Visit to Anaheim and L.A. is a homecoming for Penguins' Dan Bylsma

Anaheim Ice, the Ducks' practice facility, is perfectly adequate as hockey rinks go. A little dim. More than a little smelly in the locker rooms from tons of sweaty hockey gear heaped on the floor every day.

To Dan Bylsma, seeing it today after years away, it was almost a palace.

Bylsma, once an earnest fourth-line forward for the Ducks and the Kings, returned to Anaheim Ice as coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Upbeat by nature, he was beaming nonstop all morning, greeting Ducks equipment managers and rink employees like the long-lost friends they are to him.

"I don't know if any other practice rink feels a home like this one does," he said. "Like an old shoe. A stinky old shoe."

The Penguins, who have a league-best 11-3-0 record despite injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, arrived in Southern California on Sunday night in advance of their games against the Ducks on Tuesday at the Honda Center and against the Kings on Thursday at Staples Center. It's a trip down memory lane for Bylsma, who took over as the Penguins' coach last February after Michel Therrien was fired and who guided the team to a seven-game victory over Detroit in the Cup finals.

"It's not strange but it's very familiar," Bylsma said of his return. "We went to dinner very close to where I lived. The neighborhood, coming back here, the Pond, all very familiar. Five years is a long time in hockey. It's like dog years. I see a lot of familiar faces.

"I like coming back here. It really feels good. Most of my career was spent here in Southern California. A lot of good memories. A lot of good people. My family and I loved California."

More later from Bylsma, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, and former Duck Chris Kunitz at www.latimes.com/sports.

-- Helene Elliott

Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma skates in a drill during the team's first NHL hockey practice of the season at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. Credit: Gene J. Puskar, AP.

Pittsburgh Penguins get their bling

If the Pittsburgh Penguins slow down this season, we'll know why.

It will be because they're wearing the diamond-encrusted Stanley Cup rings they got earlier this week.

Whoever did the Penguins emblem got it just right.

-- Helene Elliott

NHL television ratings up

According to NBC and Nielsen Media Research, ratings for the first two games of the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins are the highest in seven years. Saturday's and Sunday's games, both won by Detroit, averaged 4.87 million viewers, the most since the 2002 Games 3 and 4 between Detroit and Carolina averaged 5.35 million viewers.

That's 21% of last year's first two NBC games, which were Games 3 and 4 on a Wednesday and Saturday. And, as they say, in the "coveted" demographic of adults between the ages of 18-49, Sunday night's Game 2 was tied for sixth among all primetime telecasts (thank you NBA teams for not having any Game 7s)

And here are the top 10 markets with a noticeable absence of, yes, Los Angeles. But way to go Oklahoma City and Fort Myers, Fla. Who would have guessed?

SATURDAY, GAME 1
1. Pittsburgh, 26.5/43
2. Detroit, 19.3/34
3. Buffalo, 5.2/9
4. Columbus, 3.5/6
5. Ft. Myers, 3.3/5
6. St. Louis, 3.0/6
T7. Indianapolis, 2.8/5
T7. Cincinnati, 2.8/5
9. Oklahoma City, 2.4/5
10. Chicago, 2.3/5

SUNDAY, GAME 2
1. Pittsburgh, 31.7/43
2. Detroit, 28.1/43
3. Buffalo, 7.2/11
4. Philadelphia, 4.5/7
5. St. Louis, 3.8/7
6. Baltimore, 3.7/6
T7. Washington D.C., 3.4/6
T7. Minneapolis, 3.4/6
T7. Columbus, 3.4/6
T7. Ft. Myers, 3.4/5

-- Diane Pucin

Red Wings' Johan Franzen has Ducks frozen after one period

On Wednesday, Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle called out Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen.

After complaining about what he saw as underhanded play by the Red Wings, Carlyle said there were "upper blows being delivered." When asked to point the finger, he singled out Franzen.

Franzen was delivering more blows Thursday, but in how-do-you-like-me-now fashion, scoring two first-period goals to erase a 1-0 Ducks lead in Game 4 of  their Stanley Cup playoff series.

Franzen slipped an innocent-looking shot past goaltender Jonas Hiller to tie the score 11 minutes 51 seconds into the period, then redirected a shot with 36 seconds left to send the Red Wings into the dressing room with the lead.

-- Chris Foster

Photo: Detroit Red Wings left wing Johan Franzen. Credit: Paul Buck / European Pressphoto Agency. (Note: An earlier photo was identified as that of Franzen but actually depicted a teammate.)

Teemu Selanne breaks scoring drought; Ducks break Sharks back?

After going goal-less the first five playoff games, Teemu Selanne lit the red lamp with one of his uglier goals.

Selanne tossed the puck from behind the net and had it go off the stick of San Jose's Christian Ehrhoff and into the net -- yup, to Ehrhoff is human.

The goal gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead 13 minutes 3 seconds into the second period. The Ducks, who need only a victory to eliminate the Sharks, lead, 3-1, heading into the third period.

-- Chris Foster

Photo: Teemu Selanne winds up for a goal in the second period to help the Ducks defeat the Sharks. Credit: Mark Avery / Associated Press

Photos: Ducks, Sharks get ready to rumble .... then rumble

Photo: Gary A. Vasquez / US Presswire

San Jose Sharks Coach Todd McLellan was sure that any hard feelings between the Sharks' Joe Thornton and the Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf had evaporated, and their Game 5 dust-up was in the past.

That was Monday morning.

Two seconds into Monday night's game, Getzlaf and Thornton went at it, following the opening faceoff, proving once again that elephants, and hockey players, never forget.

More photos of the fisticuffs ...

This just in: NHL teams that spend more, win more

Money, it seems, not only talks, it wins, at least in the NHL.

Of the nine teams that were estimated to be more than $5 million under the salary cap only two made the Stanley Cup playoffs -- Carolina ($6 million under) as the sixth-place team in the Eastern Conference and Columbus (nearly $7 million under) as the seventh-place team in the Western Conference.

There were four teams more than $10 million under (Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders and, yes, the Kings). Those teams combined had a .414 winning percentage and an average of 77 points. It took 93 points to get into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and 91 to qualify in the Western Conference.

What's it all mean? Well, you get what you pay for, apparently (something season-ticket holders should note). Maybe they could re-name it the Stanley Pay-up Playoffs?

-- Chris Foster

Photo: Retired Royal Canadian Mounties stand guard over the Stanley Cup in British Columbia. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times