Pittsburgh has a solid defense. They have Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Whitney, and…Robert Scuderi? Gonchar has 11 points (1 G, 10 A) and has made some amazing defensive plays so far, as has his teammate Whitney. Combined they have 48 blocked shots this postseason. But sorry Pittsburgh, those two don’t stand a chance against the Detroit defense.
Three reasons why Detroit has a better defense: Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, and Niklas Kronwall. Forget the fact that these three have combined for 32 points in the playoffs so far. Detroit has allowed a mere 23.6 shot against per game. Chris Osgood might have a bad night in the upcoming Finals, he might even have two, but if he’s only face 24 shots, how bad could it be?
Although Pittsburgh is averaging 32.3 shots per game in the playoffs, they only averaged 27.7 shots per game during the regular season. Even if their shots-per-game does diminish in the upcoming series against Detroit, which it more than likely will, it will not affect Pittsburgh greatly; they believe in quality, not quantity.
Even taking all of this into account, Detroit still has a defense that no other team has completely figured out…yet!
Overall Edge (Defense): Detroit
Now that the other parts of the teams have been discussed, let’s get to the great debate: The goaltenders.
Marc-Andre Fleury has proven himself to be a more than adequate goalie in the playoffs. Fleury went 1-4 with a 3.76 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage in last year’s playoff debacle. However, he has redeemed himself this postseason posting a 12-2 record to go along with a 1.70 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. He also leads all goalies with three shutouts.
Fleury has matured in net in the 14 games he has played this postseason. The rebounds which once gave him a problem early in his career no longer phase the young goalie. He is quicker in the crease and thus, has been a large reason for the Penguins’ success.
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