Puck Snatching Pronger and Flyers Make Series Interesting

Sorry about my hiatus, but Hockey Mom is just getting back into the swing of things after a whirlwind three-day weekend of kids' hockey. My twins were reunited on the same team for this particular tournament after a stress-inducing season of playing on two different travel teams. Their team won their division after battling it out with some very chippy teams from Jersey City and Philadelphia (I know - you're all shocked) - so that was exciting for the boys. My two were a bit chippy in their own right and I think they thought they were the self-appointed "goon squad" for the weekend. Needless to say, HM was not having visions of the Sedins with that attitude....

But they all played really well together so they should be proud of their efforts! It was quite a scene in the city of brotherly love with the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals. HM caught a few minutes of Game 1 in a local Philly establishment filled with some very scary Flyers fans and I fell asleep during Game 2 after being up at 5:30 a.m. for the championship game that day. As you know by now, Game 1 was a high-scoring affair and the Blackhawks seemed to be headed toward the sweep until the Flyers' OT win last night. Claude Giroux earned three points during last night's raucous affair in addition to netting the game winning goal. Maybe bad boy Chris Pronger's puck-swiping antics really did get into the Hawks' heads. The frequent trips to the penalty box by Big Buff - Dustin Byfuglien - certainly didn't help the Hawks' cause. But on a positive note for Chicago, Patrick Kane finally got on the board for the first time in this series with an absolutely lovely snap shot (like the wonder kid wouldn't light the lamp eventually, duh). So these two clubs will battle it out in Game 4 tomorrow night in a hostile Wachovia Center. Maybe I can catch the whole game this time, eh?

Not much going on back here in Caps Land other than George McPhee has made it official that UFAs Joe Corvo and Scott Walker won't be back in Capitals sweaters next season. Personally, I'm sad to see Walker go but surely wish them both well. And some other scuttlebutt regarding possible trade deadline aquisitions (Dear Santa, please bring us a bad-a#% blueliner this year). According to Tarik El Bashir, shot-blocker extraordinaire Anton Volchenkov may not be in the Caps' plans this year. And yes, HM does believe in Santa Claus...