STANLEY CUP FINAL II - The Rematch

The much-anticipated Stanley Cup final rematch is now upon us. Last season, the Pens went down in six games. In fact, they were shut out in the first two games before they finally broke through and won game three. Their playoff run was fueled by the bold move of acquiring Marian Hossa at the trade deadline. Many speculated the Pens had Mortgaged their future (Colby Armstrong) for one, all-or-nothing shot at glory.

That seemed to be the case up until this season's trade deadline when the Pens acquired Bill Guerin and hard-nosed winger Chris Kunitz. Those two now flank Sidney Crosby on the top line. MVP candidate Evgeni Malkin now centers the second line with Ruslan Fedotenko. Playmaking defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who seems to have sipped from the fountain of youth last season continues his amazing play this season.

In Detroit, the song remains the same. No less than seven All-Star caliber forwards, the best defenseman since Bobby Orr in Nik Lidstrom, and possibly the most underappreciated playoff goaltender in history in the person of Chris Osgood.

The rich definitely got richer after winning the Cup last year when All star forward Marian Hossa ditched the Pens after last year's final and brought his show to Detroit where he is now once again on the cusp of his first championship. The Pens have the chance to deny Hossa his ring. Hossa has a chance to prove he made the right decision when he joined the conquering army. There is still some lingering bitterness between Hossa and the Pittsburgh fans, which will definitely add some fuel to the fire when the teams go to Pittsburgh for games three and four.

Both teams have already been tested by high octane offensive teams. Pittsburgh faced a lot of firepower when they faced Washington in the Conference semi final, which they came back to win in seven games after dropping the first two.

The Wings faced the high powered Chicago Blackhawks in their recently completed Conference final and outscored them 19-10 in the series, putting the kids to bed in only five games.

Prediction: This is a much better, deeper and well coached Pens team than the team that lost in the Stanley Cup final last year. Rookie coach Dan Bylsma has had this team playing like champs since taking over late in the season. Sid the kid and Evgeni Malkin are playing truly inspired hockey and Jordan Staal is tough as nails. That said, the Pens are again going to come up agonizingly short. Detroit is a well-oiled machine. The Pens may well be able to match the offensive intensity of the Wings, but Detroit is the league's best at controlling play in the neutral zone, thus allowing them to both create and prevent more scoring opportunities than their opponent. It's going to be the intangibles, all those little things that don't appear on the score sheet which will ultimately make the difference in this series. The health of Pavel Datsyuk and Nik Lidstrom may be an issue, but trust Ozzie to be strong between the pipes.
RED WINGS in 6

Let's All Show Ozzie Some Love.

He has three Stanley Cup rings, two as a starter (1998, 2008), one as a backup (1997). Coming into this postseason, he has a lifetime playoff save percentage of 91.5 %. His lifetime playoff goals against average of 2.10 is better than that of Patrick Roy, Ed Belfour, and Curtis Joseph. Only Patrick Roy has more rings. Of the others, Belfour has one title and Cujo, none.

That said, Detroit Red Wings' goaltender Chris Osgood still gets almost no respect and is generally not involved in any discussions revolving around so-called "money" or "clutch" playoff goaltenders past or present. He is not even viewed in the same light as regular season marvels like Jose Theodore or Cristobal Huet even though they continually fold like lawn chairs in the playoffs.

After a mediocre 2008-2009 regular season in which he split time with backup Ty Conklin, Ozzie again has gotten into playoff form. His lackluster 3.09 regular season GAA is now an impressive 2.17, his unflattering 88.7 % regular season save percentage is now a sparkling 92%. He now tops all remaining goaltenders in both categories as he leads his mighty Detroit Red Wings toward the promised land. Lead? Osgood? Absolutely. Is this merely an aberration? I think not.

Last season, after a terrific regular season of 2.09 GAA and 91.4% save percentage while splitting time with Dominik Hasek, Ozzie took over down the stretch and in the playoffs, lowered his GAA to a miniscule 1.55 GAA and raised his save percentage to 93% as his Wings hoisted the Cup. It's called playoff time folks, and when the regular season ends, and all the chips are down, Ozzie turns into a completely different animal. Yes, he does give up the occasional soft goal, but then again, what great goaltender hasn't?

Playoff goaltending is all about making timely saves. Let's look at the cold hard facts. Ozzie has again this year made a habit of winning pivotal games. He allowed but one goal in game 5 of the tough conference semifinal against Anaheim as he stopped 16 of 17 shots in a solid 4-1 victory. In the conference final against Chicago, his team now leads the series three games to one courtesy of a Motown style beatdown administered on the road in a crucial game 4 in which Ozzie stopped 18 of 19 shots before he succumbed to dehydration and was replaced by Conklin in the third period of a 6-1 win. This was a crucial game which the Wings had to win without the services of MVP candidate Pavel Datsyuk and Norris trophy candidate Niklas Lidstrom. Ozzie was again equal to the task.

Should the Wings win the Cup again this year, what would it take for Ozzie to be declared the hero? Last year, a 1.55 overall playoff GAA and two shutouts in the Cup final against Pittsburgh were not enough for him to be named playoff MVP, that honor went to teammate Henrik Zetterberg. On the other side of the coin however, had they not won it all last year, or if they don't this year, he would almost certainly be declared the goat. No one ever said life was fair.

Of those who picked Anaheim to upset Detroit in the conference semifinal, many pointed to the combination of Anaheim sharpshooters on the ice and Chris Osgood in goal as the deciding factor. In short, he was supposed to be the reason they would lose that series. He wasn't.

Many of those who picked Chicago in the conference final felt that Nik Khabibulin would stand tall, and Ozzie would buckle under the Blackhawks constant offensive pressure. So far, it hasn't even been close, on either front.

I admit, it took me a long time to believe in Ozzie, but I have now seen the light.

Ozzie will turn 37 in November. After 15 years in the league and three rings, it's time we all gave the man his props. There are goalies who thrive in the regular season, and goalies who thrive in the playoffs, Ozzie is the latter. Always give credit where credit is due.

Consider he has now won championships ten years apart. He signed with the Islanders in 2001 and stayed there two seasons before being traded to St Louis in 2003. He then missed the entire 2004-2005 lockout season, and was again signed by Detroit as a free agent in 2005. Last year was his first playoff action since that re-signing, meaning he hadn't seen a playoff game in four years. That should at least qualify as a feel-good story. Where would Detroit have been without him last season? Detroit has seen the light and now has Ozzie under contract through the 2010-2011 season.

Career post season GAA is 2.10, career post season save percentage is 91.5%. Come playoff time, I'll take Chris Osgood over a Jose Theodore/Cristobal Huet- type any day of the week.
You can take that to the bank.

2009 Stanley Cup - MALKIN RULES !

ERIC STAAL Overshadowed Again

MAY 12, 2009 -- The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006. When you ask random hockey fans to name the key players on that team, you will probably be met with silence and then, “Oh yeah, Doug Weight, umm, Rod Brind'Amour, uhh, Ron Francis, oh no, he retired that season, hmmm, Mark Recchi, and that defenseman with all the hair, uhh Mike Commodore…and, uhh, Erik uhh Cole, and that rookie goalie Cam Ward, who won the Conn Smythe trophy. They came outta nowhere. I think that's all of them.”

The forgotten man is, of course, Eric Staal.

He led his team in playoff scoring that season. Eric Staal? Isn't he related to Jordan Staal of Pittsburgh, and Mark Staal of the New York Rangers? Yes he is, and he is also the best hockey player of the trio. Brother Jordan plays with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on a rather high profile team. Speaking of high profile, brother Mark plays for the Rangers. Eric however, plays in relative obscurity in a southern state which is best known for being home to the most heated rivalry in all of college basketball (North Carolina/Duke) and prior to the hockey team being relocated there from Hartford in 1996, no real hockey tradition. Thus, both of his brothers tend to get more ink.

In all fairness, in the 2005-2006 season, the NHL was coming back after losing a full season due to the players’ inability to think for themselves, and all eyes were on the rookie of the year race between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin took the honors, though neither of their teams made the postseason. Sidney Crosby had 39 goals that season, Ovechkin had 52.

Amidst all that hype, almost no one noticed that Staal - in only his second season - had increased his regular season goal production from 11 to 45 and his regular season point total from 31 to 100.

Eric won the Stanley Cup in only his second NHL season. He also led his team in goals (45), and points (100) during the regular season. His 19 regular season power play goals tied Rod Brind'Amour for the team lead. There would be no letdown in the playoffs, as Staal had 19 assists to go along with his nine goals (seven on the power play) as he led his team in post-season scoring en route to hoisting the Cup. With venerable NHL veterans Doug Weight and Rod Brind'Amour finally picking up their first championship rings and Mark Recchi his third, with a rookie goalie was named playoff MVP, Staal was effectively overshadowed.

Fast forward to present. Staal is one of only eight remaining players from that 2006 championship team. After this, his second 40-goal regular season, the 24 year-old from Thunder Bay, Ontario, is again leading his team in playoff scoring with nine goals and twelve total points. He is also once again being overshadowed by Crosby and Ovechkin, whose teams are currently locked in mortal combat in the other (higher profile) Eastern Conference semi-final.

The durable Staal has missed only one regular season game during his five-year career. Only in his rookie season did he fail to score at least 30 goals. His young career has already yielded 164 goals and 194 assists. He was the second overall draft pick in 2003, right behind Marc-Andre Fleury. He played his first NHL game at age 19 and went on to play 81 games in his rookie season. Jordan and Mark are both on their way to becoming solid NHL players. The final “InSTAALment” arrives in the form of youngest brother Jared, who should be arriving soon to the Phoenix Coyotes, who drafted him 49th overall last June.

The Staal brothers were raised on a sod farm in Northern Ontario, work ethic ingrained in this hardscrabble bunch. When all is said and done, this quartet from Thunder Bay Ontario may supplant the six Sutter boys from Viking, Alberta as the best brother act in NHL history. If this does come to pass, it will be due to the iron-clad Staal pedigree established by Eric as he shows his brothers the way with his exemplary grit, toughness and terrific work ethic much like Brian Sutter did for his brothers some 33 years ago.

DUCKS vs RED WINGS-Conference Semifinal

Game 4 Interviews with Franzen, Hossa, Lidstrom and both coaches.