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Stanley Cup Final
Preview
Friday, May 23, 2008
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Stars Note |
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The Stars are expected to announce the signing of coach
Dave Tippett to a three-year contract extension early next week. Both
the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported there are
just a few details to be ironed out on the deal, which would put Tippett
under contract through 2010-11.
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Here's a brief preview of the Stanley Cup Final
between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins, which gets
underway Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
It's the first time the Red Wings and Penguins have
ever met in the NHL playoffs and the first time pro franchises from
Detroit and Pittsburgh have met in the postseason since the 1909 World
Series, when the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers in seven
games.
Game 1 is 7:00 pm Central Time and will be carried by
Versus in the United States and by CBC and RDS in Canada.
| Overview |
| Call this the NHL's version of a dream
matchup. Two teams from strong hockey markets with plenty of
stars in the lineup. Both teams have
talent, play with speed and can score. At the same time both
teams defend well and have goaltenders who have played extremely
well in these playoffs, but haven't always received a lot of
credit in their careers.
Yet, the two teams provide plenty of
contrasts. The Detroit franchise has been at the top of the
league for more than a decade and won Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998
and 2002.
The Pittsburgh franchise, which last won the
won the Cup in 1992, has been through some hard financial times
and hit rock bottom before climbing its way back to the top.
The Red Wings are a veteran bunch with eight
holdovers from that 2002 Stanley Cup team. The Penguins are a
young team led by a new wave of young stars.
The Penguins' two big young offensive guns -
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin - were highly touted draft
picks. The Red Wings big offensive forwards - Henrik Zetterberg
and Pavel Zetterberg - were gems found in the later rounds of
the draft.
But they are both here. The Penguins rolled
through the Eastern Conference, winning 12 of 14 games to make
the Stanley Cup Final. There was barely a bump in the road for
the Pens as they swept Ottawa in four games and then built 3-0
leads on both the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers
before taking each team out in five games. The Penguins, who
will start the Stanley Cup Final on the road, are a perfect 8-0
at home so far in the playoffs.
Detroit, 7-1 at home this postseason, has had
a little rougher ride to the Final. The Wings found themselves
tied 2-2 with Nashville in round one and in overtime in Game 5,
before taking that series in six games. They swept a banged up
Colorado team in round two and then built a 3-0 lead in the
Western Conference Final against the Stars before taking that
series in six games. |
| Goaltending |
| Detroit's Chris Osgood is 10-2 with a 1.60
goals against average and a .931 save percentage since he took
over for Dominik Hasek in the first round series against
Nashville. Much maligned and underrated, Osgood, who doesn't get
much credit for winning a Stanley Cup, is a much better goalie
then he gets for. He'll face his toughest test of the postseason
in the highly skilled Penguins.
Marc-Andre Fleury struggled early in his
career because the Penguins were struggling. Now he is starting
to blossom. He's 12-2 with a 1.70 goals against average and a
.938 save percentage in the playoffs. He missed considerable
time this season due to a high ankle sprain, but was sharp upon
his return and it carried right into the playoffs. Like Osgood,
he'll be facing his biggest test of the playoffs.
Advantage: Detroit. Osgood based on the experience factor.
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| Defense |
| Led by perennial Norris candidate Nicklas
Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, the Red Wings blue line is talented
and deep. Niklas Kronwall, finally blessed with some health, is
having an excellent postseason at both ends of the ice. With
Brad Stuart, Brett Lebda, Chris Chelios and Andreas Lilja, the
Red Wings have a solid seven on defense. It's as good as any
group in the league, including Anaheim's.
The Penguins don't have a big name outside of
Sergei Gonchar, but the Penguins' group of defensemen play well
as a group and get the job done. The Penguins' blue line and the
overall team defense is probably the most underrated part of the
team's game. The Penguins have some depth too when you consider
veteran Darryl Sydor is the seventh man in this group.
Advantage: Detroit. Talent and depth gives
the Red Wings the edge |
| Forwards |
| The good news for the Red Wings is that Johan
Franzen, the leading goal scorer in the playoffs, is practicing
and should return at some point in the series. The Red Wings
missed him in the Dallas series because the team's secondary
scoring tailed off when he was out of the lineup. That put the
pressure on the top line of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Tomas
Holmstrom to carry a lot of the offensive load. Valtteri
Filppula is hurting as well, which could be a further blow to
the Wings' scoring balance. The Red Wings can roll four lines,
including a solid checking line anchored by Kris Draper, but how
much those lines chip in with the odd goal here and there could
be key.
The Penguins have a great one-two punch with
Crosby and Malkin. Throw in the fact that they picked up Marian
Hossa at the trade deadline and the Penguins have some potent
offensive weapons. Ryan Malone has chipped in with a big
postseason as well. The Penguins' checking line duties rest on
the shoulders of 19-year-old Jordan Staal, who will face a big
challenge in the Red Wings top guns. Like the Red Wings, the
Penguins have good depth up front and can roll four lines.
Advantage: Even. Scoring depth to Penguins but
the checking advantage goes to the Red Wings, who have Draper
and Selke finalists in Datsyuk and Zetterberg |
| Special Teams |
| Detroit's power play has been hitting at 21.0
percent during the postseason, while the Penguins' power play
has been among the best in the playoffs at 24.6 percent.
Both teams have been killing penalty's at an
87.3 percent clip, but Detroit's penalty kill was particularly
impressive in shutting down Dallas' power play in the last
round, holding the Stars to just three goals on 30 chances.
Detroit also scored twice shorthanded against the Stars, pushing
its shorthanded goals total to five for the playoffs.
Advantage: Even. Call it a statistical draw.
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| Coaching |
| This is Detroit coach Mike Babcock's second
trip to the Stanley Cup Final. He took Anaheim there in 2003,
but lost to New Jersey in seven games. The experience should
help. His Red Wings play smart and disciplined, and they seem to
handle adversity well.
Michel Therrien has done a great job with the
Penguins. He's got a lot of offensive talent, but he has his
team playing well as a group defensively, and that has been a
key reason why the Penguins are a tough team to beat - they play
well in all three zones.
Advantage: Detroit. Babcock has the edge in
the big series experience |
| Intangibles |
The young Penguins come into the series
without hitting any kind of bump in the road as far as the
postseason. They've swept one series and built commanding 3-0
leads in their other two series. All while holding home ice
advantage. They start this series on the road. They are likely
to hit few bumps in the road against the Red Wings and that
could put their composure to the test.
Advantage: Detroit. Experience could be an
edge for the Red Wings |
| Outlook |
Both teams have been strong at home, and the
Red Wings have home ice in the series. That is a plus in
Detroit’s column. So is experience. The Penguins are a talented
team, but they haven’t seen a team that can control the puck and
defend as well as the Red Wings. That could end up frustrating
the Penguins, who will fall short against the Wings.
Prediction: Detroit in 6 |
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