The Detroit Red Wings Take On The Pittsburgh Penguins For All The Marbles.

Well today is the last day of hockey.  At 8pm EST the puck will drop in Hockeytown USA.  Sixty minutes is all that separates the Detroit Red Wings from repeating as Stanley Cup champions or will it be the young Pittsburgh Penguins who finally break through and win their first Stanley Cup.  One aspect that is being overlooked is that everyone is saying how Detroit has all this experience, well the truth is when it comes to game 7’s, this bunch of talented Red Wings have none.  Well almost none, Brian Rafalski played in two game 7’s with the New Jersey Devils, once in 2001 where they lost to the Colorado Avalanche and once in 2003 when they beat the Anaheim Ducks.  But none of the Red Wings key players such as Nicklas Lindstrom, Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk or goaltender Chris Osgood have that kind of experience to draw on.  That should help even things up even though Detroit is playing on their home ice.  like I said earlier tonight’s game is an anything can happen–winner takes all battle for hockey’s greatest prize and Sports’ most heralded Trophy, Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Pittsburgh avoided a repeat of last season by staving off elimination with a heart stopping 2-1 win in game 6 and now find themselves in a position even they weren’t sure was possible in mid-February when they changed coaches and were struggling along in 10th place.  But they are still fighting history because home teams have won 12 of the 14 Stanley Cup Finals game 7’s since the NHL went to the best of seven format back in 1939, with the last being the Montreal Canadiens in 1971.  A team that had nine future hall of famers.

The Penguins will need to have their two superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin dialed in if they want to have any chance at pulling out a victory.  They need to create some traffic in front of the net and follow the golden rule of playing smart hockey, NO PENALTIES.  Penalties will doom whichever team has more since both teams’ powerplay units are extremely effective.

It should be a great game and I have definitely enjoyed this years playoffs, some of the most exciting overall hockey played in a long time.  I for one will be sad when the game is over because that means no more hockey until September.