2009 Stanley Cup Finals Preview
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings
Pittsburgh has become a scoring machine during the 2009 playoffs and Detroit has a lot of key injuries that could end up hurting them in this series. Ultimately, the goaltending and role players will decide who gets to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup high above their heads.
Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby
According to NHL.com, Malkin and Crosby lead the league with 28 post season points each. For Malkin, this includes 6 goals in the last 4 games against the Carolina Hurricanes. Crosby also chipped in 2 goals meaning the dynamic duo of Malkin and Crosby scored nearly half of Pittsburgh’s 20 goals in the series versus the Hurricanes.
If Detroit wants to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions, they will need to slow down Malkin and Crosby. Last year, Detroit held Malkin to 3 points in 6 games. However, Crosby managed to net 6 points in those games. Chris Osgood needs to have another phenomenal series like he did against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Chris Osgood
Osgood has performed like an all-star in the 2009 playoffs posting a GAA of 2.06 with a .925 save percentage, according to ESPN.com. While he has yet to face an offensive powerhouse like Malkin and Crosby, he did manage to hold forward Ryan Getzlaf to 2 goals during their 7-game series against the Anaheim Ducks.
Marc-Andre Fleury
On the other side, Marc-Andre Fleury has performed just as well for his team. He faltered a little bit in the series against the Washington Capitals posting a 3.01 GAA in 7 games according to ESPN.com. However, the breakaway save he made on Alexander Ovechkin in game 7 of that series set the tone for the rest of the game and allowed Pittsburgh to get the win. With so much offensive firepower on both teams, each goalie will need to make saves like that in order to keep their respected teams in the game.
Injured Red Wings
According to ESPN.com, Marian Hossa, Jonathan Ericsson, Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Draper, Andreas Lilja and Tomas Kopecky are all banged up for the Wings. Only Hossa played in the Wings’ game 5 win over the Blackhawks. While the Wings proved they can win without some of their best players, it seems very unlikely they can win a series without them.
Role players like Daniel Cleary did step up nicely for Detroit during the Western Conference Finals against the Blackhawks. Cleary scored 5 of his 8 goals in that series according to NHL.com. However, the Penguins are too good for the Wings to rely on role players alone.
Marian Hossa
Hossa came to Detroit because he wanted to be able to win a Stanley Cup. Now he will have to beat his former team in order to achieve that goal. He will no doubt have some extra motivation to beat his team and prove he made the right decision in leaving Pittsburgh.
On the other side, Pittsburgh would like nothing more than to be able to show Hossa that they do not need him in order to win a Stanley Cup. This will be an interesting side story to watch during the course of these finals.
Despite how much Pittsburgh has grown as a team, Detroit will once again reign as Stanley Cup Champions. The series will no doubt be a hard-fought battle, but Detroit will beat Pittsburgh in 6 games and bring the Cup back to Hockeytown.
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