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Detroit Red Wings

Team Analysis: The Wings' offence was spread out very well in their series against the San Jose Sharks. Tomas Holmstrom, who was sidelined for the first three games of the series, returned in Game 4 and immediately clicked with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg to pour on the goals. But they also need more support from their secondary lines. Kirk Maltby made up for a first period giveaway in Game 2 to feed Dan Cleary for a shorthanded goal that helped even up the series, and they'll need more chances like that so they don't rely on the top line each night. After scoring three points in four games against Calgary, Todd Bertuzzi was held to just one assist against the Sharks. Even with injuries to Niklas Kronwall and Mathieu Schneider, the blueline is as good as expected. Nicklas Lidstrom shares the playoff lead for points by a defenceman with 11. With Schneider out, winger Mikael Samuelsson was a very effective weapon from the point on the power play, while Chris Chelios, Danny Markov, Brett Lebda and Andreas Lilja keep the shots and scoring chances low. Dominik Hasek faced just 19 shots each of his first two games against San Jose, thanks in large part to the solid defensive play in front of him. His workload will undoubtedly increase and Mike Babcock will need him to be the vintage Dominator.


Anaheim Ducks

Team Analysis: There is bad news for Ducks' opponents - Jean-Sebastien Giguere is back. After taking some time off to attend to personal matters, Giguere has reclaimed the Ducks' number one goaltending job. He started every game against the Canucks and bested Hart and Vezina Trophy candidate Roberto Luongo in the nets. Giguere is starting to look like the player who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2003. Also rounding into form is defenceman Chris Pronger. He had a frustrating season in which he was plagued by injuries but, like he did last year for the Oilers, Pronger has stepped up his play in the postseason. He leads the Ducks in playoff points. Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin continue to play big roles on the blue. Both were more effective offensively in the first round win over Minnesota, but can explode at any time. The Ducks checking line of Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer have been terric in the postseason, helping the Ducks defensive efforts. They've even contributed scoring, with Moen notching an OT winner in Game 4. Teemu Selanne, Corey Perry and Andy McDonald heated up in the second round, and Ryan Getzlaf continued to establish himself as a legitimate scoring threat. With some time off after dispatching the Canucks, the Ducks should be rested and ready for the Conference Finals.

More @ TSN (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=8992&hubname=)

Series Schedule

Game 1: Anaheim @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Friday; May 11

Game 2: Anaheim @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Sunday; May 13

Game 3: Detroit @ Anaheim, 9 p.m. Tuesday; May 15

Game 4: Detroit @ Anaheim, 9 p.m. Thursday; May 17

Game 5 (if necessary): Anaheim @ Detroit, 3 p.m. Sunday; May 20

Game 6 (if necessary): Detroit @ Anaheim, 9 p.m. Tuesday; May 22

Game 7 (if necessary): Anaheim @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Thursday; May 24

I haven't seen much of the Ducks this year but I heard they play pretty physical now. I do know their blue line is pretty solid, but thin. We need to hit Pronger and Niedermeyer a lot and try to wear them down.

The Ducks are like Calgary, except with an actual defense and a little more offense. If the Wings can get shut down Selanne and Getzlaf while getting some production out of Lang's line, we should be in good shape.

Of course I have confidence in my Wings, but this should be the toughest series yet by far. 7 games and I hope we dont lose.

I see the Wings taking this one in six (which, of course, means the Ducks in five).
I hope Babcock is getting some credit. He has done a wonderful job in these playoffs, got the right combinations, the defense is playing exceptionally well, and I think he has the Wings motivated.
They were, IMSO (in my sad opinon, Moxie), down, and on the verge of losing to Calgary, and they played with discipline, intensity, and passion to close that series out.
Same thing with San Jose. San Jose was bullying them around through the first three games up till the middle of the second period in Game 4. BAM, they win that one and close it out easily. Babcok deserves some love for keeping the Wings into it (even though they are a team of cagey veterans, they can still lose their fire).
Now that they have made me look pretty dumb for just about writing them off a couple times, I'm convinced they should be, at this point, the favorite to win the Cup.

The Ducks have some major star power on this team, but if the Wings keep playing the style that they've been playing no one can beat them.

Playing with fire here. Actually, not playing with fire.
The wings have been back on their heels the whole game. They need somone to jump up here.
Again, without Hasek, it's about 5-1 Ducks.

SCORE!!!

2-1 Wings.

WOOOOOOOWAHAHA!
Whata finish!
C'est incroyable!

The PK by Detroit during the last 2 minutes was just beautiful.

H1:
I think I saw more 2 man advantages in this game than I've ever seen. Anaheim had it three or four times for long periods, and they couldn't score.
hasek is winning the playoff MVP so far, no question.

Yep.

There were a lot of weak calls this game, most of them against the Wings. But Hasek was outstanding all day today and was the main reason why we won.

I think that game was played pretty evenly, but the reason the Ducks had so many more shots is because of all the FREAKING penalties. Most of them were unwarranted. I've never seen a team get away with more and then have the Wings called for even less.

Hopefully things get evened out in game 2 and the Wings can head back to California up 2-0.

Loved this game as a general hockey fan. Not much checking for my taste but still good. Great win for the guys. Ducks are tough though, dont think I've seen as much time on the D side of the ice as I did this game. Go Wings!!

Fuck you Versus and fuck you Buckeye Cable for not having Versus.

Game Time!!!

Hasek with some crazy saves early.

And Datsyuk is getting rocked almost everytime he has the puck.

Wow. Nice shorthanded effort, finally some awake time by the Wings

MALTBY!!!!

More fucking slop by Chelios and the WIngs defense. These guys have had trouble clearing the puck and keeping it on their stick this entire playoff season.

Just when it looked like the Wings are starting to get into the game.

2-1 Ducks.

LIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh man!

If Lebda had gotten out of the penalty box just a second or two earlier, the Wings would've had another shortie.

DATS!

Beautiful pass by Lang.

FUCK!![smilie=banghead.gi: [smilie=banghead.gi: [smilie=banghead.gi:

I hate Neidermeyer (both of them).

Goddammit. Wings deserved that one. Fuck gay ass goals.

The better team won this game for sure. The Ducks worked harder all game, the Wings had trouble controlling the puck, and their sloppy defense cost them the game in OT.
Chelios, who seems to be on the ice for every opposing goal, was of course flailing away helplessly as the OT winner went in.
This one seemed to be a formality, and the Wings are getting pushed around and beat up all over the ice.
But, you never count them out. I did think this game was important, because they are in for an ass kicking in Anaheim if they don't wake up. They played poorly in both games in Detroit.

What's the point of dressing Calder over Hudler if he is only going to play 3:56?

With our defense depleted as it is, I think having fresh legs on offense might have helped us.

Kopecky returns to lineup for Game 3

Coach Mike Babcock will shuffle the Red Wings' line-up for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals at the Honda Center on Tuesday night.

Babcock announced following the team's practice on Monday in Anaheim that Tomas Kopecky -- who has been out since suffering a fractured clavical (collarbone) on Dec. 14 in Chicago -- will be inserted into the line-up for Game 3.

"I feel pretty excited. I feel pretty anxious," said Kopecky, following Monday's practice.

"It's pretty straightforward on our team," Babcock said. "It's not about the individual or anyone's name. It's about the team. Whoever's playing hard and making good things happen gets more ice-time. We don't evaluate at the end who got the ice time; we just look to see did we play the people that were playing the best. That's our focus."

Kopecky, who scored one goal in 26 games this season, will replace left wing Kyle Calder, who played last than four minutes in Sunday's Game 2 at Joe Louis Arena.

Following surgery to repair an open clavical fracture, it was originally expected that Kopecky would miss 10-12 weeks. A former second round draft pick in 2000, he's missed nearly 22 weeks.

"We're putting Kopy in because we think he can skate," Babcock said. "We think he can take the body. We think he can generate the forecheck for us."

Kopecky was injured in the third period of the Wings' 3-2 win against the Blackhawks at the United Center. As he approached the Chicago blue line, Kopecky went down and slid into the left boards before Blackhawks defenseman Jim Vandermeer fell on top of him.
http://www.detroitredwings.com/wings/article.jsp?id=7312

It isn't exactly what I wanted as I was hoping for Hudler but Kopecky can't do any worse than what Calder has done so far.

Sounds good to me. Put him in there and have him forecheck Neidermeyer all night (for Kopecky's limited minutes anyway). Maybe it will wear on him and cause a mistake at some point. It can't be worse than Calder right now.

Looks like the light went on for the Wings tonight.

Our 5 on 5 play looks a lot better and its leading to more scoring chances in the Ducks zone and less pressure on our D.

GOAL!!!

This is gonna turn into a blowout soon (if it isn't already).

Bryzgalov comes into the game and promptly gives up a goal on the first shot he faces.

Holy shit.

That was a dirty hit.

Pronger didn't even get punished for the hit. He should be suspended for game 4. What a dirty ass team.

Pronger should be susped for the rest of the playoffs IMO. It was a clear elbow to the back of the head. That should automatically earn him a suspension but knowing the league, they won't suspend him at all because he is Chris Pronger.

Well. Homer is back on the ice for the start of the third period.

And he gets hit right off the bat.

The league can't suspend Pronger. He's one of their golden boys and one of their few marketable assets.

They shouldn't have to. The referees should have given him a game misconduct like they did Neidermayer, and he would have gotten the message.
I'd like to see the league clean up all the dirty shit that happens on the boards. If a guy's back is turned, you shouldn;t be allowed to drill him into the glass.
Make it a sport that doesn't look like Vince McMahon is the commissioner of.

They shouldn't have to. The referees should have given him a game misconduct like they did Neidermayer, and he would have gotten the message.
I'd like to see the league clean up all the dirty shit that happens on the boards. If a guy's back is turned, you shouldn;t be allowed to drill him into the glass.
Make it a sport that doesn't look like Vince McMahon is the commissioner of.

Doubt it.

The only way the players will understand is if the league starts punishing the action and the intent rather than the result.

No shit... there is a little honor left in the NHL...


Pronger suspended for hit on Wings' Holmstrom
Associated Press

Updated: May 16, 2007, 4:44 PM ET

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger received a one-game suspension from the NHL on Wednesday for his hit on Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom the previous night.

Pronger, a former Norris Trophy winner and a finalist for the award this year, will miss Game 4 of the Ducks-Red Wings series Thursday night in Anaheim. He leads the Ducks with 12 points, including three goals, during this year's playoffs.

Detroit beat Anaheim 5-0 on Tuesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.

Holmstrom had two goals and an assist in the blowout, but left the game midway through the second period to get cuts on his forehead stitched up after Pronger and teammate Rob Niedermayer almost simultaneously slammed him into the glass.

Niedermayer drew a five-minute major for boarding and was ejected, but Pronger was not assessed a penalty on the play. The NHL reviewed the play Wednesday, Pronger spoke to the league on the phone and the decision was made to suspend him.

Holmstrom returned to begin the third period and had an assist on the Red Wings' final goal.

He said after the game that he wasn't exactly sure what happened.

"I got run into the boards, got hit again," Holmstrom said. "I never saw the guy come from behind.

"Get stitched up, yeah, I was ready for the third."

Niedermayer said he was surprised by the penalty.

"All I did was take a few strides, finish my check and hit him with my shoulder," he said. "You don't want to see anybody hurt out there, that's for sure. I'm glad he was back playing."

This is huge. If the Ducks win without him they get a huge confidence boost. The Wings NEED to take advantage of this for sure. They also need to make sure they check Neidermeyer a lot as well. He'll be logging heavy minutes and they might be able to slow him up a little.

Good tidbits about how Pronger feels and the Ducks GM:



ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ducks general manager Brian Burke, once the NHL's chief disciplinarian, tried his best to keep his emotions in check Wednesday as he discussed the league's decision to suspend star defenseman, Chris Pronger, for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
"But I can't support the decision," he said. "I can't, and I won't."
Pronger received a one-game suspension from Colin Campbell, the NHL's vice president of hockey operations, for his part in a tag-team hit on Tomas Holmstrom in the second period of Detroit's 5-0 victory Tuesday in Game 3.
Anaheim's Rob Niedermayer earned a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct on the play, while Pronger received no penalty. But the league reviewed the hit and determined Pronger's elbow to the back of Holmstrom's head warranted supplementary discipline. Holmstrom fell to the ice bleeding from cuts on his forehead that required 13 stitches, but he returned in the third period.
"I think if there's a guy on the planet that understands the difficulty of Colin's job, you're looking at him," said Burke, who held that post for five years prior to Campbell's arrival in 1998.
But Burke said his view of the replays showed Pronger's hit came from an angle to the side -- not from behind -- and wasn't the kind of shot to the head the league is trying to eliminate from the game.
"You're talking about a player that is 6-6 and his arms never (went) above his shoulders -- he's not head hunting there," Burke said.
"I think the blow was to the shoulders and rides up into the head when the players stopped. Did it end up as a head shot? Yes, I'd have to concede that. I don't think that's how it started out."
Pronger, a Norris Trophy finalist and the Ducks' leading scorer in the playoffs, declined to address the media after the suspension was handed down Wednesday.
"He's sour about it," Burke said. "That's why he's not talking to you guys."
Holmstrom said he still hadn't seen a replay of the hit.
"I don't want to see it," he said, adding, "Obviously, a hit to the head -- you've got to take that away from hockey."
Asked about his decision to return to the game, Holmstrom said: "They checked me to see that I didn't have a concussion. And I wanted to go out there and play. I was lucky I didn't get hurt more, though."
Burke did go out of his way to praise the Wings for not embellishing Holmstrom's injury.
"The Red Wings did the honorable thing last night," he said. "They put him back in the game. Same thing we would have done. There are teams in this league that would have put him in an ambulance and sent him somewhere for the night."
The absence of Pronger, who missed 16 games in the regular season because of a broken toe and foot, leaves a huge void in the Ducks' lineup. He led the NHL in ice time, averaging more than 31 minutes in the playoffs. And he'll likely be replaced by Ric Jackman, a journeyman pro who would be making his NHL playoff debut.
"Well, obviously he's a big part of our hockey club," coach Randy Carlyle said. "But, again, we've had stretches through the season where he wasn't on our blue line. Other people will have to share those minutes."
Added Scott Niedermayer, the Ducks' captain: "We go out there with the 20 guys that are dressed. Is there any other choice?"



John Niyo / The Detroit News

Wings are getting horribly outplayed so far.

3-1 Ducks.

TIE GAME!

Tie game all right, and without cashing in on a 5 on 3, and blowing two other odd man rush chances late.
Great turn around. Don't know how to see this one ending. The Ducks play a perfect game for 30 minutes, then it caves in on 'em.
They are getting off their game plan again, and ending up in the penalty box. It's hard to get your discipline back, and the Wings aren't getting into a tit for tat with them.
The Wings have SEVEN power play goals to the Quacks ONE, and the refs are not afraid to send them away.

For fucks sake how do you look so fucking shitty with two minutes of another 5 on 3?

Damn.

Great shot by Getzlaf. 4-3 Ducks.

Let's hope Pronger doesn't get suspended anymore. Wow, it SURE has hurt the Ducks.

Filippula has had a couple great chances but he just can't bury them.

Are the Red Wings coached to shoot pucks off the kneecaps of opposing defensemen?

FUCK!!!!!!!!!

What a sad fucking effort after fighting back from the disaster that was the first period.

Had the Wings not waited until the 2nd period to start playing, they wouldn't be in this situation.

Classic Red Wing break down.
Defense careless with the puck in the Wings end, can't clear it (even though they can fucking ICE it because they're a man down), and eventually the puck is behind Hasek.
Lidstrom won't throw his body at a puck, and of course Chelios is watching the puck go in the Wings net.
It happened the other night, the game winner for the Ducks went was a wrister that went through two wings (Lidstrom being one of them) and two Quacks.
If the Wings get within three feet of Anahiems net, they get their head taken off. If a Duck gets within three feet of Hasek, Lidstrom and Chelios are bringing the guy his slippers, his morning paper and a cigarette.

Well that sucked.

I had to miss the overtime, but am not the least bit surprised to hear that the Ducks got an unassisted goal off a Red Wing defenseman's turnover in the Detroit zone.
Zip Goshboots: Ace Hockey Analyst

Lovely start for the Wings. [smilie=banghead.gi: [smilie=banghead.gi: [smilie=banghead.gi:

Hello! I'm Niklas Lidstrom, and I'll be your escort into the Red Wings goal tonight.
Oh, excuse me, Mr Neidermeyer, I didn't see you standing there. Well, don't let ME get in your way, have you met Mr Hasek yet? Dom, be polite!

Hello! I'm Niklas Lidstrom, and I'll be your escort into the Red Wings goal tonight.
Oh, excuse me, Mr Neidermeyer, I didn't see you standing there. Well, don't let ME get in your way, have you met Mr Hasek yet? Dom, be polite!

You really don't like Lidstrom, do you?

Hi. Welcome to the Dominic Hasek School of Goaltending.
Hey, what the fuck? Why are you guys sitting?
Get the fuck on your back and look at the celing, and the world will be your oyster!

You really don't like Lidstrom, do you?

Have you been watching these playoffs? Or for that matter, the playoffs since the last Cup win for the Wings?
Lidstrom is soft on defense. He IS a great offensive defenseman, but he is a Euro. He won't throw himself at a shot, he hasn't checked anyone since 1943,and, at 37, hia best days are behind him. I love the guy, but he is on the ice for seemingly every big goal the WIngs give up these days.
And don't get me started on Chelios, who needs to go into the restaurant business FULL TIME.
Great players, especially in their day, but the Wings are having the shit kicked out of them, and no one on the team can do a thing about it.
In my next post, I'll discuss Gadzooks and Zetterberg, who look pretty as hell, but are easily negated in the playoffs by the guys who don;t mind messing up their make up.

Being physical doesn't have anything to do with being a good defensemen. Pronger and Neidermeyer are both physical but I have seen them get beat more than Lidstrom has in this series. Lids has played awful the last two games but to say that he is soft on defense is just plain stupid.

I know that it is tough to make this call on Lidstrom, but being a Wings fan doesn't get in the way of being able to see the light.
It isn't stupid to see that Lidstrom is on the ice nearly every time the other team in the playoffs has scored on the Wings.
Just look at the games, and examine when the goals are scored. Lidstrom refuses to take a puck in the nuts (unlike most defensemen in the league NOT wearing a Detroit uniform), and he has no presence to kick a guy out of Haseks way.
I know that ALL goals in the playoffs are big, but Lidstrom either needs to be paired with an ass kicker from now on, or it;s only going to get worse.
c'mon, man, he's THIRTY SEVEN years old, and has been doing this for a long time.
The cute shit the Wings do works during the season against the Washington Capitals, but in these playoff series, where you play the same team night in and night out, they can figure you out.
I'm not saying get rid of Lidstrom, but he needs alot of help, and the rest of the Wings defensemen are pretty pathetic.
You might say you don't need to be physical to be a good defenseman, and if it's January 17th in Boston, I'll agree. But if it's May, and you are in the heat of playoff hockey, you better be physical, or someone physical better be there to back you up.
The Wings have neither.

Being physical doesn't have anything to do with being a good defensemen. Pronger and Neidermeyer are both physical but I have seen them get beat more than Lidstrom has in this series. Lids has played awful the last two games but to say that he is soft on defense is just plain stupid.
He doesn't check, he doesn't block shots, he has no presence in the goalie circle.
How the fuck do you NOT define that as soft? In the open ice, wow, can he skate, just like Gadzooks and Zetterberg, but when it gets a little murky, and the bodies are flying, Lidstrom is a no show.

Fuck, that goal pretty much does it.

4-1 Ducks.

I was just about to ask the question if anyone else saw the look on the face of the Ducks coach when we scored. He looked like he was down 2.

Great comeback, especially by Gadzooks and Zetterberg, but too big a hole to dig out of.
Nice effort in the third period. Now, as we look toward next season, the Wings need to get bigger on the blue line. They need some tough defensemen to help Lidstrom.
Does Hasek come back? There is some solid youth on this team, they just need to fill a couple holes.

I wish that everyone would stop ripping on Lidstrom. The guy is still an awesome defenseman. Have any of you stopped to realize that the guy is probably DEAD TIRED? He has logged an incredible amount of minutes since we have had a ton of injuries to our defense. If you don't recall, two of our top four guys are out. Schneider missed most of the playoffs and Kronvall missed the entire thing. Add to that the fact that Lebda missed several games and we have had to play a very inexperienced Quincey and you can see how it would have affected Lidstrom. Add to that the fact that he's older and this team has taken horrible penalties (how many "too many men on the ice" did we have in the playoffs?) and suffered from bad line changes and we simply lost. It's nice to try to find someone in particular to blame but the only person that fits the bill is the coach due to the line change problems. We had injuries, we got really far into the playoffs, and we lost. It happens!

Don't forget we had Kronwall out all playoffs, Mick.

Let's be honest, this was a hell of a run for a team that was destroyed by injury. You take out 3 of the top 6 defensemen for at least some part of a series for any other team and they get swept. The Wings have a lot of young talent, and need to get some more to replace our aging back line.

It isn't stupid to see that Lidstrom is on the ice nearly every time the other team in the playoffs has scored on the Wings.
Just look at the games, and examine when the goals are scored.

I know that ALL goals in the playoffs are big, but Lidstrom either needs to be paired with an ass kicker from now on, or it;s only going to get worse.


First off, Lidstrom is on the ice for a ton of goals because he is getting a TON of ice time. Probably too much.

Second, Lidstrom was paired with an ass kicker. That's what Markov is known for. He's a big hitter you is willing to sacrifice himself, or at least that's what he has a rep for.

Finally, Lidstrom isn't the big aggressor but he has great footwork and stickwork. He didn't lay himself out to block many shots, but there were numerous times where he got his stick on the puck or disrupted a guy bearing down on the net and kept him from even getting a shot off.

Don't forget we had Kronwall out all playoffs, Mick.

Let's be honest, this was a hell of a run for a team that was destroyed by injury. You take out 3 of the top 6 defensemen for at least some part of a series for any other team and they get swept. The Wings have a lot of young talent, and need to get some more to replace our aging back line.

Yeah, we had tons of problems moving the puck out of our own zone. You'd have to think that would be better with Schnieder and Kronwell back there. Lebda did a great job of skating away from the Ducks forcheck, but Lilja was not fast enough and Quincy was inexeprienced. Our D did pretty well considering we had 3 major injuries there.

The last three Stanley Cup Champions:

Anaheim
Raleigh
Tampa

Oh, Canada!!