Sport and Cinema.com

Beginning this weekend two longtime franchises battle for hockey’s greatest prize, as Chicago and Philadelphia square off in the Stanley Cup Final.

Blackhawks vs. Flyers – Two great sports towns, two units with great home-ice advantages, but two teams that can truly play tough in any rink.

Though they took time to warm up, the strength of the Blackhawks Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa eventually eventually found their range.

But in this budding rivalry, Vancouver is capable of putting up points as well, evidenced by the output of Mikael Samuelsson and Daniel Sedin against the Kings.

The 2009 Stanley Cup which begins later today marks the first title rematch since the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders met in 1983 and 1984.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are headed back to the NHL championships, clinching a return trip with a 4-1 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night that finished off a sweep in the Eastern Conference finals.

In hoping to win the Stanley Cup for the fifth time in 12 seasons and to lift the spirits of an especially economically depressed area, Detroit’s tough Game 7 victory over Anaheim sets up an Original Six matchup against the well-rested Chicago squad in the conference finals beginning today at the Motor City’s Joe Louis Arena.

Heading into tonight’s pivotal game 4, Calgary is hoping to buck the odds against them.

The Flames have never won a playoff series trailing 0-2 AND teams holding a two-game lead in NHL playoff series have won a whopping 85+ percent of them in league history.