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Crosby, Penguins head to Hockeytown to face experienced Red Wings

May 24, 2008 - 10:26 AM Pittsburgh at Detroit 8:00 pm EDT Stanley Cup Finals Game One

DETROIT (Ticker) -- "Sid the Kid" is headed to Hockeytown.

Captain Sidney Crosby leads the Pittsburgh Penguins into the Motor City to face the Presidents' Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings in Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday.

Considered the game's brightest young star, Crosby helped the Penguins dispatch the Philadelphia Flyers in five games in the Eastern Conference finals en route to their first Finals appearance since 1992.

Crosby, who has recorded a postseason-best 21 points thus far, had a pair of assists and Ryan Malone scored twice as the Penguins notched a resounding 6-0 victory over the Flyers on Sunday.

At just 20 years old, Crosby has amazed even himself by what he has accomplished in such a short time since being drafted first overall in 2005.

"I think coming in here, I was just so focused on trying to have a good first year, let alone going to the Cup Final this quickly with the amount of youth we've had," the reigning Hart Trophy winner said.

This is the premier matchup the NHL needs - Crosby, Hart finalist Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins against the mighty Red Wings, who have been to five Stanley Cup Finals in the last 13 years.

Detroit advanced to its first championship-round appearance since 2002 by posting a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game Six of the Western Conference finals on Monday. As expected, the Red Wings have a huge advantage in experience, with 10 players already having their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.

"I think experience is a great thing," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "When you don't have it, you think it's overrated. When you have it, it's different. The Stanley Cup Finals is different than the playoffs, it's so much energy."

A native of Pittsburgh, Malone is unsure how the experience factor will play out.

"Honestly, I don't think anyone's really too sure how it's going to be until we see Game One, how they play," he said.

While the Penguins lack experience, they have youth on their side. The average age on the team is 27.9 years, as opposed to 32.3 years for Detroit.

Another factor working against the Red Wings is the health of red-hot center Johan Franzen, who is unlikely to play in the opener of the best-of-seven series.

Franzen, who leads the league with 12 postseason goals, missed the final five games of the conference finals with a concussion. Nicknamed "The Mule," Franzen - who has netted 27 tallies in his last 27 contests dating to March 2 - was cleared to participate in practice on Friday but is doubtful for Saturday's game.

"We are optimistic that he's going to play sometime in this series," Detroit general manager Ken Holland said.

Even without Franzen, the Red Wings can score. Henrik Zetterberg, who shares the playoff scoring lead with Crosby, is second to Franzen with 11 goals, while Pavel Datsyuk had nine tallies - all on the road.

Needless to say, the first all-American Finals since 2003 figures to be highly entertaining. Pittsburgh is averaging a postseason-high 3.64 goals, while Detroit is second at 3.43 tallies per contest.

The series also will feature some spectacular goaltending. Chris Osgood, who began his tenure as Detroit's starter in the playoffs with a nine-game winning streak, is tops in the league with a 1.60 goals-against average.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury is the playoff leader in wins (12), shutouts (three) and save percentage (.938).

The Red Wings and Penguins have not faced off since October 7, 2006, when Franzen scored the decisive goal and Dominik Hasek made 13 saves in a 2-0 Red Wings' victory.

Detroit, which is 7-1 at Joe Louis Arena this postseason, hosts Game Two on Monday.