Whether you like the results or not, the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final have made for incredibly exciting hockey. It's games like these that make me wonder why everyone is so obsessed with increasing scoring in the NHL.

Last night's 1-0 Anaheim win might have been the most exciting shutout win I've ever watched. To steal a line from Gladiator, were you not entertained? Sure, there was only one goal scored in 60 minutes of hockey, but the action was intense from start to finish. I'd like to see Ottawa get more scoring chances to prevent the action from being so lopsided in favor of the Ducks, but it was still a fantastic game. Hard-hitting, fast-moving, end-to-end action. I loved it.

For a fun- yet thorough- breakdown of the game check out the recap over at LCS Hockey.

I know it's fashionable to criticize ESPN these days for their lack of hockey coverage but ESPN.com's Page Two has a fun (albeit sarcastic) Stanley cup Final preview up. Yes, I'm a couple days late posting it. Did I mention that it was a holiday weekend? Web guys take time off too.

If you need lots of Ducks and Senators blogs, Eric McErlain has them for you.

By the way, the best way for fans to push for more hockey coverage form ESPN, the AJC and other news outlets is to support the coverage that's out there. Web site traffic is easily measurable, and if hockey content draws eyeballs it will inevitably draw more resources.

Lost in the mix heading into the long weekend and Game One of the Stanley Cup Final is this gem of a video featuring the best goals of the 2007 NHL playoffs.

What better way to start the work-week than with more than 10 minutes of top-flight NHL goals?

And remember- if you were vacationing in your thrashers gear over Memorial Day we want your pictures.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone. Things will be pretty quiet around here for the next few days, but if you haven't been keeping up on your reading make sure you check out this collection of prospect stories.

AJC.com: Bryan Little
The Province: Chad Denny
AJC.com: Nathan Oystrick
AJC.com: Brett Sterling
Blueland Blog: Bryan Little
NHL.com: Jordan LaVallee
AJC.com: Mark Popovic
AJC.com: Boris Valabik

If you're out relaxing on the weekend, whether it's in Atlanta or on the road somewhere, make sure you snap a picture of yourself in some Thrashers gear and send it in to us.

Some quick hits from around the blogosphere today:

• What was Kari Lehtonen's save percentage this season with his glove? His left Pad? How about Johan Hedberg's save percentage on five-hole shots? What would you say if I told you that someone had calculated those numbers for our goalies and every other goalie in the NHL for this season. Crazy but true. Check it out.
  
  
   
• Did you know that the Edmonton Oilers acquired Anaheim's 2008 first round draft pick last night? They got it as part of the Chris Pronger trade, thanks to a condition that said that if Anaheim won the Western Conference title in 2007, 2008 or 2009 their first rounder went to Edmonton the following year. It's obviously not going to be a high pick, but who doesn't want an extra first round selection? Thanks to Kukla's Korner for the pointer.
   
• Tom over at The Fanhouse posted a friendly reminder of how compensation works if teams start trying to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. Here's the breakdow

Anyway- Ottawa is without a doubt one of my favorite cities, and one of the reasons is because it's so well-suited to large gatherings. Pretty much everything of interest is in a 30 square block area around Parliament Hill, and the hill ends up being the focal point for everything. When something big is going on in Ottawa you feel it.

I remember watching the 2004 World Cup of Hockey gold medal game on Elgin Street and afterwards I followed the mob that wandered from a sports bar up the street to Parliament Hill and then through the market are. It was a few hundred people, loudly but peacefully celebrating Canada's victory. No violence. No vandalism. At one point someone tipped over a newspaper stand and they actually got yelled at by half a dozen other people in the crowd as someone set it upright.

All of this leads up to the following video. I know plenty of Thrashers fans aren't so fond of the Senators, but having lived in Ottawa I'm happy for the fans in the city. The enthusiasm they showed on Saturday when they eliminated the Sabres was incredible, and I only expect to see more of it during the Cup Finals. Congratulations Ottawa. Even the team was impressed with the outpouring of support.

Here's a question for you- if the Thrashers were to advance to the Cup Finals with a road win like Ottawa did and fans decided to celebrate in the streets, where in Atlanta would that celebration be held?

Well, I'm back from Chicago, and I have a feeling I'll never be allowed to go on the road again. Sure, the Wolves games I went to on Friday and Sunday weren't technically road games since the team was playing at home, but I was on the road the Chicago lost both. that makes me 0-4 at post-season games I've attended outside of Atlanta this season. Maybe I'll just see if we can send Jennifer in my place next time.

The Wolves are in an 0-2 hole and they're going to have their work cut out for them trying to get out of it.

The bright side is that they've bounced back from 0-2 deficits twice in the past, including in 2000 when they lost the first two games at home and went on to win four straight, eliminating Houston. They're also the best road team in the AHL, so they have that going for them. And they've been averaging 4.00 goals per game in the post-season, so I'd be surprised if Hamilton can limit them to two goals again like they did yesterday. If the Wolves can get to Carey Price and score four or five goals like they're used to doing they'll bounce back. Both Chicago goalies are capable of shutting down Hamilton's offense, and I don't expect Kyle Chipchura to keep playing at the pace he played on the weekend when he almost single-handedly beat the Wolves. The ship will get righted and the Wolves will return to their winning ways. Don't forget to check in on the Wolves Playoff Blog as the series continues in Hamilton without me.

Here are Jsaon Krog's thoughts on what the Wolves need to do:

"We need to focus on the little things and stop going for the big play. Do what got us here. We have the best road record in the league so we just have to forget about the series record and go to Hamilton with the attitude that we can win on the road. Just take it one game at a time."

As for my actual trip- it was great to get caught up with all of the young prospects who should be competing for spots with the Thrashers in the near future. I'll be writing up the interviews and posting them on the site over the coming days and weeks as we head towards prospect camp, so keep checking back. The first one (with Bryan Little) is already up. I talked to a lot of guys, but I'm most looking forward to writing up the interviews with Boris Valabik (who is anxious to prove himself this summer after having what he described as the most disappointing and worst season of his career due to injuries) and Jordan LaVallee (who is very thoughtful in interviews and who had some interesting things to say about how playing for Patrick Roy in Quebec City has given him a leg up on the competition).

LaVallee struck me as the most NHL-ready of the young forwards, and that's not a knock against Sterling, Little, Stuart or any of the other young prospects. In the brief time I got to see him play (two games isn't a lot of time for someone who isn't a trained scout to evaluate a player) he did a great job both with and without the puck. He won puck battles in the corner at both ends of the ice and while some players look lost without the puck he doesn't. He was always going to the net, screening the opposing goalie, or banging along the boards. the question for LaVallee shouldn't be if he'll make the NHL, but when he'll make it. He can easily turn into a good utility forward who can play on a checking line or energy line and jump up to contribute on offense when it's needed. He's just a smart hockey player (who knows his way around computer repairs and GPS coding), and a great find as a fourth-round pick.

That's it for now, but make sure you check out Craig Custance's Monday Beat Blog entry, as well as his article on Mark Popovic.

Brett Sterling just broke into the Hamilton with the puck but didn't have anyone to dish to. He was in alone, 2-on-1 and couldn't get to open ice to fire off a shot. He did the sensible thing and stayed along the boards, keeping control of the puck while he waited for help. Nothing worth writing home about there. What was great about it was that he was able to protect the puck between himself and the boards while he had 6-4, 217 lbs defenseman Andrew archer draped all over him.

The only question about Sterling is whether his size, or lack thereof, will be an issue in the NHL. That play was a good sign.

It's now 2-1 early in the second period here in Chicago. Matt D'Agostini danced around Brian Sipotz and beat Fred Brathwaite with a beautiful shot before Mark Popovic could stop him.

Nathan Oystrick laid a nice heavy open-ice hit off of the ensuing faceoff, trying to send the message that the Wolves aren't backing down. I like what I'm seeing from Oystrick this afternoon, especially since he had a subpar game on Friday.

1-1. Niko Dimitrakos flew down the right wing and wired a shot on net. Price mad the save but Jordan LaVallee was streaking down the left and one-timed the rebound from an incredibly sharp angle, beating Price before he could scramble back into position.

Funny moment during a stoppage in play. The Wolves do a regular "Who Am I?" feature with a player's face blurred out as they do a voiceover giving clue about themselves. The picture slowly comes into partial focus and a selected fan has one chance name the player. Today's player- Fred Brathwaite. Everyone wad laughing, given that blurring Brathwaite's picture doesn't do much to hide his identity.

Well, I have the lineup sheet for this afternoon's Wolves game and it looks like Bryan Little is a scratch. It's tough to say if it's because of his play or because of the nasty hit he took last night. He got drilled along the boards and went head over heels, landing on his back. Here's what he had to say about it after the fact:

"I thought he was going to hip check me or something and at the last minute he put his shoulder into me and caught me off guard. It probably looked pretty big, because it felt pretty big too."

Boris "the Spider" Valabik is out too, but he didn't play last night. I was hoping to see him play, and I'm a bit surprised he wasn't put in given how nasty things got last night in the second period.

The other change is between the pipes. After going 5-0 to start the playoffs Michael Garnett has gone 3-3 over his last six. He was less than stellar last night, so he's being replaced by seasoned veteran and all round good guy, Freddy Brathwaite.

Game on.

How a player reacts when things aren't necessarily going well says a lot more about their character than how they act when they're at the top of their game. That's why the comments from Bryan Little- the Thrashers' first-round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft- after the Chicago Wolves' loss to Hamilton in the opening game of the AHL's western Conference Final were so refreshing.

Fifteen minutes after just the second professional game of his career Little was grounded.

The first comment out of his mouth when asked about the game wasn't a complaint about his limited ice time or lack of time on the power play. Instead he talked about defensive side of the game.

"Our line had some good shifts and had some bad shifts. I came out a minus one so I'm not to happy about that. I don't like being on the ice when we get scored against."

When was the last time you heard a high draft pick that's supposed to be a future offensive centerpiece talk about defensive responsibility?

As a talented center used to playing top line minutes and accustomed to being the go-to guy on the power play Little could have grumbled about his diminished role. After all- it took him several games just to get in the lineup after he signed try-out contract with the Wolves so he could join them for the playoffs. Bigger egos would have been bruised. Not Little's. He looks at his time with the Wolves (no matter how brief it might be) as a stepping stone and a chance to learn the pro game.

"It's good to experience and I just want to get better each game and be able to contribute something to the team."
 

Asked about the biggest difference between the AHL and OHL, where Bryan Little spent the season with the Barrie Colts he responded that it was all about speed.

"It's a lot faster and a lot quicker. You've go to make decisions quick because every time you have the puck there's a guy on you. You have to be a lot quicker for sure."

Little at last summer's prospect camp in Duluth.

It's no coincidence that at the end of last year's Thrashers Prospect Camp foot speed happened to be one of the things Little was told to work on over the course of the season. By no means is he a slow skater, but every pro player can use an extra step or two.

"They basically just said to get a bit stronger and a bit faster. Obviously to make the jump, things are faster and you have to be as fast as the guys around you. They just said go back to junior and work on the little things like skating and make sure you work hard off the ice too."

How does he fell about how far he has progressed since being drafted 12th overall last June?

"I feel pretty good. I feel a bit quicker and I think I had a pretty good season. Now I'm just looking forward to training this
season. I'll train as hard as I can and come in to camp in shape. I just have to work hard and work at what I'm good at."

Speaking of camp, Little says he's looking forward to getting off to a strong start this year when he shows up for prospect camp in July- especially since he knows what to expect having been through it last year.

"Now that I've got a feel for it I want to go there and do really good. Last year I was kind of tentative and I didn't really know
what to expect and stuff. This year I want to go there and be a really good player."

And having that extra year of experience will make all the difference in the world.

"You know what to expect now and you know how fast it's going to be, so now I know what I need to do in the summer to get to that level."

That will include training back home in Ontario with 2005 Chicago draft pick Evan Brophey. Little has been using the same trainer for four years now, and Brophey is his training partner. The duo works with the brother of a local boxer and Little gives him credit for getting him to where he needs to be.

Where Little will end up in October once prospect camp and Thrashers training camp are in the books is the big question. There's speculation that he could be given a chance to make the big club, but the 19 year-old pivot is trying not to worry about.

"I have to go to camp not thinking about when I'm going to get cut or how long I'm going to be around. I can't worry about it. I've got to go with the attitude to compete and try to earn a spot. If I can make it that's great and if I'm back here then I just have to keep working hard."

Knowing Bob Hartley's approach to the game, that hard work will go a long way. It's probably a good sign that the OHL coaches named him the league's best playmaker, best faceoff man, most dangerous player in the goal area, and- most telling all of all- the OHL's hardest worker. If Bryan Little is any indication the near future is looking good for the Thrashers.

The second period saw the Wolves go from trailing 2-1 to leading 4-2. Not too shabby. Darren Haydar has been busy, picking up two goals and two penalties. Cory Larose has a goal and an assist and Mark Popovic has two assists.

The Wolves dodged a bullet at the end of the second as they killed off one penalty and held off the Bulldogs for the first part of another. The Wolves had six straight power plays before taking back-to-back minors. They'll start the third down a man with Haydar in the box.

We haven't seen much of Bryan Little yet, but when he's on the ice he's out with Crabb and Schell. Little-Crabb- Schell. Hilarious.