Not much previewing necessary for tonight's game...aside from the 1-0 series lead for Detroit, much of what we talked about going into last night's game still holds true. Instead of just previewing tonight's match-up, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at a couple of the blogs that I put together following last year's game one. Though last night's game had a different look and feel to it, the series result was the same at this point one year ago. The Wings were leading 1-0 and it looked like the Penguins would be lucky to stretch it to five games, let alone six or seven.
Here are the blogs, I think that they really give you a feel for how different things were in this same exact situation one year ago...
This next one took a look at the series as the Penguins were headed back to Pittsburgh in a 2-0 hole. Here is hoping that tonight's post game blog looks significantly different!
The Penguins and Red Wings are meeting Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season. The last time two teams met in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals were the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders in 1983 and 1984.
The Penguins are making their fourth Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history. The Penguins won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 (Minnesota North Stars) & 1992 (Chicago Blackhawks). The Penguins were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings in six games during the 2008 Stanley Cup Final.
The Penguins are 30-17 all-time in the second game of a best-of-seven series, including a 9-12 mark on the road.
The Penguins are 2-1 all-time in the second game of the Stanley Cup Final with their only loss coming to the Red Wings last season.
The Penguins have won six of their last seven post-season series over the past two years, including three straight this post-season versus Philadelphia, Washington and Carolina.
The Penguins became the first team in the Eastern Conference since the 2000-2001 New Jersey Devils to appear in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
The Red Wings outscored the Penguins nine to seven in two regular season games.
Jordan Staal led all scorers with four points (3G-1A) in two regular season games versus Detroit.
Pavel Datsyuk led all Red Wings with three goals in two games versus Pittsburgh during the regular season.
Marc-Andre Fleury was 1-1 with a 3.38 goals-against average in two appearances versus the Red Wings during the regular season.
The Penguins have outshot their opponent in 15 of their 18 post-season games, compiling a 10-5 (.667) record in those games. The Penguins registered 12 straight games in which they outshot their opponent, going 8-4 from Apr. 23 to May 23. The Penguins continued to rack up the shots, recording 32 against Chris Osgood in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. It marked only the second time in the post-season the Red Wings were outshot at home (Game 2 vs. Chicago).
The Penguins have been one of the fastest starting teams in the post-season by tallying 24 goals in the first period of action. The Penguins have allowed only 15 goals in the first period in 18 playoff games.
Nineteen of the Penguins 24 players on the active roster have appeared in a Stanley Cup Final. Only Philippe Boucher, Matt Cooke, Eric Godard and Mathieu Garon will be making their first ever Stanley Cup Final appearance this post-season. Fourteen of the 24 active players were with the Penguins when they met the Red Wings in the 2008 Stanley Cup Final.
Dan Bylsma became the first ever person to begin the season as head coach in the American Hockey League (AHL) and then guide a National Hockey League (NHL) team to the Stanley Cup Final in the same season. Bylsma was named head coach of the Penguins on Feb 15, guiding them to an 18-3-4 regular season record and fourth place finish in the Eastern Conference.
On this Date in Stanley Cup Final History:
On this date in Stanley Cup Final history – May 31, 2004
Tampa Bay’s Brad Richards set a single-season playoff record by scoring his seventh game-winning goal. Richards tallied the lone goal in a 1-0 victory in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Calgary.
Metz On the Go!
I spent the last day participating in a couple of roundtables around the internet. Here they are for you review! Thanks to the guys over at Puck Daddy (Yahoo Sports) and my friends over at www.faceoff-factor.com for thinking of me!
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