hockey notes

Stanley Cup Final Luck played a factor in yesterday's result, writes Mitch Albom. With Game 2 tonight, Albom believes the Penguins saw many signs that gave them confidence heading into Sunday night. Last night had to be frustrating for Pittsburgh, explains Bob Wojnowski. Dave Dye says Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't as sharp as Chris Osgood. Jonathan Ericsson probably wouldn't have played had this been a regular season game. The Penguins probably deserved to win on Saturday but a few bad bounces led to a Game 1 loss, writes Dave Molinari. Pittsburgh needs to be a lot better in the face-off circle. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma made sure to reinforce to his team that they should not be in awe of the high-powered Red Wings. In a rare appearance, Mario Lemieux spoke to the media yesterday. (Writer's note: Mario looks like he can still play.) The Penguins' fans sure travel well. Teams that are not in the playoffs Terry Frei says that Avalanche coach Tony Granato would be fighting a losing battle if he coached the team next season. Damien Cox likes the fact that the game can take some of the spotlight away from the NHL's off-ice problems. Gary Bettman wants to see stronger drug testing in the NHL, writes Corey Masisak of the Washington Times. Sunday special articles Fluto Shinzawa subs in for Kevin Paul Dupont in this week's edition of Hockey Notes from the Boston Globe. Bucky Gleason warns the Blackhawks of possible salary cap problems down the road. Larry Brooks says Gary Bettman needs to drop his personal issues with Jim Balsillie and negotiate with him to take the Coyotes to Hamilton. Coyotes situation Gary Bettman addressed the Coyotes situation at his league news conference yesterday. The city of Glendale has seen some hope in the results of the court hearings so far. Chris Chelios is in favor of another team in Ontario. Calder Cup Final Last night, Alex Giroux demonstrated why he was the MVP of the AHL this season, writes Ken Wiebe. Paul Friesen says last night's game had all the action one could have hoped for. "Our pain was self inflicted. We had a number of guys that didn’t bring their A-game," said Moose coach Scott Arniel.

NHL Playoff Morning Papers (Sunday Edition): Bad bounces cost Penguins, some public support for Hamilton and an exciting Game 1 of the Calder Cup