Two of hockey’s finest battle for Stanley Cup

“Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, bring me the brandy!”

As one of Hall of Fame play-by-play… “Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, bring me the brandy!”

As one of Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer Mike Lange’s patented sayings, we should expect to hear this sound once again in the near future.

The Penguins, fresh off a win in their five-game series over arch nemesis the Philadelphia Flyers, face off Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings for the oldest trophy in North American sports, Lord Stanley’s Cup.

While it took Detroit six games to quell a high-powered Dallas Stars team, don’t be so sure to assume they’ll be tired.

Detroit boasts an offense just as talented as Pittsburgh’s and a goalie just as hot as Marc-Andre Fleury in Chris Osgood.

When breaking down the matchup, we’ll first look at those in the forward position.

Forwards

Detroit’s top line of Henrik Zetterberg centering Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom is just as dangerous as Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin line.

Malkin and Zetterberg are world-class centers who both play strong defensive games, and Datsyuk and Petr Sykora can finish off the passes from the talented pivot men.

Holmstrom provides the line’s grit along with some scoring touch, much like Ryan Malone gives the Pens.

While the Red Wings’ second line isn’t nearly as talented as Pittsburgh’s Pascal Dupuis-Sidney Crosby-Marian Hossa combination, it plays a strong defensive game as well as chipping in for timely goals.

Johan Franzen, the usual center on the second line, was out of game six versus the Stars with concussion-related headaches, and there is no word on his return.

Before going down, he scored 12 goals in the playoffs, which is still the leading total.

Taking his place between Jiri Hudler and Dan Cleary is Valtteri Filppula, who had 19 goals and 36 points during the regular season and has filled in well throughout the playoffs thus far.

On the third line, the Penguins combine tenacity, speed and size in Jarkko Ruutu, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy, while the Red Wings show a line of grit and experience in Dallas Drake, Kris Draper and Mikael Samuelsson, a former Penguin.

Darren Helm, a 21-year-old rookie, centers veterans Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty on Detroit’s fourth line.

The Penguins counter with an Adam Hall-Max Talbot-Georges Laraque line that combines size and toughness.

Advantage: Penguins – With two No.1-lines and no real injury concerns, the Penguins nudge the Red Wings.

Defense

Detroit’s top pairing on defense cannot be matched league-wide, with perennial Norris Trophy candidate and team captain Nicklas Lidstrom plus Brian Rafalski.

Rafalski, a former Devil and renowned speedster, complements Lidstom’s game, playing a smart, almost methodical style of hockey.

Pittsburgh counters with perennial Norris Trophy snub Sergei Gonchar and bruiser Brooks Orpik, who has been playing the best hockey of his career.

Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart bring a balanced attack as the Red Wings’ second pairing, but the Penguins have a shutdown duo with their Rob Scuderi-Hal Gill combination.

The third pairing for Detroit features either rookie Derek Meech and 46-year-old Chris Chelios or the duo of Andreas Lilja and Brett Lebda.

The Penguins’ third twosome is an offensive one, featuring Ryan Whitney and rookie Kris Letang. Waiting in the wings for his first playoff appearance of the season is veteran Darryl Sydor.

Advantage: Red Wings – Experience and consistency give Detroit a better back end to their defense.

Goaltenders

The Red Wings’ goaltenders have a combined 23 years on the Penguins duo, but that shouldn’t stop Fleury and Ty Conklin from outplaying Detroit.

With Dominik Hasek playing poorly in the first round, head coach Mike Babcock subbed in Osgood and hasn’t looked back.

Osgood replaced Hasek midway through the first round against Nashville and has posted a 10-2 record with a 1.60 goals-against average.

Fleury’s GAA in the playoffs comes a close second with 1.70, but his save percentage is tops in the postseason at .938.

While Conklin has yet to play in the playoffs, he provided significant support throughout the regular season when Fleury was out with a high ankle sprain.

Advantage: Push – The Red Wings have the experience, but the aged bodies might be a bit fatigued.

The Pens are riding a hot Fleury, but he could falter against an offense like Detroit’s.

While the advantages come out as a push, I see the Penguins taking the series in six games with Crosby and company click.