The Curtain is Almost Closed

Vol. I, No. 82

At around 10pm this evening, Philadelphia's Wachovia Center will be the site of delirium.  The Stanley Cup is in the building.  The hockey world is watching.

The home team can prolong its season by one more game, with a win. If they do that, the fans of this #7 Eastern Conference seed will be delirious. They'll anticipate one more game, to see if the Flyers can bring the Stanley Cup home from Chicago on Friday night.

If Philadelphia loses on home ice, the Chicago Black Hawks will be delirious, skating with the Stanley Cup after a 49-year drought.  They'll take the Cup back to Chicago and the 2010 hockey season will be done. Well, almost.

The AHL Calder Cup finals are still in progress. The Texas Stars lead the Hershey Bears 2-1 in the series, after winning two games in Hershey.  The Bears won a game in Texas on Monday night.  Game four is scheduled tonight in Texas.  So far, the road team has won every game - just the opposite of the NHL Cup finals.

So here's a prediction.  Tonight, one road team will win and one home team will win.  If the road team wins in the NHL Philadelphia game, THE Cup gets skated.  It's also possible that the other Pennsylvania team could win away, in which case Hershey will even its series at 2-2. Will both Pennsylvania teams lose tonight?  Fans in Chicago and Texas are sure hoping so.

And after Lord Stanley appears, the curtain on Hockey 2010 still remains open a crack.

The AHL Calder Cup will be awarded sometime between June 11 and June 16, if the series goes a full seven games.  And after that comes the NHL Awards Ceremony on June 23rd in Las Vegas.  And then, the Entry Draft on June 25-26th, in Las Vegas.

On June 27th, the curtain closes for a couple of months, and then it's back to training camps in September. When Labor Day arrives, it will be a good season for hockey 2011.

Hockey Rules.