March of the Penguins...

Well, it does not look like it's going to take too long before we have this years 2008 Stanley Cup Champion and the final series is closely approaching, but no team is a guarantee at this point. However, the odds are looking VERY likely that it will be Pittsburgh Vs. Detroit. Tonight Detroit won it's 3rd game against a frustrated Dallas team, while the Penguins won their first two against Philly. There have only been 2 teams in the history of the NHL to come back from a 0-3 deficit, so it's doubtful that Dallas will move on. Pittsburgh can't let up either at this point as they have won their first two games with a score of 4-2, but Philadelphia isn't going to lay down for the Penguin express to flatten them out. Especially now that the next two games are IN Philly. Yet, if you have watched the first two games of the series you would also know that Pittsburgh has dominated Philly. Now you might have a difference of opinion here because looking at the score it wasn't a huge blowout, but Pittsburgh has really played well in all of the key areas to have Philly on their heels.

The first thing that has been impressive about Pittsburgh is their defense and goaltending combined. Not only are the defensive players (minus Ryan Whitney) playing well, but the offensive players are also playing good defense. The neutral zone has been highly controlled by Pittsburgh wingers and centers and this gives them the forwarding power to create open chances and goals to be scored.

The second thing that is really clicking for Pittsburgh is the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lines. Not only are the top players playing well, but ALL of the team is playing well (minus Ryan Whitney again). Max Talbot scored the game winner in game 2 after coming off a injury, which elevated the teams spirits and brought them their 2nd win of the series. This is certainly a difficult thing for ANY team to handle when the opposing team has weapons on all of their lines, which is what Pittsburgh has. However, so does Detroit, which is why that matchup will be a real tester for both teams.

I am really excited for Pittsburgh and Detroit and I think it will be a great series regardless because both teams are similar in many ways. Starting with the goaltending, both teams have competent goalies who are playing at their best right now. I think that in many ways Chris Osgood as the advantage for his experience, but Fleury seems to have more confidence overall right now.

Defensively both teams are great, but the one thing that Detroit has again in it's favor is experience that players like Chris Chelios and Nick Lidstom bring to the game. This could also serve as a negative because with age comes a certain amount of sluggishness that Pittsburgh's blazing forwards could capitalize on. Many of these guys (of Detroit) have won Cups before, this brings about a marginally less amount of determination when compared to a young rookie or sophomore from Pittsburgh who is dreaming of Cups in their sleep. I think that the determination factor lies in Pittsburghs court at this point.

The other challenge facing Pittsburgh is that IF faced against Detroit that Detroit will have home ice advantage meaning that the Pens will need to win at least ONE game in Hockeytown. The Pens have managed to play at a whole new level thus far in the playoffs though and won both games in Ottawa and one game in New York, but the series against Philadelphia will speak volumes about how they can handle a tough team in their home town.

Detroit has tons of firepower, which the Penguins could probably match, but in order for that to happen the Penguins will need to up their game in many areas. If you watch the way that Detroit plays hockey that force the other team to play their style of hockey. Detroit is always or at least always seems to be in control of the puck and the momentum of the game. In game 3 against Dallas it wasn't more than a few seconds after Dallas got a goal and started to shift the fans excitement that Detroit squashed those woooo's with booooo's by quickly going down the ice and scoring. Detroit has TOP NOTCH passing and they win faceoffs, which is something that the young Penguin team struggles at and is more spotty with.

Here is my list of the key things that Pittsburgh needs to do in order to win the cup (given that they beat Philadelphia)....

1. Frustrate the Red Wing.
Detroit is a team that is used to being in control and controlling the pace of the game, the best thing that the Penguins could do is shut down the Red Wings in all areas of the ice and dictate the control of the game.

2. Utlize their 3nd and 4th lines.
Playoffs are where the stars become superstars, this is where guys like Talbot, Ruutu, Laraque, Staal, etc are in need. Their lines need to be productive in this series.

3. Capitalize on the powerplays.
The Penguins have been an excellent job on their penalty killing, but Detroit is tough when they have that man advantage, so Pittsburgh will need to stay disciplined with the penalty calls and when they get their man advantage chances they need to keep the pressure on Detroit.

4. Keep Fleury confident.
Up until this point Marc-Andre Fleury has played exciting and incredible hockey, he has saved the Penguins quite a few times from some botched plays, but Detroit will smell blood early if there are any signs of fatigue in the young Fleury, so they need to keep Fleury rested and also keep the shots on him to a minimum, this means blocking shots, hitting guys, and chipping the puck loose at every chance they can get. Sergei Gonchar needs to lead his defensive lines to the point where they are playing smart defensive hockey and enabling the power forwards to move up ice and have scoring chances.

5. Give Malkin the puck.
Crosby and Hossa are easy targets with their fast and agile moves, but Malkin is one of the key players as he comes up big when he has the puck and can completely dominate the other team when he gets chances. He is dangerous every time he has the puck and the Pens need to allow him to take shot after shot.