Article:5 reasons why Detroit will win the Cup...

1. Experience Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Cleary, Samuelsson, Draper, Maltby, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Chelios, and Osgood… to name a few. The Red Wings have many experienced players up and down their roster. All the players listed above have been in this position before. This is nothing new to them. The only problem may be that they could be TOO old. Can they survive two months of playoffs?? We’ll see… but their experience is certainly an advantage against Pittsburgh. 2. Killer Instinct In each of the games they’ve eliminated their opponent, they’ve played tantalizing defense. They wrapped their tentacles around their opponent’s throats and squeezed them to death. Outscoring the opposition 15-3 in these games, Detroit has shown the NHL a deadly killer instinct. It puts fear in their next opponent like no other. 3. Finally broke through Ever since their Cup victory in 2002, Detroit failed time and time again in the playoffs. First, it was the (Mighty) Ducks in 2003. They were swept away in the first round by Giguere and company. Detroit was the 2 seed that year, and that got the ball rolling. The next year they were defeated in 6 games by the Flames in the second round. This was very disappointing, though, considering they won the President’s Trophy. They were shutout in games 5 and 6, both of which ended up 1-0 in Calgary’s favor. The playoff season following the lockout was their lowest playoff moment in years. They were ousted in 6 by the eighth-seeded Edmonton Oilers in dramatic fashion. And then last year, they lost to Anaheim in the Conference Finals. To some teams getting to this point would be an achievement. But Detroit had a 2-1 series lead, and had the Ducks on the ropes when Chris Pronger was suspended for Game 4. Three games later, Anaheim was going to the Stanley Cup Finals. But this year, they obliterated their Western foes; they finally broke through. So many fans and media personnel doubted the Wings’ desire ever since the playoff loss to Edmonton. They’ve finally proven that they have that desire to win their 11th Stanley Cup. 4. Zetterberg and Datsyuk They toy with their opponents. They make you think they can be stopped, but then they’ll pull off some amazing 2-on-1 highlight goal. They easily lead the plus/minus category in the playoffs. Both are in the top five in points and goals. They are the best duo in the west. Henrik and Pavel have finally come through in the clutch in the playoffs – something they’ve never been able to do. This will be a test for the duo, as they’ll likely face the Staal line along with Gonchar and Orpik on the blue line. 5. They’re the Red Wings Detroit has won the Cup in each of their last three trips to the finals. They swept Philly and Washington 1997 and 1998, respectively, and manhandled Carolina in 5 games in 2002. This is what they do. They’re due. Once they’ve come this far, they usually close the deal. And with home-ice in their favor, they could be raising Lord Stanley for the 11th time.