The fans helping the Penguins celebrate their Stanley Cup victory could be counted in their hundreds of thousands in downtown Pittsburgh last week. The Penguins managed to make the final after being all but out of a chance of attaining a playoff place four months earlier but recorded 18-3-4 in matches after taking on AHL coach Dan Bylsma during the regular season. This record took the team to a fourth place in the Eastern Conference and a successful playoffs culminating in lifting the Stanley Cup after a seventh match victory on the road.

Also last week after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup were the NHL awards, held in the hot Nevada desert. Of the coveted North American awards, eight were won by Russian players, cementing the influence Russia has had on the NHL ever since the defection of Alexander Mogilny twenty years ago. The trio of Ovechkin, Malkin and Datsyuk accounted for some of the biggest prizes in ice-hockey. Typical for the NHL awards was that Alexander Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy for Most Valuable Player ahead of countrymen Malkin and Datsyuk, the first time three Russians had been nominated for the honour. The night also went to the Boston Bruins, taking three of the major awards: the Vezina Trophy for best goalie, the James Norris Trophy for the best defender in the league and the Jack Adams Trophy for the League's best coach. In winning the James Norris Trophy, Zdeno Chara ended a run of three years for Niklas Lidström.

All the best.