John Shannon

John Shannon is an analyst on Hockeycentral.

There's a simple reason why another Penguins vs. Red Wings final wouldn't surprise me.

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m watching two games at once: Nashville at Detroit and Atlanta at Pittsburgh.

Both the Penguins and Wings score late in the third period to force overtime, gaining points. Then it occurred to me that’s what championship teams do, they find ways to win. Oh sure, they have great players, but I think it has more to do with their innate ability to play under pressure, and actually work harder than the opposition.

I was reminded of the stories told by the Edmonton Oilers after losing to the Islanders in 1983.

After losing in Game 4 on Long Island, the Oilers players walked by the Islanders locker room expecting to hear champagne bottles popping and laughter. Instead, they heard very little, except tape being removed and players quietly congratulating each other.

Peeking inside, they saw wounded warriors, bandages and braces strewing all over the room, and the scars of battle all over the players’ bodies. Winning had come with a price, and the Islanders were prepared to pay that price.

They knew how to win.

The Oilers had learned a very important lesson. I suppose the same could be said for both Pittsburgh and Detroit. They have probably fed off of each other over the past two years. The focus, discipline and work ethic of both clubs are the best in the league. And you only learn it from playing in big games all the time.

Does Washington have it? Does Chicago? Nashville showed something on Saturday by actually winning their game versus Detroit in overtime. Atlanta did not. Is it coaching? Maybe. Is it the players themselves? Perhaps. The one thing I am sure of, it is a state of mind that very few teams possess.

Pittsburgh and Detroit for the third straight year in the Stanley Cup Final would not surprise me.

Out on the West Coast, the Kings are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. One of the key reasons all year long has been the play of Jonathan Quick in goal. He has played exceptionally well which is why it is a bit of a shock to me that there has been so much talk about the possibility of Jonathan Bernier, who has played well in his recent call up, being the go-to guy in the playoffs.

Someone actually called it a "Dryden-esque" move by the Kings.

In talking to Terry Murray, he confirmed what I already believed: Quick has got them to this point. He will start in the playoffs. It has been quite a year for the 24-year-old. He was a member of the silver medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team, his wife gave birth to their first child (a girl) in March and he’s won more games in goal in a single season that any other goalie in Kings’ history.

Heady stuff.

I had to snicker the other day at all the analysis of the two conference playoff races. This time around, the Western teams might need 10 points more than the Eastern teams to even qualify for the playoffs. Cries of revamping the playoff set-up, that it’s not fair to the clubs in the West with more points than those in the East became louder and louder.

But the voices have short memories. Didn’t Minnesota (North Stars not Wild) go to the Final in 1991 with only 66 points? For over a decade, the West (Campbell) Conference had teams of inferior talent qualify for the playoffs. These types of things are completely cyclical, and for the most part, the system in place now is the most fair and competitive playoff system the NHL has ever had.

Tweaks, sure? Total re-vamp? No way. My only tweak might be to seed the teams by total points, not putting the three division leaders first, but always guaranteeing the division leaders a playoff spot.

As the regular season winds down, there will be some changes behind some benches and some might change as soon as next week. Don’t be surprised if there are changes in Tampa, Atlanta and on Long Island. But might the list grow if teams that were expected to perform well in both the regular season AND the playoffs don’t last long in the post-season?

On that list would certainly have to be Boston. Someone else suggested to me that this season, there might be more changes in the GMs offices than there would be amongst the coaches. This led me to ask: are the general managers still learning the salary cap world… or the 600-plus pages of the CBA?

And finally, my associate at Sportsnet, Daren Millard made an excellent point the other day that needs repeating.

It has been six long years since the Toronto Maple Leafs made the Stanley Cup playoffs. Leaf fans, who have been loyal and patient for far too long, have now developed a trait that all involved with the club should be greatly alarmed.

There was little or no disappointment from Leaf fans when the team was mathematically eliminated from the post-season. There were no protests, no newspaper editorials, no paper bags over peoples’ heads. There was nothing.

With the Kings and Coyotes clinching playoff spots this spring, it means that only Florida and Toronto haven’t seen a playoff game since the last work stoppage.

The fans have lowered their expectations and I wonder how long it will take for the passion to return. The apathy is tangible. That is a scary situation.

Happy Hockey Everyone!