Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins Still Searching for Stanley Cup Formula

For the last five seasons, the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins have been in the same boat as 27 other teams in the NHL. After squaring off in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009—which Detroit and Pittsburgh split—both teams are still searching for the Stanley Cup-winning formula.

Both teams square off on Thursday, and it is a great time to look at the teams, and what's happened since those two magical June months.

In the year 2014 you may think it's abundantly clear that the Penguins have gained more ground than the Red Wings, but that's debatable, depending on how you look at it.

Both teams have lost key pieces that were staples of each team's Cup squad, and both have failed to successfully replace them. For example, the Wings haven't been able to replace Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, and the Penguins have been unable to replace depth that included Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko, Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan and Max Talbot.

If you don't believe that, take a look at each team's play during the last five seasons.

Season	Detroit	Pittsburgh
2009-10	Lost Conference Semifinals to San Jose Sharks	Lost in Conference Semifinals to Montreal Canadiens
2010-11	Lost Conference Semifinals to San Jose Sharks	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals to Tampa Bay Lightning
2011-12	Lost Conference Quarterfinals to Nashville Predators	Lost in Conference Quarterfinals to Philadelphia Flyers
2012-13	Lost Conference Semifinals to Chicago Blackhawks	Lost in Conference Finals to Boston Bruins
2013-14	Lost Conference Quarterfinals to Boston Bruins	Lost in Conference Semifinals to New York Rangers

I was a little shocked too, but the facts are the facts. Although the Wings would love a franchise player like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin in his prime, the Penguins would love to have a defender like Niklas Kronwall or a goaltender like Jimmy Howard at this stage.

Both teams have gone about building in their own way, and both have their holes. Over the last few years the Penguins' defense, goaltending and bottom-six forward depth have been an issue. Offense hasn't been a problem, but Marc-Andre Fleury's meltdowns have certainly cost the Penguins from time to time.

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The Penguins' goaltending will remain virtually unchanged—at least during Jim Rutherford's tenure as general manager—but the defense has youngsters who are currently developing in the NHL and others outside the NHL.

This includes defenders such as Derrick Pouliot, Scott Harrington and Brian Dumoulin among others. This trio eventually will be able to join Olli Maatta, Kris Letang and potentially Christian Ehrhoff, and that would make for a very solid Pens blue line. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Rob Rossi has a quote from Rutherford on the goaltending situation:

On the Detroit side of things, the Red Wings have had quality defense that has been full of youngsters like Danny DeKeyser and Brendan Smith, they have received adequate goaltending from Howard and the team has received production from a nice combination of secondary and tertiary players.

However, Detroit has lacked Pittsburgh's level of elite offense up front, and that has put it at a disadvantage at times.

Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are great players, but injuries and age have caused them to regress slightly from the level they played at during the Stanley Cup Final. Despite this, the Red Wings have some youngsters like Gustav Nyquist, Anthony Mantha and Tomas Jurco, who could prove to be just what the team is looking for.

The long story short is that both teams have strengths and weaknesses. Both are trying to craft a roster capable of getting back to the "big dance," and this year presents an interesting situation for both teams. First-year coach Mike Johnston leads the Penguins; veteran coach Mike Babcock, who could be in the final year with the team, leads the Red Wings.

A playoff failure for the Penguins would likely result in catastrophic changes, whereas a playoff failure by the Red Wings wouldn't even result in a batted eye. The Wings have made the playoffs for 23 consecutive seasons, and that feat is extraordinary.

If anything, the failing of the Red Wings would be rationalized as something that was expected, whereas a Penguins failure would come under intense scrutiny.

Thursday's matchup in a regular-season game this early into the season comes with additional fanfare, but both teams will need to simply play their game. Detroit sits fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 3-1-2 start and eight points. 

Zetterberg and Nyquist have gotten off to a great start, as has Howard between the pipes. This trio of players, Kronwall and a healthy Datsyuk are arguably the biggest reasons why the Wings could have some serious success if things break right. Each has the ability to be a difference-maker, and with a decent supporting cast the Wings stand a chance to surprise people.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The Penguins currently sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-2-0 record and six points after dropping their last game vs. the Philadelphia Flyers.

Crosby has gotten off to his usual start, and newcomer Patric Hornqvist has really fit in well with Pittsburgh. Malkin and Chris Kunitz have also stepped up and performed, and continued success is what the Penguins need to get back to the Final.

This matchup should be a good test for both teams. Both are coming off a tough loss, and both will look to bounce back and get going in the right direction again.

While it is too hard and too early to project standings at this point, when you consider the teams' past meetings in the Stanley Cup Final,could you imagine what an Eastern Conference Final matchup would be like?