Stanley Cup Finals (2)Detroit vs (4)Pittsburgh-An exact rematch of last years Stanley Cup final and for those of you who don't know Detroit won it last year. That puts a challenge on for the Redwings as there has not been a repeat Stanley winner in eleven years. In case your wondering it was Detroit that did it last back in 97 and 98. This years playoffs was full of intense action and drama filled games. The conference finals.....were a let down. Carolina came into the Eastern finals having upset 1 seed Boston while the Penguins had a dog fight with Washington. Pittsburgh destroyed the Hurricanes in a 4 game sweep. Carolina could not answer the Pens offensive assault. Crosby and Malkin both are 1 and 2 in goals scored this playoffs, Malkin with 14 and 11 for Crosby. Detroit had a tougher time facing Chicago but where still able to handle them in a easy fashion. This series was more competitive with Detroit and the Blackhawks going into overtime twice in the series. However this series was suppose to be great and it seldom was with only games 2 and 5 being close. Chicago with all of it's offense couldn't score on Detroit. Nicklas Lidstrom and goalie Chris Osgood. Breakdown- Pittsburgh brings the tandem of Crosby and Malkin but in addition to them Bill Guerin is a 400 goal plus veteran and center Jordan Staal can provide great defense. Detroit is anchored by Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg. Pavel Datsyuk was injured in game 4 with Chicago and is already out for game 1. Yet keep and eye on Dan Cleary. Cleary was a big factor in the win over Chicago. Edge-Detroit. Defenseman- Detroit brings Nicklas Lidstrom who in his career has won the Norris trophy 6 times in his career. Backing him up is Niklas Kronwal whose hit on Hawk's ace Martin Havlat is still being talked about. The Penguins bring Sergei Gonchar who is great at power play kills and Rob Scuderi who has flown under the radar these playoffs but I think the veteran defense of the Redwings will outplay Pitt in the end. Edge-Detroit. On paper Detroit goalie Chris Osgood has the edge but lets take into the factor of Penguins net minder Marc Andre Fleury's opponents. He had to contend with Alexander Ovechkin no easy feat. Osgood was critical in Detroit's success over Chicago. One could even argue that without Osgood Detroit and Chicago could still be going on right now heading into a game 7. Both have similar stats but the one key for both teams will be how they play the power play. Edge-Pittsburgh. Keys- Detroit is a very puck control team. This is their key, by keeping it out of the hands of Crosby and Malkin. Detroit also will need to capitalize on power play opportunities. The Penguins will need to keep the puck away from their third of the ice. Staying on offense will be key for Pittsburgh letting their great offense try to wear out the injury dogged Redwings. Verdict- It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh has learned anything from last year. Pittsburgh can easily make this a fitness test with Detroit but I still think the Redwings can skate with the Penguins. I believe the injuries that surfaced during the Blackhawks series will come back to haunt Detroit. Penguins in 6.
photo courtesy of Carlos Osorio
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