| The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole when they visit the Detroit Red Wings for Game 2 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final on Monday night at Joe Louis Arena.
Pittsburgh should get a boost from the return of Gary Roberts, who returns to the lineup after sitting out the best-of-seven opener on Saturday as a healthy scratch. Roberts, 42, who will make his first Cup final appearance in 19 years, since he won the Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989, missed the final three games of the Eastern Conference final against the Philadelphia Flyers with pneumonia. He will take the place of Georges Laraque and play on the Penguins' fourth line with Jarkko Ruutu and Adam Hall.
But Detroit will also be getting a big lift with the return of playoff goal-scoring co-leader Johan Franzen. The third-year centre took part in Monday's skate before he was cleared to play after battling concussion-like symptoms. Franzen hasn't played since persistent headaches forced him out of the lineup before Game 2 of the West final. With 12 goals, Franzen is tied with teammate Henrik Zetterberg for the NHL lead in this year's playoffs.
Detroit won Game 1 on Saturday, blanking Pittsburgh 4-0. The Red Wings won the game as -160 favorites, while the four goals fell under the over/under total of 5.5.
Pittsburgh is 12-3 SU in its past 15. The total has gone under in seven of Pittsburgh's past nine in Detroit. Detroit is 11-1 SU in its past 12 at home, 6-1 SU in its past seven against Pittsburgh, and 4-1 SU in its past five at home against Pittsburgh.
The game can be seen on VERSUS and CBC.
Betting Line: Pittsburgh is a -170 favorite at BetUS, and the over/under is 5½.
Betting Consensus: About 63 per cent of wagers on this game are on Detroit.
Pick: Pittsburgh.
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