THE WATERCOOLER:
QUESTION: Pittsburgh is at Detroit in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight. Who do you like in the game and which is better: a Game 7 in the NHL, NBA or MLB?

BERNIE MIKLASZ:
Pittsburgh-Detroit: I’d like to make a case for a Pittsburgh upset in Game 7, but Bill Mazeroski doesn’t play hockey. The visiting team hasn’t won Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final since Montreal went into Chicago Stadium to put away the Blackhawks in 1971, and it won’t happen this time. The only possible way I’d see this happening is if Chris Osgood fell apart in goal for Detroit, but in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs he’s 11-1 at home with a .948 save percentage. And Pittsburgh’s Marc Andre-Fleury has had his worst moments of the postseason at Joe Louis Arena; in the first three games there his save percentage is a terrible .857. I just can’t see Detroit’s goaltender or team having the kind of breakdown that would set up a Penguins victory. Pittsburgh’s big stars haven’t showed up so far on the road in this series; Crosby and Malkin have combined for one goal and are a combined minus 6 at The Joe.
Game 7s: As for which sport has the best Game 7 - well, they are all great and lead to intense anticipation, so it comes down to a personal preference. And I’ll take baseball only because of the personal memories that live with me still. And no sport has a richer tradition than baseball.

JEREMY RUTHERFORD:
Pittsburgh-Detroit: I picked Pittsburgh to win the series, and I think a Penguins’ win tonight would be great for the NHL. The league has been bragging about Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Fleury for a couple years, and watching them skate around with the Cup would finally mark a changing of the guard. Having said that, I can’t see Detroit losing Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. Throughout history, home teams are 12-2 in championship games. I am going to stick with Pittsburgh and be pleasantly surprised if they pull it off.
Game 7s: I don’t think there’s a better spectacle than a Game 7 in the NHL. But I have to be honest: I grew up playing baseball in the sandlots. We set up every situation like it was the seventh game of the World Series. Bruce Sutter …. here’s the pitch …. I’ll go with baseball.

JEFF GORDON:
Pittsburgh-Detroit: The Penguins can only hope to create such a game in Motown and take their chances at the end. But the Red Wings will throw four lines of skill at the pedestrian Penguins defense and try to bust this game open. I don’t see this Pens team holding up under that sort of pressure. Only a miraculous game by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury can save them.
Game 7s: The NHL Game 7 is better because one bounce of the puck can decide the championship. If two teams are tied late in the decisive game, every shift — every second of every shift — can be agonizingly tense. The puck can hope over a stick and create the decisive break.

TOM TIMMERMANN:
Pittsburgh-Detroit: When this series began, I said Penguins in 6 after they won one of the first two in Detroit. Well, that didn’t happen, but if they can win Game 7, I’m only off by one game. The odds are certainly against them — home-ice seems to make a difference in this one — but I’m going to stick with the Pens for consistency sake.
Game 7s: I’ve long maintained there is nothing in sports to compare to an NHL postseason overtime. The intensity is constant. An NHL Game 7 is like a 60-minute overtime. Every shift is important. Baseball Game 7’s come one day after Game 6, so there’s less of a buildup, And the pace of NBA games subtracts from the intensity. I’ll take an NHL Game 7.

DERRICK GOOLD:
Pittsburgh-Detroit: Would love to see former St. Louis Blues p.r. man Frank Buonomo and his Pittsburgh Penguins hoist the Cup tonight, but alas it will Chris Osgood and the Detroit Red Things that skate with Stanley tonight. (And thus usher Osgood into the Hall of Fame, perchance?)
Game 7s: I’ve had the fortune to cover Game 7s in baseball and Game 7s in hockey, including several Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Finals. And while I’ll never forget being knocked in the head by the Stanley Cup as they handed it to Ray Bourque for a sip in the dressing room after Game 7 in 2001, the best Game 7s I’ve ever covered and ever attended have been baseball Game 7s. Give me Game 7, bases loaded, rookie closer on the mound, Shea Stadium over Game 7, Detroit undressing Patrick Roy, Joe Louis Arena any day. So naturally when it comes to choosing the best kind of Game 7, I have to side with … well, venue over sport. A Game 7 at old Busch is going to trump a Game 7 at Pepsi Center (sorry, Denver), but something tells me a Game 7 in Montreal would rival a Game 7 at, say, Chase Field. Why no basketball? Because for me even a Game 7 in the NBA cannot hope to rival the intensity of hockey’s velocity or baseball’s tension in a Game 7. Basketball’s got no shot.

RICK HUMMEL:
Pittsburgh-Detroit: Home team has won every game in the NHL series and Pittsburgh hasn’t even come close in Detroit. It will be closer tonight but Detroit wins.
Game 7s: Game Seven in baseball is the best because the crowd isn’t as much of a factor and potential influence on officiating as it can be in hockey and basketball.

DAN O’NEILL:
Pittsburgh-Detroit: I like Pittsburgh tonight. Crosby is due to break out. The Penguins have to avoid a quick start by the Red Wings.
Game 7s: Game 7 in any sport is fabulous theater. I think I would rank Game 7 in an NBA Finals last, unless the St. Louis Hawks are playing the Boston Celtics.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Stanley Cup Finals kick off Saturday night in a repeat of last year’s matchup of the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins. Who are you picking to win it all and why?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
I will go with Pittsburgh in 6 games. I picked the Pens last year, but looking back, they just weren’t ready. They are this season. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will be a difference-maker. Injuries to Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk could also be factors. Sorry Marian Hossa, you should have stayed in the Steel City.

TOM TIMMERMANN
If you had asked me pretty much any day all year who would win the Stanley Cup, I’d have said the Detroit Red Wings. But today, I’m going with the Penguins. They’re a more mature team than a year ago, and they’ll be a lot calmer in the finals than last year. They’ve got Crosby, they’ve got Malkin, who is not disappearing this year, they’ve got Fleury in goal. Detroit is banged up and with Games 1 and 2 back to back, a younger, better-rested team, which is what Pittsburgh is, will have an edge. I think Pittsburgh’s got a shot to snag a win at Joe Louis Arena and that could be the difference in a tight series. And unlike the conference finals, this won’t be a quick series. But it should be a good one.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
Have we heard enough about the Pittsburgh comparison to the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s? I’ve yet to read a story that doesn’t make mention of it.

First off, Detroit is incredible. They have an unfair amount of depth that allows them to execute their style even without some of the best players in the world. They should be getting Lidstrom and Datsyuk back for Game 1 but how effective will they be? Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski are more than capable of picking up the slack. If Detroit continues to score one out of every four chances on the power play it will make things very tough for the Penguins. Whether you like him or not, you have to give props to goaltender Chris Osgood, who is Detroit’s Conn Smythe candidate to date. Most pundits didn’t give this guy a chance and for good reason, his performance during the regular season was dreadful. Somehow Osgood finds magic in Hockeytown. I find it interesting that every player on Detroit has a Stanley Cup ring except for former Penguins Marian Hossa and Ty Conklin.

With all that being said, I think Pittsburgh will win this series and I expect it to go the distance. While Osgood has been great, Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been consistent. Pittsburgh is skilled enough to run and gun with the Wings and should be able to create high quality chances which will make things tough on Osgood. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the best offensive duo in hockey. Their D-men may not have All-Star names on the back of their jerseys but they’ve sacrificed and are very underrated. I spoke to Billy Guerin on Thursday and he told me he’s having the time of his life. It’s only going to get better as the Penguins will win in 7. Crosby takes home the Conn Smythe (MVP).

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Blackhawks ousted the Canucks in the Western Conference semifinals last night with a young team that many thought was a year or two away. “I’m not saying experience is overrated, but the fact is, we’re not just a young team, we’re a good team,” said young star blueliner Duncan Keith. What can the Blues take from watching this series as they head into next year?

BERNIE MIKLASZ:
The Blues need more good players, period. The Blackhawks are ahead of them in the developmental cycle, and this is a reminder that the Blues are still playing catch-up. And let’s not forget that Chicago has more resources and was able to supplement an exceptional youth movement by investing heavily in a couple of free agents. The Blues are on track. Chicago is just farther along. (Bernie has more on this in his blog this morning.)

DAN O’NEILL:
There is a discernible difference between the Blues and Blackhawks in terms of talent, especially on the backline, especially where it impacts offensive transition. The Blues simply did not have defenseman of Duncan Keith’s abilities this season, to use him as an example. The Blackhawks are a step ahead in that regard, but the Blues are getting there.
With their corps of young players, with a talent upgrade on defense, the Blues could be doing what the Blackhawks are doing by next season. Keep in mind St. Louis was 4-1-1 during the regular season against Chicago
So it’s a good news/bad news proposition. The good news is, the Blues can be inspired by what the Blackhawks have accomplished, the bad news is they have to get past the Blackhawks in the years ahead to win a Stanley Cup.

TOM TIMMERMANN:
Add to this that the Penguins were awfully young when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and it shows that youth can go some place in the NHL. I think there’s a difference in that the Blues have youngsters who can score goals while the Penguins and Blackhawks have youngsters who can score more goals. Really good puck moving defensemen are good only when they have players to move the puck too. So there’s reason for Blues fans to be optimistic for next season; turnarounds can come quickly, but it’s also no guarantee. The Blues’ rookies aren’t Crosby, Malkin and Fleury; are they Kane and Toews? We’ll see. But it’s also worth remembering that there exists a team called the Detroit Red Wings. I wouldn’t discount the importance of experience just yet.

JEREMY RUTHERFORD:
Other than learning how to put traffic in front of Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, the Blues won’t learn anything from Chicago’s playoff win over Vancouver they didn’t already know, nor will it give them any more confidence they can win with a young team.
Yes, the Blues and ‘Hawks have been pathetic in recent years. Yes, they have been on similar paths, rebuilding through the draft. Yes, this is the year that both teams believed they could emerge. For those reasons, the teams are rightfully linked together.
But for this season anyway, any other comparisons should be thrown out the window. The Blackhawks didn’t deal with the number of key injuries the Blues dealt with this season. The ‘Hawks had their share of injuries, but nothing like the Blues losing Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald, T.J. Oshie, Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson. If you take Martin Havlat, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell out the Blackhawks’ lineup, they’re not playing in the Western Conference Finals. Even if the Blues had everyone healthy this season, they’re probably not as good as the Blackhawks, but they’re not far off.
Also, keep in mind that the Blues and Blackhawks are both young, but Chicago’s Patrick Kane (No. 1 overall pick in 2007) and Jonathan Toews (No. 3 in 2006) are the cream of the crop. If it weren’t for Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, Kane and Toews would be the face of the NHL. You can’t compare them to guys like Oshie (No. 24 in 2005), Patrik Berglund (No. 25 in 2006) or David Perron (No. 26 in 2007). You can compare Erik Johnson (No. 1 in 2006), but let Johnson get back on the ice.
With Johnson and with the rest of their full deck, the Blues can compete with the Blackhawks.

JEFF GORDON:

The big lesson is to stay the course. The Blackhawks stayed with their young skilled forwards and finally got the payoff. The Blues should resist any temptation to deal any of their high-end kids. These guys melded nicely during a months-long run toward the playoffs. Next spring, Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshe and David Perron will all be better prepared to step up in postseason play. They other key for Chicago was their strong corps of offensive defensemen. That is an element the Blues lacked with Erik Johnson and Eric Brewer and Alex Pietrangelo still developing. The lack of a viable point threat undermined their power play against Vancouver. Expect a different story next spring.