On the Wings

Update (7:52 PM): One more liveblog: the Grand Rapids Press. - Matt

Update (6:20 PM): There are a few liveblogs going on tonight, so if you’re watching near a computer, be sure to stop by one or more of them:

• Abel to Yzerman
• FanHouse
• Behind the Jersey
• Puck Daddy

Just over an hour and a half until game time! This day is going by slowly, eh? - Matt

Tonight is the first game of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playoff History

This is the first time these two teams have met in the post-season.

Regular Season Series

The Wings and Pens did not face off this season, but played each other both of the last two years. Detroit won both games, beginning with a 3-1 decision at home on December 12th, 2005. They then shut out the Pens 2-0 on October 7th, 2006.

Pittsburgh’s last win over Detroit came October 18th, 2003 in a 4-3 decision.

The Penguins

Pittsburgh finished the regular season 47-27-8, which was good for 102 points and second place in the Eastern Conference.

They began the playoffs against Ottawa and took only four games to dispatch the team that eliminated them last year. In the second round, they faced the Rangers. They lost Game 4, but took the series in five. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they took on Philadelphia. They lost Game 4 again, but advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals with a win in Game 5. They have been off since Sunday.

Forwards

Dupuis-Crosby-Hossa
Sykora-Malkin-Malone
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(via MacLeod)

The Pens are led by the dynamic duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby is tied with Detroit’s own Henrik Zetterberg with a league-leading 21 post-season points. Malkin is tied with both his teammate Marian Hossa and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk at 19 points. His scoring is a little more balanced that Crosby’s at nine goals and 10 assists. Just four of Crosby’s 21 points have come from goals.

Aside from those two, there’s Hossa and his nine goals, Ryan Malone and his 15 playoff points, Petr Sykora and his five goals, and Jordan Staal and his six goals. That’s a fair amount of scoring depth.

The Pittsburgh forward corps is rounded out by guys like Maxime Talbot, Pascal Dupuis, Tyler Kennedy, Jarkko Ruutu, George Laraque and Adam Hall. Hall is the only one in the the minus range, so responsibility is a part of their mentality.

They are a big group of guys as well, with Laraque topping the scales at 243. Malone and Staal weigh in at 224 and 220, respectively. Malkin and Crosby are listed at 195 and 200, while Hossa is 210. That’s a lot of weight for the Red Wing defense and forwards to move around, though Detroit is not without size up front.

Defensemen

Sergei Gonchar leads Pittsburgh defenders with 11 points, 10 of which are assists. Ryan Whitney is second with six. From there, it’s a drop off to Rob Scuderi (3), Brooks Orpik (2), Kristopher Letang (2), and Hal Gill (2).

Compare to the Wings: Niklas Kronwall (12), Nick Lidstrom (10) and Brian Rafalski (10), with a drop off in the bottom three of Brad Stuart (2), Brett Lebda (2), Andreas Lilja/Chris Chelios (1 point combined). Gonchar aside, Pittsburgh’s defenders aren’t quite as involved in the offense as Detroit’s are.

That’s not to knock them as a group, however. They are all in the plus range and play more balanched minutes. The Wings’ blueline is all in the positives, but the the TOI is slanted more toward the top four.

Like the forwards, the Pittsburgh defense is on the large side. Hall Gill, at 250, has 30 pounds on the biggest Red Wing, Andreas Lilja. Gonchar, Scuderi, Orpik, and Whitney are all in the 210-220 range and Letang weighs in at just over 200. In contrast, the Wings have only two defenders over 200, Lilja (220) and Stuart (213). At the low end, the master of positioning, Nick Lidstrom is just 189, like the team’s main open-ice hitter on the blueline, Nik Kronwall.

Goalies

Marc-Andre Fleury is the post-season save-percentage leader at .938 (tied with Dan Ellis). Chris Osgood, in comparison, is officially third at .931. Fleury’s GAA of 1.70 is second to Osgood’s 1.60. He’s been in net for each of the Pens’ 12 playoff wins and has posted three shutouts. Gone are the days of the young Fleury floundering in net.

Injuries

The Pens will be without Gary Roberts (pneumonia) tonight.

The Wings will be without Johan Franzen (headaches). Chris Chelios is mostly recovered from a leg injury that kept him out of Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, but he will not play tonight.

Thoughts

I fully expect this to be a close series. There is too much talent on either side for one team to take complete command. Both teams will face challenges in this round that they have not yet faced this postseason. In Pittsburgh, Detroit will see a healthy offensive powerhouse for the first time in the playoffs. In Detroit, Pittsburgh will see one of the strongest team defenses in the League.

Detroit will need to play its position game perfectly. The best way to keep Crosby and Company off the scoreboard is to keep the puck away from them. The Penguins will need to use their size advantage to clear the net and to hound Red Wing puck carriers.

I’m fully confident in the Wings’ ability to take this series. Pittsburgh is a great young team, but I feel Detroit has the right mix of youth and experience to pull this off. As long as they commit themselves wholly to their standard brand of game management, they can shut down the Penguins’ top lines and hold off their depth.

This should be the most exciting series of the playoffs and one for the ages. I can’t wait.