Let’s meet the starting goalies for both teams. First JB SportsCorner takes a look at the “Steel City” goaltender Marc-Andre “Snow” Fleury and how he has fared in the playoffs. He, in my opinion, is one of the big reasons why the Pittsburgh Penguins are where they are right now. You have to have a good goaltender to make saves when the game gets tight. Goal tending wins championships. In the 2008 playoffs, Fleury boasts a 12 wins 2 losses record, and a .938 save percentage. There are questions with who Detroit coach Mike Babcock will start. Will he do what’s good for the team and start #30 Chris Osgood? Or, will he start the not so dominating Dominick Hasek? The last time Hasek saw vulcanized rubber was on April 16, when Nashville hung him with a loss. It has been Osgood who has got the Red Wings to this point. I couldn’t see Babcock deviating from the pattern he has been. Osgood has come into the 2008 finals as one of the hottest goalies in the NHL, boasting a 10 win 2 loss record and a .931 save percentage. I think the winner of this series depends on who has better goal tending, who shows up ready to play, and who can shut down the other team’s weapons. By weapons I mean Lidstrom, Malkin, Crosby, and Datsyuk. It will be a fun series, because in the first two games Babcock can change the lines and have the Wings big lines go against Pittsburgh’s big lines. When we get to Melon Arena, Pittsburgh has the advantage as far as who they want on the ice against Detroit.
