And so it's down to two - Detroit vs. Pittsburgh in the Finals

I’m READY… pick me pick me…

Right, wrong order. I didn’t know who had the rebound attempt. Will edit. Thanks

I almost fell out of my chair. I read it to mean that the Hawks were destined to win. Oops.

i actually jumped off the couch when i see that save. Great game by the wings they went out with a bang. Can’t wait for this series to start.

Versus tossed up some numbers during the game. I think the last time was in 87 with the Islanders/Oilers

I saw odds for who will win the stanley cup at the beginning of the season. wings and pens were 1 & 2 with best odds (for obvious reasons).

I cant wait for saturdays game. I dont think ill be able to sleep tonight.
lets goooo!

Just copied and pasted from what I wrote over at FTF tonight, but it’s relevant here:

The last time two teams had a rematch in the Stanley Cup Finals was 1984, when the Edmonton Oilers knocked off the New York Islanders. The Isles were the toast of the league, winning four Cups in a row beforehand.

In 1983, Edmonton was young but skilled. Rolling through their respective Conference in the playoffs, the Oil swept their first series against the Jets, dropped one game to the Flames, and proceeded to sweep the Blackhawks to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. However, they were overmatched by one of the best teams in their era, a team filled with veteran superstars such as Mike Bossy and Bob Nystrom.

In 1984, Edmonton was hungry for redemption. They had two players go 1-2 in the point race, as well as having two great young centermen in Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky, both of whom were in their young twenties.

In 2008, Pittsburgh was young but skilled. Rolling through their respective Conference, the Pens swept their first series against the Senators, dropped one game to the Rangers, and proceeded to knock the Flyers out in five games to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. However, they were overmatched by one of the best teams in their era, a team filled with veteran superstars such as Nik Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk.

In 2009, Pittsburgh was hungry for redemption. They had two players go 1-2 in the point race, as well as having two great young centermen in Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, both of whom were in their young twenties.

-Fear The Fin

Firmly in your guys corner for this one. Knock the big red machine right on their behinds.

Woooooooooooooo

Agreed. Should be an electric series :)

Fired up and ready go. Looking forward to another good one.

carefull it is detroit, not the most law abiding city in the nation

its probably both. but hes been a slump for the better part of the entire season

Petr Sykora hasn’t really been the same since Lou Lamoriello flipped him to Anaheim for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky before the ‘02-’03 regular season. He has never really been able to replicate the success he had playing on a line with centre Jason Arnott and winger Patrik Elias with any of the four teams he’s played on since that trade, nor has never eqauled or exceeded his personal best for goals or points, which surprises me because he has spent the better part of the past to seasons playing on Evgeni Malkin’s wing. The inconsistencies, nagging injuries and lack of physical toughness that were most likely the reasons Lamoriello decided to trade Sykora in the first place seem to have followed him to his other teams.

I wouldn’t know about any issues between Sykora and Dan Bylsma, but perhaps there are residual beefs left over from their time as teammates. They were both on the ‘02-’03 Ducks team that made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final only to lose it in seven games to, irony of ironies, Sykora’s former team, the Devils. Anaheim, in true California fashion, has never lacked for its fair share of drama, and word on the street is that there was some sort of major fallout after failing to win the Cup. Paul Kariya jumped ship for greener pastures during the offseason and the Ducks didn’t even make the playoffs in ‘03-’04, and I think both Sykora and Bylsma were there for all of that. It wouldn’t surprise me if there had been some squabbles within the team or something.

Just ask the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals. Or the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers. Or the 2008 Appalachian St. Mountaineers football team.

any team that has faced the wings in the finals in the past dozen years have been the underdogs. the difference is the personnel of the pens have the ability to control a hockey game against any team in the nhl. they also have the experience and bad taste of last years loss.

Like to see the penguins practicing lifting pucks for two days straight.

If they can hang back to back touchdowns on Cam Ward, I think they can get to Osgood.