NBCSN offers a compelling Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup tonight with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Consol Energy Center with faceoff time set for 8 p.m. ET. This contest of teams who perennially contend for the Stanley Cup sees both teams enter going in vastly different directions. The Red Wings are one of the hottest teams in the NHL while the Penguins are in free fall and looking a lot less like the champions that they are made out to be.
Patriots of Hockey
Much like the NFL, the NHL is enjoying a bountiful era of parity in which the vast majority of its teams have a bona fide shot at the post season. With free agency and the grueling wear and tear of playoff success it is difficult to maintain success. The Detroit Red Wings are the exception to that new NHL reality. The Red Wings last missed the playoffs in 1990 and won four Stanley Cups between 1997 and 2008.
In 2013, they extended the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks to overtime of the seventh game in their playoff series before losing. Detroit last posted a losing season in 1991. It is a level of consistent excellence that rivals the NFL’s New England Patriots. The Red Wings are just two points out of first place in the Atlantic Division with the metrics of a complete team. Detroit ranks sixth for goals scored, first for the power play, fifth for goals against and third for shots allowed.
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The Best Coach
Detroit’s Mike Babcock is universally respected as the best head coach in hockey. Babcock won the 2008 Stanley Cup with Detroit and boasts a pair of Olympic Gold Medals with Team Canada. But perhaps his best coaching job was last year when he was able to coax an injury ravaged Detroit team into the playoffs with an inspiring stretch run that defied all logic. Most teams would have packed it in and found the injuries to be an excuse but Babcock talked of the organization’s pride and extending their playoff streak. Babcock will likely be a free agent at the end of the season as he has still not signed the contract that the Red Wings have on the table awaiting his signature. He will break the bank as the highest paid coach in history wherever he lands.
European Model
More traditional hockey fans may hate it, but the Red Wings have built their success with plenty of European players dating back to those Stanley Cup days and continuing today. Detroit’s top five scorers are all from across the pond. Better yet, the Red Wing Euros have long ago shot down the stereotype that European players are soft and do not understand the glory of the Stanley Cup.
Wings to Watch
Center Pavel Datsyuk is a magician with the puck and boasts a skill at carrying the play that is pure hockey eye candy. Left wing Henrik Zetterberg is the top assist man with the Wings with 32 and left wing Tomas Tatar has had the Midas touch with 23 goals to lead the team. Center Gustav Nyquist has 20 goals. While defenseman Niklas Kronwall is not quite at the level of all-time great Niklas Lidstrom he still continues the tradition of strong Red Wing blue liners from Sweden. Detroit has also gotten dependable goaltending from Jimmy Howard., who has a solid .920 save percentage.
Window Closing
For all the hype about star center and franchise savior Sidney Crosby, the Penguins have one Stanley Cup championship for his career that occurred against Detroit in 2009. Crosby no longer dominates and lacks the supporting cast to make Pittsburgh a realistic choice to go all the way into June for the Final. In fact, it is becoming more apparent that the Penguins Stanley Cup window is closing. Pittsburgh has gone a poor 8-13 since December 22 and has lost seven out of their last 11 games to fall one point behind the New York Islanders for the top spot in the Metro Division. The Pens are fifth in the Eastern Conference playoff race just 11 points ahead of ninth place Florida for the final spot.
Pittsburgh has dominated Detroit at Consol, however, with six wins in their last seven matchups.
