Author: Matt Pelc | Article Posted at: May 29, 09 - 11:39 am

Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The late spring is full of repeats on network television as most of the shows go on hiatus for the summer. The National Hockey League also takes the summer off and is throwing out a repeat before they go. This repeat, however, will delight most hockey fans.

For the second time in two season, and the first time since 1984, a Finals rematch will take place when the Detroit Red Wings look to defend their 11th overall Stanley Cup and try to win a dozen when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins looking to avenge last year’s six-game loss and capture their third Cup in their franchise’s 42-year history.

The NHL has had a great playoff season that has captured the attention of some portions of the media that have been absent since the cataclysmic lockout season of 2004-05. The postseason has been filled with storylines upon storylines.

The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins were huge stories. The NHL needs the rabid fan base of these two storied franchise, which comprise two of the Original Six, to wake up from their dormant stakes. Both the teams gave their fans lots to cheer about with each seemingly coming out of nowhere to have great seasons and bright futures.

The playoffs featured upsets as the President’s Trophy winning San Jose Sharks went down in flames in the first round and the Eastern-best Bruins were dispatched in the second-round.

They playoffs also featured the dream matchup up Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, the budding personal rival that the NHL is trying to grow to rival the NBA’s LeBron versus Kobe debate.

Finally they get the two best teams meeting in the finals for the second straight season as the Penguins battle the Red Wings. This series is not without its storylines either.

The old adage “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” was in full effect when Marion Hossa left Pittsburgh for Detroit in the off-season, leaving more money on the table in the process. Hossa felt going to the Red Wings gave him his best shot to capture his first championship.

It goes without saying the good people in Pittsburgh were none too pleased.

The series starts with two weekend games, Saturday and Sunday nights. This did not please the Red Wings and coach Mike Babcock who wondered after his team eliminated the Blackhawks with an overtime goal in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, why they were playing so quickly when teams usually get some rest after a short series.

Also coming off a short series are the Penguins, who utterly dominated the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals and swept them out of the playoffs.

It would seem that Pittsburgh has a lot going for them early in the season. Detroit is coming off two physical series with Anaheim and Chicago, while the Penguins really did not get much push back from the Hurricanes in their sweep.

The Penguins have no key players even appearing on the injury list while the Red Wings have future Hall-of-Famer and Captain Nicklas Lidstrom (Probably-lower body), defenseman Jonathan Ericcsson (Prob-appendix), center Pavel Datsyuk (Questionable-Foot), Kris Draper (Doubtful-groin).

Lidstrom and Ericcson both missed Game 5 against the Blackhawks and caused the Wings to do some scrambling on defense. Lidstrom also missed Game 4, but both are expected back. Datsyuk seems likely to go while Draper is likely out. Thomas Kopecky (face) and Andreas Lilja (concussion) seem certain to miss the rest of the playoffs.

Even though Detroit will probably have most of their stars and role players back, Babcock was not happy that they only had two full days of rest between games as all the dinged up players would have benefited from a couple more days. In fact, the back-to-back Finals games mark the first time this has happened since 1955.

Maybe the Red Wings should consider that an omen. They won the Stanley Cup that season, there last one for 42 years.

The teams met twice in the regular season with each team winning on the other’s home ice, including a wild and woolly November 11th game which ended in a 7-6 overtime win for Pittsburgh. Jordan Staahl had a hat trick and four points, Crosby notched three points and Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist.

That game marked a turning point for Pittsburgh as they knew their stars could score against Detroit, something absent in last year’s Finals.

Chris Osgood and Marc-Andre Fleury played well in last season’s finals but were both shellacked in that game.

Hossa had two assists in that game, but was rather quiet considering how many goals were scored in that game, but he played well amid boos in his return to Pittsburgh on February 8th when he scored the key second goal in a 3-0 Red Wings blanking of the Penguins.

It is hard to predict who will win this series. It was easy last year. The Red Wings had the depth and the experience, the Penguins were young and were a surprise when they emerged from the East. Perhaps they were just happy to be there.

Click here for more Hockey Betting Lines and Online Sports Betting Lines.