NHL Betting: The Stanley Cup fact file

NHL / Richard Douglas / 30 May 2009 / Leave a Comment

This season's Stanley Cup Finals features Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings for the second successive season. Richard Douglas presents his fact file on the two sides.

The season records

Pittsburgh - 45 wins, 28 losses, nine overtime losses. 255 goals for, 237 goals against
2nd in Atlantic Division, 4th in Eastern Conference overall
Leading contributors: Evgeni Malkin 113pts (35 goals, 78 assists), Sidney Crosby 103 pts (33 goals, 70 assists)

Detroit - 51 wins, 19 losses, 10 overtimes losses, 297 goals for, 244 against
1st in Central Division, 2nd Western Conference
Leading contributors: Pavel Datsyuk 97 pts (32 goals, 65 assists), Henrik Zetterberg 73 (31 goals, 42 assists)

The play-off records

Pittsburgh - Eastern Conference
Quarter-Final - beat Philadelphia 4-2
Semi-Final - beat Washington 4-2
Final - beat Carolina 4-0
Leading contributors: Sidney Crosby 28 pts (14 goals, 14 assists), Evgeni Malkin 28 pts (12 goals, 16 assists)

Detroit - Western Conference
Quarter-Final - beat Columbus 4-0
Semi-Final - beat Anahiem 4-3
Final - beat Chicago 4-1
Leading contributors: Johan Franzen 19 pts (10 goals, 9 assists), Henrik Zetterberg 18 pts (9 goals, 9 assists).

Head to heads

There was one win apiece for Pittsburgh and Detroit in their two regular-season meetings in 2008-09. Pittsburgh overcame a three-goal deficit for a 7-6 overtime win at Detroit in November while the Red Wings got revenge with a 3-0 victory at Pittsburgh in February.

The attacks

Detroit don't have the marquee players but their strength in depth has always allowed them to find a way to score. The unheralded Daniel Cleary has hit eight goals while long-serving Johan Franzen has 19 Play-off points.

Pittsburgh have the edge because they have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins offensive duo have been the combination through the play-offs. Crosby is the top-scorer in that period - 14 goals in 16 games. Meanwhile the pair have 28 points (goals and assists) each - tied for top spot.

The defences

With Pittsburgh's attack so potent, Detroit need a neutralising agent. Nicklas Lidstrom is considered the man for the job however the long-serving Swede has been absent since game three of the West Conference final through injury. Ahead of the opener, it was suggested that he would recover. Even if Lidstrom doesn't make it, the Red Wings have not got this far relying on one man. There is the reliable Brad Stuart and Brian Rafalski, who can operate going forward as well. There is also experience in 47-year-old Chris Chelios.

Detroit may have the edge but Pittsburgh's backline can never be called weak. Sergei Gonchar has marshalled the defence and laid the foundation for many of the attacks during power-plays despite suffering from knee trouble. Meanwhile Rob Scuderi has gone from also-ran to thoroughbred during the course of this season.

The keepers

Detroit's Chris Osgood is a consistent, quality performer but he never quite gets the plaudits he deserves. The play-offs saw him rattle up a save percentage of 0.925 and he made 30 stops in the final Conference game against Chicago - including a crucial flurry in the second quarter. Marc-Andre Fleury is considered strong but a step behind Osgood in every area.

The coaches

Mike Babcock is very experienced having led Detriot to the Stanley Cup last year and a Conference Final the season before. In 2003-03 he took Anaheim to the Stanley Cup Final too. He has 282 wins in 492 regular season games.

By contrast, Dan Bylesma has just 25 regular season games under his belt having replaced Michel Therrien on an interim basis in February when Pittsburgh were struggling. A record of 18 wins, three losses and four overtime losses saw him elevated to the top job as late as April 28. He is the ultimate rookie coach.

The talking point

Marián Hossa. Last year, the Slovak was playing for Pittsburgh in this fixture. After their loss to Detroit he turned down a reported five-year deal with $7 million to join the champions. He is their leading goalscorer this season with 40 and his appearance in this term's game will be controversial. For example some bright spark has altered his position to "right-wing (traitor)" on Wikipedia. The Stanley Cup Final will always be rough but this could get nasty.