A new year, a new team

It was an unmistakably bad omen when Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, rushing to lead his team onto the ice for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals a year ago, misjudged the last step and took an inglorious and public tumble.

The young Penguins were shut out in the first two games at Joe Louis Arena, and although they produced some memorable moments as the series progressed, they never recovered from that early fall and lost to the Red Wings in six games.

When the two teams meet again tonight in the first rematch of Stanley Cup finals since the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders faced each other in 1983 and 1984, the Penguins expect things to be different.

They have finals experience. They have greater depth.

“I also know the size of the door,” Fleury said. “They’re a little smaller here, so I’ve got to watch for that.”

The Penguins want to avoid repeating that bit of history, but they can take heart from the results of those 1983 and 1984 Islander-Oiler finals.

In 1983 the Islanders swept the upstart Oilers to win their fourth consecutive Cup title. A year later the high-scoring Oilers remade themselves into an imposing defensive team and won the first of five championships in seven seasons.

Times and styles have changed, but the lesson remains. The Penguins are that much better than a year ago and the Red Wings are that much more battered than they were a few weeks ago that a Pittsburgh victory is a real possibility.

Although prolific winger Marian Hossa left the Penguins last summer to sign with the Red Wings as a free agent -- “This doesn’t happen every day,” he noted -- Pittsburgh has the depth and experience to make this a splendid and potentially dynasty-launching finals.

“There’s no surprises this year. We know what to expect,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said Friday. “We know our opponent. We’ve seen them last year, we’ve seen them a couple of times this year. Last year, that wasn’t the case. We know what to do. We’ve got to go out there and do it.”

More importantly, they know what not to do.

“We’re not going to get in the first game and look at them and say, ‘They’re good,’ ” defenseman Kris Letang said. “We’re going to go at them and try to dictate the pace right away.”

It won’t be easy. The Red Wings, as gritty as they are skillful, still have most of the ingredients to retain their title. But they’re bruised on defense, leaving them vulnerable to the Penguins’ up-tempo style.

The incomparable Nicklas Lidstrom (lower-body injury) said he’s ready to go, but while Coach Mike Babcock said defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will play today -- three days after undergoing an appendectomy -- Ericssson said he “didn’t feel too good” when he tried to stickhandle Friday and will play only if he feels he can contribute.

What a slacker. Next time he should have the appendectomy between periods.

Center Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit’s leading scorer this season, missed the last three games of their West finals triumph over the Chicago Blackhawks because of a twice-bruised foot but indicated he will play. “This time of year everybody plays with pain,” he said.

True enough. But his effectiveness is questionable.

Until now, the Red Wings’ depth enabled them to meet every challenge. They swamped the Blue Jackets in the first round, matched the Ducks’ physical play in a grueling, seven-game conference semifinal and stepped up the pace against the Blackhawks’ young legs in the West finals.

They have met their match in the Penguins, who added gumption, size and scoring potential by acquiring left wing Chris Kunitz from the Ducks in late February and veteran right wing Bill Guerin from the Islanders in a deadline-day deal.

The Penguins have also benefited from the maturation of scoring champion Evgeni Malkin, invisible in last year’s finals, in part because he was tired after carrying the Penguins while Crosby was hurt. He completed a spectacular, six-goal, nine-point effort in the Penguins’ sweep of Carolina in the East finals.

“Last year what we missed was secondary scoring, and Malkin felt bad about it,” center Maxime Talbot said. “This year he’s been really healthy and confident. He almost beat Carolina by himself.”

Malkin said his experience is his strongest asset. “It’s my second final. I’m not surprised now,” he said. “I know how to play Detroit, and I know how to play my game.”

It will be left to the Red Wings to prevent Malkin and Crosby from playing their games.

“Both are really good with the puck and good when they come with a lot of speed; pretty much both of them can do anything in the neutral zone and the offensive zone,” said Niklas Kronwall, who teams with Brad Stuart to form the Red Wings’ most physical defense pair.

“Crosby’s not as big as Malkin, but he can turn anybody inside-out.”

And turn last year’s results around, in the Penguins’ favor.

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helene.elliott@latimes.com