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Your FINAL Playoff Predictions!

May 20th, 2008 Posted in NHL

In all likelihood, the upcoming Stanley Cup Final between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins is exactly what the NHL ordered. Here are two teams who have a great combination of both speed and skill with coaches who do not muck up the game just to get the W. And I say this because neither Detroit’s Mike Babcock or Pittsburgh’s Michel Therrien are coaches who play the trap for the sake of winning.

Dallas and Philadelphia, on the other hand, both clog up the neutral zones and take away the passing lanes and had they both been in the final it might as well have been called Snoozefest 2008. However NHL fans have been blessed with two of the league’s most dynamic teams of the year: Detroit’s fire-on-all-cylinders offense is carried by Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, while Pittsburgh has its fires fuelled by the young Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.

It doesn’t matter who wins. Whether it be Sidney Crosby or Nicklas Lidstrom, history will be made. Will Sidney Crosby be the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup (Gretzky was 23 when he won with the Oilers) or will Nicklas Lidstrom be the first European captain in history to win the Holy Grail? The debate alone makes the 2008 finals an exciting affair.

Let’s break the finals down.

OFFENSE: Detroit scored 257 goals in the regular season compared to Pittsburgh’s 247. Not only that, Detroit scored the bulk of their goals in defensive-minded Western Conference. However, the trio of Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Franzen have combined for 32 goals and 55 points, whereas the trio of Crosby/Malkin/Hossa have combined for 22 goals and 59 points. Detroit has more dynamic scorers but it is evident Pittsburgh has more depth at forward. It is difficult to measure the two teams’ offense when they have played against teams with very different defensive styles. Pittsburgh had no trouble getting pucks by Martin Biron but Detroit had to break down the wall of Marty Turco. Advantage: Pittsburgh

DEFENSE: Pittsburgh coach Therrien caused a stir in the third round when he said his team wasn’t just about offense but that they could play strong defense too. There’s no questioning that statement now after his team stopped Briere and the Flyers, but how do they match up against the Detroit defense which is carried by the most dominant defenseman of the 21st century, Nicklas Lidstrom? Lidstrom, a five-time Norris winner, is Detroit’s Mr. Everything. He stabilizes the blueline, creates offensive opportunities and is their current captain. Behind him is grizzled veteran Chris Chelios, Niklas Kronwall, Brian Rafalski, Brad Stuart and Andreas Lilja. I don’t mean to offend, but that defense looks much more threatening than Pittsburgh’s Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Whitney, Hal Gill, Brooks Orpik, Robert Scuderi and Kris Letang. Advantage: Detroit

GOALTENDING: Youth vs. Experience is the great debate here, as Marc-Andre Fleury has been Chris Osgood’s equal throughout the playoffs. Neither have been overwhelmingly spectacular, but both have had very few hiccups in the postseason. The Cup Finals will surely be the test here; both realize they are so close to winning the Stanley Cup now that it could very well come down to whoever has a mental lapse first. Osgood has won a Cup before so he knows not to get too high or too low in the final, but this is not to say Fleury doesn’t understand the pressures of the playoffs by now. This final could come down to who is better in net. Advantage: Detroit

COACHING: Both Babcock and Therrien are Jack Adams finalists so both are very good coaches. However, this is Babcock’s second trip to the Finals (Anaheim in 2003) and Therrien’s first. Simply based on the fact Babcock has been to the show before, I’ll give the Advantage: Detroit.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

This year’s predictions have been very close. As you can see below there is not much separation between players and thus it is time to get creative so we will have an individual winner by the end of the Stanley Cup Finals. Here is what you must post for your playoff predictions:

1. The score in Game One of the Stanley Cup Final
2. The player who scores the GWG in Game One
3. The score in the FINAL GAME of the Stanley Cup Final
4. The player who scores the GWG in the FINAL GAME
5. The winning team of the Stanley Cup Final as well as the amount of games
6. The Conn Smythe Winner of 2008

Matt’s Predictions:

1. Game One: 4-3 Pittsburgh
2. GWG of Game One: Marian Hossa
3. Final Game: 3-1 Detroit
4. GWG of Final Game: Tomas Holmstrom
5. Detroit wins the Stanley Cup in seven games
6. Chris Osgood is the Conn Smythe Winner of 2008.

CURRENT STANDINGS

Andy — 12 points

Leon — 12 points

T-Mac — 12 points

Matt - 11 points

Raph — 11 points

Brandon — 11 points

Jack — 10 points

Hora — 10 points

Shawn — 10 points

Series Winners of the Third Round

DET: Pavel Datsyuk

PIT: Ryan Malone

Notables:

1. T-Mac predicted correctly that Datsyuk would get the series winner.
2. Shawn predicted correctly that Detroit would win in six.
3. Brandon predicted correctly that Pittsburgh would win Game One 4-2.
4. Matt predicted correctly that Detroit would win Game One  4-1.