The Lightning's Nikolai Khabibulin shrugged off any significance associated with being the first Russian goaltender to play in a Stanley Cup final.
"I haven't even thought about it," he said. "Our goal is just to win the next series, and if that happens it will be the best thing. It doesn't really matter if I'm the first Russian goalie or the 20th."
Linesman working his final final
Ray Scapinello, 57, a linesman for 33 years, will retire after working his 20th Cup final. Lightning coach John Tortorella called it an end of an era.
"The dedication on the ice and professionalism is going to be missed," Tortorella said. "I want to say this so I don't get in trouble. We have seven games to go here. I just think he treated players with respect, and also controlled the game and his part of the game. And the enthusiasm he brought. He's contagious."
Pep rally today
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio will declare today "Tampa Bay Lightning Day" at a pep rally at 6 p.m. on the plaza at the St. Pete Times Forum. After the rally, there will be a Game 1 viewing party also on the plaza. Both events are free and open to the public.
In Calgary, Kipper's the big fish
In these parts, Habby (that's Khabibulin) has become all the rage. In Calgary, the talk of the town is a goalie called Kipper.
As good as Khabibulin has been in these playoffs, Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff has been just as good.
Khabibulin is 12-4 with a 1.65 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. The Finnish Kiprusoff is 12-7 with a 1.90 GAA and a .930 save percentage. The difference is, everyone in hockey circles had heard of Khabibulin before this season. Few had heard of Kiprusoff, the guy with the big eyes and the crooked smile.
Kiprusoff went 14-21-3 from 2000-03 with the Sharks before being shipped to Calgary, where he had his breakout season. Wrestling the No. 1 job from Roman Turek, Kiprusoff went 24-10-4 during the regular season with a league-best 1.69 GAA.
"I couldn't get a chance really in San Jose, I was just kind of waiting," Kiprusoff said. "Then I got traded and ... things worked out and here I am in the Stanley Cup finals."
Kiprusoff knew the Flames had a chance to make the playoffs, but getting to the final has been a surprise.
"I knew we had a good team," Kiprusoff said. "Now we're enjoying it. This has been fun."
Marty Magic
Calgary's Martin Gelinas is the human four-leaf clover. Seems the teams he lands with often find their way to the final.
Gelinas, 34 next week, played on the 1990 Edmonton Oilers, who won a Cup. That was no surprise because the Oilers were loaded with stars such as Mark Messier and Jari Kurri. But Gelinas was on two teams that made surprise runs to the final: the 1994 Vancouver Canucks and 2002 Carolina Hurricanes. Now here is with the sixth-seeded Flames.
"He's excited about (being in the final)," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "At this stage of his career to get that opportunity again is pretty special. He's the consummate pro."
And the consummate big-game performer. After scoring 17 goals in 76 regular-season games, Gelinas has six in 19 playoff games, including two in overtime. He also has three series-clinching overtime goals in his career.
Gelinas called signing with the Flames before the season "probably the best decision" he made because, in particular, his family is happy in Calgary. And, of course, the Flames are in the final.
"I got a chance to play for the Stanley Cup again," Gelinas said. "Maybe I am getting older and I appreciate it more, but it feels pretty special."
Run-and-gun
In a league full of smothering defenses and neutral-zone traps, this final features teams that prefer an uptempo, offensive style. The hope among many hockey followers is that in the copy-cat NHL, teams will stress offense because of the success of the Lightning and Flames.
"I can't speak for the other coaches, how they want to go about it as far as their team concept is concerned," Tortorella said. "We felt (the offensive) style was the best for our team to win. We feel it's a fun way to play for the players."
Sutter said, "Our teams are both younger teams and a good coach has allowed teams to play with what they have."
Conroy recovers from stunner
Craig Conroy might have been the happiest third-line checker in the whole NHL on March 13, 2001.
The Blues were motoring to another Central Division title a year after winning the Presidents' Trophy and looked like a genuine threat to win the Stanley Cup. Conroy averaged 18 minutes of ice time and had played all 69 games. Then the phone rang.
He'd been traded to Calgary - as in woeful, out of it Calgary - for Cory Stillman, a consistent scorer the Blues thought would be the final piece of the puzzle. (He wasn't, as the Blues lost in the conference final to eventual champ Colorado).
"It was shock," said Conroy, 32, who now centers a line for Jarome Iginla. "First of all, I quickly got on the Internet to see where Calgary was in the playoff standings - and they weren't in. One minute I was on a team that could win it all and the next I'm on an airplane to Columbus. I'm thinking, "What just happened to me?' "
Things didn't seem much better when Conroy got to Columbus to meet his new team. The Flames fired coach Don Hay the day after his trade.
"I'm sitting in my stall in Columbus and then I see the coach go, and I see this team is in turmoil a little bit," Conroy said. "My life is completely upside down."
Greg Gilbert, who coached Conroy in the minors, replaced Hay, and assured the center things could eventually get better if a young team built around defense and Iginla could mature. Though Gilbert was replaced Dec. 28, 2002, by Sutter, the notion was correct.
Conroy is sixth in playoff scoring with five goals and 15 points on a line with Iginla, who tied for the league lead in regular-season goals. After 119 points in parts of three seasons, Stillman was traded to the Lightning in June.
"It's ironic," Conroy said. "Your life goes from what you thought was the worst thing ever, to the best thing ever."
