Stanley Cup Update: Wings look To Wrap it Up

Despite valiant efforts in games 3 and 4 in Pittsubrgh, the Penguins managed to win only one of their first two games at home and have given the Detroit Red Wings the chance to end the series early in front of the home crowd in HockeyTown USA. The two teams will face off with Lord Stanley's cup in the building tonight at 8 PM EST on NBC.

The Red Wings seem to have all the momentum going into tonight's game after a 2-1victory in a very competitive game 4 at the Igloo. Despite losing the offensive firepower of Tomas Holmstrom, the Wings managed to maintain their style of play by emphasizing strong forechecking and depending even more heavily on a very experienced defensive unit. When called upon, former Isles netminder Chris Osgood stopped just about everything that came his way. With this efficient system in place, the Wings managed to get the goals they needed from Captain Niklas Lidstrom, who tonight could become the first European captain to win the Stanley Cup, and Jiri Hudler. Sidney Crosby and the Pens will need a big bounce-back effort tonight at Joe Louis in order to bring the series back to Pittsburgh.

Be sure to tune in on NBC for tonight's game 5, to keep on checking hockeynightonlongisland.com, and to tune into this weekend's episode of Hockey Night on Long Island this Saturday at 3:30 PM EST.

NHL 2008 Entry Draft Lottery: Drawing to Be Televised Monday

The draft lottery, which will be held at 8 PM EST, is particularly important for the Islanders, who are currently seated among the bottom five teams in the league. Should they still be there when Monday night rolls around, the Isles will have a shot at obtaining the first overall draft pick and almost certainly the highly touted prospect, Steve Stamkos.


This, of course, all depends on how the Islanders do in the few games that remain in the NHL season. Should they lose and fall in the standings, they could potentially better their odds at bringing in Stamkos or at least a higher pick. This, however, would mean losing to the Rangers twice and propelling them to the clinching of a playoff birth. So, the home-and-home against the Rangers, regardless of the outcome, will most likely be a bittersweet one for Islanders fans to watch.

Regardless of how the Isles fare in their final few games, it is certain that Monday night will be a key night for the future of the franchise. It's extremely exciting that the NHL is taking the step to televise the lottery and I'm sure every Isles fan will be watching closely on Monday Night.

Be sure to tune into this Saturday's episode of Hockey Night on Long Island as hosts Alex and Steve will undoubtedly devote plenty of coverage to Monday night's lottery and much more Isles talk.

For the full announcement from the NHL and info on the Lottery system, click here