Round 2 - Detroit Vs. Anaheim

Getz who's back?

504Heater wrote:

davetherave wrote:I love this game tonight...these guys are beating each other up.

Helm and Ebbett went at it behind the net and Niedermayer just crushed Holmstrom to the ice in the slot...and the rest of the cast up to their usual antics.

No quarter...no wimps...no excuses...just win, baby.

THIS...is HOCKEY.

:^^^^: I'm sure you're loving the pounding these prospective Hawks' opponent are dishing out to one another.

The more they pound, grind, slash, crush...the longer and more games they play...especially those exhausting overtime periods...the happier I am...


Wings or Ducks...I want 'em thoroughly tenderized...

:D:

Vastly improved play overall by the Ducks tonight.

Drew Miller is sticking to Datsyuk like Gorilla Glue.

Young Brookbank (brought over from Jersey) is looking solid.

Fascinating to watch how the Wings are revving up for their big push as we head into the final half of the third period.

:****: Penalties against the Red Machine cost you.

Franzen...incredible as usual.

Now it gets really interesting....

BACK TO THE JOE!!

And the boys decide to engage in a little scuffling after the final buzzer...

:##: :##: :##: :##: :##: :##: :##: :fight:

Detroit 1, Anaheim 2

	1	2	3	T
DET	0	0	1	1
ANA	0	2	0	2

Final

10:00 PM ET, May 12, 2009, Honda Center, Anaheim, California

Hiller's last-second stop on Hossa saves feisty win for Ducks to set up Game 7

ANAHEIM, Calif.(AP/ESPN) -- The Anaheim Ducks made sure there would be no road clincher by the Detroit Red Wings.



Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Jonas Hiller made 38 saves as the Ducks beat the Red Wings 2-1 Tuesday to force a decisive Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Scott Niedermayer and Bobby Ryan added assists for the Ducks, who built a two-goal lead in the second period and managed to shut down the Red Wings until Johan Franzen brought Detroit within a goal with 2:25 to play.

Game 7 will be in Detroit on Thursday, with the winner moving on to face the Chicago Blackhawks in the conference finals.

"Not a lot had to be said, we have enough guys in here who have been there before," Getzlaf said. "It was unacceptable the way we played last game. We were excited about tonight."

Fast Facts


• Ryan Getzlaf had two points to give him multiple points in five of his last seven games. Also, Corey Perry has scored a goal in seven of his last nine postseason games.
• The Ducks improved to 5-0 this postseason when leading after two periods and avoided losing three straight games for the first time since early March.
• The Red Wings snapped an NHL-record 13-game winning streak in Game 6s of series that they led 3-2. This was their first Game 6 loss in that situation since 1991.
• Seven of the 10 meetings between these teams this season (regular season and playoffs combined) have been decided by one goal (including Games 1, 2, 3, and 6 of this series).
-- ESPN Stats & Information

Led by their top line of Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan, the Ducks matched the Red Wings' up-tempo attack stride for stride and avoided elimination.

The Red Wings had clinched their last eight playoff series wins with victories on the road, and seemed poised to do the same after outskating and outshooting Anaheim 78-45 in consecutive wins in Games 4 and 5.

But facing elimination, the Ducks returned to the form that carried the team to a league-best 10-2-1 mark in the final weeks of the season, then through a first-round upset of the Presidents' Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks.

"We knew we wanted it tonight, we have a great team in here," said Perry. "We dug down and you can just feel it before the game, everyone was ready to play."

Having failed in their chance to close out the Ducks on Tuesday, the Red Wings will now face their first Game 7 since drubbing the Colorado Avalanche 7-0 at the home in the final game of Patrick Roy's career on May 31, 2002.

Detroit is 11-7 in Game 7s, but just 3-3 at home since 1991.

"I think they were more desperate tonight than we were," said Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom. "They came out stronger. There were too many turnovers that created more time in our zone than we wanted to."

Anaheim's best postseason players also got back in form.

Getzlaf generated 16 points in 11 games to open the playoffs, but was held without a point in Game 5. He responded with his seventh multiple-point game of the playoffs.

Hiller yielded 10 goals in the last two games, but he returned to the stinginess that carried the Ducks to wins in Games 2 and 3 of the series.

"I think everybody stepped up and played hard and we deserved to win and go on to Game 7," Hiller said. "It was a tough fight, 60 minutes, a close game again, and emotions were unloading at the end.

"We have to play with emotions to have a chance to win."

Chris Osgood made 26 saves for the Red Wings and was especially sharp early as the Ducks outshot Detroit 12-8 in a quick-paced first period.

After failing to score on an initial man-advantage in the opening minute of the second period, the Ducks went back on the power play when Niklas Kronwall lofted the puck over the glass in the Detroit zone.

Getzlaf knocked Daniel Cleary off the puck behind the Ducks' net to begin a rush.

He finished the play by outmuscling defenseman Jonathan Ericsson to tap in a loose puck in the Detroit crease 2:21 into the second period.

"Desperation, it doesn't have to be huge, just a little bit more," said Detroit coach Mike Babc0ck."You win more puck battles and more puck races."

Getzlaf's goal seemed to wake up Detroit as the Red Wings threatened, helped in part by a pair of power plays, controlling play in the Anaheim zone.

But after the Wings failed to beat Hiller, Perry batted a fluttering 50-foot shot from the left point by Getzlaf past Osgood to make it 2-0.

"It was a close game and I think we competed," said Detroit center Henrik Zetterberg, who assisted on Frazen's goal."We tried to get pucks into the net and be there for second chances. Unfortunately we couldn't get more than one puck behind him. "

Game notes
Zetterberg has at least a point in each game of the series. The 2008 Conn Smythe winner has mixed a power-play goal with two empty netters and five assists. ... Anaheim is 2-1 all-time in Game 7 and won its most recent Game 7, shutting out Calgary 3-0 on May 3, 2006 to advance to the conference semifinals. ... Defenseman Brian Rafalski returned to the Red Wings. He had been sidelined throughout the series with an upper body injury. ... Forward Josh Green was back in the Ducks' lineup after being scratched for Game 5.

Holy crazy finish to the game! Bad blood! Love it!!!! Game 7 will be epic!

All you need is Love...heh heh

Game 7's all around...

:D: Punishing, exhausting, ice-pack using, painkiller requiring, tape it up and go back out there-ing, win at all costs, sacrifice your body games with multiple OT...for both teams.

The more they earn it...the more we love it!
:##: :##: :##:

Beers on ice!

Now...y'all know I love that Dung at the end, but that's quite the elbow that Neidermayer threw at Datsyuk. No suspension for that?

If Neids had connected... it would be a whole different world today I think... or does he have a Pronger rule too?

shabbs wrote:If Neids had connected... it would be a whole different world today I think... or does he have a Pronger rule too?

Did he miss? I'll have to go back and watch it again.

504Heater wrote:

shabbs wrote:If Neids had connected... it would be a whole different world today I think... or does he have a Pronger rule too?

Did he miss? I'll have to go back and watch it again.

It was not a direct hit, it caught him a bit on the side from what I could see in the replays.

shabbs wrote:If Neids had connected... it would be a whole different world today I think... or does he have a Pronger rule too?

It was definitely an elbow, and he did connect. The helmet/visor took most of it, but if it had landed on the temple we could be having a different discussion today. If that happens in the game, for example he's got the puck against the boads and Datsyuk is behind him, that's 2 minutes. Doubt it's a suspension. However this was a tussle after the whistle, and it's not like Datsyuk was doing anything other than holding on, looking completely the other way. At the very least Niedermayer should understand that swining your elbow like that, without looking, is potentially very dangerous. Is he going to get a suspension? Not on your life. They would have had to carry Datsyuk off on two stretchers for Collie to take a future Hall of Famer out of a Game 7.

But it doesn't mean I don't think it's dirty. And I would, personally, love it if someone straightened him out for that.

Anaheim at Detroit

GAME SEVEN, STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS WEST SEMIFINALS
SERIES TIED 3-3

7:00 PM ET, May 14, 2009
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan

CBC/RDS/Versus

Ducks-Red Wings Preview

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- The previous two Stanley Cup champions are meeting in the playoffs for the third time since the NHL expanded four decades ago.

Perhaps fittingly, a Game 7 is necessary.

The Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks have pushed their Western Conference semifinal series to the limit just as Edmonton and Calgary did in 1991 and Montreal and Boston did in 1971 in the last two matchups of Cup winners.

"It should be exciting," Red Wings coach Mike Wang said Wednesday when the team plane landed in rain on a miserable evening that matched its mood following a 2-1 loss. "Game 7s are always a lot of fun.

"It's a good opportunity for us. We played all year to have home-ice advantage."
The second-seeded Red Wings will face the eighth-seeded Ducks on Thursday night at home, hoping to follow a trend.

Entering Wednesday's night's Pittsburgh-Washington finale, home teams have won 63 percent of Game 7s since 1939.

Two of the exceptions, though, happened when the Oilers defeated the Flames in overtime and the Canadiens beat the Bruins by two goals as road teams in matchups of previous champions.

This postseason, the Ducks have proven they can win anywhere and their confidence has grown.

"Everyone is believing we can beat this team," Anaheim star Ryan Getzlaf said.

Anaheim won Game 2 at Joe Louis Arena in triple overtime and opened the playoffs with two road wins against the top-seeded San Jose Sharks.

"Nobody expected us to beat San Jose," Ducks forward Todd Marchant said. "We're trying to ride the unexpected.

"Hopefully, we can pull another one off."

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle hopes his team turns the tide in shots on goal, but said that statistic isn't foolproof.

"They've gotten more shots than we have. So did San Jose," Carlyle said. "But where is San Jose?"

The Ducks avoided elimination with a 2-1 win Tuesday night, then Scott Niedermayer roughed up Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, and Corey Perry pounded Detroit's Brian Rafalski.

"I felt that some guys took liberties on certain players unknown to fight," Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary said. "So, we just have to see Thursday."

With so much at stake, Red Wings star Henrik Zetterberg doesn't expect gloves to drop again.

"I think the feelings and emotions will carry over to Game 7, but I don't think the fighting will carry over," Zetterberg said on the eve of his first Game 7.

The winner will advance to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals.

The loser will go home.

"I said a few words last night, and Babs said a few words," Detroit's soft-spoken captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "We know what's on the line for us, and for them."

As experienced as Lidstrom is, with a franchise-record 224 games of postseason experience, he hasn't played in a Game 7 since Detroit beat Colorado 7-0 in the 2002 conference finale and he's been in just five in his career.

"Everything is on the line," Lidstrom said. "We have play with a sense of desperation from the start, and we have to do that for 60 minutes."

Early or late, Detroit simply needs Datsyuk to score.

The NHL MVP finalist is goalless in his last eight games and has just two assists against Anaheim.

Datsyuk was inches away from an overtime-forcing goal in the final seconds of Game 6.

"It's not like he's been void of chances," Carlyle said. "Even if stat-wise he hasn't had a huge impression, he still has quality chances on creates a lot."

Babc0ck is hoping for Datsyuk and the team, his scoring drought ends against Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller, whose first NHL postseason has been nothing short of sensational.

"Any time you're a scorer and you haven't scored, no matter what anybody says, you always are squeezing a little bit," Babc0ck said. "The big thing for him, he's a real good, dominant player is to just play. Don't think too much.

"It would be a good time for him to break out."

The National Anthem for Detroit Red Wings games at Joe Louis Arena is normally sung by this charming young lady, Miss Karen Newman.




However, considering the importance of this contest, Captain Nick Lidstrom has reached out to his homeland to bring in some extra firepower...

The Graaf Sisters, leading Swedish pop stars. It's anticipated they will put a little extra pop in the Wings' game.




cool)

Is that a nip-slip or do I need to clean my monitor?