Rematch, Anyone?

Who would have thought we would end up here?

Nearly two months after the Stanley Cup Playoffs began in eight cities throughout North America, the same two cities that represented themselves in last season's Stanley Cup final get a return engagement.



The Detroit Red Wings took the easier and quicker path to their second straight finals appearance. Their postseason began with a four-game sweep of the Columbus Blue Jackets, making their first-ever playoff run. It was on to Anaheim and the feisty Ducks, who gave the Red Wings their sternest test of the playoffs so far in a six-game slugfest. Upon advancing to the Western Conference final, division rival Chicago awaited the defending champions.

Poised to make a deep run, the Blackhawks could never build momentum after storming through both Calgary and Vancouver in six games. The 'Hawks young players were ineffective against the Red Wings' battle-tested forwards and after losing goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to injury in Game 3, backup Cristobal Huet could not keep the Red Wings at bay.

Pittsburgh's run to the final included some familiar foes as well as some to the contrary. They opened against their conference final opponents from a year ago--the Philadelphia Flyers. A five-game series win set up a date with the Washington Capitals, and a league marketer's dream: Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin, the game's two best players going head-to-head in a playoff series for the first time. The Penguins won the seven-game showdown with a dismantling in Verizon Center, and moved on to face the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes. The 'Canes looked nothing like the team that had just knocked off the East's top seed (Boston), and were swept by the Penguins.

So, we meet again.

The Red Wings won the first game Saturday night in familiar fashion--solid play from their forwards as well as a handful of key stops from Chris Osgood in the 3-1 win. Pittsburgh's top players must be better in order to keep their team in the series, as Detroit's top guns (minus the injured Pavel Datsyuk) are in top form.

My prediction? A carbon-copy of last year's final...Detroit wins in six games.


Photo credit: jpowers65 via Flickr