NHL News Break

The Stanley Cup series is shaped up to be a dandy of a series with both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin candidates for earning the Conn Smythe Trophy for the best player throughout the playoffs. Crosby leads the Pens with 21 playoff points while Malkin has been able to feed off Crosby’s leadership to score 9 goals this playoffs. Crosby did not even touch the Eastern Conference championship trophy in lieu of gripping the cup of Lord Stanley.

The Penguins are going to have to beat the Red Wings and their mighty duo of Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. The Red Wings should be getting their leading playoff goal scorer Johan Franzen back after suffering concussion like symptoms that has forced him out of action since May 8. Franzen’s game is tight. After having a tough February, Franzen came back in March to score 14 goals in 13 March games. In addition, before getting hurt, Franzen had a slow series versus Nashville, but bounced back in the Colorado series with two hat-tricks in the series and nine total goals in four games. After missing all but one game in which he scored a goal versus Dallas, Franzen is poised to do what he does best and score goals.

The Red Wings will be facing a very good defensive Penguins team. Led behind defensive superstar Sergei Gonchar, the Pens have a great compliment with his linemate Brooks Orpik who enables Gonchar to take more offensive chances. The result has been that Gonchar has been an assist machine for the Penguins. With ten playoff assists and a power play goal, Gonchar’s hotness is coming at the best time. Gonchar has gone on similar streaks throughout the season, however, Gonchar is plus 4 in the playoffs so it should be interesting to see if the NHL’s best defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom will be able to end Gonchar’s hot streak.

The Red Wings Defense is serious and its going to make for a great Stanley Cup Championship. Led by the perennial Norris Trophy winner Lidstrom, he plays alongside the offensive minded Brian Rafalski. Born in Dearborn, Michigan, Rafalski joined the Wings this season after playing his entire career for the New Jersey Devils, and this season with the Wings matched his career high 55-point season he had last year with the Devils while scoring a career high 13 goals. The Red Wings defensemen have been led in points by Niklas Kronwall with 12 points, but after scoring 2 points in game 1 versus the Stars, Kronwall had two assists in the final five games of the Western Conference Championship series.

The great defense of Detroit will have a daunting task of shutting down the young and fast Penguins. In addition to their young superstars in Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins have a great cast around the two with Czech superstar Marian Hossa. Hossa has 9 goals and 10 assists this playoff series and could be the X-factor that Johan Franzen is for the Red Wings. Pittsburgh Left-Winger Ryan Malone has also had a great post-season with 15 goals and 17 penalty minutes. Thus, the questions will be can the Pens and Fleury stop the mighty defensive led attack of the Red Wings, and can the Wings defense stop the high powered machine of the Penguins offense?

When these two teams faced eachother in the infant stages of the season, games three and four in early September the Wings won both games. The first game was a 1-0 game won on a Chris Chelios overtime goal. The game however, lacked Crosby, Malkin, and Zetterberg. Game two was won 5-2 by Detroit. The game also featured a 2 goal 2 assist night by Zetterberg, with Malkin scoring and Crosby scoring two assists. Look for the superstars to shine in the Stanley Cup Championship.