THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Stanley Cup Finals kick off Saturday night in a repeat of last year’s matchup of the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins. Who are you picking to win it all and why?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
I will go with Pittsburgh in 6 games. I picked the Pens last year, but looking back, they just weren’t ready. They are this season. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will be a difference-maker. Injuries to Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk could also be factors. Sorry Marian Hossa, you should have stayed in the Steel City.

TOM TIMMERMANN
If you had asked me pretty much any day all year who would win the Stanley Cup, I’d have said the Detroit Red Wings. But today, I’m going with the Penguins. They’re a more mature team than a year ago, and they’ll be a lot calmer in the finals than last year. They’ve got Crosby, they’ve got Malkin, who is not disappearing this year, they’ve got Fleury in goal. Detroit is banged up and with Games 1 and 2 back to back, a younger, better-rested team, which is what Pittsburgh is, will have an edge. I think Pittsburgh’s got a shot to snag a win at Joe Louis Arena and that could be the difference in a tight series. And unlike the conference finals, this won’t be a quick series. But it should be a good one.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
Have we heard enough about the Pittsburgh comparison to the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s? I’ve yet to read a story that doesn’t make mention of it.

First off, Detroit is incredible. They have an unfair amount of depth that allows them to execute their style even without some of the best players in the world. They should be getting Lidstrom and Datsyuk back for Game 1 but how effective will they be? Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski are more than capable of picking up the slack. If Detroit continues to score one out of every four chances on the power play it will make things very tough for the Penguins. Whether you like him or not, you have to give props to goaltender Chris Osgood, who is Detroit’s Conn Smythe candidate to date. Most pundits didn’t give this guy a chance and for good reason, his performance during the regular season was dreadful. Somehow Osgood finds magic in Hockeytown. I find it interesting that every player on Detroit has a Stanley Cup ring except for former Penguins Marian Hossa and Ty Conklin.

With all that being said, I think Pittsburgh will win this series and I expect it to go the distance. While Osgood has been great, Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been consistent. Pittsburgh is skilled enough to run and gun with the Wings and should be able to create high quality chances which will make things tough on Osgood. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the best offensive duo in hockey. Their D-men may not have All-Star names on the back of their jerseys but they’ve sacrificed and are very underrated. I spoke to Billy Guerin on Thursday and he told me he’s having the time of his life. It’s only going to get better as the Penguins will win in 7. Crosby takes home the Conn Smythe (MVP).