10 things to think about heading into the 2008 NHL Conference finals…

1. The readers' poll on Canoe yesterday asked, "Who will you cheer for now that no Canadian-based team remains in the playoffs?" Fifty-eight per cent (as of our last check) had selected the Pittsburgh Penguins. Like Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa fans, they will be disappointed. If not in May, certainly in June.

2. When Brenden Morrow scored the winning goal at the 9:03 mark of the fourth overtime period early on Monday morning, it was quite appropriate. Morrow was the best player in the series and definitely the best player on the ice Sunday night/Monday morning.

3.  A piece in Sun Media by Toronto-based Mike Zeisberger suggested that in the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia Eastern Conference final "there will be blood." Perhaps that's true and if it is, the only blood shed will be Pittsburgh's. Had the Rangers played as tough in Games 1,2, 3 and 5 as they did in Game 4, they might have beaten the Penguins. Pittsburgh will back off and if the Flyers sense it, that collection of grinders and bangers will go straight for the jugular.

4. As we mentioned yesterday here at the RCSBlog, Pittsburgh's Ray Shero deserves a lot of credit for making the necessary moves to acquire Marian Hossa at the trade deadline. Hossa has clearly paid dividends in the post-season and would make a great Penguin forward for the next three or four seasons. However, the Pens have to think about the future and according to the team's director of hockey administration, Jason Botterill, the priority is to get Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin signed to long-term deals. According to the NHL Players Association, the salary cap will grow to about $57 million for 2008-09. It's still not enough to sign Crosby, Staal, Malkin AND Hossa and have a supporting cast that can continue to lead the Penguins as far as, say, a Conference final. Watch for the Montreal Canadiens to make a concerted effort to sign Hossa this summer. Unrestricted free agent, Michael Ryder, is as good as gone from Montreal and Hossa will be Bob Gainey's prime target.

5. Let's go back to Brenden Morrow's performance on Sunday night/Monday morning. Granted, the game was 129 minutes and three seconds long, but Morrow played 51 minutes. He not only scored the winning goal, but he had seven shots and get this — 19 hits! Who has 19 hits in a hockey game? No matter how long it is.

6. Let's go back to Rangers' head coach, Tom Renney, for a second. He should be fired for not dressing Colton Orr in Game 5. Just the thought that Orr could goon up Crosby or Malkin changed everything in Game 4 (won 3-0 by the Rangers). When he wasn't around for Game 5, the Penguins had nothing to fear.

7. Remember when Ottawa Senators head coach Bryan Murray accused the Penguins of throwing their final game of the season in order to play Ottawa instead of Philadelphia in the first round? Guess it doesn't matter now.

8. Great news for an old friend yesterday. The Vancouver Canucks announced that Laurence Gilman has joined the Canucks as the team's  Director of Hockey Administration. Gilman a Winnipegger, joins the Canucks after spending 13 years in the Phoenix Coyotes and Winnipeg Jets organizations. He had many jobs during that time including, most recently, as the club’s Senior Vice President & Assistant General Manager for five seasons. In addition, Gilman served as general manager of the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Gilman, who is 43, graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 1991. 

9. Guess Ron Wilson's in trouble in San Jose. In fact, he might not be the Sharks head coach by the first day of the NHL entry draft. Wilson is terrific when he's winning, but a complete pain in the ass when he's not. Back in 1998, when Wilson coached the Washington Capitals, he was doing what he always did — using the post-game news conference to let the media know that he knew everything about the game and the rest of us knew nothing. After the news conference, Kevin Allen of USA Today told no one in particular, "Am I ever glad I got to cover hockey before Ron Wilson invented it." 

10. If they want — if they really care enough — the Detroit Red Wings will play eight more games and then raise the Stanley Cup.