Red Wings vs. Ducks 2nd Round Preview

It only took 4 games for the Wings to advance to the second round. The Columbus Blue Jackets were in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and it showed against an experienced Red Wings team in round one. The second round promises to be a tougher one as the Anaheim Ducks come to town.

The Ducks got here by beating the No. 1 seeded San Jose Sharks in six games. It was a shock to myself and many experts across the country who all felt like the Sharks would raise Lord Stanley come June. That will not happen now and one of the biggest reasons why is Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller. Hiller outplayed opposing goalie Evgeni Nabokov of the Sharks in their first round series. This is just yet another instance where a goaltender can win you a series come playoff time. A critical matchup in this series will be Hiller vs. Chris Osgood. Whoever wins the battle of the net minders will certainly give their teams a leg up in the outcome of the series.

Another big battle will be between Detroit's top scoring line and Anaheim's big physical defenseman. The line of Marian Hossa, Tomas Holmstrom, and Pavel Datsyuk have been terrific this year and have given opposing teams nightmares in the scouting reports. As for the Ducks they have longtime veteran Chris Pronger and Francois Beauchemin as their last line of defense. Pronger has seen the Wings numerous times in the playoffs from his time with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, and Ducks teams over the years. At 6'6 220 pounds, Pronger is still one of the top defenseman in the league even at the age of 34. If the Ducks can stop this top line from scoring they could very well make this series go the distance which is seven games.

The Wings have enough firepower to still score goals even if their top line isn't scoring. Their second line of Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Mikael Samuelsson must step up if the first line doesn't produce offensively. Third and fourth line guys like Darren Helm, Valtteri Filppula, and Jiri Hudler could also chip in with some scoring. Those players will need to step up with the absence of Kris Draper for at least the first two games.

Defensively for the Wings they looked incredible in the first round against the Blue Jackets. Nick Lidstrom seemingly never ages and is a Norris Trophy candidate year in and year out. Brad Stuart and Nicklas Kronwall must play continue to play well in this series. Youngsters like Jonathan Ericksson and Bret Lebda just need to play solid limiting turnovers or silly penalties. It will be interesting to see if Brian Rafalski will play for the Wings in this series, he is out for the first game with an upper-body injury. Will Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock call on Derek Meech or the grisly 47-year old veteran Chris Chelios. If it's Chelios expect him to pick up less than ten minutes of ice time per game.

As for the Ducks their tam is quite different from the one that raised the Stanley Cup a few years back. Yes they still have top centerman Ryan Getzlaf who is arguably their best player at the ripe old age of 23. Also the Neidermeyer brothers still run rampant in the Ducks powerplay along with Teemu Selanne. But for the most part the Ducks are made up of some emerging stars like Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Cater and Ryan Whitney. They have veterans sprinkled in with youngsters. They may just be a few years from contending for another Stanley Cup championship as they young players continue to develop in the NHL playoffs.

In the end this series will be highly competitive and very physical. The Wings just have too much firepower offensively for the Ducks to keep up with. The Ducks will try to outplay the Wings and try to frustrate the top line for the Wings by being physical. But the wings have seen that before and it's going to take a little more than that to end the Detroit Red Wings request for another Stanley Cup championship.

Overall the Wings have the most talent and experience left in the playoffs. Sure the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Washington Capitals all have star power. They just don't have the same experience and our not coached by one of the best coaches in the NHL in Mike Babcock. So the Wings should handle the Anaheim Ducks in six games.