I believe there are scheduling conflicts at the arenas — I think Mellon has a few concerts going on there which are spacing out the dates, and didn’t allow the weekend scheduling to work.

I’m willing to bet that, with these economic times, arenas are now more likely to move around the schedules of their teams to accommodate concerts and other events to get more revenue. They see this as an opportunity for more cash, because the games will be played in their arenas regardless of the delay between them.

It took the Wings seven games to beat the Ducks (and that Cleary goal was to say the least “iffy” so it probably should have gone to the “who knows” territory of OT), and they just barely did that. The Hawks will just speed and desire them to death. The Wings are a tired team with lots of talent and experience and, I think, an injured Pavel Datsyuk. The Hawks are a rested young team with speed and talent to burn — and are they ever on a roll. Never underestimate momentum, and always choose the team that just won’t quit. Go Hawks! As for the other series, Crosby just isn’t going to be denied and the clock will strike midnight on the Cinderella ’Canes. So there you go: Pens vs Hawks. Enjoy, Afino.