posted May 27, 2008 at 16:37 in NHL Articles

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Eastern Conference championship and a trip to the NHL finals for the first time since 1992 by crushing its opponents. The Pens needed only 14 playoff games to reach the finals, jumping out to 3-0 sports betting series lead against Ottawa, New York, and Philadelphia and didn’t drop more than one game to any team.

But when Sidney Crosby and company returns to the Igloo on Wednesday, they'll be facing a 2-0 deficit after losing the first two games in the best-of-seven hockey betting series at Joe Louis Arena by a combined score of 7-0. The Pens are the fourth team this year to fall behind 2-0 to the Wings, who are 9-1 at home.

Of the 31 teams to win the first two games of the finals at home, 30 have raised the Cup. Only the 1971 Chicago Blackhawks failed to win it after taking the first two games on home ice.

Entering play in Pittsburgh, the Pens are 12-4 overall in the postseason and 8-0 at Mellon Arena, having won their last 16 games on home ice dating to the regular season.

Crosby, who is the youngest team captain in Stanley Cup history, is being schooled in the early stages of the finals by veterans of Detroit, who's looking to win its fourth championship in 11 seasons. The Wings are the first Presidents’ Trophy winners to make the finals since its 2002 club did it.

This is the Wings 23rd NHL finals appearance. They are riding an eleven game playoff winning streak which is a Detroit franchise-record and they are 14-4 overall.

Detroit goalie Chris Osgood has stopped all 41 Pittsburgh shots in the first two contests. After stopping all 19 shots he faced in Game 1, Osgood turned aside 22 shots in Game 2 for his second consecutive shutout and third of this postseason.

Osgood hasn’t allowed a goal since Dallas Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas scored in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. If you’re keeping track, that’s 137 minutes and 33 seconds.

Detroit needs two wins to lock up its 11th Cup title, which has been won a record 24 times by the Montreal Canadiens. The Stanley Cup was first presented in 1893, crafted in Sheffield, England and was purchased for 10 guineas ($48.67 at the time) in 1892.

In 1997, the Stanley Cup traveled to Russia for the first time in its history. Ironically, it was Detroit who made the trip with the most famous trophy in the sporting world in tow accompanied by Wings' Russian members Slava Fetisov, Slava Kozlov and Igor Larionov.

This is the first all-American NHL finals since 2003 and the first time ever Detroit and Pittsburgh are battling for rights to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.

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