday in a track suit, while Lidstrom rode the bike. Based on this, you could conclude Lidstrom's injury might actually be an upper body ailment.

Regardless, when you consider Babcock's prior playoff injury claims, I might be on to something. Kris Draper was only supposed to miss the first 2 games of the playoffs vs. Columbus and did not return to the lineup until Game 7 vs. Anaheim.

I'm not saying that Babcock is lying to the media......but for Lidstrom to miss a pivotal playoff game when only up 2-1 in a series, it is likely pretty substantial.

And despite skating briefly, I'm not sold that Datsyuk is anywhere near 100%, even if he does return this weekend.

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Chris Chelios provided a solid contribution playing over 10 minutes and showing a flash of the "1986" Chelios with a end to end rush resulting in a scoring chance early in overtime.

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Jonathan Ericsson was a surprise scratch to the members of the media at the Joe shortly before the start of the game. However, apparently Ericsson left the arena this morning shortly after the morning skate complaining of abdominal pain. After having successful surgery for acute appendicitis, Ericsson is expected to return to the lineup in time for Game 1 Saturday night.

As a reference, Andreas Lilja had a similar situation arise earlier in the season and he missed two games.

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My Stanley Cup series preview will be posted by Friday morning. This upcoming series is the first Stanley Cup rematch since 1983-84 when the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders faced each other in back to back years. The veteran Islanders won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup in 1983, while the young, exciting Oilers won their first Cup in 1984, stopping the Isles "Drive For Five".

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Here is the schedule for the Stanley Cup Finals

Game 1: Saturday, May 30 Pittsburgh at Detroit 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS
Game 2: Sunday, May 31 Pittsburgh at Detroit TBD evening NBC, CBC, RDS
Game 3: Tuesday, June 2 Detroit at Pittsburgh 8 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Game 4: Thursday, June 4 Detroit at Pittsburgh 8 p.m. VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Game 5*: Saturday, June 6 Pittsburgh at Detroit 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS
Game 6*: Tuesday, June 9 Detroit at Pittsburgh 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS
Game 7*: Friday, June 12 Pittsburgh at Detroit 8 p.m. NBC, CBC, RDS


mark.spizzirri@hockeybuzz.com