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VS.

ROUND 2
2. DETROIT RED WINGS VS. 8. ANAHEIM DUCKS

JOSH BREWSTER

These two teams have racked up some serious playoff history. The Wings swept the Ducks in 1997 and 1999, while the Ducks swept the Wings in 2003, and beat them in six games in 2007.

“Teams think they’re going to intimidate us,” said coach Mike Babcock earlier this season. “We think we’re going on the power play.”

God help the Anaheim Ducks if they stay true to form and rack up dumb penalties as they did against the Sharks. The Wings, whose power play was tops in the NHL this season, clicked at 31.8% against Columbus in round one.

Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan will likely face Henrik Zetterberg and Nick Lidstrom as they try to lead the Ducks to victory. The question becomes, what will the Ducks do about Marian Hossa, Hart Trophy nominee Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom coming at them as the best second line in hockey? What has to happen for Anaheim is Teemu Selanne must come out of his scoring drought (1 goal vs. San Jose in round one), with the help of Andrew Ebbett and either Erik Christensen or Ryan Carter. The Wings are deeper than the Ducks, they know it, and they will score in bunches, which makes this a potentially long series.

Long because don’t look now, but the Ducks have the best defense in the league. The club kept San Jose away from its defensive-zone slot for much of its opening round victory. The Wings have Nick Lidstrom, Nik Kronwall and Brian Rafalski, but I’ve got to give the edge to Scott Niedermayer (one of the top three defensemen in the NHL over the second half of the season, in my view), and Chris Pronger, who relishes the postseason. Francois Beauchemin, who looks like he had no injury at all this season, despite an ACL, and Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski round out a deeper, more fierce blueline corps.

Chris Osgood is a playoff winner; Jonas Hiller, a neophyte. In the end, I’m thinking that Hiller is the sharper of the two at just the right moments, with the help of his bruising defensive corps. 

Since the East/West Conference alignment and current playoff structure was enacted, no team has won the Stanley Cup after finishing eighth.  But no team in this year's playoffs has been as hot as the Ducks, not even the strong-finishing Carolina Hurricanes.  If the Ducks survive this round, all bets are officially off.

PICK: ANAHEIM in 7

DENNIS BERNSTEIN

If the Ducks can manhandle the 117 point San Jose Sharks, they can beat any of the remaining teams left in the post season. Anaheim is the strongest number eight seed since the tournament expanded to sixteen teams and has gelled after GM Bob Murray made a dizzying amount of moves at the trade deadline. The last team that Detroit wanted to see was the Ducks, Anaheim can’t be intimidated and Ryan Getzlaf’s not above punching Pavel Datsyuk in the face at the opening face-off of Game 1. Though the Ducks have the advantage in the net and along the blue line, the champs negate because they go four lines deep along the forward wall. If the Ducks continue taking bad penalties, the Wings won’t let them off the hook like the Sharks did in Round 1. Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan must produce the same numbers they did against San Jose for the Ducks to win.

PICK: ANAHEIM in 6

LEON RAFNER

What do you know, Sharks do choke on feathers! I’m a believer.

These barely over .500 ugly ducklings have transformed into the ‘03 Mighty Ducks. Young upstart goaltender J.S. Giguere, who stole the opening ‘03 series from Detroit, lives on in his clone, Jonas Hiller. While Hiller appears to fall to his knees in prayer each time the puck crosses the blueline, his astonishing agility and ability to quickly cross the crease completely stymied the San Jose Sharks. Conceding that Chris Osgood played well against Columbus, the Blue Jackets were not an offensive powerhouse, and how about that final 6-5 game? Anaheim’s top line with rookie Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry, is highly dangerous when they start cycling the puck down low, so don’t be surprised to see future Hall of Fame D-man Nicklas Lidstrom double shifted against them.

The Ducks have cut down a bit on their proclivity for taking careless penalties, but if they drag their feet against the Wings, the Detroit power play will press these Ducks. Pavel Datsyuk, like Bobby Ryan, is a remarkable stick-handler who can scoot around almost any forward and split the D. Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger will be busy containing Henrik Zetterberg, Valtteri Filppula, Johan Franzen, Tomas Holmstrom, and Marian Hossa. They can’t do it themselves and will need help from newly returned Francois Beauchemin, and Ryan Whitney. Detroit doesn’t like to fight, but if they are challenged they can play rough, too. Dan Cleary and Tomas Holmstom will give what they get. Anaheim Coach Randy Carlyle is going to need juggling lessons to match his lines against home ice Coach Mike Babcock. Look for Carlyle to switch it up early if his top line can’t penetrate the Detroit defense. Hiller outshines old timer Osgood.

PICK: ANAHEIM in 6

CHARLES SMITH

Fresh off their annihilation of the Sharks, the Anaheim Ducks now have their sights set on the defending Stanley Cup champs. The rich got richer when the champs added Marian Hossa in the off season, and Pavel Datsyuk is a finalist for league MVP. That said, keep in mind that during the regular season, the Wings did score 50 more goals than the Ducks. The real difference is in goals allowed. The Wings allowed 244 goals to the Ducks' 238. In fact only five teams in the Western Conference gave up more goals than did the Wings, and none of them made the playoffs. Goals are harder to come by in the playoffs and the Ducks have the snipers to take advantage of any defensive miscues. The Wings obviously have plenty of firepower so the Ducks are going to have to stay out of the penalty box or pay a heavy price. It's going to be great, sit back and enjoy. Ducks continue with upset magic reminiscent of their 2003 team, and move on.

PICK: ANAHEIM in 7

SCHEDULE:

SERIES K      TIME (ET)      #2 Detroit vs. #8 Anaheim         Network

Friday, May 1, 2009            7 p.m.  Anaheim at Detroit     VERSUS, TSN2

Sunday, May 3, 2009          2 p.m.  Anaheim at Detroit     NBC, TSN

Tuesday, May 5, 2009       10:30 p.m.       Detroit at Anaheim     VERSUS, TSN

Thursday, May 7, 2009      10:30 p.m.       Detroit at Anaheim     VERSUS, TSN

*Sunday, May 10, 2009      5 p.m.  Anaheim at Detroit     TSN

*Tuesday, May 12, 2009   TBD    Detroit at Anaheim     VERSUS, TSN

*Thursday, May 14, 2009    TBD    Anaheim at Detroit     VERSUS, TSN

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