AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > May > 20
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Red Wings & Penguins: I Predict…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ok kids, first of all…a show of hands. How many of you, back when the playoffs began, picked Detroit and Pittsburgh to play in the Stanley Cup Finals? For those of you who did…congrats and well done!
Of course, yours truly picked Montreal and San Jose to duke it out…two teams that went down in round two to the teams that then fell in the conference finals. I am, of course, dealing with this in my normal, professional, mature, calm, controlled demeanor.
Nevertheless, given that “success” rate, I’m reluctant to make any predictions here except to say, (and I know I’m going waaaaay out on a limb here), that Sara and Wings Fan in GA are probably going to go with the Detroit.
I think the “logical” choice here would be to go with Wings. After all, they have been motoring their way towards this position from the get-go last fall. They finished the regular season leading the league in such stats as GA/G, (2.18), S/G, (34.4) and SA/G, (23.5). In fact, if you consider those numbers as well as G/G, PP% and PK%, the lowest they ranked in either of those stats is penalty killing…and that was 84.0%, which was good enough for eighth best in the NHL. It would seem given all that, and the fact that they are 12-4 in the playoffs, the Red Wings are simply playing their role in what is merely a coronation ceremony to the cup.
But just ask Hillary Clinton what can happen on the way to a “coronation ceremony” these days.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, 12-2 in post-season, have been putting together quite a run these past several weeks and their numbers during the post season match up pretty well against their opponents. Let’s compare, shall we?
G/G: Pittsburgh-3.64…Detroit-3.44
GAG: Pittsburgh-1.86…Detroit-1.94
S/G: Pittsburgh-32.3…Detroit-36.3
SA/G: Pittsburgh-27.9…Detroit-23.6
PP: Pittsburgh-24.6%…Detroit-21.0%
PK: Pittsburgh-87.3%…Detroit-87.3%
Now, take into consideration the men between the pipes. For Detroit, Chris Osgood is 10-2 with a 1.60 GAA and a .931 SV%. Not too shabby for a guy who wasn’t even the starter for the first four playoff games. On the other end of the ice, Marc-Andre Fleury has compiled a 12-2 record with a 1.70 GAA and a .938 SV%.
Fairly even, eh? So, if you look purely at the numbers, this could be a hum-dinger of a match-up. And if you’ve been paying any attention at all to these two teams, they look like two high-speed freight trains smack-dab on a collision course.
The two teams did not play each other during the regular season but, as you will recall, two players on the Penguins do have at least one game’s worth of experience against the Wings this past year. Marian Hossa remembers it well, I am sure.
One last thought, for what it’s worth…the Pens have won the first three games in all three playoff series this spring. Against Ottawa they went on to win game four. Versus the Rangers and Flyers they bounced back after game four losses to take the series in five. Detroit has come out on top in the opening two games of each of their playoff match-ups and only against Nashville did they fail to take a 3-0 series lead. So both teams are adept at getting the jump on their opposition.
If I were forced to make any forecast on what will unfold… it would be to look for seven very entertaining and close games. Maybe, if we’re really lucky, we will be treated to an overtime “instant classic” game on Saturday June 7th to decide it.
In Other Sporting News
Could the NFL be heading toward the same type of work stoppage that we hockey fans endured three seasons ago?
Middlesbrough defeated Manchester City 8-1 in English Premier League soccer action. That’s right…the Teesiders notched eight…count them eight…goals in a single soccer game. I think that uses up their entire months quota for goals that a team is allowed to score.
You think the TV analyst who stand between the benches during an NHL game are close to the action? Well, this photographer found himself a little too close during a track meet in Utah. WARNING: Not for the squeamish!
