After dice rolled, Penguins did

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 23, 2008 at 9:46 p.m.

Text size

Photo by Gene J. Puskar

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Marian Hossa, right, celebrates his goal with Sidney Crosby in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals in Pittsburgh.

More Colorado Avalanche

More stories »

As talented as the Pittsburgh Penguins are, they might not be playing in their first Stanley Cup Finals in 16 years if second- year general manager Ray Shero hadn't made a bold trading- deadline move in February.

Seeking a right wing to play on star center Sidney Crosby's line, Shero gambled by acquiring five-time All-Star Marian Hossa from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for young forwards Colby Armstrong and Eric Christensen, 2007 first-round pick Angelo Esposito and a No. 1 pick in the NHL entry draft next month.

The Penguins also acquired speedy forward Pascal Dupuis in the deal, and he has been playing left wing with Crosby and Hossa.

The risk for the Penguins is that Hossa was a playoff bust for Atlanta last spring and could leave as an unrestricted free agent July 1, but he has been on fire this postseason, with nine goals and 10 assists in 14 games.

"Both players have been a

really good fit for us," said Shero, the son of Fred Shero, who coached the Philadelphia Flyers to Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and '75. "In one trade, you get two players to play with Sid. That's been really good for us. As the players and people down in Atlanta know, they're both good players, good people. They've been an all- around good success for us.

"Marian is obviously having a great playoffs. He's come through with flying colors. And both players have really helped our team speed on the penalty kill. Being able to put them with Sid, Marian can score goals, is good down low, good defensively. Sid is a guy with speed and drive and is tough to contain. And Pascal creates holes with his speed, driving to the net."

Title tradition

The Penguins are making their third appearance in the Finals. They won back-to-back championships in 1991 (beating the Minnesota North Stars in six games) and 1992 (sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks). Mario Lemieux, now team chairman, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP both times.

The Red Wings have played in 22 Finals and won 10, most recently in 2002, when they knocked off the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. Detroit won the Presidents' Trophy (best regular-season record) that season, and no team has won both trophies in the same year since.

Franzen in doubt

Red Wings forward Johan Franzen, who scored nine of his playoff- leading 12 goals against the Avalanche, took part in noncontact drills Friday but probably won't play tonight. Franzen hasn't played since Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Dallas because of concussionlike symptoms.

Aging gracefully

Forty is the new 30 in hockey, at least for Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios and Penguins left wing Gary Roberts.

Chelios, who turned 46 in January, is the second-oldest player in NHL history - Gordie Howe was 52 - and has played in a record 260 playoff games, breaking the mark that was held by Patrick Roy. He's two years older than Penguins coach Michel Therrien and played his first NHL game, for the Montreal Canadiens, on March 8, 1984 - 12 days before Red Wings teammate Valtteri Filppula was born.

Roberts, who turned 42 on Friday, began his NHL career with the Calgary Flames in 1986-87 and won a Cup with them in 1989. He retired after the 1995-96 season because of a neck injury and returned for the 1997-98 campaign to play for the Hurricanes. With 434 goals and 2,533 penalty minutes, Roberts is one of five players in league history to record 400 goals and 2,000 minutes in a career.

'Scrubs' star wears 24

Actor John C. McGinley, who plays Dr. Percival "Perry" Cox on the television sitcom Scrubs, is one of Chelios' good friends and has donned a game-worn No. 24 jersey on the show. McGinley has a home in Malibu, Calif., where Chelios spends the offseason.

"We had the wardrobe department call NHL Properties and got clearance on it, so now, whenever I'm lounging on the show, I've got '24' on," McGinley told the Detroit Free Press. "It's a game sweater that 'Cheli' gave me. It's just a way of personalizing things and kind of having some fun."

Dressed for success

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby claims he would wear sweats every day if he could, yet he has developed an Rbk SC87 clothing line with Reebok. Most of the clothing is the casual type for men, but there is a modest women's line that includes a pink baby T-shirt that says, "I (heart) Crosby." Crosby has been associated with the company since 2005, serving as a consultant for on-ice equipment. "It's the last thing I imagined myself doing," he said.

Captain Europe

If the Red Wings win, defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom would become the first European-born captain to hoist the Cup. Steve Yzerman, now a team vice president, was captain when the Swedish-born Lidstrom won his previous three championships with Detroit.

Octopus on ice

The tradition of tossing an octopus onto the ice at Red Wings playoff games was started in April 1952 by Pete and Jerry Cusimano, who owned a fish market.

An octopus has eight tentacles, the same number of wins it took to capture the Stanley Cup at the time, when four of the NHL's six teams took part in the playoffs.

The brothers boiled the dead mollusk, threw it on the since-razed Olympia Stadium ice, and a ritual was born. The Red Wings won the Cup that year, sweeping Montreal in the Finals after doing the same against Boston in the opening round.

Fans have continued the practice at Joe Louis Arena after making their purchases at the Superior Fish Market in suburban Royal Oak, Mich. One or more of the critters is thrown on the ice after the national anthem.

What's in a name?

The only penguins you'll find in Pittsburgh reside at the local zoo, so why the nickname? The team officially was named Feb. 10, 1967, after a newspaper contest, but Carol McGregor, the wife of franchise investor John McGregor, came up with Penguins. She liked the alliteration and the fact that the club would play at Pittsburgh's domelike Civic Arena (now Mellon Arena), which is commonly referred to as "The Igloo."

Numbers game

17 consecutive postseason appearances for the Red Wings, the longest active streak in professional sports. The New York Yankees are second, with 13 playoff appearances in a row.

He said it

"I love watching them play. They have a great chance. It will be a good series. I don't want it to go to seven because I hope they can sweep it, but a Game 7 and us winning it would be pretty sweet."

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and Penguins fan.

The bottom line

In what promises to be the most entertaining Finals in years, the Red Wings' experience and superior defense will be the difference. The Penguins might be the team of the future, but the Red Wings are the best team now.

Rick Sadowski's pick: Detroit in six games.

Penguins at Red Wings

* When: 6 MDT tonight.

* Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit.

* What: Game 1, best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals.

* TV/radio: Versus; KKFN-FM (104.3).

* Leading scorers

Pittsburgh (12-2) G A P

C Sidney Crosby 4 17 21

RW Marian Hossa 9 10 19

C Evgeni Malkin 9 10 19

LW Ryan Malone 6 9 15

D Sergei Gonchar 1 10 11

Coach:

Michel Therrien

Detroit (12-4) G A P

Henrik Zetterberg

11 10 21

C Pavel Datsyuk 9 10 19

RW Johan Franzen 12 3 15

C Jiri Hudler 4 9 13

D Nicklas Kronwall 0 12 12

Coach:

Mike Babcock * Injuries: Pittsburgh - D Mark Eaton (knee) is out. Detroit - C Tomas Kopecky (knee) is out; Franzen (concussion) is day to day.

* Sidelight: This is the first playoff meeting between the teams, and they previously faced off Oct. 7, 2006. The Red Wings won 2-0 in Pittsburgh.

* Notes: The Red Wings are 7-1 at home in the playoffs and have outscored teams 25-12. . . . The Penguins are 4-2 on the road and have outscored teams 18-13. . . . The Red Wings are 16-for-76 on power plays (21.1 percent) and have killed 62-of-71 penalties (87.3 percent) while scoring five short-handed goals. . . . The Penguins are 16-for-65 on power plays (24.6 percent) and have killed 48-of-55 penalties (87.3 percent) while scoring one short-handed goal. . . . Red Wings center Kris Draper has won a playoff-best 63.4 percent of his faceoffs, a key factor in Detroit's ability to play a puck-possession game.

Schedule Detroit vs. Pittsburgh

1 Today at Detroit, 6 p.m.

2 Monday at Detroit, 6 p.m.

3 Wednesday at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.

4 May 31 at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.

*5 June 2 at Detroit, 6 p.m.

*6 June 4 at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.

*7 June 7 at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News