The NHL needed this matchup.

It pains me to say it because I really wanted to see my pens come to dallas, so i could see at least a couple games.

you get the hockey-rich wings (although the joe is a ghost town these days) versus the young, VERY young, talent in the league (it scares me to look at their stars because all you do is look at the draft over the past 5 years to find the big three).

i think it also really helps fans that no canadien teams are in there (canadiens are hockey fans by birth, but you have to win over americans).

two very preliminary looks at this team make me wonder which will prevail:

- the penguins, perhaps arguably, are the most offensively talented team since the wings of 02. the eery part is how young the talent of the pens is. can their firepower come through against a veteran like osgood?
- the red wings, inarguably, are the most disciplined team in the nhl in many years. i don't know if it's coaching or the presence of guys like chelios, mccarty, draper, etc., but it's been a long time since i've seen a team execute a gameplan as well as babcock's team.

other areas:
- the penguins have shown a pretty good forecheck this playoffs. i think the wings will use a variety of breakouts to overcome it, and we'll see if it works.
- the red wings can, perhaps they will or perhaps they won't, expose how poorly the penguins cover in the defensive zone. if the wings can execute a good cycle in the zone with lots of moving parts, the pens will screw up their assignments at some point.

my heart tells me to take the black and gold in 6, but my head doesn't know what to think. both of these teams have looked, at times, so utterly dominant in their respective conference playoffs, that it's a bit of a crap shoot. in lieu of that, i'll stick with my heart.

Should be an interesting series. Both teams were helped tremendously by their conference finals opponents taking out the bad matchups (Washington and Montreal by Philly, Anaheim and San Jose by Dallas).

It would be very, very nice to have Franzen back for the Wings, but who knows how that will fall.

I'm not really sold on the Penguins defense on paper, but they've haven't looked very vulnerable in the playoffs, so I'm not sure what to think of that.

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perhaps they will or perhaps they won't, expose how poorly the penguins cover in the defensive zone.

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their offense in the playoffs has come from their defense. been getting rave reviews all playoffs about how great they're playing defense

i meant that offensively, their defense is extremely capable. but their defensemen on their blue line is what concerns me. i've also seen, malkin especially, make some very critical turnovers in the offensive zone that have lead to point for the opponent.

poor Flyers...

The Pens and Wings were the superior teams this year. Both played their best hockey in the playoffs, made the most of their chances and got hot goaltending when they needed it. The Finals will be fast-paced, high-scoring and exciting to watch. Even though neither the Flyers or Stars will be playing, I'm looking forward to watching the series.

This is definitely going to be a great series. I am worried about facing the pens. They've been playing great hockey in the playoffs, and that continued through the whole series. The Wings were playing great hockey and then got a bit sloppy for a couple games.

I like that you mention the youth of pittsburgh as well. This series will be sort of be a changing of the guard. The older, HOF locks in guys like Chelios, Lidstrom, even Osgood (though not necessarily a lock for the HOF). Should be a hell of a series, once again coming down to goalkeepers.

I'm worried. The stars are not the penguins, and Detroit didn't really dominate the stars in the way the pens dominated the flyers. Hell of a Cup series coming up.

Pens fan here!

Pens in 6!

Wings played lights out. Osgood was outstanding, they pushed the Pens around physically, and gave Fleury a workout in net. If Fleury didn't have a great game himself, this game is easily 6-0. It amazed me how many great scoring chances the Wings had. They are still reminding me of the great teams from the mid-late 90s, when they often outshot opponents 50-25.

Great game 1. Go WINGS!!!

talk about the complete lack of an offensive attack by the pens. i'll give the wings their due, because their strategy on their blue line has been incredibly effective. they get a quick goal, and go back in a shell, so to speak, giving the pens nothing. disappointed that therien hasn't come up with a scheme to better take advantage of what the wings are giving them...hopefully, some home cooking will bring this series to life.

a win is a win, but the half ass play of these young kids is going to do them in.

i see malkin not backchecking, i see crosby (with 2 minutes left in the f*^#$%! game) not backchecking on friggin zetterburg...that is unacceptable. if they don't correct that, then this might as well be over.

i'll take the W, but i'm not pleased with the execution in the last period, with the exception of the 8th line RW, hall.

i'm glad that my pens are making this a series. see y'all again on friday night!

It's all but over now. Pittsburgh will have to win 2 in Hockeytown to be able to pull this off. The way they looked in game 4 it is possible, but I doubt it. Detroit looked overrun for a good part of the game, but took advantage of mistakes to get the win. The second goal was the exact situation where championship teams prevail, and others do not. The puck was all but cleared, and should have been a couple times, but the point man managed to keep it alive a couple times and keep it in the pens zone. A nice setup taking out the only penguin nearby out and leaving Hudler open to receive the dump in with enough time to take a quality back hand shot, and it just got by Fleury. It was yet another Red Wing goal these playoffs that came after the offensive set/possession seemed to be over, and just a matter of the opponent getting control from the last little obstacle and moving on the offensive, but being relentless opened an opportunity up.

Great game, the series has not disappointed. The pens have done themselves a favor by giving up the attack on Franzen and focusing on winning instead, but they have a tough road ahead. Winning one game in Hockeytown is tough, winning two is going to require luck and fortunate calls as well.

sad to agree. i think the pens overachieved this year because of all of their youth, and hopefully they can hold on to some of these veterans and grown on this experience.

what are you talking about? Game 6 pens 3-0, they actually think they can win it now

last night was great, and i'm pulling for them, but history and a really good team is against them...incredible game last night.

Less than 35 seconds from the Stanley Cup. I can't believe that happened. I really thought the Wings would take it. They weathered the storm from pittsburgh in OT, and looked pretty good.

I hope we close it out in 6, after the way Fleury played.

Hell of a series. The Pens youth and inexperience showed, and Detroit takes home a 4th cup in 11 seasons. WINGS RULE!

i wish the pens had played the first two games as well as the last 4...oh well, maybe next year.