Penguins center Sidney Crosby is 20 years old and is the captain of a team playing for the Stanley Cup ? and that?s exactly what the Pittsburgh star envisioned when he arrived in the hockey-crazed city as the top pick in the 2005 draft.
“We want to keep it as normal as possible,” he said. “The same way we?ve approached every series, and that?s to make sure we worry about ourselves.”
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But the 10-time Stanley Cup champion Red Wings present the Penguins plenty to worry about when the teams open their series tonight at 8 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on the Versus Network.
The Red Wings? defense, led by future Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, has allowed just 1.94 goals per game during the playoffs ? second-best in the NHL.
Detroit forwards Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are both in the top five in scoring this postseason, as Zetterberg is tied for the postseason lead with 21 points on 11 goals and 10 assists and Datsyuk has 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists.
The Penguins, however, alsohave plenty of talent.
Crosby is tied with Zetterberg for the league lead in playoff points on four goals and 17 assists. The Penguins also tout a pair of 19-point scorers in trade-deadline acquisition Marian Hossa (nine goals, 10 assists) and second-year player Evgeni Malkin (nine goals, 10 assists).
And the only defense that has been better than Detroit?s during the postseason has been Pittsburgh?s, which has held the opposition to an average of a minuscule 1.86 goals per game.
“They have a ton of skill and we do as well,” Lidstrom said. “They try to play puck-possession like we do. It?s a good match of styles.”
STANLEY CUP FINALS
PITTSBURGH VS. DETROIT
(Best-of-7)
- Tonight: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m.
- Sunday: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m.
- Wednesday: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.
- May 31: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.
- June 2: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m., if necessary
- June 4: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., if necessary
- June 7: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m., if necessary
? First two games on Versus; remainder of series on NBC
The AP contributed to this report.
