The Detroit Red Wings and The Pittsburgh Penguins, two of the NHL's most popular franchises, are facing off for the second year in a row for the honor of winning and hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup.

One team, the Red Wings, is an original 6 member. And throughout the Red Wings' history, the team has had periods of success but has also experienced a long era of disappointment. But in recent times the franchise has become a blueprint for consistency and excellence in the NHL, churning out quality players such as Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg.

But no matter the era, Red Wings fans have been lucky enough to witness some true legends play for their club.  With greats such as Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, and Stevie Yzerman.

And in these finals, the Red Wings will do their best to win the cup again and add to their own long-term legacies so that one day, they may also be mentioned as one of the club greats. These are your Detroit Red Wings.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are not an original 6 member, but they have been around for decades. For years they suffered through playoff defeats or missing the post-season altogether. But their fortunes began to turn in 1984, when the Penguins drafted Mario Lemieux, one of the greatest to ever lace up them up. And when the Penguins surrounded him with superb talent like Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis the team went on to win back-to-back championships.

However, in recent times the Penguins have struggled, going through years of re-building. But this proved to be worth it, as they accumulated superb talent in the draft with the likes of Marc-Andre Fleury, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal. Management has surrounded that core with players that possess equal portions of talent as well as grit. And as a whole, the team will be determined to emerge victorious, as a young cast ready to take that extra step forward in history. These are your Pittsburgh Penguins.

Sure, it may not attract the same sort of mainstream attention as the Washington-Pittsburgh series from earlier in the playoffs, but this re-match of Stanley Cup participants promises to be exciting for hardcore fans and hockey purists. Just two talented and evenly matched teams going to war for one of the biggest prizes in all of sport.

And what better way to see how it may transpire then by simulating the series with NHL 09..

The Particulars

You know, in some ways the NHL series resembles the Penguins franchise in that they both had some glory years in the early 90s, and then went through periods of downright mediocrity, before recently re-gaining their former prestige. And although the real series has already begun by the time this simulation is published, why not take a look at how things may occur if it were simulated via NHL 09.

I tried to keep things simple. I used the most recent roster updates, but didn't make any changes, so my apologies if some players are out/injured in reality. I played on the all-star difficulty, using Qb's sliders from the OS forums and used 10-minute periods. I used the game's exhibition mode to play out each game, and switched the home venue as appropriate for each game. Despite the fact that each game was an entity unto itself, I found that things still flowed relatively well and it made for an exciting series throughout.

And here is how it went.

The Simulation

Game 1

Red Wings 3 Penguins 2

The first game was an even affair. Detroit went up 2 goals, before Pittsburgh fought back to tie it up. Zetterberg proved to be the difference, as he iced the game in the 3rd, ensuring that the Wings would take the first game.

3 Stars
1. Fleury -53 Saves
2. Stuart -2 Assists
3. Osgood -29 Saves

Series Detroit 1 - Pittsburgh 0

Game 2

Red Wings 5 Penguins 0

If the first game was close, this one turned out to be a blowout. The main contribution came from Hossa, who scored a hat trick in leading the Red Wings to victory.

3 Stars
1. Hossa -3 Goals
2. Zetterberg -3 Assists
3. Osgood -16 saves shutout

Series Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 0

Game 3

Penguins 5 Red Wings 1

After falling into a two-game hole, Pittsburgh came out strong in their first game at home, dominating the Red Wings as easily as they were man-handled in game 2. The key man of the game was Sidney Crosby, who matched Hossa's hat-trick in game 2 with a similar effort in game 3.

3 Stars
1. Crosby -3 Goals
2. Fleury -32 Saves
3. Gonchar -2 Assists

Series Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 1

Two of the all-time great NHL franchises have their rematch for Lord Stanley's Cup.

Game 4

Penguins 2 Red Wings 1

Definitely a closer affair then games 2 and 3, both goalies played well as this game remained even for a large portion of the game. It stayed that way until the 3rd when Pittsburgh scored to put themselves ahead and back into the series.

3 Stars
1. Fleury -33 Saves
2. Fedotenko -1 Goal, 1 Assist
3. Osgood -31 Saves

Series Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 2

Game 5

Red Wings 4 Penguins 1

Back at home, with the series tied at 2 a-piece, Detroit put the hammer down. They whooped the Pens to the tune of 4-1 and re-gained control of the series.

3 Stars
1. Osgood -28 Saves
2. Rafalski -2 Assists
3. Filppula -1 Goal

Series Detroit 3 - Pittsburgh 2

Game 6

Penguins 5 Red Wings 2

On the precipice of elimination, the Penguins fought hard to avoid that cruel fate. They played hard and came out on top. And the victory would mean that this great series would go 7.

3 Stars
1. Fleury -35 Saves
2. Guerin -2 Goals
3. Crosby -1 Goal, 1 Assist

Series Detroit 3 - Pittsburgh 3

Game 7

Red Wings 5 Pengins 2

This was a hard-fought game that was closer than the ending score-line would suggest. But in the end the Red Wings played well enough to establish their superiority and they can celebrate their 2nd straight Stanley Cup Victory.

3 Stars
1. Kronwall -2 Assists
2. Zetterberg -1 Goal, 1 Assist
3. Franzen -1 Goal

Series Detroit 4 - Pittsburgh 3

The Aftermath

Detroit wins the Stanley Cup by defeating Pittsburgh 4-3. Each team won their home games and no game went into overtime. The Conn Smyth, in my opinion, goes to Marian Hossa who contributed 5 goals and an assist through 7 games. Other worthy players include Henrik Zetterberg who amassed 2 goals and 5 assists, Sidney Crosby, who led Pittsburgh in scoring with 5 goals and an assist and finally Marc-Andre Fleury who boasted an overall save percentage of 93.3%.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the real-life series will play out this way. For all we know, either team could sweep or some unforeseen injury will be a factor. But from watching these two teams through 7 games, I have a feeling that it'll be a true test of wills as both teams match-up well. It'll be up to that Pittsburgh defense to step up and stop the offensive threat of Detroit and the Penguin superstars need to be at their absolute best if Pittsburgh want a chance of prevailing.

But whoever wins, both these great teams have already cemented their place in their franchises' illustrious histories.

(Editors note: For simplicity we omitted many of the stats.  However we will be posting the full linescores and stats from each game in the comments section.)