NHL’s Powerhouses to battle for the Cup!

The NHL has to be ecstatic about the match up they have for the finials. Detroit and Pittsburgh are probably the biggest hockey towns in the US; notice I said US and not North America. We all know that Montreal and Toronto are the biggest in North America. But the Red Wings and the Penguins have extensive fan bases and should post some good ratings when the games start on Saturday night. The puck drops at 8pm ET. These are clearly the best two teams in their conferences right now. Also, they are both hitting their strides at the right time, the Penguins are 12-2 in the playoffs this year and the Wings are 12-4.

Each team has the standout players; Pittsburgh has Crosby, Malkin and Hossa while Detroit has Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Datsyuk. But I think it is going to come down to goaltending. This is going to be a great goaltending duel between Detroit’s Osgood (1.65 goals against average) and Pittsburgh’s Fleury (1.70 GAA). Osgood has a lot more playoff experience then Fleury, but Fleury has been so impressive in the last two rounds. Fleury hasn’t allowed any soft or weak goals throughout the playoffs while Osgood has shown some lapses in a couple of games. But the thing is if Osgood has a poor outing, there is future Hall of Famer, Dominik Hasek on Detroit’s bench ready to come in to relieve him. For that reason, I feel that Detroit has the edge, on paper! But I don’t think Detroit can start planning the parade just yet. Pittsburgh is so loaded up front that I think they are going to wear down the older Red Wings and come out triumphant. I think this series is going to go 7 games and the Penguins will be hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup when it is all over! Either way, it is going to be fun to watch! Like I said, I am sure the NHL loves this matchup!