Here we are again.  After 82 games and another grueling two months of intense playoff hockey, after shedding blood, sweat and, well, more blood (there’s no crying in hockey) the same two teams are left standing.  Detroit vs. Pittsburgh.  Same stick, different day.  While it may not be the most exciting matchup for a hockey fan looking for something new, a Stanley Cup rematch is quite a feat.

It is not often in professional sports that the same two teams battle for the ultimate prize in consecutive seasons.  The most recent occurrence was in 1998, when the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz met for a second time in two years in the NBA finals.  In fact, this phenomenon happens more frequently in the NBA than in the other major team sports, and usually involves the Lakers and Celtics (four times).

In the Super Bowl era, only once has there been a “Super Rematch,” as Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys disposed of the Buffalo Bills in both ’93 and ’94.  It has been since 1978 that this has happened in baseball, when the Yankees took down the Dodgers in both the ’77 and ’79 World Series.  Prior to that was in 1953, when again it was the Yankees and Dodgers  however, both teams called New York home back then.  The Bronx Bombers won both series.

These Stanley Cup Finals will mark only the third time since 1970 the NHL has seen its two conference champions repeat.  One was 1978, when Les Habitants broke Boston’s heart for the second consecutive year.  The other being Gretzky’s Oilers avenging their loss to the New York Islanders in ’84.  As rare as it is to make it back to a Stanley Cup Finals, Detroit and Pittsburgh are no strangers to doing it.  In the ’90s, both teams did what is considered by many to be the hardest thing to accomplish in sports: win back-to-back Stanley Cups.

In the coming weeks, the Red Wings will have a chance to seize another repeat championship, but first, lets see how we got here:

Round 1:

#1 and Done

Question:  How do you make a shark disappear? Answer: Invite it to the playoffs.  The San Jose Sharks once again showed us why they are perennial regular season champs and playoff chumps.  The No. 1 seeded Sharks were overmatched in every facet of the game by the Anaheim Ducks–in San Jose’s defense the Ducks were not your average eight seed.  No matter the opponent, and regardless of how many points they rack up during the regular season, the Sharks and leading man Joe Thornton cannot match the intensity and passion of playoff hockey.  This year, as in many past, they were a huge disappointment.

In a New York Minute

After four games of the opening round series between the Capitals and the Rangers, the city of New York was a buzz with talk of a summer vacation for Lord Stanley’s Cup in the Big Apple.  Every weakness of Washington’s that had been talked about leading up to the playoffs was being exploited:  Poor goaltending? Check.  Lack of defensive toughness? Check.  And it didn’t help that Ovi and the gang could not figure out New York net minder Henrik Lundqvist, who looked like he may have been on his way to a Conne Smythe Trophy.  Then, it all went so wrong for the Rangers.  Down 3-1 in the series, the Capitals dominated the next two games and pulled out a thriller at home in game seven, leaving New Yorkers wondering what happened.

Round 2:

The Kids are Alright

The youngest and arguably most exciting team in the NHL this year, the Chicago Blackhawks, gave the people of Chicago something they hadn’t seen in a while.  The Hawks, who have not been in the post season since 2002 and hadn’t won a playoff series since Clinton was in office (’96), rolled to series victories over Calgary and Vancouver.  Playing an exhilarating style of hockey that dared you to try and out score them, Chicago became the darlings of this year’s playoffs, making it to their first conference finals since 1995.  Unfortunately, waiting for them this year, was the same team they ran into 14 years ago, and again Detroit was too much to handle.

Lucky # 7

The six game series between Chicago and Vancouver was a blow out by comparison to the other three series in round two, each of which had to be decided in a seventh game.  Of those three series, the Anaheim-Detroit and Pittsburgh-Washington  struggles were nothing short of all out warfare.  When the dust had settled, it was obvious who the top two teams in each conference were.  After dropping the first two games, the Penguins showed the maturity and grit of a battle-tested team.  They rallied, and ran the Caps out of their own building in Game 7.  In the west, Detroit survived a marathon series with the Ducks. A series that featured a three-overtime grudge-match, which left most wondering how either team could stay on their feet the rest of the way.   With games on alternate nights, those four teams provided hockey fans with one of the most entertaining two weeks of playoff puck ever.

Round 3:

Prelude to the Finals

The conference finals were merely a formality.  The only question was whether or not the Red Wings and Penguins had enough left in the tank to forge their way into a finals rematch.  It turns out, they had plenty.  The Pens breezed past a Carolina team that looked like they used all the magic they had in the two previous seven-game series.  In the west, the old pros made the kids from “Chi-town” look like just that, kids.  After all of the excitement of the first two rounds, the Semifinals were not exactly “must see TV,” more like scrimmages for both teams in preparation for the Finals.

Finals Preview

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and this year the Pens would like to serve it up to Detroit on ice.  Despite the fact that last year’s finals went to a sixth game, the series really wasn’t that close.  The Red Wings machine completely over-matched the young, wide eyed Penguins, in what felt more like a six game sweep.  So convincing was the beating that Pens’ star, Marian Hossa left four million dollars on the table from Pittsburgh to sign with the enemy, in classic “if you can’t beat em, join em” fashion.  His reason, he wanted a legitimate chance of finally winning the cup.  I’ll bet ya the Penguins haven’t forgotten about that, and it could make for an interesting post series handshake from his old pals if Pittsburgh prevails.

Detroit – Pittsburgh, the sequel, should be a lot closer than the first time around.  The Pens are a year older, Finals experienced and hungry.  Last year they were just happy to be there.  This year they know what it feels like to watch the other team celebrate with the Cup, and they believe it is their turn.  They are playing phenomenal hockey, and Evgeni Malkin has arrived as a big time postseason player.  All that being said, it still may not be enough to take down the mighty Red Wings, as the “D” in D-Town is starting to look like it may stand for “Dynasty”.

Prediction : Wings in seven.

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Matt Venuto was forced into the writing business when those close to him held an intervention and demanded that he find an outlet for his endless opinions and ranting, because, frankly, they were tired of listening to him. Matt is a USC alumnus and majored in psychology in an attempt to figure out why everyone around him was nuts.  He failed in his endeavor.  Like Hootie and the Blowfish, the Dolphins make him cry and he doesn’t understand why more people don’t find Kevin Garnett extremely annoying.  Calm down Kevin, please.

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