Bodog Beat

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby take on Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Images)

The history of the National Hockey League is ripe with dynamic forward duos.

Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy were synonymous with the great New York Islander dynasty. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier led the most famous Edmonton Oilers team. Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr took the Pittsburgh Penguins from also-rans to Cup champions. Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg brought Stanley's mug to Colorado as Avalanche teammates.

This legacy of tremendous twosomes carries over to today, where two of the best in the business – Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk-Henrik Zetterberg – have simply defined the 2008 NHL postseason with their skills and scoring prowess.

What sets these four apart, however, is their collective precociousness. Only one – Datsyuk, who at 29 is the quartet's grizzled vet – has been to a Stanley Cup final. Heading into these playoffs, the 20-year-old Crosby and 21-year-old Malkin had just 10 playoff games under their belts. At 27, Zetterberg had never made it past the conference finals.

The accolades for each pairing have been pouring in all season long. Zetterberg and Datsyuk are unique in that they're lauded as much for their defensive capabilities as their offensive prowess.

"Those two are a rare breed," Dallas coach Dave Tippett explained. "Because they're a line that you look at that you should be checking, but in actual fact they're a checking line."

Crosby and Malkin have garnered equal amounts of praise. Teammate Sergei Gonchar insists that the pair "have everything" and there is no limit to how good they can become.

"They're young. They have all the skills in the world. They have the desire. So yeah, they may be another duo that can lead the way for a long time," Gonchar told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Those guys are improving all the time. They're getting better."

So the stage is set for these two duos to do battle, and rightfully so. But what about the supporting casts? There's still the likes of Gonchar, Lidstrom, Hossa, Holmstrom and two superb netminders to consider. So, without further ado, let's break down the rest of the players in the 2008 Stanley Cup finals:

Read the entire article in Bodog Nation!

Stanley Cup Betting!