Stanley Cup Rematch

Anyone else feeling déjà vu? It's like I'm Bill Murray waking up to watch the same finals over again, but this time Marian Hossa is wearing a different jersey. So, we have the same match up for the Cup that we had last season; the Penguins claim they have learned from their losing experience last year, and the defending champs are trying to become the first repeat champions since the Red Wings, who did it in 1997 and 1998.

Speaking of back-to-back, everyone has been making mention of this being the first Stanley Cup rematch since the 1984 Cup Finals when the upstart Edmonton Oilers ended the dynasty run of the New York Islanders and started their own. It's hard not to compare the Oilers of that age to the Penguins of now. Both are lead by the dominant saviors of the NHL (Gretzky and Crosby) and a great sidekick (Messier and Malkin).
It is also hard not to think that the busy schedule will help the younger and seemingly healthy players. Overall, it will challenge the depth of the Red Wings since they are missing two big pieces in Captain Nicklas Lidstrom and leading scorer Pavel Datsyuk. Though, if the end of the Blackhawks series has shown us anything, it's that those players are overrated considering they won without them. Just kidding. These players, if out for most of the series, will be tough to replace over the long haul.

It's also the first time games will be played on consecutive days since 1955, which goes to show you how powerful an influence television is on professional sports. Because NBC wanted to have their summer series “I’m a celebrity … Get me out of here” on its regular Monday/Tuesday night timeslots, the Penguins and Red Wings were forced to play back to back on Saturday and Sunday. Evidently, we need to see more of Spencer and his creepy flesh covered beard rather than Crosby and Hossa.
Both teams possess a deep forward core with the Penguins top two scorers on a complete tear right now. Crosby and Malkin have combined for 56 points and 26 goals. Two more goals and they tie a postseason record for most goals by a teammate since the NHL moved to the current playoff system in 1994. On the other side Marian Hossa has a lot to prove, but I will have more on the turncoat later.
Johan Franzen has continued his postseason success with an amazing 23 goals in this two-postseason span. Three more and “The Mule” ties Joe Sakic for most goals in consecutive playoffs since 1994. The depth has been most apparent with the current injury situation with Dan Cleary scoring 8 goals and Darren Helm, who has yet to score a regular season goal, chipped in his 5th postseason goal in the series clincher vs. the Blackhawks.

Defensively Brad Stuart has emerged to play big time minutes in the absence of Nicklas Lidstrom, but the Red Wings need a healthy Lidstrom to match up against the big time forwards the Penguins bring to the table. The Penguins have been dressing 7 defensemen because of the unknown health of Sergei Gonchar and it seemed to have rejuvenated the Penguins best all around defensemen. But, as in most series, it will come down to the men who protect the net. Marc-Andre Fleury will be tested in this series as the Red Wings lead the playoffs in shots per game (39.5). Don’t forget he did make 55 saves in a Game 5 road win in last year’s final too. Fleury has showed in these playoff’s that he can take over and win games on his own, and will need to be up for the challenge against such a dominant offensive force. On the other side of the rink lies the Rodney Dangerfield of goaltenders, Chris Osgood. He can’t get the respect he deserves. With all the questions coming into the playoffs, all the three-time Stanley Cup winner has done is continue to win and do it in an impressive fashion. The 36-year-old netminder is second in the league in GAA (2.06) and the second best GAA in Stanley Cup Final history (1.55 in 11 games). If Osgood leads another team to a championship he has to get some serious concession for the Hall-of-Fame.

That finally brings me to Marian Hossa, the man who turned down a more lucrative contract to sign a one year deal with the Red Wings because he felt he had a “better” chance of winning a Cup with the Red Wings. My opinion on this matter is that Hossa earned the right to become an UFA and chose to join the defending Cup champions because they did and still do have the best chance of winning a Cup for the Slovakian. This will not add any fuel to the fire for the Penguins... just for their fans and for the media. My question is, though, what will happen if the Penguins win the Cup? Will Hossa, then a UFA, sign back with the Penguins for a one year deal because it will give him the best chance to win the cup? If nothing else, this is a great side story to an already great cup matchup.

Now for the fearless prediction (and, please, no one keep track of my record. It is as good as the Washington Nationals first month): I think the Penguins have learned from the experience last year. They did not score a goal until Game 3, and just looked overwhelmed in last year’s Cup Finals and this will not happen this year. The injuries, schedule, and the pure high that Crosby and Malkin are on will give us a new champion as I predict the Penguins will win the Cup in 5 games