2008-2009 Stanley Cup Finals Preview

Courtesy of NHL

The National Hockey League is set to declare a champion with the Stanley Cup Finals starting on Saturday, May 30.

It marks the second consecutive season that the Pittsburg Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings square off in the best-of-seven series to declare hockey supremacy. Last year the Red Wings took home the cup in six games.

It is also the second consecutive season in which Sidney Crosby gets his shot at a Stanley Cup. The Penguins had an up and down year, struggling in the early season and leaving many to speculate if they would even make the playoffs.

However, Crosby and his sidekick Evgeni Malkin have lived up to the billing when it really counts. Not only did they make the playoffs, they’ve gone on to oust the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes on their run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The pair sits tied for first in playoff scoring, with 28 points each, while Crosby has 14 goals to Malkin’s 12.

You better believe the Red Wings know just how good the Pittsburg pair has been.

"Crosby and Malkin are running away with the scoring lead in the playoffs and if we let them continue to run wild, it will be hard for us to win the series," Detroit general manager Ken Holland told the Associated Press. "You can't stop players that good, but we can't let them do what they did against Carolina."

Pittsburg ran over the Hurricanes in just four games.

If anybody can stop the Crosby and Malkin its going to be the Red Wings. There’s been no better team in hockey in recent memory, save maybe the New Jersey Devils.

Should the Red Wings put “Sid the Kid” in his place and take the Stanley Cup again, they’ll have a fifth cup in 12 seasons. The Detroit Red Wings currently have made the NHL playoffs for 18 consecutive years and have credit for 11 cups, third most in NHL history.

So it’s a pretty good storyline for the NHL and you should definitely check it out.

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