After many exhilarating twists and turns, the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will be a re-match of last year’s final with defending champion Detroit Red Wings pitted against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
 
Although both teams were taken to the seven game limits in their respective conference semifinal series, each managed to handily defeat their conference final opponents.
 
Pittsburgh made short work of the Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit beat the young, upstart Chicago Blackhawks.
 
The Blackhawks were easily the surprise of the Western Conference, defeating the two Canadian team representatives — the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks.
 
With an average age of 25.5 and led by a 20-year-old captain, Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks showed plenty of resilience against the physically-overpowering Flames.
 
They also capitalized on Vancouver’s overrated defensive core and inability to withstand a lead of more than two goals.
 
Even with minimal Canadian content — six skates and two goaltenders — the Carolina Hurricanes defied the odds and showed plenty of heart when defeating the series-favourite, the New Jersey Devils, and the banged-up Eastern Conference favourite, the Boston Bruins, both in seven games.
 
The Hurricanes relied upon clutch goaltending from Cam Ward to oust the legendary Martin Brodeur from the playoffs in a come-from-behind 4-3 game seven victory over the Devils.
 
Ward, the 2006 Conn Smythe Award-winner, also made a few key saves in the Hurricane’s game seven 3-2 overtime victory against the Bruins.
 
Not even the 1.85 goals-against average or .938 save percentage of Vezina Trophy-favourite Tim Thomas could save the Bruins from elimination.
 
Ward’s brilliance could only take Carolina so far, however, as the team ran into a determined Pittsburgh Penguins squad.
 
Following harsh criticism due to mostly lackluster play between game four against the Philadelphia Flyers and game four against the Washington Capitals, where he only scored one goal and five total points, Evgeni Malkin returned to his 2009 Art Ross Trophy-winner form.
 
Malkin tallied 16 points in his next six games, including a hat trick in a dominating four-point performance in game two against the Hurricanes.
 
Alongside Malkin, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has displayed excellent consistency in his bid to return his team to the Stanley Cup Finals. The 21-year-old was only kept off the score sheet twice prior to the series rematch against the Detroit Red Wings.
 
Always a front-runner to hoist the Stanley Cup, the Red Wings swept the Columbus Blue Jackets in their Central Division rival’s first-ever playoff series.
 
However, the Wings needed great goaltending from the reliable Chris Osgood to defeat the Anaheim Ducks, who upset the President’s Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks in the first round.
 
Until their game seven exit against Detroit, the Ducks were led by little-known second-year goaltender Jonas Hiller and his playoff-leading .943 save percentage.
 
Osgood’s unsung performance is the theme of the playoffs for the Red Wings.
 
They have received timely contributions from similarly overlooked players such as Dan Cleary (13 points), Valtteri Filppula (10 points) and Johan Franzen (18 points) to go along with the leadership and experience of Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg.
 

Although a rematch of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final may not be the most desired for hockey fans, a more mature and experienced Penguins squad should be prepared to push to the limit — or perhaps even defeat — the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup final.