DETROIT -- Not surprisingly, winger Marian Hossa fielded a few questions yesterday about what some might consider his defection to Detroit after he played for the Penguins last year and was on the losing side of the Stanley Cup final.

Hossa didn't say much new. He chose to sign a one-year deal with the Red Wings last summer for various reasons and has no regrets.

As the postseason played out, he began to realize a rematch with him on the opposite side was a strong possibility.

"They were playing so well, so it came to my mind, obviously, we can end up playing against each other -- which would be very interesting for myself," Hossa said with a grin on the eve of Game 1.

"So it came down to that, and it's a unique situation. Like I've said, now I'm in a Red Wings uniform and I try to help the team to win."

The Penguins, including former Hossa linemate Sidney Crosby, have professed no ill will toward Hossa, who turned down multi-year offers to re-sign. He could end up in the Penguins sights, though.

"We will try to hit him," Penguins center Evgeni Malkin said with a small laugh. "A couple extra hits and a couple extra goals [by the Penguins]."

Hossa expects the Penguins to be a lot more effective the first two games this year. In 2008, the experienced Red Wings got back-to-back shutout wins to open the series.

"We were in the final, but it seems like for whatever reason we started looking around like, what's going on right now?" Hossa recalled. "After we decided ... we should just play, it was already 2-0."

He doesn't expect his former teammates to repeat that performance.

"When you look at this year, I think those guys are going to be ready," Hossa said. "They're going to be hungry and well prepared because everybody has been there, and they are well prepared from last year's situation."

Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood is bracing for a different brand of offense from the Penguins this year.

"Their team as a whole is different," Osgood said. "I look at their four lines. They're a lot deeper than they were last year. They seem to be driving the puck to the net more. They're more physical down low. They're cycling more.

"Last year when we played them, they were a little more on the perimeter. They were trying to make some pretty plays."

Osgood expects more traffic at his doorstep.

"This year it seems [Jordan] Staal and Malkin especially are taking pucks to the net," he said. "Especially wrapping it around and trying to crowd the crease. I think they don't try to score as many pretty goals as they did last year.

"They're happier just to score the ugly, bang-it-in-the-net goals. So that's definitely going to pose -- I don't want to say problems -- but we'll have to be ready for something different from them this season."

Detroit coach Mike Babcock has noticed what he apparently thinks is an overload of NHL marketing and media attention aimed at the Penguins' well-known captain.

"Sidney Crosby, I mean, you can't turn on any TV that covers hockey without seeing him," Babcock said. "Actually, when I watch the commercials from last year I think they won, not us. So I have to check every once in a while to get that figured out."

Babcock thinks his team has someone as worthy as Crosby in Swedish winger Henrik Zetterberg, the 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP.

"I think they're really high-end players," Babcock said. "They're both dynamic players and people, and good-looking kids, easy to sell."