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NHL 09 Stanley Cup Finals Simulation

03:23 PM - June 1, 2009 by RaychelSnr

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.

Read on to find out how our official simulation went.

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# 1 RaychelSnr @ 06/01/09 03:24 PM

Here are the expanded stats and game timelines for you stataholics:

The Simulation

Game 1
1st Period
3:09: Hossa (Stuart) Hossa scores the first goal of the series putting Detroit up 1-0.

2nd Period
18:40 Hudler (Filppula, Lebda) (SH) With Pittsburgh on the powerplay, Detroit is able to score short-handed, as Hudler, standing above the right circle, slapped one into the top-left corner. Fleury should have had it. Detroit go up 2-0.

3rd Period
1:31 Crosby (Malkin, Kunitz) Early in the 3rd and Pittsburgh climbs back in it. Crosby, off a feed from Malkin, slapped one in on a one-timer. Osgood couldn't slide over in time to block it. Detroit still lead 2-1.

9:30 Adams (Letang, Boucher) Pittsburgh tie it up! Letang threw in a weak wrister from the point and Craig Adams managed to get a nice deflection onto it, beating Osgood five-hole. It's now all square at 2-2.

16:40 Zetterberg (Lidstrom, Stuart) With only minutes remaining in the 3rd, Detroit re-gain the lead. Lidstrom fed a pass to a wide open Zetterberg, who wristed it by an outstretched Fleury. Detroit have the advantage again, 3-2.

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

Team Stats
Pittsburgh-Detroit
Goals 2-3
Shots 31-56
Powerplays 0/6-0/3
Faceoffs Won 25-29
Hits 43-45
Penalties 6-9
PIM 21:00-27:00

Pit 0-0-2 2
Det 1-1-1 3
Series Detroit 1 - Pittsburgh 0

Game 2
1st Period
4:38 Cleary (Stuart) Detroit take the quick lead. Cleary took a shot from the right circle, which Fleury saved. But he failed to recover the puck and Stuart took advantage, as he gained possession and passed it back across the crease to an open Cleary. And Cleary had no problems from there, as he deposited the puck into the net. Detroit lead 1-0.

2nd Period
1:47 Hossa (Zetterberg) Hossa, with a dandy deke on Fleury, scores his second of the playoffs and first of the game. Detroit go up 2-0.

7:02 Hossa (Lidstrom, Zetterberg) (PP) Hossa, uncontested in the slot, was able to re-direct a Lidstrom shot from the point, which easily beat Fleury five-hole. Detroit grow their lead to 3-0.

9:26 Franzen (Unasssisted) (PP) Hossa's pressure on the forecheck forced Gill to make a mistake behind the net. The turnover led to an easy opportunity for Franzen, who was uncontested in front of the keeper. And he made no mistake, as he snuck a wrister by Fleury. The keeper wasn't able to get his blocker on it. All Detroit now, 4-0.

3rd Period
19:11 Hossa (Rafalski, Zetterberg) (PP) In the last minute of play, Hossa nets a hat-trick! He got into the slot un-contested and roofed one into the top left corner, right over Fleury's shoulder. Detroit dominating, 5-0.

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

Team Stats
Pittsburgh-Detroit
Goals 0-5
Shots 16-44
Powerplays 0/2-3/9
Faceoffs Won 19-20
Hits 58-32
Penalties 13-5
PIM 35:00-19:00

Pit 0-0-0 0
Det 1-3-1 5
Series Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 0

Game 3
1st Period
10:22 Filppula (Unassisted) (SH) Ahh, the power of hard-work and determination. Short-handed, Detroit had dumped it into Pittsburgh end. Filppula, on the forecheck, was able to outmuscle Letang for the puck behind the Pittsburgh net. He then strode in front of the goal and shot the puck past Fleury. Detroit lead 1-0.

16:02 Crosby (Gonchar, Orpik) Pittsburgh tie it up and they have Chris Osgood to thank. Osgood saved a Gonchar slap shot from the point, but when he went to play it to Stuart, Crosby intercepted and wristed it into the open cage. Things now stand at 1-1.

2nd Period
2:54 Crosby (Gonchar) (PP) Talk about deja vu. Pittsburgh pulls ahead thanks to a Crosby goal that looked similar to his first. Once again, Osgood saved a Gonchar shot from the point, but again he failed to pull in the rebound. And yet again, Crosby got hold of the puck and whacked it into net. Pittsburgh now lead 2-1.

8:51 Staal (Letang, Fedotenko) Pittsburgh scores their 3rd unanswered goal! Staal was able to re-direct a Letang shot from the point that went right through Osgood's five-hole. Pittsburgh with a nice lead now at 3-1.

11:31 Malkin (Sykora, Cooke) In a bit of utter brilliance, Malkin had taken Sykora's pass, rushed into the slot and backhanded a superb shot that beat Osgood glove-side. All Pittsburgh now, 4-1.

16:30 Crosby (Guerin, Kunitz) (PP) It just goes from bad to worse for Detroit. Guerin strode down the wing, evaded the challenge from Lebda and Hossa and fed the puck to an unopposed Crosby in the slot. And Crosby easily one-timed it past Osgood for his third goal. That made it 5-1 for the Pens.

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

Team Stats
Detroit-Pittsburgh
Goals 1-5
Shots 33-41
Powerplays 0/4-2/5
Faceoffs Won 27-26
Hits 36-43
Penalties 8-8
PIM 25:00-25:00

Det 1-0-0 1
Pit 1-4-0 5
Series Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 1

Game 4
1st Period
1:02 Datsyuk (Holmstrom, Franzen) A minute into the game and Detroit takes the lead. Superb passing freed up Datsyuk, who was unmarked in the crease area. He took a pass from Holmstrom and backhanded it into the net. Fleury had no chance. Detroit go up 1-0.

2nd period
14:24 Staal (Kennedy, Fedotenko) Pittsburgh evens it! Again, they took advantage of Osgood's inability to handle a rebound. Following an Osgood save, Staal drove hard to the net and slotted in the loose puck. The score stands at 1-1.

3rd Period
7:57 Fedotenko (Adams, Gonchar) Pittsburgh comes back from behind for a 2nd game in a row . Fedotenko cut in from the right, evaded the challenge from Rafalski and roofed it past Osgood. Just a beauty of a shot. Pittsburgh takes the lead 2-1.

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

Team Stats
Detroit-Pittsburgh
Goals 1-2
Shots 34-33
Powerplays 0/12-0/7
Faceoffs Won 20-31
Hits 52-52
Penalties 11-15
PIM 31:00-39:00

Det 1-0-0 1
Pit 0-1-1 2
Series Detroit 2 - Pittsburgh 2

Game 5
1st Period
0:43 Lindstrom (Datsyuk, Rafalski) Not even a minute into the game and Detroit take the lead. Lindstrom powered one in from the point and it was hard and fast enough to get by Fleury. The Wings go up 1-0.

6:36 Filppula (Samuelsson, Draper) This scoring opportunity began with a careless giveaway in the neutral zone. Draper had intercepted a Penguins pass and fed Samuelsson, who then found Filppula streaking into the Pittsburgh zone. Filppula then made a dandy play to beat Letang one on one before wristing one past Fleur. Detroit get out to an early 2-0 lead.

7:28 Talbot (Adams, Orpik) It didn't take long for Pittsburgh to answer. Adams did the hard work, making his way down the left wing past Hudler and Lebda, before passing it to an open Talbot, who had no trouble one-timing it into the net. Detroit still lead though, 2-1.

2nd Period
2:41 Holmstrom (Rafalski, Zetterberg) (PP) This one was weird. Rafalski passed the puck to Hossa who wound up for a one-timer, but Boucher had poke-checked the puck just in time to stop the shot attempt. But Fleury, reacting to the Hossa attempt, had played himself out of position, leaving the net wide open in the process. The puck then bounced over to Holmstrom who backhanded it into that open net. Fleury, sitting on his butt, his back against the left post, attempted to save the puck with his head, but couldn't get over in time. Detroit add to their lead, 3-1.

16:06 Hossa (Samuelsson, Kronwall) (PP) Just a beautiful play as Samuelsson skated in behind the Pittsburgh net, emerged on the other side and fed a perfect pass to Hossa who easily wristed it into the top left corner of the net. Detroit in a dominant position at 4-1.

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

Team Stats
Pittsburgh-Detroit
Goals 1-4
Shots 29-42
Powerplays 0/4-2/7
Faceoffs Won 20-18
Hits 39-38
Penalties 10-7
PIM 29:00-23:00

Pit 1-0-0 1
Det 2-2-0 4
Series Detroit 3 - Pittsburgh 2

Game 6
1st Period
13:28 Holmstrom (Datsyuk, Lidstrom) (PP) The Red Wings worked the puck around in Pittsburgh's end until Datsyuk passed it over to Holmstrom, who was alone in the slot, and he converted on his chance wristing it over Fleury's shoulder into the top left corner. Detroit take the lead 1-0.

18:02 Guerin (Staal, Boucher) (PP) Pittsburgh level it! Guerin gained possession of the puck behind the Detroit net. He faked left, causing Osgood to maneuver over to cover the right post, which left the other side of the net open. Guerin saw this, came out onto the left-side of the goal and slid it home. That tied the game at 1-1.

19:07 Malkin (Gonchar, Kunitz) (PP) Superb skill by Malkin on this goal. He gained possession of the puck behind the Detroit net, skated backwards onto the right edge of the slot and wristed one under Osgood's outstretched blocker. That goal puts Pittsburgh up 2-1.

2nd Period
0:21 Crosby (Kunitz, Orpik) Again with the rebounds. Kunitz took a shot from above the left circle, the puck hit Osgood's right pad and bounced free. Crosby took possession of the loose rebound and snapped it into the goal. Pittsburgh now lead 3-1.

5:16 Samuelsson (Stuart, Kronwall) (SH) Impressive individual effort by Samuelsson here. He had strode into the Pittsburgh end un-contested, split the Pittsburgh defenders, Boucher and Scuderi, before beating Fleury low on his stick-side. Pittsburgh still ahead 3-2.

3rd Period
13:47 Sykora (Scuderi, Boucher) (PP) Pittsburgh score an awkward goal as Sykora had wristed one in from the point. Osgood misplayed the puck off his glove on his save attempt and it somehow ended up in the goal. Weird, but nonetheless that gives Pittsburgh the 4-2 lead.

18:44 Guerin (Crosby, Orpik) Another weak Pittsburgh goal given up by Osgood. This time Guerin, from above the right circle, had wristed one in on Osgood's glove hand side. The goalie obviously misjudged it and the puck went sailing right by him. That makes it 5-2 for the Pens.

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

Team Stats
Detroit-Pittsburgh
Goals 2-5
Shots 37-42
Powerplays 1/6-3/10
Faceoffs won 24-29
Hits 48-44
Penalties 13-9
PIM 35:00-27:00

Det 1-1-0 2
Pit 2-1-2 5
Series Detroit 3 - Pittsburgh 3

Game 7
1st Period
10:20 Samuelsson (Lebda) Samuelsson opens the scoring in this pivotal game. He deked his way past Orpik and delivered a backhand shot that struck the side of Fleury's mid-section, but the force of the shot was strong enough for the puck to bounce into the net. Detroit go up 1-0.

13:37 Zetterberg (Hossa, Kronwall) (PP) Hossa sped along the right wing and fed the puck to Zetterberg, who was being defended by Dupuis and Scuderi in the slot. But Zetterberg took the pass and despite the pressure of two defenders, he was able to wrist it past Fleury's blocker. That important goal put Detroit up 2-0.

2nd Period
2:57 Kennedy (Talbot, Hill) Talbot was the key orchestrator of this play as he had rushed down Detroit's left flank, avoided Lidstrom's defensive advances and then whipped the puck over to Kennedy as Kennedy strode toward the net. Kennedy put in a weak little backhander that handcuffed Osgood as he attempted to make the glove save. That goal put Pittsburgh right back in it, but Detroit still lead 2-1.

8:47 Draper (Maltby, Kronwall) And just like that, the Wings leap to a 3-1 lead. It was an impressive goal as Draper had taken in a nice cross-ice pass from Maltby, he then took on an on-coming Scuderi, avoiding his check with a nice dangle move. With Scuderi out of the picture he finished the job, roofing it into the top-left corner. That would give Detroit an important 2 goal advantage 3-1.

3rd Period
5:02 Staal (Cooke, Letang) Pittsburgh strike back thanks to a nice goal by Staal. Staal was facing an oncoming aggressive rush from Kronwall and still managed to get his shot attempt off. It was a speculative shot, but it was enough to beat Osgood as the puck sailed over his left shoulder, nailing the crossbar and bouncing into the net. That makes it 3-2, can Pittsburgh tie it up?

19:45 Cleary (Zetterberg, Stuart) (EN) Cleary ices it for Detroit, nailing the puck into the empty net. Victory now looks assured, 4-2.

19:49 Franzen (Datsyuk, Rafalski) (EN) Pittsburgh elects to keep the goalie on the bench and the Wings make them pay as they won the ensuing the face-off, and passed it around until Franzen took an opportunity, shooting it from the red-line into the empty net. Red Wings make it 5-2.

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

Team Stats
Pittsburgh-Detroit
Goals 2-5
Shots 21-47
Powerplays 0/1-1/3
Faceoffs Won 24-17
Hits 42-42
Penalties 5-3
PIM 16:00-12:00

Pit 0-1-1 2
Det 2-1-2 5
Series Detroit 4 - Pittsburgh 3

# 2 Clarke_311 @ 06/01/09 08:39 PM

Intersting. I could probably see this happening in real life. It's been right so far.

# 3 tabulaRasa @ 06/02/09 04:10 AM

conn smythe based on the final series only? Ok....

Fun anyhow

# 4 Vikes1 @ 06/02/09 02:31 PM

Man...big game tonight.

I like both teams. So it's been kinda tough to cheer one way or the other. But I'm pulling for the Pens I guess. But the Wings have sure looked tough so far. My guess is, the Red Wings in six games.

# 5 Tycobbler @ 06/02/09 11:47 PM

Go Pens!!

# 6 Vikes1 @ 06/03/09 01:00 AM

The last seven minutes or so of the game was fantastic!

Game three was a blast to watch. Hoping for four more.

# 7 duckyjets @ 06/03/09 09:43 PM

I would love to be able to download a sim franchise where I could play the finals. Anyone know where to find this?

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NHL 09 Stanley Cup Finals Simulation