Beyond the tired storyline of youth vs. experience, the Stanley Cup matchup of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings offers some interesting storylines:
~ Will Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg outscore Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?
~ Is it fair to compare the Penguins' Sergei Gonchar to the Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom?
~ Will the Penguins use Hal Gill to neutralize the Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom?
~ Who'd would you rather have as a backup? Detroit's Dominik Hasek or Pittsburgh's Ty Conklin?
And while I believe the Penguins are destined to enjoy a long successful run as the NHL's elite club, they're going to have to wait another season. This season, the Red Wings are simply too good, too experienced and too deep to not win any seven-game series.
Pittsburgh's young squad will learn -- the hard way, unfortunately -- what it takes to be a Stanley Cup champion. I like to think, too, that this lesson will serve them well in the years ahead.
My pick: Wings in five
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