2009 Stanley Cup Final: Red Wings vs Penguins... Sound Familiar?

The 2009 Stanley Cup Final is an exact repeat of last year's final. Except for the fact that Marian Hossa is on the Wings and not the Pens'. Actually, this year's final will be a lot different than last year's final. Last year's final went 6 games with the Red Wings winning the series four games to two. The Red Wings dominated that series in every statistical category. The Wings took games 1 and 2 by a combined score of 7-0. The Penguins came back with a solid 3-2 victory in Game 3 back at Mellon Arena.

In Game 4, the Red Wings came away with a 2-1 win and headed back to "The Joe" with a 3-1 lead in the series. Game 5 went to the Pens' in triple overtime on a goal scored by Petr Sykora. The Wings eventually won Game 6 in Pittsburgh by a score of 3-2. That's enough about last year, let's talk about why in this year's final there may be a different result.

Forwards: Both teams have very skilled forwards on their first and second lines. Detroit has Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Marian Hossa. The Pens' have some of the best young guns in the league in Sydney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin and Crosby both have 28 points in the these playoffs in only 17 games. Zetterberg has 18 points and Franzen has 19 points.

Edge: Even

Defenseman: The Red Wings clearly have the better defense in this match-up. Rafalski Lidstrom, Kronwall and Brad Stuart have been solid in these playoffs.The Pens'do have Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang, but their defense is not as deep as the Wings is.

Edge: Detroit, too much depth and talent on the back end for the Wings.

Goaltending: Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid for Pittsburgh. The same could be said about Chris Osgood for Detroit. Fleury has a 2.62 GAA and a save percentage of .906%, and a record of 12-5. Osgood, on the other hand, has been even better. He has a 1.55 GAA and a save percentage of .930, and a record of 14-4. Dominik Hasek has played four games for the Wings and is 2-2 with a 2.91 GAA.

Edge: Pittsburgh. Fleury has been stellar, and Osgood can be quite shaky sometimes.

Coaching: Dan Bylsma has stepped in and done an unbelievable job for Pittsburgh. He turned the whole team around and has led them to another Stanley Cup Final. Mike Babcock has done a better job though. The Red Wings didn't have any "Post Stanley Cup Champion Hardships" like other teams have had. They had another great year and nobody could stop them in the Western Conference.

Edge: Detroit, Babcock has been here before and knows how to stop Crosby and Malkin.

Special Teams: The Red Wings had the best power play in the league all year long. They scored about 26% of the time. The Penguins did not fair as well as the Wings did. They only converted 17% of the time and struggled most of the season. The penalty kill percentages are the exact opposite. The Penguins' kill finished eighth in the league at 82.7%. The Wings PK on the other hand was ranked 25th in the league league at a pathetic 78.3%.

Edge: Even. The special teams numbers will depend on which team has more discipline.

Prediction: My heart wants the Penguins in 7. But my mind is telling me that the Wings will win in 6 or 7.