Per popular request, just about all of Mike Lange's calls from Game 5:

Courtesy: Penguins Playoff Video Blog.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Playoff Stuff

Eastern Conference

Penguins-Flyers

-The Penguins aren't all that familiar with the Red Wings.

-Sergei Gonchar has Nicklas Lidstrom in his playoff pool or something.

-Video of Sidney Crosby and Michel Therrien talking about the Red Wings.

-How much money do the Penguins make per home playoff game?

-Tickets for Games 3 and 4 go on sale today.

-The Penguins shouldn't take this trip to the final for granted.

-Faceoff-Factor points out the Penguins have come a long way in five years.

-The Sidney Crosby Show has some pretty cool pictures from Game 5.

-The Confluence of the Three Rivers took a look at all the Penguins-Red Wings games since the 2000-01 season.

-Mondesi's House put together a handy guide to Detroit for Penguins fans.

-This is a really bad picture off our camera phone, but we spotted this hanging on the wall in Jimmy Johns on Liberty Ave. downtown. It's Sidney Crosby posing with the restaurant staff:

-The folks working there said the man came in there Monday. Mario Lemieux had a craving for a Bootlegger Club and made Crosby run down town and pick it up. We think.

-EN contributor Eric Politowski filed this video summary of the Eastern Conference final:

-We really don't know what to make of this. Former Nebraska linebacker and ESPN gas bag Trev Alberts, a noted hockey mind if there ever was one, thinks the Penguins will win the Cup:

-The Flyers realize they still have a lot of work to do in order to get to the Stanley Cup final.

-Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren needs to figure out how to deal with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

-What do the Flyers need to address in the offseason?

Western Conference

Red Wings-Stars

-A whopping six fans showed up at Joe Louis Arena to buy tickets for Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup final.

-With the Red Wings and Pistons playing at the same time, Detroit fans have some decisions to make.

-Is the NHL making a mistake going head-to-head with the NBA?

-Detroit is tough.

-Red Wings forward Dallas Drake will be playing in his first career Stanley Cup final.

-Detroit forward Johan Franzen is still dealing with a head injury.

-The Red Wings might have the best grilling Zamboni driver in all of the NHL.

-Detroit coach Mike Babcock isn't taking anything for granted.

-Has anyone seen Red Wings forward Dan Cleary?

-Former Penguins and Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman is backing Detroit.

-This might be the best Tim Cheveldae article you read all day.

-The Stars exceeded expectations this season.

-Dallas coach and former Penguin Dave Tippett is expected to get a contract extension.

-More people in Dallas watched the NBA playoffs than Game 6.

-Stars forward Mike Modano expects to return next season.

AHL

-Deryk Engelland and Nathan Smith each had a goal and an assist for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in a 4-3 win at Portland. The series is tied, 2-2.

-The Penguins put on a nice comeback to claim Game 4.

Non-Playoff Stuff

IIHF World Championships

-Before Russia's 5-4 overtime win against Canada Sunday, Canadian police made the Russian team leave their bus and walk a kilometer to the arena the tournament was being held in.

Northeast Division

-The Bruins signed defenseman Aaron Ward to a contract extension.

Central Division

-With efforts to host an outdoor game at New York falling apart, the odds Chicago could host the next Winter Classic are getting better.

-The Blackhawks signed restricted free agent forwards Adam Burish and Dustin Byfuglien and defenseman James Wisniewski.

Pacific Division

-Today's sign the NHL doesn't get it: The Sharks are raising ticket prices.

-Remember how they had that lockout to maintain cost certainty and keep the sport affordable for fans?

-We don't either.

-Forward Jeremy Roenick will return to San Jose next season.

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DATE WITH DETROIT

Get ready to hed to the Lower Peninsula. Dallas Drake and Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings in a 4-1 win at Dallas last night. The win clinched the Western Conference title for the Red Wings and set up a meeting with the Penguins Stanley Cup final.

PICTURES FROM GAME 5

(Lisa Bohm)

(War Penguin)

(Sal DiPietro)

(Jason Long, from his honeymoon in the Cook Islands. We have absolutely no clue why he's reading a hockey blog on his honeymoon either.)

PEOPLE READ US

We get a lot of letters from loyal EN readers and we should print a lot more of them. We're just really lazy though. That said, we got one following Sunday's win that really struck a chord with us:

"I was glad that you mentioned the 2003-2004 season. I did not go to any games, living in Brazil and everything. But I did listen to pretty much every game that season on Internet radio.

Watching this team go to the Stanley Cup finals (now on Internet video feed!) makes staying up until three-ish in the morning to celebrate an overtime goal against Phoenix (after losing 16 games in a row, or something like that) back in 2003-04 not look silly at all.

I was a proud fan back then, and I am happy, so happy right now. We'll be together on the Stanley Cup finals. Keep up the good work and thanks for the great fun I have reading your blog.

Luiz Mello, Vitoria, Brazil

EN-Yeah, sending us praise is always a good way to have your letter posted, but also telling us you were awake in Brazil at 3 a.m. to listen to that 4-3 overtime win against the Coyotes that snapped an 18-game losing streak Feb. 25, 2004 is an even better way.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Playoff Stuff

Eastern Conference

Penguins-Flyers

-If the phrases "Jarkko Ruutu" and "anti-aircraft gun" don't entice you to click this link, nothing ever will.

-If the Penguins are going to win the Cup, now is the time to do it.

-Ron Cook says free agent defections won't hurt the Penguins.

-Who should be the Penguins' top priority with free agents? Vote on it here.

-People are buying Penguins stuff.

-Remember "The Rant?"

-Ryan Malone is following in his father's footsteps.

-Nothing is optional with Sidney Crosby.

-Crosby's beard is still pretty weak.

-Remember that "Hossa! Hossa! Hossa!" song we posted the other day? The Pensblog has the lowdown on who sings it.

-The Flyers need to get faster on defense.

-Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News says the Penguins aren't used to the defense a team like Detroit has.

-Check out this pretty good video about the Penguins' playoff run set to "The Adventure" by Angels and Airwaves:

-From the "Not A Good Sign Files" former Penguins punching bag Kelly Buchberger getting the tar beat out of him by Red Wings enforcer Darren McCarty in the 2003-04 season:

Western Conference

Red Wings-Stars

-Detroit will play in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2002.

-A special season didn't end in a very special way for the Stars.

-An early barrage by Detroit led to a win.

-Stars captain Brenden Morrow showed why he has a "C" on his chest.

-After the game, the Stars revealed Morrow had been dealing with leg and shoulder injuries while defenseman Mattias Norstrom was suffering from a sports hernia.

-Detroit forward Dallas Drake is happy he didn't retire.

-Even if they go off his face, Kris Draper doesn't care how he gets pucks into the net.

-Draper actually damaged some teeth scoring the game's first goal.

-The Stars had several players emerge for them this posteason.

-Dallas has a few free agency issues to address in the offseason.

-2008 looked a lot like 1998 for the Stars.

-If Detroit wants to win the Cup, they need to score goals any way possible.

-The Red Wings regained their composure.

-Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press says the Red Wings are back where they belong.

-If you love hockey, the Penguins-Red Wings matchup is for you.

-Red Wings forward Johan Franzen is still dealing with a head injury.

-Vegas is favoring the Red Wings in the final.

AHL

-The top line for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins has been shutout by Portland so far.

Non-Playoff Stuff

IIHF World Championships

-Greatest YouTube Find of The Day: The Russians in the locker room celebrating their win in the World Championships:

(Call us crazy, but any video with a bunch of drunk, sweaty Russians screaming and blasting everything from techno to what we suspect is Ragtime is alright with us.)

-Don't get on the bad side of Thrashers and Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk's mom.

Penguins

-The Penguins signed 2007 first-round draft pick Keven Veilleux.

-Trouvaille aleatoire de YouTube du jour: The RDS broadcast of Marc-Andre Fleury getting drafted in 2003:

-The audio is a little scratchy, but check out this video of former Penguins general manger Craig Patrick's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Northeast Division

-Canadiens forward and former Penguin Alex Kovalev even moonwalks on a soccer field:

Smythe Division

-Random YouTube Find of the Day: This is a video of Stars forward Mike Modano getting clobbered by former Rangers forward Mark Messier. At the 1:18 mark, Modano can be seen being carried into an ambulance via a stretcher. The paramedics actually dropped the stretcher with Modano strapped to it and he landed on his side:

-That's like something out of a bad movie.

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