Goaltending
Six seasons after he was run out of town, Chris Osgood has been a story of redemption this year, handling much of the Red Wings goaltending duties, although essentially by default. Detroit planned for Dominik Hasek to be the man, but the 43-year-old was hurt frequently during the regular season and shaky when he started the playoffs, forcing the team to turn to Osgood in both instances.
The rest, as they say, is history. Osgood has been steady with gusts up to spectacular, which is more than enough for a team like the Red Wings, who play such a good overall defensive game that their goaltenders tend to face fewer shots than anyone in the league. Osgood also has been down this road before, winning a Stanley Cup as a starter for Detroit in 1998 and serving as the backup the year before.
That's the kind of experience that Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury does not have, but the 23 year old is one of only three goalies to be drafted first overall and he is now an integral part of the youthful dynamic that makes the Penguins what they are right now. Fleury is extremely athletic and has performed well enough in these playoffs to overcome the questionable reputation he had when he joined a horrible team as a teenager.
Advantage: Pittsburgh
Special teams
If you go by the power play and penalty killing numbers, there is really little that separates these teams so far in the playoffs. But don't be surprised if special teams will still make the difference in this series.
The Penguins have won several games because of their power play, although they haven't run into the kind of aggressive penalty killing style favored by the Red Wings, who have scored five shorthanded goals so far. Detroit doesn't like to sit back when it is down a man, attacking the points in its own zone and sending a forward in deep to pressure opponents trying to break out of theirs.
Then again, the Red Wings haven't faced a team that can throw Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar and Marian Hossa out on one unit, or Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora and Staal on another. Of course, the Red Wings have some pretty potent weapons of their own with Lidstrom and Rafalski doing great point work and Zetterberg and Datsyuk moving the puck around with Tomas Holmstrom taking up residence on the edge of the crease.
Advantage: Even
Coaching
In many ways, Detroit's Mike Babcock and Pittsburgh's Michel Therrien are underrated as coaches because they are perceived to have things easy with all the talent on their rosters. That's one way of looking at it, although another would be to appreciate how much they've done to maximize what they have.
Babcock, who once took an overachieving Anaheim Mighty Ducks team to the Stanley Cup Final, is the only coach to win 50 games in each of his first three seasons with a new team. That may not seem impressive because the Red Wings have been among the league's elite teams for well over a decade, but they were also one of the NHL's biggest spenders and forced to change their ways with the salary cap imposed after the lockout. Detroit did manage to hang on to many core players, but still had to fill in several blanks. Under Babcock, the Wings have not missed a beat.
Therrien, meanwhile, cut his teeth coaching in Montreal where his inability to rein in his emotions proved to be his downfall. He started over in Pittsburgh's minor-league system, and when he was promoted to the big club in late 2005, Therrien took over a young club with offensive talent that didn't understand how important preventing goals was to winning games. He instilled a dedication to defense in his group, and that has become one of the key reasons the Penguins have gotten as far as they have.
Advantage: Pittsburgh (slight)
Intangibles
There is depth, experience and home-ice advantage on the Red Wings side, and youth, enthusiasm and perhaps a sense of destiny for a Pittsburgh team that seems poised to become the NHL's next great dynasty.
What's better? Well, you kind of know what to expect from Detroit at this time of year, but for the Penguins, the impact of having so few who have been here remains to be determined. It might be a drawback, but then again it could benefit the Penguins who have been tremendously focused throughout the playoffs and may not feel daunted by how challenging the next step should be.
Advantage: Detroit
Outlook: Both teams have speed, skill and play the game to win rather than not to lose, which means this series is shaping up to be a classic and certainly the most exciting Final the NHL has seen in a decade. The Penguins will start on the road for the first time in the postseason, which isn't a bad thing since they've gone 4-2 in white in these playoffs and will be able to get their feet wet without worrying about playing to their own crowd right away.
Prediction: Pittsburgh in six.
