Penguins are built for a long run of success
2008 NHL playoffs
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Saturday's action
Analysis
- Spector: Flyers, Stars need toughness
- TPSH: San Jose's coaching blame game
- Puck Podcast: Playoff preview
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Follow the playoffs: East | West
Veteran stars such as Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg; Dallas' Marty Turco, Brendan Morrow and Brad Richards; Philadelphia's Daniel Briere and Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa continue to prove they're among the game's very best in leading their respective clubs to the conference finals.
That's not to say young and emerging stars haven't been sharing the stage with those established players.
Sidney Crosby is the most hyped and recognizable of the bunch but several others have earned a share of this year's spotlight.
Crosby, 20, leads the Penguins young guns but teammate Evgeni Malkin has proven he's every bit Crosby's equal, even leading some observers to suggest he might even be better than "Sid the Kid."
Malkin, 21, led the Penguins and finished second overall in the league in regular-season scoring and is tied with Crosby for the team lead in playoff scoring, sitting among the league's top five.
Another young Penguin standout is 23-year-old goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who's been arguably as much a factor in his team's march to the conference finals as Crosby and Malkin.
Fleury went into this year's playoffs facing questions over his ability to raise his game in the postseason but he's silenced the doubters with an 8-1 record, 1.76 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and two shutouts, statistics that rank him among the top goalies in this year's playoffs.
Philadelphia's surprising performance is due in part to their young forwards, most notably Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger.
Richards, 23, signed a lucrative long-term contract during the regular season and he's certainly proven his worth in the postseason, heading into the Eastern Conference finals third in team points (11) and earning positive reviews for his two-way play.
The 23-year-old Carter sits fourth behind Richards in points (9) and has proven to be a scoring threat every time he's on the ice, further making the case for the Flyers to re-sign him this summer.
Umberger's performance has been amongst the playoffs' notable surprises. A 13-goal scorer (along with 50 points) in the regular season, the 25-year-old Umberger's nine goals lead the Flyers and rank second amongst all of this year's goal-scorers.
The Detroit Red Wings don't have "young guns" compared to the Penguins and Flyers but possess two potential late-bloomers in Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall.
Franzen, 28, was a 27-goal scorer this season but "Mule" has been a scoring machine with a playoff-leading 12 tallies, more than his superstar teammates Datsyuk and Zetterberg. He's broken the team record for goals in a series previously held by the legendary Gordie Howe.
Injuries kept Kronwall, 27, from playing in last year's playoffs, but this year he's healthy and proven to be a significant contributor on the Wings blue line. His 10 points lead all defensemen and his physical defensive play has earned praise from the coaching staff.
The Stars also have a late-blooming star in 28-year-old center Mike Ribeiro, who's not only coming off the best regular-season performance of his career but has finally proven himself in the postseason.
During his years with the Montreal Canadiens Ribeiro was considered little more than a one-dimensional player unwilling to back-check and whose offense always dried up at playoff time.
That's not the case this year, as he's the Stars' leading scorer with 14 points, and he's earned rave reviews for his two-way play and a new-found physicality this spring.
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