Detroit Free Press Stanley Cup scouting report, prediction

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Free Press sports writer Helene St. James breaks down the matchups between the Red Wings and the Penguins:



Forwards

Both teams have fearsome top lines, headlined by the Wings' Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and the Penguins' Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins paid big for Marian Hossa at the trade deadline, but he has been worth it. Wingers Ryan Malone and Pascal Dupuis are threats, too, and third-line center Jordan Staal can be counted on for big goals. Tomas Holmstrom is key for the Wings because of his net-front style, as is Johan Franzen's return from concussion-like symptoms. All in all, these are two staggeringly talented offenses.

Edge: Even

Defense

Sergei Gonchar should have been a finalist for the Norris Trophy; he's great on the point and anchors the first pairing opposite Brooks Orpik. Kris Letang is underrated considering his ability to mesh with partner Ryan Whitney. Hal Gill towers on the third pairing with Rob Scuderi. No pairing is more puck-adept, though, than Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski, and Brad Stuart and Niklas Kronwall provide offense and big hits on the second pairing. Brett Lebda is a good puck mover on the third pairing, opposite either Chris Chelios or Andreas Lilja.

Edge: Wings

Goaltending

Chris Osgood has an NHL-best 1.60 goals-against average, and Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury is right behind at 1.70. Fleury's league-high .938 save percentage is slightly above Osgood's .931. Fleury has faced 388 shots, 100 more than Osgood, who plays behind a better overall team defense. Osgood backstopped the 1998 Wings to the Cup; Fleury, a former No. 1 pick, is experiencing the playoffs for only the second time.

Edge: Even

Special teams

Discipline can't be overstated for either team because both are lethal with the man advantage. The Wings are very aggressive penalty killers -- with five shorthanded goals in the playoffs to the Penguins' one -- but have the same success rate as Pittsburgh at 87.3%, third-best in the playoffs this season.

Edge: Even

Coach

Mike Babcock has turned the Wings into a hard-driving, adaptable team, and is willing to make changes on the fly. Michel Therrien used Sidney Crosby's midseason ankle injury to hone the Penguins' defensive play, a major weakness for the young team last year.

Edge: Even


Intangibles

The Penguins burst with youthful exuberance. The Wings are a playoff-experienced team, including a run all the way to the conference finals last year. That, ultimately, should make the difference in returning the Stanley Cup to Hockeytown.

Edge: Wings

Prediction: Wings in six.

 

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WINGS CORNER
Johan Franzen cleared to practice, but is he ready?



Forward Johan Franzen has received clearance to join his Red Wings teammates at practice today, a significant step toward returning to the ice for the Stanley Cup finals.Franzen hasn't played since Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. He went to team doctors then complaining of headaches for about two weeks but has been headache-free since last Friday.

He remains questionable for Saturday's Game 1 against Pittsburgh.

"Based upon the news we got today, we are hopeful to see him sometime during the series, but he's doubtful for Game 1," general manager Ken Holland said Thursday afternoon. "He's not been given clearance to go a full hour, to bang around, to go full out. It's no contact. He's been given the clearance to push it, but if he does feel anything abnormal, then he's been told to back off and tell the trainers.

"He's in the process of ramping it up. How long does it take? Nobody knows. We're taking it a day at a time. He'll see a specialist on the weekend, ramp it up each day until he can play."

Franzen skated with the healthy scratches Thursday, his second day on the ice and one that impressed coach Mike Babcock.

"He's ready," Babcock said. "He's tipping pucks to the back of the net. He's flying around at a hundred miles an hour. He's ready to go; we've just got to get the OK."

Having Franzen, who leads the NHL with 12 playoff goals, available soon would be a huge boost for the Wings. They are going up against a team similar to their own.

"I see talent, I see a back end that can move the puck, I see good goaltending," Babcock said of Pittsburgh. "At this point of the year, you're going to be playing a very good team or a team that's playing very, very good. This year I think we're fortunate that in the National Hockey League ... these two teams have a lot of high-end skill."

NEWEST WING: Center Kris Draper and his wife, Julie, welcomed baby girl Kamryn Rose on Thursday. He missed practice to be at the birth of their third child but will be back today.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT NICK: Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom will play in his fifth Stanley Cup finals with his fourth partner. He had Paul Coffey in 1995, Larry Murphy in 1997 and 1998, and Fredrik Olausson in 2002.

"Looking at Coffey, he was such a great skater that if you were going D-to-D, give it to him and he could carry it through the neutral zone and use his great speed," Lidstrom said. "I was more of the defensive style. Murphy, he was not as fast ... but very smart with the puck. He was always an out for me, and Freddie was the same way." ...

Lidstrom has had three partners since Babcock took over: Andreas Lilja, Danny Markov and Brian Rafalski. "I've only coached him for three years," Babcock said of Lidstrom, "but Lilja was his partner the first year and had a career year, and Danny Markov was his partner the second year and had a career year, and Rafalski was his partner this year and had a career year. That's not by accident. He's just that good. He makes the people around him better."

OZZIE'S VIEW OF HIMSELF: Goaltender Chris Osgood was asked if, when hearing debates about whether he's a future Hall of Famer, he debates that question with himself.

"I'll debate that, like, three years from now, after this contract," said Osgood, 35. "Right now that's not for debate, because I don't know what's going to happen next year or the year after that. If I do certain stuff, maybe. I don't think about things like that.

"Maybe I'll be a Hall of Famer in my backyard rink. At this age, I just simplify things. When I get on the ice Saturday, I'm going to play the game with an open mind and just play in the moment. That's what I do now.

"If it happens, that'll be awesome. I'll do everything I can to give myself an opportunity to do that. It's a lofty goal but, yeah, it is my goal for myself. Players should always have goals that are lofty to shoot for."

 

[bej0101]

sure hope pitt wins the cupppppppppppppppp:00hour