Bearer of the Crown vs. Hockey Town
Well I hate to be the kind of guy who says “I told you so,” but if I didn’t then people wouldn’t know how damn right I am all the time…..Penguins in 5, Red Wings in 6. Boom!
The Wings gave a bit of a scare when they couldn’t secure win #4 and ultimately let 2 games slip to the Dallas Stars, but they made sure to finish it off last night taking a 4-0 lead into the third period. The two teams will now face each other for Lord Stanley’s cup. As much as it still stings to not have the Rangers alive in this race, this truly is the best thing for the NHL. Like I’ve stated here before, Sidney Crosby is the heir apparent to Wayne Gretzky’s abandoned crown and he’s been called left and right to be the savior of the sport, bringing back some interest to the game. Now he will go up against one of the NHL’s original 6 teams and one of the most dominant and recognized franchise in the sport (in my opinion falling just a tad short to the Canadiens).
The Penguins have only lost 2 games in the playoffs (both on the road). They have the speed, they have the passing, and they have the depth/talent. Meanwhile the Red Wings also have the speed, passing, and the depth/talent. Only differences are that the Red Wings come in with the experience (now making their 5th Stanley Cup appearance in the last 13 years), and they definitely have the edge (although by not much of a margin) for goaltending. The Penguins have the youth and that new gleam in their eyes with 99.99999% of the team getting their first tastes of the finals. And for the first time the Red Wings are going into a series not being the most rested (although it’s only a matter of a couple days) team.
Both these teams will attack like crazy, and because of Chris Osgood’s current reign, I have to give the Red Wings the edge. If he doesn’t skip a beat in his play, then the Penguins are sure to have a hard time getting on the scoreboard. Also, the Pens need to be able to get the puck close to the net; Detroit was amazing at keeping the Stars to the outter edges of the zone.
Personally I’d love to see the Penguins win. What a story, only a couple years ago the franchise was on the verge of bankruptcy and taking offers from the highest bidders for relocation. On top of that, their deal for residency at the Mellon Arena was up and they had no real home. But they worked it out and just a year later they’re in the finals with the “savior” of the sport, Sidney Crosby (who’d legally still have to drink non-alcoholic champagne from the cup) and one of the other stars of the league in Evgeni Malkin (just barely 21). Also, it would be nice to watch my favorite player, Petr Sykora, lift the cup.
My heart says Penguins in 7. My head says Red Wings in 6. BOOM!
This entry was posted on 20. May 2008 at 16:37 and is filed under NHL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
