Red Wings vs. Penguins: A Stanley Cup Rematch
The 2009 Stanley Cup, which begins later today, marks the first title rematch since the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders met in 1983 and 1984.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are headed back to the NHL championships after clinching a return trip with a 4-1 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night that finished off a sweep in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Detroit Red Wings advanced by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 in a series that needed overtime in three of the last four games. The Red Wings clinched it with a 2-1 OT victory Wednesday night.
Detroit beat Pittsburgh last year in a six-game final series and so the Red Wings will try to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since they accomplished that feat back in 1997 and ‘98.
A look at some key factors in the series:
While Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk has missed three games of the conference finals with a foot injury and just one goal in the whole playoffs, Sidney Crosby is playing like a captain should, by example, not only scoring, but taking one-on-one matchups, winning faceoffs (over 54% in the playoffs) and competing every second.
Sidney Crosby
Chris Osgood
The Red Wings are also banged up on defense. Nicklas Lidstrom, the six time Norris Trophy winner, missed playoff action for the first time in his 17 year career with lower body ailments. The Penguins’ lead defenseman, Sergei Gonchar, is also an offensive threat.
In the net for the Penguins, Marc-Andre Fleury is clearly quite talented, but is susceptible to play behind the net and the wraparound shots and must limit rebound shooting. At the other end, Chris Osgood is a three-time Cup winner who is playing really well at this time and has a bit more aggressive style than his counterpart, but that can be risky especially against a high scoring Penguin team.
An intriguing storyline will be Marion Hossa who left Pittsburgh to sign with Detroit for less money to win the cup. Don’t think he’ll be drowning in cheers at Mellon Arena.
A deep and gritty yet banged-up Detroit team against an offensive dynamo (Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby ranked first and second in the league with 78 and 70 assists) will make this a compelling series.
Red Wings
Regular Season Record: 51-21-10, 112 pts
Head-to-Head Record: 1-1
Last Stanley Cup Win: 2008
Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: 2008
Last Postseason Appearance: 2008
Players with Stanley Cup Rings: Pavel Datsyuk (2), Henrik Zetterberg (1), Brian Rafalski (3), Jiri Hudler(1), Johan Franzen (1), Nicklas Lidstrom (4), Nicklas Kronwall (1), Mikael Samuelsson (1), Dan Cleary (1), Valtteri Filppula (1), Tomas Holmstrom (4), Tomas Kopecky (1), Kris Draper (4), Brett Lebda (1), Andreas Lilja (1), Brad Stuart (1), Kirk Maltby (4), Aaron Downey (1), Darren McCarty (4), Darren Helm (1), Chris Chelios (3), Chris Osgood (3)
Penguins
Regular Season Record: 45-28-9, 99 pts
Head-to-Head Record: 1-1
Last Stanley Cup Win: 1992
Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: 2008
Last Postseason Appearance: 2008
Players with Stanley Cup Rings: Chris Kunitz (1), Bill Guerin (1), Petr Sykora (1), Ruslan Fedotenko (1), Craig Adams (1)
Television Schedule
(All times Eastern)
#2 Detroit vs. #4 Pittsburgh
| Sat. May 30 | 8:00 Game 1: Penguins @ Red Wings NBC/CBC |
| Sun. May 31 | TBD Game 2: Penguins @ Red Wings NBC/CBC |
| Tues. June 2 | 8:00 Game 3: Red Wings @ Penguins VERSUS/CBC |
| Thurs. June 4 | 8:00 Game 4: Red Wings @ Penguins VERSUS/CBC |
| Sat. June 6 | 8:00* Game 5: Penguins @ Red Wings NBC/CBC |
| Tues. June 9 | 8:00* Game 6: Red Wings @ Penguins NBC/CBC |
| Fri. June 12 | 8:00* Game 7: Penguins @ Red Wings NBC/CBC |
*if necessary
this time the Penguins will be ready.
No way Herbster. Torn and tattered, Detroit still takes it and repeat again as Champs.
Red Wings showed in game 1 they are ready to repeat.
Red Wings are flying past the Penguins in this one.
Detroit, despite the injuries, are just too deeply talented, deeply experienced and deeply motivated. They will repeat.
Penguins marched back into it and will tie the series tonight.
Pittsburgh has gotten right back into this and will take the series lead after tonight.
talent, pride, dedication, teamwork and determination- Detroit has what it takes and it shows with this blowout tonight.