Western Conference Quarterfinals

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/med/det.gif vs http://assets.espn.go.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/med/cgy.gif



#1 DETROIT RED WINGS (50-19-13)

Detroit put together yet another outstanding regular season, but this is a team that knows firsthand that success from October to March doesn't necessary translate into more wins come playoff time.

The Red Wings will be the Western Conference's top seed for the third consecutive season and were a No. 2 during the 2003 playoffs. However, Detroit has failed to advance to the conference finals in each of the previous three postseasons and has been an opening-round victim twice during that span.

Detroit was shocked in six games by eighth-seeded Edmonton in last year's quarterfinals and was swept by Anaheim in the first round as a second seed in 2003. The Red Wings did win their quarterfinal series the following year, but were ousted by sixth-seeded Calgary in six games in the semis.

Despite Detroit's string of playoff disappointment, it's fair to say the road to the Stanley Cup finals has still gone through the Motor City. After all, the Ducks, Flames and last season's Oilers all wound up winning the Western Conference tournament the year they defeated the Wings.

Although some of the familiar names (i.e. Yzerman, Shanahan) are now gone, the Red Wings once again emerged as the top point-getters in the West. A late- season slide by Nashville helped Detroit seize another Central Division title, and the Red Wings withstood a strong challenge from Anaheim to earn home-ice advantage through the entire conference playoffs.

Puck possession and strong defense are the keys to Detroit's success. The Red Wings took the most shots and gave up the fewest in the league, while their 191 goals allowed ranked second among all NHL teams.

Detroit may be old on the backline, but it's still as good and deep as anyone defensively. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom (13 goals, 49 assists) could be on his way to a fourth career Norris Trophy and 37-year-old Mathieu Schneider (11 goals, 41 assists) remains a premier puck-mover and power-play point man. Chris Chelios is still a tremendous penalty killer at age 44, while Danny Markov (4 goals, 12 assists) turned in an excellent season opposite Lidstrom.

That stellar group helped 42-year-old goaltender Dominik Hasek finish second overall in goals-against average (2.05) and shutouts (8) in his Red Wings return. Hasek was between the pipes when Detroit last captured the Stanley Cup in 2002, while backup Chris Osgood (2.38 GAA) was the regular netminder when the team won it all in 1998.

On offense, Detroit's top line of center Pavel Datsyuk (27 goals, 60 assists), left wing Henrik Zetterberg (33 goals, 35 assists) and right wing Tomas Holmstrom (30 goals, 22 assists) was one of the most productive in hockey. The unit hasn't played together, however, since late February because of a back injury to Zetterberg. The Swedish sensation, who totaled 68 points in just 63 games, is expected to be ready for this series, however.

The Red Wings struggled at times to get production from its other lines, but the trade deadline acquisitions of Kyle Calder (14 goals, 21 assists) and Todd Bertuzzi has provided greater scoring depth. Calder clicked immediately when paired with veteran center Robert Lang (19 goals, 33 assists), as the former Flyer amassed five goals and nine assists in 19 games following the trade with Philadelphia. A bad back and late-season concussion limited Bertuzzi to only 15 games, but the 6-foot-3, 245-pounder is a former 46-goal scorer whose physical presence can create obvious matchup problems.



#8 CALGARY FLAMES (43-29-10)

Calgary also had a quick and disappointing ending to its 2006 postseason, as the Flames fell in seven games to Anaheim in the quarterfinals despite earning a third seed as the Northwest Division champion. This year the Flames had to fight just to make the playoffs, edging a hard-charging Colorado team by a single point for the final berth in the West.

With superstar right wing Jarome Iginla (39 goals, 55 assists) again leading the way, Calgary finished seventh in the NHL with 255 goals, a significant upgrade from the 216 the club generated in 2005-06. Linemate Alex Tanguay, the Flames' top offseason pickup, was an immediate hit in his new city, as the former Colorado standout led the team with 59 assists and amassed a career- best 81 points. The re-acquisition of veteran center Craig Conroy (13 goals, 24 assists), a valued contributor during Calgary's memorable run to the 2004 Cup finals, in late January also paid dividends. The 35-year-old totaled 21 points and had a plus-10 rating in 28 games since the trade with Los Angeles.

Calgary also received career years out of unheralded center Daymond Langkow (33 goals, 44 assists) and left wing Kristian Huselius (34 goals, 43 assists), while defenseman Dion Phaneuf (17 goals, 33 assists) backed up his terrific rookie season of 2005-06 with a sophomore campaign that was just as good.

Phaneuf and the physical Robyn Regehr give the Flames an excellent top defense pairing in front of reigning Vezina Trophy winner Miikka Kiprusoff. The All- Star goaltender wasn't as dominant as last year's sensational campaign, but his 40 victories, 2.46 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and seven shutouts this season can hardly be considered substandard numbers.

There's plenty of depth on the backline as well, as Roman Hamrlik (7 goals, 31 assists) put together a very good all-around year and Brad Stuart (7 goals, 15 assists), acquired from Boston in February, proved to be an nice addition to the unit.

Calgary got into the postseason fray on the strength of an NHL-best 30-9-2 record at home. The Flames weren't nearly as strong on the road, finishing with a 13-20-8 mark away from the Pengrowth Saddledome, and their No. 22 overall ranking on the penalty kill (80.4 percent) is also cause for concern.



MATCHUP

The pressure is on for Detroit and head coach Mike Babcock because of the playoff failures over the last few years. A better Red Wings team than this one lost in this exact scenario to an Edmonton club that wasn't as talented as the one Calgary will be bringing to Joe Louis Arena on Thursday. Therefore, expect this series to be a tightly-contested battle not usually associated with a one-versus-eight matchup.

The Red Wings and Flames also split their four meetings during the regular season, another clue that these teams are much more evenly matched than their seedings might indicate.

These were the NHL's two best teams in terms of home winning percentage, so whichever one can play better on the road figures to have a distinct advantage. Judging by this season's respective records, that team figures to be Detroit. Calgary hasn't fared well at Joe Louis Arena in recent years, and will have its hands full trying to win in the Motor City against a determined Red Wings' squad anxious to atone for its past shortcomings.
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=/nhl/news/ADN4072972.htm

Series Schedule

Game 1: Calgary at Detroit, 7 p.m. Thursday; April 12

Game 2: Calgary at Detroit, 1 p.m. Sunday; April 15

Game 3: Detroit at Calgary, 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 17

Game 4: Detroit at Calgary, 10 p.m. Thursday, April 19

* Game 5: Calgary at Detroit, 3 p.m. Saturday, April 21

* Game 6: Detroit at Calgary, TBD Sunday, April 22

* Game 7: Calgary at Detroit, TBD Tuesday, April 24

* If necessary

Beautiful shot by Filippula and an even better pass by Franzen.

1-0 Wings.

Edit: PP goal by Lidstrom puts the Wings up 2-0.

Babcock's ass is on the line. I wanna see a sweep. No more choke jobs please.

DATSYUK!!!!!!!!!!!!

GOAL!

4-0 Wings.

Awesome performance last night. It seemed like the puck was in Calgary's zone the entire game. Hopefully this can keep up for the entire series, especially when we go to Calgary.

That was a great game. Calgery was frustrated and taking lots of penalties. If we keep this up we are golden.

How did ZEtterberg do? anyone watch the game?

He played well. I'm not sure he got a point (Datsyuk scored but I can't recall the assisting players), but he was active. Didn't play short minutes, and he even hit other players quite often. He looked solid.

Everyone got lots of scoring chances though.

How did ZEtterberg do? anyone watch the game?

Zetterberg didn't get a point yesterday but he was flying all over the ice. His timing is still off but considering he hasn't played in 2 months, that's to be expected.

It was important to defend home ice and punch the Flames in the mouth to start the series.

Game 2 is crucial. The Flames will come back a lot harder and faster. The Wings will have to rise to the challenge.

With Kipper playing so well, it's not just about shelling him with shots, but converting on every one of his (few) mistakes.

That guy has and will continue to be the only thing holding that team afloat. They're nothing without their goalie.

DATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


On his first shot of the game.

Lidstrom with a PP goal.

2-0 Wings.

If things keep going like this, the series will be over in 4 games.

Can somebody explain to me why Babcock refuses to give Filppula and Hudler any icetime while Sammy and Lang stink it up on the ice?

Filppula and Franzen again.

3-1 Wings.

geez we took 51 shots on goal compared to the flames taking 15...

good to see Zetterberg getting more active

The Wings have outplayed the Flames in all but one period. Please keep this up in Calgary!

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Bertuzzi a gameday decision

The Todd Bertuzzi watch continues. After practice Monday in Calgary, Bertuzzi said he felt good and sounded like he was ready to play. He also realizes the dangers of tinkering with a winning lineup, especially one that’s been so dominant.

“It’s all about what the team need, it’s not about individuals,’’ Bertuzzi said. “They’re going to have to take that into consideration and I’ll just wait to hear what Babs has to say.’’

Coach Mike Babcock said Bertuzzi’s status will be determined at game time.

“I’ll talk to Bert (this) morning at the pregame skate,’’ Babcock said. “It sounds, from taking to Piet (trainer Van Zant), that he feels he’s ready.''

Babcock reiterated that if Bertuzzi is ready he'll play.

“We didn’t acquire him not to play him,'' Babcock said. "He’s a big body, he plays the game hard. But, you got to fit in like the team’s doing and you got to play hard within that system. If he’s ready to go, he’s in.''

If Bert plays tonight, my vote is to sit Lang or Sammy. But knowing Babcock, he will probably bench Hudler.

Phaneuf just got ROCKED!

And Drapes with his 2nd goal of the game.

Game Three Assessments:

Lidstrom looking slow and old, directly responsible for the Flames tying and winning goals. Unless things change, this young team has the speed to neutralize him.
Gadzooks and Zetterberg: They sure can skate fast, and look pretty, but, um, how about taking some shots, forming some offense, and doing something, ANYTHING?

Hasek: Stick side, a foot or two off the ice, and GOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLL

Feel free to kill a penalty now and then, boys

Lang and Bertuzzi: Do these two even PLAY hockey anymore?

Chelios: How's the food at his restaurant?

It's only one game, and of course Calgary was desperate. But I'd be worried about how fast they looked tonight.
I'd say that Detroit could use Game 4 in a real bad way, otherwise they're in deep trouble.

Well, we have a series now.

Line changes for Game 4:

Zetterberg/Datsyuk/Homer
Franzen/Lang/Bertuzzi
Maltby/Draper/Cleary
Samuelsson/Filpulla/Calder

Guess the line changes are working. Franzen scores to make it 2-2.

oh boy in the process of losing another first round match up

Toast.

with grape jelly

Some of those penalties were pure horse shit. How can you call Dom for waving his stick at that guy to make it a 5-3? Or that shit hook call on Datsyuk when he tapped the guy on the arm? Bull shit. Ticky tack calls are one thing, but ticky tack calls to make it a 5-3 PP? That is horrible. The refs totally botched this game on all accounts.

Anyway, Bertuzzi was playing really well. Lang still sucks ass. He turned the puck over multiple times almost every shift. He had a lucky pass to Bert and that's it. Pull his ass and put Hudler back in.

What would a loss by any team representing the State of Michigan be without blaming the referees?
The Red Wings have this thing in their heads. They just can't put teams away in the first round. They're mentally weak in the playoffs. Oh yeah, if they get on a roll, but when they don't, it's early exits and inexplicable collapses. I believe that three times they have gone out in the first round 4-2 after going up 2-0.
Let's not forget they seem to have run into a "hot" goalie, and historically the Wings can't beat these younger, fast teams with the HOT goalie.

About fucking time Zetterberg decided to show up.

2-0 Wings.

Calgary is joke of a team.

Well, Gadzooks and Zetterberg decide to play and it's a different story. Fuck, even CHELIOS scores!
Its gonna be interesting tomorrow after the way this game ended with Calgary going DIRTY for the last five minutes.
Hasek was fantastic as well. You can see Calgary is trying to beat him on the stick side, and sometimes their shots are weak because of it, but Hasek really looked strong and quick.
Wings looked rejuvenated today, throwing the body all over the place.
I gotta think this game makes a statement, and Calgary may be without a player or two tomorrow. I'll pick the Wings to seal the deal in the Saddledome on Sunday.

Fuck the Flames. Iginla deserves to be suspended as well. I don't know about you guys, but I think the backup goalie was sent in intentionally to do that. He was in there for about 30 seconds. What a goon.

NHL just mentioned that for the third time in a row, batches of empty seats were in the upper deck. Where are the Wings fans? Why is the JLA one of the quietest arenas in the NHL? Are fans so sure the Wings are going to bow out in the first or second round again?

NHL just mentioned that for the third time in a row, batches of empty seats were in the upper deck. Where are the Wings fans? Why is the JLA one of the quietest arenas in the NHL? Are fans so sure the Wings are going to bow out in the first or second round again?

It's because the Joe turned into a nose in the air fest. As the Wings started winning Stanley Cups, more and more rich business people started buying up tickets and they'd show up after the first period if they showed up at all. The prices continued to sky rocket making it unaffordable for the real fans. I was offered some tickets earlier this year. The price on them was 75.00 a piece. So that's 300 for a family of 4 and that's not including all the extras. Joke. You want to know where the real fans are, at home wisely saving their money.

Tre:
You make a very interesting point there, and it goes back to our discussion about what Cowherd said regarding Detroit supporting four franchises as economic hardships increase.
With diddy and fingerbang so vehemently denying that Cowherd made a good point, the Red Wings don't fill up their arena for a playoff game, and you comment that four tickets cost $300.00.
You either support the team or you don't. You don't sit there and think twice about it because they've had a rough go in the playoffs recently, you just go and cheer for the team. But, Detroit is NOT a "big money" town. Blue collar mentality doesn't seem to want to pay three hundred bucks to go to a game, and maybe there aren't enough corporations to gobble up all the tickets.
Not a good image for "Hockeytown" to put out there.

While I agree that the price of tickets it too much for the average person, I don't want to see the Wings salary go down just to lower ticket prices. It wasn't too long ago that the Wings had to make it to the second round just to turn a profit. I can choke down $75 regular season tickets. What burns me the the $17 pizza and the $6 beer. Now that's just price gouging.

Eat BEFORE the game! As for the beer, shove a couple cans up yer ass, and don't worry about the six bucks!

FRANZEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES! Great game. A team deserves to win when they have over 600 shots on goal.

YES! Great game. A team deserves to win when they have over 600 shots on goal.

Kiprusoff should get the Conn Smythe for that effort. Any other goalie and it would have been a 4 game sweep.

And how fitting that it was Franzen who ended Calgary's season after being slashed like that yesterday?

I know I poked fun at Bertuzzi and Lang, but I think they both had a solid game tonight. Lang, obviously with the goal, but both of them played some great defensive hockey and didn't seem to fool around with the puck at all. I'm impressed with Bertuzzi's spped and strength. It's like having a grinder line with some talent, too, and I look for them to pick it up even more as the playoffs wear on.
I can't see the Wings running into a better goalie than Kiprosoff. He was unbelievable throughout this series, and without him, Calgary goes out in four. Plus, games 1,2, and five would have been 10-1 routs.
I think Chelios has had a fire lit under his arse these last two games, and Lidstrom looked much better in games five and six.
Gotta give some credit to Hasek. He got lucky once, but the rest of the time in these last two games he has been as good as Kiprosoff.
I think Babcock has grown up a bit as a coach in these last two games. The Wings kind of looked beaten down after game 4, but they looked like a different team these last two nights/ Great job for a coach who seems to be getting plenty of heat.
Great discipline by the Wings tonight, and I think I'm starting to believe they can make a solid run this year. I don't see them falling short of at least playing for the Cup in the finals.

H1:
I totally agree with that. Franzen gets chopped and then comes back with the game winner. Talk about some karma.
Like I said earlier, I can;t imagine the Wings facing this hot a goalie the rest of the way.
They really pulled it together after taking a huge dump in Calgary in games 3 and 4.

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2007/0422/nhl_g_franzen_412s.jpg

congrats, go for the cup guys. but wtf is the ref celebrating with us?

So I was at Go Diego Go saturday and as we were crossing Woodward to get to the Fox there was a crowd of people in the street all collectively saying "WTF?" I looked up at the screen over Hockeytown Cafe and the score was something like 4 to 1. I was thinking "Hasek is hurt, gotta be." The cops had to usher the crowd onto the Michigan curb. (Michigan curb = the lane of Woodward closed to construction. I think we should label these "Michigan curbs", like how those U turns on divided streets are called "Michigan turns")

Anyway, stayed up to see the end of the game last night. Thought for sure it was over when the Wings couldn't capitalize on that 4 minute PP when Holmstrom got a stick to the face. Good to see the Wings not get tripped up in the first round again. How far does Babcock have to make it to keep his job?

While I agree that the price of tickets it too much for the average person, I don't want to see the Wings salary go down just to lower ticket prices. It wasn't too long ago that the Wings had to make it to the second round just to turn a profit. I can choke down $75 regular season tickets. What burns me the the $17 pizza and the $6 beer. Now that's just price gouging.

The prices of the tickets are way too much IMO. Now there is a salary cap so the teams spending is curtailed some yet ticket prices didn't go down. Also keep in mind that the Joe is the crappiest of the four major sports arenas in Detroit. Although it isn't awful, it is not up to the standards of the other three which are all really nice. That should factor into how much people are willing to spend on tickets also. Unfortunately the food and drink prices are just plain insane at any of the arenas. That's why I love my HD bigscreen!!!!!!!

Yeah, you can't charge that much for a team that costs half as much. Especially to sit on chairs from the 70's with your knees into the back of someone else. I enjoy the Joe, but I'm not paying hundreds of dollars to see them play.