Pittsburgh Penguins v Detroit Red Wings Live

Coming off back-to-back 4-2 home wins, the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to tie the series at two games a piece. Thus, Detroit will host the Penguins in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday at 2 a.m. GMT.

Although Pittsburgh was already down 2-1 for the fourth time in the series they managed to come back to clinch a crucial 4-2 home win. Without any doubts, the Penguins' win could not have come at a better time as a comeback from a 1-3 series deficit would have been highly unlikely. Once again it was Pittsburgh's dynamic forward duo consisting of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby to save the Penguins. Both players finished the game with one goal and one assist each to prevent Detroit from extending their lead.

Looking forward to game five, the Penguins will now have to show that they are also capable of playing well on the road. Having lost the first two road games of the series, Pittsburgh did not show the same enthusiasm and energy like at home. Given the fact that Detroit has home advantage due to their better regular season record the Penguins will not be able to come away with the Stanley Cup trophy without achieving at least one win in Michigan. So far the series has been as close as one can imagine, both teams being tied with two wins and a total of 10 goals each. For the Red Wings the key to success could be staying away from unnecessary penalty minutes to prevent the Penguins from benefiting from their power-play strength. In fact, Pittsburgh scored only two of their ten goals in the series when all ten players were on the ice.

You can watch game five of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming. With the series being at two games each, the Pittsburgh Penguins will head to Detroit for game five of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday night.

Posted: 31st May 2009

Without any doubts, very few would have picked the Pittsburgh Penguins to make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals again to meet the Detroit Red Wings. However, in both conferences the audience saw favorites like the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins struggling and ultimately facing early post-season elimination. Thus, it is time for a rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals which also featured the Penguins and Red Wings.

While both teams played very well throughout the playoffs, neither of them had an easy post-season run. Although both teams won their conference finals series in five and four games respectively, they had much more trouble in the second round. More specifically, the Anaheim Ducks forced a game seven show-down in Detroit which resulted in a clutch 4-3 home win for the Red Wings to advance to the next round. Likewise, it took the Penguins seven games to defeat the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Comparing the Red Wings and Penguins inevitably leads to a number of obvious mismatches, yet which team might take advantage of them remains to be seen. There is no question that Pittsburgh’s forward duo consisting of All-Stars Evgeni Malkin and Sydney Crosby is as good as it gets in the NHL. In fact, Malkin and Crosby are tied for the league lead in post-season scoring with 28 points each. Although Detroit does not have two equally talented forwards they certainly have more depth than the penguins. So far different players stepped up when needed, be it Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen or Daniel Cleary. Moreover, the Red Wings have various excellent defenders such as Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and the aging Chris Chelios. Even though there are many factors that will determine the outcome of game one, the most important one is projected to be how Detroit’s defense will be able to deal with Crosby and Malkin.

You can watch game one of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming. After a long regular season followed by some tough playoffs weeks it is time for game one of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Red Wings and Penguins on Sunday.