FanHouse Phillipe Boucher

So the rematch is set: Pittsburgh vs. Detroit. For the first time in 25 years, the same two teams will meet in back-to-back years for the right to fight for Lord Stanley's Cup, and while one of these teams is relatively similar to last year's version (with one big exception) the other is very, very different.

After being knocked out of Friday's game on a controversial hit by Alex Ovechkin, it was pretty much assumed that Sergei Gonchar's season was over. As it turns out, that might have been a premature thought.

According to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Gonchar, perhaps channeling his inner Willis Reed, took part in an optional practice with the Penguins on Tuesday, which would seem to leave open the possibility of him being available for Game 7 Wednesday night in Washington.

After playing just eight minutes in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win on Tuesday night, Petr Sykora is expected to find himself in a suit and tie for game 5, as the Penguins will be welcoming Miroslav Satan back to the lineup according to Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

As we've already pointed out during this series, Sykora has been nonexistent since the beginning of March, and has struggled to produce in interim head coach Dan Bylsma's system. There's also the possibility that he's been playing injured, which also might be a factor in the decision to bench him for Thursday's game.

The hockey blogosphere was on fire earlier this week because of a series of events in Sunday's Pittsburgh-Boston game. During the first period of the Penguins 6-4 win, a few observers noticed that Sidney Crosby played a portion of the game without the protective visor he's worn since he entered the league.

I noticed it was gone for a few shifts -- mainly because the Fox Sports Pittsburgh broadcast pointed it out -- but never really gave it much of a thought. Perhaps I should have.

When the Penguins acquired Hal Gill at last season's trade deadline, I wasn't really a big fan when I heard about the deal. My initial thoughts on Gill were that he was a lumbering oaf that didn't fit into the "new NHL," and, well, because he was constantly the whipping boy for Maple Leafs fans.

As it turns out, one man's trash is another man's treasure, as Gill was fantastic for the Penguins through the playoffs, and has been a rock on the penalty kill.

He left Saturday's game against Ottawa with an injury, and sat out the Penguins' 4-3 loss to Buffalo last night. As it turns out, he's going to miss the next two to four weeks with a shoulder injury, joining the already long list of injured Penguins players.

Pittsburgh has been without its top two defenseman, Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, all season, while the Penguins also lost Phillipe Boucher shortly after acquiring him from Dallas. Starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has missed the past three weeks with a groin injury, while forward Tyler Kennedy is also out with a sprained knee.

Ben Lovejoy was called up from Wilkes-Barre to replace Gill in the lineup, and played 10:37, blocking one shot, in last night's loss.

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After what seems like forever, the NHL gets back on the ice tonight with the start of the Western Conference Finals tonight in Detroit as the Red Wings host the Dallas Stars. The Eastern Conference Final gets in gear tomorrow night for the battle of Pensylvania as the Penguins host the Flyers in Pittsburgh.

I'm not sure anyone is surprised that Detroit and Pittsburgh made it this far, though seeing Dallas and Philadelphia still alive this late in the game has to count as something of a shocker. As you'll see from our panel, while the discussion was nearly unanimous regarding predictions for both series, there were plenty of folks who were hedging their bets.