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Yahoo! Sports Ross McKeon is previewing each team for the upcoming 2008-09 NHL season. Today it’s the Detroit Red Wings. Here’s McKeon’s three keys to the Red Wings season…

The reincarnation of goaltender Chris Osgood is inspiring, but there is no plan to have a 1A/1B goaltending tandem like last season. The Red Wings went out and signed a competent backup in Ty Conklin, who saved Pittsburgh’s bacon when Marc-Andre Fleury missed extended time in the second half last season, but it’s clear this is Osgood’s net. The 35-year-old has to prove his leading the league in save percentage during both the regular season and playoffs was no fluke.

Second, and you really have to nitpick to find something wrong with Detroit last season, but the Red Wings want to have more success against the teams in their division. Detroit ran away with a 24-point edge in the Central Division, but it was on the strength of its record against nondivision rivals. Inside the division, the Red Wings had only the third-best point total, and they were just four points better than last place-finishing St. Louis.

Third, Detroit’s best players have to continue to be its best players. Nicklas Lidstrom is 38, and his defense partner Brian Rafalski will be 35 when the season starts. It all starts on defense with Detroit, and the top pair set the bar high. The physical duo of Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart need to hit, and that should give Detroit a top-four on the blue line that possibly only Anaheim can rival.

They’re basically not changing anything and should be one of the favorites. As always is the case with the Red Wings, goaltending will be the biggest issue as we see if Chris Osgood can repeat his amazing success of last year.

Read Wings poised for another title run at Yahoo! Sports