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.

Celebrating their 30th anniversary by engaging well-known filmmakers to create documentaries centered on the last 30 years in sports, ESPN’s ambitious project takes to the air beginning in the fall.
Airing on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET beginning October 6 and running through November 10,the series features notable directors and producers from Hollywood exploring topics ranging from the end of the USFL to the title fight between Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes to the story of the Baltimore Colts Marching Band which continued to march even though the team had moved to Indianapolis. Peter Berg’s film exploring the effects of the shocking trade of Wayne Gretzky from Edmonton to Los Angeles in 1988 will kick off the series Tuesday, Oct. 6.

The Penguins, led by captain Sidney Crosby and such established stars as Conn Smythe winner Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury reached the pinnacle of the hockey world through a memorable season that involved many challenges.

The ultimate level of the sport’s compelling combination of speed, grace, physical mayhem, stick skills and intensity were on full display last night as that band of youngsters, the Penguins, with superstar kids Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and a rookie coach defeated the dominant dynasty of the era, the Red Wings (NHL champs four times in a dozen years) in Detroit 2-1 taking the decisive Game 7 and the 2009 Stanley Cup.

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.

First look is at the forward slot. Sidney Crosby’s 2-goal performance in a game 7 win over Washington is a sign of things to come against Carolina. Hurricanes’ Eric Staal is the club’s career playoff scoring leader with 41 points. This will undoubtedly draw the attention of his brother, Jordan, Pittsburgh’s checking center.

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.

With only Chicago through to the next round after their exciting six game series against Vancouver, all three remaining matchups come down to a seventh game.

Anaheim vs. Detroit

The Red Wings had clinched their last eight playoff series wins with victories on the road and looked to do the dame here, but Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Jonas Hiller made 38 saves as the Ducks beat the Red Wings 2-1 last night to force a decisive Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Scott Niedermayer and Bobby Ryan added assists for the Ducks, who built a two-goal lead in the second period and managed to shut down the Red Wings until Johan Franzen brought Detroit within a goal with 2:25 to play.

Facing elimination, the Ducks returned to the form that carried the team to a league-best 10-2-1 mark in the final weeks of the season, then through a first-round upset of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks.