As I predicted, the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Detroit Red Wings in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
What I didn’t predict, however, was how tough the Wings made it for the Ducks, how much luck played a part in this series, and how the Ducks nearly beat themselves.
I was expecting the Wings to be a tough opponent for the Ducks, but believed the Ducks supposed physical advantage and blueline depth to carry the day.
Instead, the Wings took away that physical advantage, and despite an injury-depleted blueline corps proved capable of playing stingy defense.
On paper, the Ducks blueline corps is better than the Wings. On the ice, however, it was a different story, as the Wings speedy forwards frequently made Anaheim defense (which consists of Pronger and Niedermayer, two Norris nominees and prior winners) look ordinary.
Both teams got lucky in this series. The Wings won Game One courtesy of two lucky bounces off Ducks d-man Francois Beachemin. The Ducks caught lucky breaks with their game-tying goals in Games Two and Five.
The Ducks inconsistency and undisciplined second period play made them their own worst enemy, unable to put together a solid performance for an entire game in this series. Against a team like the Wings, that nearly proved lethal.
Anaheim lived dangerously, but just when it seemed they might succumb to their foibles they’d regain the form that made them one of the top teams in the league and one of the favorites to go to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Give the Red Wings credit, for they’ve proven they can play a hard-hitting, solid defensive style whilst still proving opportunistic with their offensive game. This is a team that'll continue to be one of the top teams in the West.
But in the end, the Ducks did it with timely goal-scoring, solid goaltending from JS Giguere, and the ability to overcome their inconsistency to emerge as Western Conference Champions.
Sens in 5. 20 is a nice round number for games played in a playoff season. I wonder how long it's been since a team did it in so few games. Who cares. It's happening.
Ottawa is rested, doesn't take stupid penalties, is fast, have tons of great 2 way forwards, can score like it's nobody's business, has the best first line in hockey(which wont be shut down), and most of all is hungry.
The Wings were hardly hard-hitting in Game 6, which was part of their undoing. Not showing up for the first two periods didn't help either.
I was suprised to see the box score has Detroit leading in faceoffs. I'd be interested to see that stat broken up by zone. The Wings didn't seem to win any meaningful draws in the offensive zone, with the exception of their third goal.
Ottawa vs Anaheim. Should make a great final.
BTW, who makes up this Stanley Cup schedule. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Monday.... They should've started this Saturday (May 26). What's the benefit of finishing your series early. Even if you play 7 games, the NHL still gives you a min of 4 days off. The NHL should have a fix schedule that they lay out at the beginning of the playoffs. They should give teams 2 days travel time if a series goes to 7 games (because of Western Conference team heavier travel schedule). As it stand now, the Cup will be awarded sometime in the middle of June, way to late and just drags on the season.
The Sens have not faced an Elete DMAn the entire post season. Now they face 2. Also the Spezza line will get a lethal dose of the Palsen-Moen_Neidermeyer line. The best shut down line in Hockey. This series comes down to goaltending. Sorry Ducks have the edge there. But then again Emery did beat Marty B.
The Sens have more scoring punch while the Ducks have the edge on the Blueline and Net.
Special teams is a wash
With home Ice and the Sens having 9 days off
Ducks in 7 in one of the greatest finals in history
While we are sad in hockeytown, most Wings fans concurred with your estimation the Ducks would prevail in six games. If our blue line was healthy who knows. In the end, the Ducks did all the little things (like capitalize on the Wings mistakes) to earn a Stanley Cup birth. But the hockeytown faithful are hopeful. The Wings have a good young nucleus and as soon as we part with some of our under acheivers (Lang, Calder, Bert) the Wings will have room to make a move or two in the off season.
Good luck Ducks, you earned your series victory. But, I shall cheer on Ottawa for now. It's closer to Detroit than CA, and it's #11's turn to hoist the cup. Go OTTAWA and Canada.
Two things were in play for how the NHL set the Cup schedule.
First, this is a Memorial Day long weekend in the United States and a lot of people are going to be away Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Starting the Cup on Monday gives the NHL a better chance to maximize their potential audience as they get home from camping / boating / weekend getaways.
The other element is NBC is picking up the series as of Game 3, so the current schedule gives NBC two Saturday nights of coverage.
Personally, I think it's silly to wait a week for the series to start, and playing hockey through to the middle of June is absurd when we've got the opportunity to move things up.
Tough final to call. Ottawa sure looks to be on a mission. They've answered every naysayer with brutal efficiency throughout these playoffs. The only things that make me nervous about picking the Sens are:
1) Like TKF said, they will go from facing decidedly ordinary defenses to staring down the best in the business (Prongs, Niedermayer).
2) Ray Emery. Something about this guy still makes me wonder. It's not that he's been bad in a lot of games, although he does frequently give up prime rebounds which PITT, NJ, and BUFF weren't able to capitalize on. Anaheim will see their share of them too, I bet. If they can bury even half of what's offered, the Ducks will be rolling.
Anaheim presents their own version of "Don't Pick Us Because..."
1) They take penalties at a ridiculous rate. Ottawa will feast on those chances.
2) They have inexplicable lapses in which they try to hand over the momentum and the game. They've been lucky to snap out of that on a few occasions against Detroit and collect the win.
Oh well. I'll say that Anaheim can't change their leopard spots and continue to give Ottawa PP after PP. Emery loses plenty of rebounds but keeps the rabbit's foot and doesn't suffer too many goals because of it. Ottawa builds fat leads early in games 1, 3 and 4 and takes the series in 6.
Hundreds of thousands of Leaf fans drink themselves into a stupor.
I noticed this last night, and also saw it on the hockeybuzz blog mentioned, so i thought I'd ask: Why is it this is the second time (2003 included) Chelios has refused to get in line and shake hands? That's completely lame, if you ask me.
Everyone comments about how New Jersey's got the best checking system in the league, but the most consistent line the Ducks have is their checking unit. It's one of the top, if not the best, checking lines in hockey today. On the flipside, Ottawa's got one of the best offensive lines in the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see how these lines pair off.
I rarely make predictions cause I suck at it, but Im going to pick Anaheim to win for one reason: There has never been a european captian to win the stanley cup.
Im rooting for Ottawa, cause I just dont want a team with a silly name like the ducks to win it all, and because it would be nice to see the cup return to Canada, even if it pisses of the natives in Toronto.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
