Round 2 Schedule | Playoffs Main Page | Round 2 Eastern Conference
VS
GAME RECAPS
RED WINGS WIN
VS
GAME RECAPS
GAME 6 SUNDAY!
ROUND
2
DETROIT RED WINGS (1)
VS COLORADO AVALANCHE (6)
Detroit vs. Colorado
Starts Thursday, April 24
Detroit:
Brian Rafalski and Nick Lidstrom make the Wings very dangerous indeed when the bench gets shorter in the playoffs. Lidstrom has a power play and his shorthanded goal in game six proved to be the game winner. Both are primed to pose a challenge.
Pavel Datsyuk (5pts), Jiri Hudler (5), Henrik Zetterberg (4), Johan Franzen and Kris Draper (3) all come through against Nashville, and Valteri Filppula chipped in a goal, as did reclamation project Darren McCarty, who makes the Wings tougher.
Dominik Hasek started the Nashville series by allowing two goals in two games, then eight goas in games three and four. Chris Osgood has been named the starter against Colorado. If he falters, Coach Mike Babcock won't hesitate to go back to the Dominator. While the shift in goaltenders may raise an eyebrow or two, those in the know realize that the Wings' one-two punch in net could lead them to Stanley silver. Osgood has two Cup rings, Hasek, one.
Detroit struggled with the man advantage against Nashville, scoring only three times in 26 power plays.
Colorado:
Andrew Brunette is just the kind of guy you want around during the postseason. He loves to park himself in front of the opposition's net, and he's paid handsomely in opportunities during tightly-drawn playoff matchups. He chipped in three goals and four assists against Minnesota, and when his date with free agency comes up on July 1st, he could easily have 30 suitors.
Jose Theodore (1.88GAA; .940SV%) was the main story for the Avalanche, with a stunning performance in round one, reminiscent of his finest days in Montreal. Theodore has allowed two or fewer goals in 22 of his last 36 appearances. He's going to face a far more formidable challenge offensively in the Wings than vs. the Wild.
Simply terrific is the only way to describe the job done by GM Francois Giguere. Ryan Smyth, the big free agent signee last summer, was pure grit in round one, with two goals, one a game winner. Add Ruslan Salei (1-2-3 in round 1) and Adam Foote to the mix and the Avalanche finished their season far tougher and more skilled on defense than they've been in years.
Notes:
The teams have not met in the playoffs since 2002.
Joe Sakic's next playoff point will tie him with Steve Yzerman (185) for 8th place, all-time.
The last team to win the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season was Detroit in 2002 (the Wings won the Trophy again this season).
Clutch: Johan Franzen scored six game winning goals in March.
Consistency: Kris Draper, Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and Chris Osgood all played with both 1997 and 1998 Wings Cup championship teams, which was the last time a Cup champ repeated.
The Matchup:
The Wings beat the Avalanche all four times the clubs met during the regular season. That's worthy of attention. All four games occurred prior to the trade deadline, when Salei, Foote and Peter Forsberg joined the club.
Something tells Hockeytalk that with the removal of the Anaheim Ducks from the playoff picture, the Red Wings are primed to make a run at Stanley silver.
PREDICTION:
DETROIT IN 6
SAN JOSE SHARKS (2) VS DALLAS STARS (5)
San Jose vs. Dallas
Series starts Friday, April 25
San Jose:
The demons are being exorcised in San Jose, and as Linda Blair said to
Jason Miller, "what a wonderful day for an exorcism, Karras."
Indeed, it's been a long time that we've been hearing about the Sharks
tanking (pun intended) in the playoffs.
In round one, Patrick Marleau was the most prominent Shark to banish any
remaining evil spirits from playoffs past. He was rocked by a Corey
Sarich hit early in the Flames series and shook it off on live
television with blood streaming from his forehead and nose. Old demons
die hard, but Marleau assisted on a game winner before the series was
over and finished with two goals and four assists in seven games.
The forward ranks overflow with talent for San Jose.
Jeremy Roenick, who's trying to capture his first Cup after a 19-year
career. He was a healthy scratch in game six, only to return in game
seven to score two goals and two assists, electrifying the Sharks.
Ryan Clowe, a 25 year-old left wing who saw only 15 games' worth of
action during the regular season, helped chase some playoff demons out
of HP Pavilion with a team-leading four goals and eight points. The list
goes on, including Jon Cheechoo's three goals and five points and
upstart Joe Pavelski's three goals for seven points.
Scoring hasn't been a problem for the Sharks, and defense continues to
be a strong suit, with Craig Rivet and Brian Campbell joining to give
the Sharks a pairing as good as any still in the playoffs. Campbell must
increase his shot output and stop hesitating to shoot on the power play.
This deficiency plagued him in Buffalo, although it's underreported.
Vezina Trophy nominee Evgeni Nabokov's game saw no dropoff, and he
delivered huge saves throughout round one. No reason to expect any
different against Dallas.
Dallas:
The word "Desperation" was a key one in describing how the Stars
dispensed with the champion Ducks. Brendan Morrow told this reporter
that the club's desperation level was "really good," and the Stars'
hunger for playoff success stood out as much as its play during round
one.
Worries about Brad Richards' integration into the Stars lineup were
squelched after the line of Richards, Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist
produced five goals, 38 shots and 14 total points during the six-game
Duck series. Only one of the goals was on the power play; the rest, even
strength.
On the top line, Brendan Morrow, Mike Ribiero and Jere Lehtinen combined
for 20 points and dominated a very good Duck checking line, as they did
during the past two regular seasons. It opened the door for the Stars'
victory.
Most impressive was that all four of Dallas' round one game winning
goals were scored by their checking line of Mike Modano, Steve Ott and
Stu Barnes. A force against Anaheim, they produced a total of six goals
and 11 points, outpacing the Ducks' first line against whom they played.
A surprise could come from Niklas Hagman, who scored 27 goals for the
Stars during the regular season, but ended up as a bit player on the
fourth line in round one (11:43 TOI).
Defensively, Stephane Robidas was so dominant against the Ducks that few
commentators spend much time on the fact that Sergei Zubov and Phillipe
Boucher aren't playing. "(He's) one of the most underrated players I've
every played with," says Modano. Elsewhere on D, Trevor Daley and rookie
Matt Niskanen are solid.
Marty Turco outplayed J-S Giguere, exorcised a round's worth of playoff
demons, and will move on to the challenge of facing Joe Thornton and
crew. Turco proved his worth vs. Roberto Luongo and the Canucks last
season; now, old ghosts are fleeing his net as he builds a new
reputation.
Notes:
The clubs split the season series: Dallas 4-2-2; San Jose, 4-4-0.
Potentially clutch: Steve Ott of Dallas scored three goals against the
Sharks this season; San Jose's Devin Setoguchi potted four markers
against the Stars.
Good organizations: Dallas has appeared in five consecutive postseasons;
San Jose, four.
The Matchup:
Dallas looks very solid, but the Sharks look touched. Both are chasing
demons, both will look back at this season as a solid one. Somehow,
though, Shark scoring depth and Jeremy Roenick's desperation give the
Silicon Valley boys the edge in what should be a colossal series.
PREDICTION:
SAN JOSE IN 7