Gary Bettman's Love Affair...

It's become obvious that Gary Bettman has a little man crush on Sid the Kid, and he could never allow the 'face of the NHL' to have back to back Stanley Cup losses on his resume. The question becomes, how far will Gary go to ensure a Pens win?

A fellow Red Wings blogger sums up Gary's Agenda.

Highlights of the article include;

Is Gary Bettman starting the Finals this Saturday, then continuing on Sunday for the first back-to-back since the ‘50s as an intentional means of stifling the Wings?

Not that he’d ever admit and certainly no one could ever prove it. But he very well could have considered, going Saturday, Monday...or Sunday, Tuesday...because it would have been better for the game. But the “game” has never mattered to Bettman. His little man syndrome, his bitterness and his ego are all that matters to Tiny Gary Daddy.

Oh, I know...the television thing. I get it. But if he would have gone Versus on Tuesday, Thursday and NBC on Saturday, Sunday? What’s the significant difference? A back to back in Games 3 and 4 would still allow a bit more rest for both teams at the front end of the series.

Why am I even bringing it up? Because the Red Wings defeated Chicago in five games and get two full days of rest. If they’d gone six they would have had what? 9 days? Too much. I agree. But the fact remains, they’re being penalized for winning too quickly, too efficiently?

Now. This. Should a commissioner give consideration to a team’s injury situation? Not publicly and certainly not officially. For fu**’s sake, he didn’t do it around the All Star Game, when who was hurt?

Oh, that’s right. Datsyuk and Lidstrom.

Well played Bettman, I don't know many teams that would be able to make it out of the Western Conference Finals without their Captain/Norris Trophy finalist AND their Hart/Selke/Lady Byng finalist in Lidstrom and Datsyuk, now we limp into the Stanley Cup Finals with the majority of our stars suffering serious injuries. Overcoming this would make the 12th cup win even sweeter.