2008 Stanley Cup Finals: 2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 1 Detroit Red Wings
Regular Season Record:
Det- 54-21-7-115
Pit-47-27-8-102
Playoff MVP so far:
Detroit: Henrik Zetterberg-- He leads the team in scoring with 21 points, and is playing just as well defensively.
Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby-- He ties Zetterberg for the league lead with 21 points, and is a force to be reckoned with on the ice.
Special Teams: The Penguins have a few points advantage in the power play percentage, and both teams have the same penalty kill rate at 87.3 percent. Having Malkin and Crosby on two separate power play units helps the Pens a lot in this category. Edge: Pittsburgh
Forwards: Crosby and Malkin are an unbelievable combo, as everyone can tell you, but Detroit has a great forwards in Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen (if he plays), and more. Detroit has more depth, but Pittsburgh's top forwards are better than Detroit's.
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Defense: Pittsburgh has a decent scoring defense with Gonchar and Whitney. Detroit has great scoring defense, with Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and plenty of scoring depth at the position. Along with its scoring from the blue line Detroit also play a suffocating protect the puck and the net system. Edge: Detroit
Goaltending: Chris Osgood and Marc-Andre Fleury are both unbelievable goalies, who have been saving their teams throughout these playoffs. However, I think that Osgood has faced more firepower than Fleury throughout the playoffs. Edge: Detroit
Coaching: This part is going to be very opinionated, for the sole reason that I have never liked Michel Therrien. Mike Babcock is a great coach, and although Therrien is good, I never believed that he is a coach that can make a difference. Therefore, Edge: Detroit
This is going to be a Stanley Cup Final for the ages. It will be fast paced, physical, low scoring, and fun to watch for everyone. I think that these are truly the best two teams in the NHL this year, and it doesn't often happen that the two best teams meet in the finals. But this year it has.
Everyone must agree that Pittsburgh took an easier route to get to the finals. Ottawa was dead before the playoffs started, the Rangers didn't put up much of a fight, and the Flyers? Well, they weren't quite as good as they were made out to be. Detroit fought through a surprisingly good Predators' team, the always tough Colorado, and the hard fought series with Dallas.
I think that Detroit is more prepared, and will have an answer to everything Pittsburgh throws at them. Prediction: Detroit in seven.
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3 months ago
your completely wrong about goaltending and coaching there... fluery has played MUCH better then osgood in the post season and im pretty sure babcock didnt help his team as much as therrien has
oh and the series isnt going to game 7 or to detroit...
pens in 6
from 3 months ago
no, i'm not wrong, it's called opinion sean. and if ur gonna gloat about ur goalie, spell it right at least
from 3 months ago
he's not wrong. sorry
3 months ago
Nah, Therrien didn't make a difference by putting together a mish-mash lineup on a nightly basis for two months of the season, using guys from Wilkes Barre/Scranton that he'd never even heard of and a goalie that was projected to be an AHL backup by mid-season. Therrien calling out Orpik, Whitney, Letang, and even Fleury in front of the media during the season didn't make a difference in any of their games come playoff time did it? And the decision to go with Fleury instead of Conklin down the stretch after MAF recovered from his injury, did you think that was decided by a game of paper-rock-scissors?
Truth is, Babcock didn't have to teach half of his team to play NHL-style hockey. Therrien has had to over the past three seasons, with the influx of all the young talent. Just look at Jordan Staal's defensive game from last year to this year and tell me there is no difference. Surely, Jordan didn't learn that from his big brothers.
Therrien has pushed all the right buttons this seasons and it has paid off. But the best thing about him is that he is a true players' coach. He will put the 4th line on the ice in a tie game with 2:00 left if they deserve to be out there, and that's why guys like him, and that's what makes a difference on any hockey club. Guys know that if they do their job well they will be rewarded, and if they don't they will most certainly hear about it.
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