2009 NHL Western Conference Finals News and Notes

With today an off day for the series here are a few items from the series, including ESPN's E.J. Hradek taking the same stance as myself on Brian Campbell's "I'd do it again" statement.

E.J. Hradek, ESPN.com; The Worldwide Leader hockey columnist is back with another 5 things learned, this time from Game 2. As previously mentioned he touches on "Brain Dead" Campbell as well as Mikael Samuelsson's journey from goat to hero and lineup shake-ups from Detroit head coach Mike Babcock.

Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press; Pavel Datsyuk's sore foot and morning skate line combos highlight this blog post from the Wings beat reporter. I'd find it hard to believe that Pavel doesn't play tomorrow unless his foot has to be amputated.

Ted Kulfan, Detroit News; Jeremy Roenick is at it again. The man known as "Styles", just check his license plate, has once again come down with a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease. This time he bumped his gums in the direction of Detroit bench boss Mike Babcock. Shocking, I know.

Shannon Ryan, Chicago Tribune; Nicknames come in forms and the NHL is filled with them, from "Mr. Hockey" to "The Great One" to "Sid the Kid". But where do these aliases originate? Well its definitely not a cloak and dagger ceremony.

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune; Jon Fratelli never imagined he would pen a sports anthem. But that is what "Chelsea Dagger" has become. Whether it's being played at Celtic Park in Glasgow or at the United Center in Chicago after a Blackhawk goal that is what his song has become.

Neal Rubin, Detroit News; Detroit and Chicago may be the Midwest sporting version of the Hatfield's and the McCoy's but they also go together Jenny and Forest, aka peas and car-rots.