2008 STANLEY CUP FINALS- GAME 5 NOTES

Notes….. Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom is expected to be in the line-up tonight after missing Game 4 on Saturday with a lower-body injury….. Wings goaltender Chris Osgood is 13-3 with a 1.45 Goals Against Average and three shutouts since relieving Dominik Hasek back in Round 1 against the Nashville Predators….. It has been 66 years since an NHL team has come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the Stanley Cup (1942 Toronto Maple Leafs)….. According to Cbc.ca and Stubhub.com, Game 5 tickets are an extremely hot ticket, ranging from $624 US (standing-room only) to $4,400 US (ice-level)…..Hockey writer Dan Rosen reported earlier today that Pens forward Jordan Staal is expected to be in the line-up tonight. Staal took a hard shot off his foot in Game 4 and had noticeable swelling on Saturday night….. The Red Wings are 9-1 at the Joe Louis Arena during the 2008 Playoffs…..Darren Helm, the 21-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba would be the youngest player on the Wings to have his name engraved on Lord Stanley’s Mug should they win….. Chris Chelios, who has been a healthy scratch for all five games of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals is the oldest player in this series at 46 years old….. Darren McCarty is looking for his 4th Stanley Cup Championship tonight (’97, ’98’, ’02). McCarty is an intriguing storyline as the hard-nosed grinder went from declaring bankruptcy and drug rehabilitation only a few years ago to working his way back into the NHL….

For Illegal Curve, I’m Ezra Ginsburg.