Time To Earn Their Red Wings...

2009 Stanley Cup Finals: Pittsburgh Penguins versus Detroit Red Wings
The clash for Lord Stanley’s Cup features a rematch of last year’s championship, which saw the Red Wings triumph in six games. NHL Golden Boy Sidney Crosby seeks his first Cup, while Detroit (aka ‘Hockeytown’) guns for their fifth title in the last twelve seasons. Interestingly, this marks the first time in twenty-five years that the same teams have met in the finals two years in a row.

Offense – Crosby and his supremely talented running mate Evgeni Malkin have been lighting it up in the post season, each registering 28 points in only 17 games. Crosby leads all playoff scorers with 14 goals, and Malkin’s rare combination of finesse and power has proven unstoppable at times.

While Pittsburgh’s dynamic duo has been counted on to shoulder the bulk of the scoring load for their team, the Wings boast considerably more depth up front, with snipers Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen, and Henrik Zetterberg joining key role players Daniel Cleary, Jiri Hudler, Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Holmstrom. Not to be forgotten, Detroit’s superstar center Pavel Datsyuk missed the last 3 games of their semifinal series against Chicago with a foot injury, and his status is up in the air for the finals, which begin this Saturday night in Detroit. Datsyuk is a finalist for the Hart Trophy as league MVP, and excels at both ends of the ice, so it will be a HUGE loss for the Red Wings if he’s unable to go. Edge: Even (Detroit would have a slight edge, if not for the brilliance of Crosby and Malkin thus far, and the uncertainty surrounding the health of Datsyuk).

Defense – The Wings have an incredibly deep blueline, led by their captain, Nicklas Lidstrom, a six-time winner of the Norris Trophy (awarded to the league’s best defenseman). Lidstrom missed the last two games of the Chicago series due to injury, but is expected to be ready when the puck drops on Saturday night. Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart round out Detroit’s top four on defense, and grizzly 47 year old Chris Chelios may also be among those tasked with the unenviable task of trying to slow down Malkin and Crosby. Pittsburgh’s backline is led by smooth skating Sergei Gonchar, who has bounced back admirably from a knee injury suffered in the second round. Veterans Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi and Hall Gill provide a strong physical presence, and after successfully shackling Carolina center Eric Staal in the semifinals, they will be counted on for a similar effort against the Red Wings’ top guns. Edge: Red Wings

Special Teams – Detroit’s penalty killers have struggled in the playoffs, allowing 15 power play goals, contributing to a paltry 73.7% success rate. Fortunately, their power play—which was the league’s best during the regular season—has held up their end of the bargain, clicking at 25.7%. The Penguins’ special teams have been solid at both ends of the ice in the post season, and will need their power play to continue producing in order to offset the advantage that the Wings are likely to have at even strength. Edge: Penguins

Goaltending – A duel between young and old, as Detroit’s 36 year old Chris Osgood faces off against the Pens’ 24 year old Marc-Andre Fleury. Osgood was the recipient of a fair amount of criticism during the regular season, with pundits declaring the team’s goaltending to be their Achilles’ heel, but he’s already backstopped the Wings to a pair of Stanley Cup triumphs, and has turned it up a few notches in the post season, to the tune of a 2.06 GAA. Fleury is clearly the flashier netminder, and should be moving into his prime years, but has been inconsistent at times during these playoffs, and was outplayed by Osgood during last year’s series. Still, Fleury is the goalie who is more capable of getting hot and stealing a few games on his own with his raw athletic ability. Edge: Even

Intangibles – Perhaps the biggest intangible belongs to Pittsburgh, if the referees continue to give them the benefit of the doubt on penalty calls. Conspiracy theorists whisper that commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL powers that be want Crosby to win the Cup and cement his status as a cornerstone of the league’s revival, and the way the playoffs have been refereed thus far may lend credence to this view. The Penguins have been granted a league-high 83 power plays in the playoffs, but have only been shorthanded 61 times. By comparison, during the entire 82 game regular season, Pittsburgh had only 13 more power plays than shorthanded situations. Hmm…

Detroit’s prime intangible, of course, is their experience. They have a host of players who have been here before, and should draw confidence from defeating the Penguins last year (although the Pittsburgh roster has undergone significant roster changes since). They also play a puck possession game similar to that of the Washington Capitals, who gave the Pens their biggest test to date before succumbing in seven games in the second round. The area where the Capitals were most vulnerable (defensive zone play) is a strength for this Detroit squad. The Wings are banged up, however, and the league’s decision to avoid an eight day layoff and start the series with back to back games on Saturday and Sunday this weekend hasn’t gone over well in ‘Hockeytown’.

Another interesting storyline is that of Hossa, who played for the Penguins last season, but signed a one year deal with Detroit in the offseason, declaring that they offered the best chance for him to win a Cup. Needless to say, there will be plenty of folks on the Pittsburgh bench who will be looking to prove him wrong. Edge: Penguins

Outlook – I expect this to be a fabulous series. The Pens were clearly outclassed in last year’s go round… they just didn’t have the experience or depth to match the Red Wings. Depth may still be an issue, but youngsters Crosby and Malkin have both elevated their games considerably in the playoffs this year, and if Fleury is able to do the same they will have a shot. The health of key players for Detroit will also be a big factor, and though I still think that Bettman will be handing the Cup to Lidstrom and his mates when all is said and done, this one should be MUCH more competitive than last year’s battle, and it will likely go right down to the wire. Fasten your seat belts…

Red Wings in 7.