Pang: Avs in 6

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

On the Fox Sports NHL homepage Darren Pang has a vid analyzing the matchups. For the Wings and Avs he picks the Avs in 6. Here is a breakdown of his reasoning:

- Avs top 6 are better than the Wings top 6. They are more cohesive and playing better as a team.

- Theodore is a better goalie right now than the Wings goalies. His hot play outweighs their experience in winning. He was "steady" against a "tough" Minne team and found his stride. Oz was ok is stopping 40 of 41.

- Forsberg will propel the Avs. He wasn't with the team for the 4 losses during the regular season so he is obviosuly the missing piece that they need.

- Zetterberg and Forsberg is the key matchup. The Wings finally get to see if their statement that they would "not trade Zetterberg for Forsberg" is a good decision.

My retort:

- The Avs top 6 consists of one decent line.

- Theodore is still Theodore. Osgood is the consistent one. No slumps, no s***ty seasons.

- The only thing Floppa will be propelling is himself into the ice. The 3rd line can contain Floppa and Queeney will probably be dumb enough to try and match him up with that line in CO.

- Dats & Z cannot be contained by the Avs defense. Foote and Salei are not who they were. And Dats and Z are NOT Gaborik and Demitra. Forsberg will probably not see much of Z at the Joe, in CO will be a different story. Where Z will skate circles around him.

[wingslogo19 281]

"holy jumpin" .... No surprise here

[lfd250 1]

Perfect. Love when they don't pick us.

[CAredwingsfan91 28]

I love panger but gotta disagree with him here of course, theodore may have proven to the hockey world thats hes a better goalie but i still think we are gonna light him up. Ozzie has without a doubt turned his career around MUCH better than theodore any critic who doesn't see that is well...a Barry Melrose.

[akustyk 84]

Pang has some right and he's actually a smart guy.

but the the argument about our top 6 and their top 6 is not legit. they may have a bit better

talent up front but Wings have defense to contain this top 6. on the other hand, Avs defense

isn't as bold and is likely to not contain Wings top 6.

as for Theodore vs Osgood... the more I hear is how Theodore is another hot goalie who we

need to face to win it. is he for real? and is it sufficient to stop Wings from scoring? don't think

so. but we'll see...

[tommingthepuck96 1]

I was listening to home ice on XM radio, and both of the guys chose wings in 6. Don't know their names, but who cares.

Edited April 24, 2008 by tommingthepuck96

[Hank 0]

Nobody can deny that the Avs top six are far better than ours:

Wolski-Sakic-Hejduk

Forsberg-Stastny-Smyth

Dats-Zetts-Homer

Franzen-Filpulla-Cleary

That's not even close. Our 2nd line looks like most peoples 3rd or 4th lines. In fact, it's probably equal to OUR 3rd and 4th lines.

The key to the Wings winning will be special teams. If we can kill their powerplays and score on ours, we'll probably win.

Osgood has been very good but Theodore was absolutely unconscious against Minnesota.

If the Wings end up losing I won't be shocked in the least. The Avs are a very good team.

What the Wings have is the best #1 line and best defensive core left in the playoffs. Will it be enough to beat the Avs? I hope so.

But in my mind the Avs clearly have more depth up front and a slight nod in goaltending. And their defense is no slouch either.

This will be a tough series. No two ways about it.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Hank

[edicius 3,269]

The Avs were a bounce away from totally losing control of their series. Three OT games in a row, only one of which they won? I think the Avs and Wild were much closer than anyone gave them credit for. If you have three OT games in a row, it's kind of a coin toss as to "who's better".

[tommingthepuck96 1]

Nobody can deny that the Avs top six are far better than ours:

Wolski-Sakic-Hejduk

Forsberg-Stastny-Smyth

Dats-Zetts-Homer

Franzen-Filpulla-Cleary

That's not even close. Our 2nd line looks like most peoples 3rd or 4th lines. In fact, it's probably equal to OUR 3rd and 4th lines.

Thats very true, but can colorado go 4 lines? Im pretty sure cleary gets moved from 2nd line to third line quite often, and all 4 lines on the wings have shown they are able to score. I havnt been watching the avs, nor have i paid much attention to their third or 4th lines, but were they scoring against the wild? Plus keep in mind stastny only had one point in their series against the wild. Yes all 6 of the avs forward are known 'stars' but that doesnt mean their all going to be 'stars' against the wings.

Edited April 24, 2008 by tommingthepuck96

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

It actually makes me feel better to know that Pang picked the Avs. I would hate to think that his thought processes are sensible.

[Lollipop 8]

The only thing that makes me happier than Pang not picking us is Melrose not picking us.

I think Darren needs to go back to his full time job as Stevie Y.'s fangirl and leave Hockey to the big boys.

[BeerMe 1]

I love panger but gotta disagree with him here of course, theodore may have proven to the hockey world thats hes a better goalie but i still think we are gonna light him up. Ozzie has without a doubt turned his career around MUCH better than theodore any critic who doesn't see that is well...a Barry Melrose.

And of course, Melrose picked the Avs. His reason was that Theodore is the hottest goalie in the playoffs. He may almost always pick against Detroit, but hey, at least they're talking hockey when I watch Sportscenter in the morning.

[Hank 0]

The Avs were a bounce away from totally losing control of their series. Three OT games in a row, only one of which they won? I think the Avs and Wild were much closer than anyone gave them credit for. If you have three OT games in a row, it's kind of a coin toss as to "who's better".

Absolutely. The Wild outplayed the Avs overall in that series.

However, what scares me is that the Wild and Wings play nearly identical styles. The Avs were able to keep Minnesota to the parameter where they pestered Theodore with a lot of long shots and then blocked many of their quality chances.

The Wings have better size up front and a far deeper defensive core.

But I think we as Wings fans better get ready to be frustrated when we watch one 40-foot shot after another making Theo look much better than he is.

And we absolutely need to stay out of the box. Their PP is deadly.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

It actually makes me feel better to know that Pang picked the Avs. I would hate to think that his thought processes are sensible.

Why? I find him to be one of the few thats dead on in most cases.

[wingslogo19 281]

Why? I find him to be one of the few thats dead on in most cases.

Hey it beats Mad Mike

[Hank 0]

Thats very true, but can colorado go 4 lines? Im pretty sure cleary gets moved from 2nd line to third line quite often, and all 4 lines on the wings have shown they are able to score. I havnt been watching the avs, nor have i paid much attention to their third or 4th lines, but were they scoring against the wild? Plus keep in mind stastny only had one point in their series against the wild. Yes all 6 of the avs forward are known 'stars' but that doesnt mean their all going to be 'stars' against the wings.

This is only my opinion but I'll take Colorado's top 12 over our top 12 any day of the week:

Sakic, Forsberg, Hejduk, Stastny, Smyth, Wolski, Brunette, Hlinka, Arnason, Guite, Laparriere, Jones.

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Homer, Franzen, Cleary, Filpulla, Hudler, Drake, Maltby, Draper, McCarty, Sammuelson

They have just as much grit as we do and more scoring.

I'm not trying to kiss the Avs behind, but I'm calling a spade a spade. They have a far better and more rounded offense than we do.

[egroen 384]

Avs may have the better top 6 forwards... but the Wings have the better top two lines at offense (as well as defense, by a ton), when you factor in Lidstrom, Rafalski and Kronwall. The defense drives the offensive bus for Detroit a lot of the time.

Obviously the same can not be said for Colorado (I believe Lidstrom and Rafalski alone had more points than the entire Colorado blue line this season).

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Its really a hollow argument when you don't bring up how horrid Minnesota's offense really is. Datsyuk as our best offense presence is better than Gaborik as theirs. And theres no comparing Zetterberg to Demtra or Rolston. I dont see why no one is really bothering to point this out. The Wild THEMSELVES (aka Rolston and Demitra) came out and said things to the effect of "we dont have as much chemistry as we did last year" and "we need a top 6 center." The Wild players themselves were making this statements throughout the season, yet no one is bothering to bring that up now? Thats ridiculous IMO. I dont buy all these "all hail Adam Foote and Jose Theodore" arguements when they have yet to face a legit offensive team.

The Red Wings may not have the better top 6, but excuse me if I was thinking that there are 12 forwards on a team for any given game. The Red Wings may not have the best offensive talent, but they were one of the best offensive teams in the league this year. How can that be discounted??

And real quick question here. Which Dmen on the Wild, in terms of offensive capability, can compare in any way shape or form to Niklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, and Niklas Kronwall?? Thats what I thought. I have no problem with people discounting the Wings or picking the Avs over us, but why have so few people failed to point out that the Wild and the Wings are on different ends of the spectrum..?

Edited April 24, 2008 by YoungGuns1340

[akustyk 84]

Why? I find him to be one of the few thats dead on in most cases.

how can you ask "why?" if this is perfectly obvious.

he didn't pick Wings. he's an a*(peep)* and knows s*(peep)* about hockey.

right?

Panger is actually OK guy. it's his guess and he has every right to see it this way.

and in fact, knowing he was a goalie and now rates Theodore high is something

to worry about for a Wings fan. hope Theodore is not that good agains us

[PapaFunk 0]

I think pretty much everyone is picking the Avs to win the series with good reason.

The depth of their first three lines is incredible

Wolski (one of the top rookies last year, great stick handling and shot) - Sakic - (Beast) - Brunette (one of the best position plalyers in the league, hard along the boards, good infront of the net and already has 3 goals in playoffs this year).

Hejduk (one of the best Snipers in the league) - Stastny (Avs leading scorer in regular season and runner-up to Calder last year) - Forsberg (increadible stick handling, playmaking, toughness, etc....)

Smyth (Incredible player infront of net, along boards, has recently gotten his game back after being injured) - Arnason (one of the most underrated third line centers, great stick handling and speed) - Jones (very tough, great hands and speed, perfect player to round out the third line).

All three of those lines can score on any defensive pairing if they get enough space.

I just don't think the Wings have 3 defensive pairs that are strong enough to constantly handle the onslaught of the healthy avalanche club.

On the other side of the coin, they have Foote, Salei, Hannan, Leopold on defense who all are really smart defensive players who can also contribute offensively...even Liles and Sauer have been looking great on Defense for the Avs (Note Sauers beautiful 2 on 1 goal in the first game of the Wild series).

I think if it was top line verse top line Detroit would have it in the bag, however, the Avs depth just keeps going and going.

[Vincanni 1]

Far superior to Melrose's reasoning and if I were to conjure up reasons as to why Colorado would win I agree with most of Pang's suggestions, though I think despite by name recognition the Avs having a better top 6, ours is achieving more ot their potential and we have better 3rd/4th line contribution as well. I also think it's unfair to call Jose more consistent than Osgood as Ozzie's only played two full games in which he's been as consistent as Jose, granted he didn't have to overwork since we dominated the shot totals so badly against Nashville.

[esteef 2,679]

Its really a hollow argument when you don't bring up how horrid Minnesota's offense really is. Datsyuk as our best offense presence is better than Gaborik as theirs. And theres no comparing Zetterberg to Demtra or Rolston. I dont see why no one is really bothering to point this out. The Wild THEMSELVES (aka Rolston and Demitra) came out and said things to the effect of "we dont have as much chemistry as we did last year" and "we need a top 6 center." The Wild players themselves were making this statements throughout the season, yet no one is bothering to bring that up now? Thats ridiculous IMO. I dont buy all these "all hail Adam Foote and Jose Theodore" arguements when they have yet to face a legit offensive team.

The Red Wings may not have the better top 6, but excuse me if I was thinking that there are 12 forwards on a team for any given game. The Red Wings may not have the best offensive talent, but they were one of the best offensive teams in the league this year. How can that be discounted??

And real quick question here. Which Dmen on the Wild, in terms of offensive capability, can compare in any way shape or form to Niklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, and Niklas Kronwall?? Thats what I thought. I have no problem with people discounting the Wings or picking the Avs over us, but why have so few people failed to point out that the Wild and the Wings are on different ends of the spectrum..?

Tru dat. The Avs look good on paper, but the reality is they have injury concerns. They already have some key guys out of the lineup and Sakic, Forsturd and Foote are all semi-injured. Names on a roster don't win games in the playoffs, hard work does. The Avs barely made it by the Wild for Christ sakes!

Wings win, I still like Panger though.

esteef

Edited April 24, 2008 by esteef

[CrossoverThrash 0]

Datsyuk has a tendency of lighting up Foote, it will be how the 2 D's play and the Wings are far better in that department. A lot of people think finger is good but he isnt, Mike Haynes and several other commentators just love to say the name finger so you think hes actually doing something. Liles and whoever else are back there arent very good either. Salei is probably their best but is only really good on a team with a lot of other good D which he isnt

[PapaFunk 0]

Far superior to Melrose's reasoning and if I were to conjure up reasons as to why Colorado would win I agree with most of Pang's suggestions, though I think despite by name recognition the Avs having a better top 6, ours is achieving more ot their potential and we have better 3rd/4th line contribution as well. I also think it's unfair to call Jose more consistent than Osgood as Ozzie's only played two full games in which he's been as consistent as Jose, granted he didn't have to overwork since we dominated the shot totals so badly against Nashville.

Osgood is definitely more consistant than Theo...One of the few ways Colorado can blow this series is if Theo falls apart.

As far as third and fourth line. If you compare and when you see Ryan Smyth - Arnason - Jones on third line against the Wings third line you will see an obvious slant in grit and scoring ability towards the Avs. In my opinion their third line could be the difference maker in this series...they are pretty damn good.

[tommingthepuck96 1]

This is only my opinion but I'll take Colorado's top 12 over our top 12 any day of the week:

Sakic, Forsberg, Hejduk, Stastny, Smyth, Wolski, Brunette, Hlinka, Arnason, Guite, Laparriere, Jones.

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Homer, Franzen, Cleary, Filpulla, Hudler, Drake, Maltby, Draper, McCarty, Sammuelson

They have just as much grit as we do and more scoring.

I'm not trying to kiss the Avs behind, but I'm calling a spade a spade. They have a far better and more rounded offense than we do.

Yea no doubt dude i agree with you, but im just saying, just because they have bigger names doesnt really mean their all going to perform as expected to. Just my opinion.