Pittsburgh went 45-28-9 (or 45-37) during the regular season. - Pittsburgh topped Philadelphia in the first round, 4-2.
- Pittsburgh edged Washington in the second round, 4-3.
- Pittsburgh swept Carolina in the Conference Finals, 4-0.
Pittsburgh has a winning percentage in the regular season of .549, but a .706 mark in the playoffs.
Detroit went 51-21-10 (or 51-31) during the regular season.
How they got here:
- Detroit swept Columbus in the first round, 4-0.
- Detroit edged the Ducks in the second round, 4-3.
- Detroit topped Chicago in the Conference Finals, 4-1.
Detroit has a .622 winning percentage in the regular season and has a .750 mark for the playoffs. Between the two teams, Pittsburgh is truly the underdog in this series. Detroit led the league in scoring, and they needed to, especially since their goalie's save percentage was so poor. The Penguins have an above average offense and a middle of the road save percentage, so the two teams appear evenly matched. Personally, I don't think there is a bad pick between the two.
Forecast: Well, the nature of this blog is to predict who will win. Game 1 and Game 2 are in Detroit. Odds are that Detroit will prevail, as Pittsburgh is not as good on the road as Detroit is on the road. Detroit wins it at home, 3-1.
I am not going to say that the logo is bad, but the Blackhawk logo could be better. The Red Wings were seeded second and the Blackhawks were seeded fourth coming into the playoffs. Both teams amassed over 100 points in the NHL point system. The Red Wings limped into the playoffs while Chicago steamrolled on in. Who is the better team?
Forecast: I don't know. I like Chicago for the series. I'm really not at all sure why, but I do. Maybe it is because my wife is from Illinois (and I am secretly biased, so secret that I don't even know about it). Either way, if Chicago does win the series, they have to take one on the road from a Detroit team who hasn't lost at home since the playoffs started. Detroit wins this one tonight with a tight score of 4-3.
