Are Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins on Course for Finals Rematch?

A trio of Game Seven's took place recently in the conference semifinals—one in the West, two in the East.

It set the NHL on fire.

Three Game Sevens? Three games that could come down to a lucky bounce to decide who moves on and who's playing golf?

Two of the teams that moved on—the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins—find themselves in the same spot as last season. .

We've already seen the past two Stanley Cup champs battle it out in the playoffs for just the third time in NHL history. We may now see a rematch in the final.

The last time two teams met in the Stanley Cup final in consecutive years was the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers in 1983-84. The teams split championships.

Both Detroit and Pittsburgh just went through their tests of mettle. Each vanquished its biggest rival.

Detroit and Anaheim were 2-2 against each other in the postseason previous to this year. There was mutual animosity. Chris Pronger injured Tomas Holmstrom on a boarding penalty in 2007, and plenty of fighting went on this year.

The teams were evenly matched. The Ducks' suffocating defense negated Detroit's superior depth for most of the series. In the end Detroit squeaked by.

Pittsburgh and Washington became rivals when the Penguins drafted Sidney Crosby and the Capitals took Alexander Ovechkin. Because of those two stars, it's been a big deal whenever the Penguins and Capitals met during the regular season. But it wasn't until the second round of these playoffs that the teams finally met in the postseason.

Both Crosby and Ovechkin had hat tricks in Game Two.

The animosity between Pittsburgh and Washington may not compare to Detroit-Anaheim, but the competitiveness was certainly there.

If Detroit and Pittsburgh meet in the final, there would be no shortage of story lines.

In the offseason Marian Hossa turned down a lucrative long-term deal with Pittsburgh because he thought Detroit offered him a better chance to win the Cup. Pittsburgh would like nothing more than to prove him wrong.

Detroit's backup goalie is Ty Conklin, who backed up Marc-Andre Fluery of the Penguins in 2007-08 and played a key role in leading Pittsburgh to the playoffs that year.

If Detroit and Pittsburgh meet in the finals, it could be the start of a new rivalry. Rivalries are born in the playoffs—more specifically, frequent meetings in the playoffs. Back-to-back meetings in the finals would only intensify the rivalry.

Would a Stanley Cup Finals rematch be good for the NHL?

Or would fans be feeling the deja vu blues?

The alternative matchup would be Chicago-Carolina.

Let's suppose Chicago upsets Detroit. The Blackhawks would almost certainly then be fodder for Pittsburgh. It would be like cheating fate if Chicago and Carolina were to face off.

Stanley Cup champions almost always have to go through a rite of passage to win the Cup.

Detroit did.

In 1995 a heavily favored Detroit team was swept by New Jersey in the finals. In 1996, the Red Wings were beaten by their fierce rivals at the time, Colorado. In 1997, they vanquished Colorado and beat a favored Philadelphia team.

It was the same recently for Detroit.

In 2007, the Wings lost to Anaheim and created a strong rivalry in the process. Though they didn't face Anaheim in 2008, they did this year and had to vanquish their rivals before moving forward.

Chicago hasn't had that test, but it will get one against Detroit. And if the pattern continues, the Blackhawks will lose a tough series. If all goes according to the cycle, Chicago will eventually have to beat Detroit in the playoffs to win a Cup.

But not this year.

Carolina is a different story.

Detroit and Anaheim were the previous two Stanley Cup champions, but if you go back three years, it's Carolina. The Hurricanes are no strangers to what it takes to win. In fact, they know better than Pittsburgh .

If Chicago doesn't get its hard lesson against Detroit, it will either get it against Carolina or Pittsburgh. I commend the Blackhawks for beating two favored teams in Calgary and Vancouver, but there will be no Stanley Cup this year.

Whatever the finals match-up, it will be full of intrigue. Expect Detroit and Pittsburgh to become the first teams to meet in consecutive Stanley Cup finals in 25 years.

What a series it will be.