Anaheim Preview

[Guest mindfly]

Wings in 4/5? are you crazy? this will be a really tough series, probably 6 or 7 games, either team could win though.. wings 4th line is bad, osgood is not outplaying hiller, ducks 1st line is heavy, wings D are not physical and can't move them away from wings own net, kronwall+stuart pairing will probably be horrible to watch... still wings powerplay is great(except samuelsson on the point) so if anaheim takes stupid penalties i think wings can win... also datsyuk needs to be fantastic, not just good, to be able to win.

Edited April 28, 2009 by mindfly

[Superted 0]

my only prediction (because let's face it, being a wings fan of course I'll say wings will win): the winner of this series will take home Stanley

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

I saw we let 'em just slingshots to help score goals. Better yet, handguns! Sure would beat this crashing the net 'biz!

*shrugs*

[russianswede919293 95]

This is going to be a hard fought tough series. All in all I think the Ducks lack of discipline will give the Wings PP a chance to win the series for us.

[stormboy 47]

we're going to light miller up.

yeah, i mean, hopefully next year when we play buffalo, that will be true. not sure how it's relevant here, though.

i jest, i jest.

but i'm not too worried about it. on the one hand, the refs are obviously going to be watching homer's skates very, very closely. on the other, the ducks aren't exactly good at staying out of the box. expect them to get called for a few roughing/cross checking penalties as the series goes on. cleary seems to have found new life in this series, and franzen shows no real signs of slowing down. holmstrom...well, that goes without saying. i think maintaining a strong net presence was a bit of an issue for us in the regular season, but these guys are willing to pay the price when it matters.

we'll be in hiller's s*** all series. hopefully we don't get too many goals waved off, legitimately or otherwise.

Edited April 28, 2009 by stormboy

[Nightfall 871]

I have a very bad feeling about this series. I predicted the Ducks would beat the Sharks in 6 games as one of my upset specials. Now, I see the Ducks coming into Detroit and really giving Detroit a series. I know Red Wings Nation was praying for a Sharks defeat, well, you ask for it and you got it. Now we draw a hot playoff goalie and I have seen Detroit lose too many times to hot playoff goalies in the past such as Giguere and Roloson.

The Sharks did have a problem converting on their chances though. I watched a majority of their games and they just couldn't finish. They would have 40 shots on net, but if they are all to the outside or they can't find the back of the net on their close in chances, Hiller and the Ducks D are going to look like studs.

I see this series going 6 games with the Wings winning the series if they keep getting the bounces that they got when they played Columbus. Thats my official prediction.

At the same time, if Hiller is as rock solid as he was in the last series and Detroit can't finish on their chances like the Sharks, I think the Ducks could potentially win the series. There is a reason why I don't pick teams to win/lose so Detroit can play them. Usually the team you pick that you want to play usually beats you in the end.

[SoDakWing 8]

Wings in 6.

For sure gunna be a hard fought series.

GO WINGS.... Show Hiller and this Bobby Ryan what playoff hockey really is all about

p.s. Watch out for elbows from the goonies. (pronger and perry)

[wingsfanforlife 0]

we're doomed...

[kevotron 3]

Ducks in 6, top line is too strong downlow and dominant when they want to be, big D who can actually move our forwards from the net, guys willing to battle a little harder, much hungrier depth players, much more team toughness and playoff built.

Got a point with the down low angle: Wings always seem to have difficulty with big forwards cycling down low. Even against the Jackets it seemed BJs were most successful cycling down low with the line Torres was on. That makes me nervous.

[FinRedWing 172]

Same old recipe,keep Getzlaf off the board = W

Should be a good one,not crazy about the 5-5.30AM away games. LGW late night crew-time.

[wingsgirl001 983]

Oh. My. God.

Okay.

Well, I wasn't expecting this. o_o Sharks losing to the DUCKS? WTH? Anyway.

This should be a great series. Ducks take lots of penalties ... so it's time for our PP to go to work. We got lots of rest and should be ready to go! Wings in 6.

Not looking forward to the 10 PM starts though.

EDIT - Devs/Canes and Rags/Caps finish up today ... so Round 2 starts ... Thursday? Anyone know if the Wings start then or will they push it back to Friday?

Edited April 28, 2009 by wingsgirl001

[Glubki 17]

Regardless of whether or not the series starts on Thursday or Friday game 2 will be on Sunday. I read that JLA is't available on Saturday.

[Vladifan 680]

Mlive is saying the the Wing's anticipate games 1 and 2 will be Friday and Sunday !!

Thanks for checking that out and putting it on here.

Can't believe I went to bed about the middle of the third period and wake up to see four pages, ahready!

Then again, who'm I kidding! I am wired!

Put me in, coach, put me in!!

[wingsgirl001 983]

Ah, I missed that. Friday it is, then!

Let's get rolling! Time to roast some ducks!

[Vladifan 680]

Dont use that as a example. The BJ's had hardly ANY playoff experience and Mason is much younger than Hiller. Also, Hiller has experience in tournament playoffs. Mason also didnt have one of the best d'cores in front of him

Welcome to our board, but I suggest you don't tell us what to say and do. You're the visitor, correct?

Edited April 28, 2009 by Vladifan

[Vladifan 680]

BTW, Getzlaf should be suspended with that "staged" fight against Thornton!

esteef

NOW you're talkin'!

[Opie 308]

Ana is way to undisciplined, if they take as many penalties against the Wings as they did the sharks it will be a short series.

The Duck have a very good offense and a very good D, however in my opinion the Wings have a spectacular offense and a very good to great (at times) defense. Special teams is with out a doubt another feather in the Wings cap.

The Wings can and will roll 4 lines all night and all series long, the Ducks can not do that, they are not deep enough to compete. After line 2 the Ducks have a severe drop off.

The only way I see the Ducks taking this series is if they win it by heart, if the Wings show up flat and uninspired they will get slaughtered by the hungry, tenacious, young ducks.

There is a major difference between this Wings team and the Wings that lost to the Ducks 2 years ago, as well as this is a very different Ducks team.

The Wings are healthy (except Draper, Lilja) which will be a huge difference from the meeting a few years ago, Top 4 D-men are in tact and I would wager that Ericsson is an upgrade over Lilja everywhere except blocked shots and PK. Stuart is a big addition to the Blue line and Playoff Kronwall is a lot different than Regular Season Kronwall and Kronner of 2 years ago.

The offense has made the following changes:

Bobby Lang to Marian Hossa

Todd Beruzzi to Jiri Hudler

Defensive changes:

Chris Chelios (Mathieu Schneider) to Brian Rafalski

Danny Markov to Brad Stuart

Kyle Quincey to Niklas Kronwall

Andreas Lilja to Jonathon Ericsson

I would even go so far as to say that Z and Dats are much better and much more complete players than they were two years ago.

This year losing to the Ducks, imo would be a shame, it would mean that they lost due to lack of heart and intensity. Not saying the Ducks aren't good and aren't hot as hell. But lets bare in mind they just beat a perennial playoff disaster, Hiller was amazing, again against a perennial playoff disaster.

The Ducks will take this at least 5, more than likely 6 games, they will be tough to beat at home, very tough to beat at home. The line change could hurt, but with this team playing great team D, I don't see it being something the Wings shouldn't overcome.

All in all imo, the Wings win this in 5 losing the first game at the pond (game 3).

Remember two years ago the wings were supposed to be destroyed by the physical Flames and Sharks, they were not, and they lost to the ducks due to injuries and a crappy PP(IMO), not because they were beat up by the ducks.

This team is better all around, offense is better and has better pieces, defense is better and has better pieces if not just because they are healthy.

[VM1138 1,921]

If any team can bring out instensity in the Wings, it's Anaheim. Hopefully they still want blood.

Anaheim is a tough team, but Detroit is clearly more skilled. As long as the heart is there the Wings will be fine. We just have to hope toe scape without major injuries. Oh, and we usually get killed with ridiculous penalties when we play the Ducks, so let's hope that doesn't happen this time.

Prediction: Datsyuk plays like a man possessed.

[egroen 384]

Ana is way to undisciplined, if they take as many penalties against the Wings as they did the sharks it will be a short series.

The Duck have a very good offense and a very good D, however in my opinion the Wings have a spectacular offense and a very good to great (at times) defense. Special teams is with out a doubt another feather in the Wings cap.

The Wings can and will roll 4 lines all night and all series long, the Ducks can not do that, they are not deep enough to compete. After line 2 the Ducks have a severe drop off.

The only way I see the Ducks taking this series is if they win it by heart, if the Wings show up flat and uninspired they will get slaughtered by the hungry, tenacious, young ducks.

There is a major difference between this Wings team and the Wings that lost to the Ducks 2 years ago, as well as this is a very different Ducks team.

The Wings are healthy (except Draper, Lilja) which will be a huge difference from the meeting a few years ago, Top 4 D-men are in tact and I would wager that Ericsson is an upgrade over Lilja everywhere except blocked shots and PK. Stuart is a big addition to the Blue line and Playoff Kronwall is a lot different than Regular Season Kronwall and Kronner of 2 years ago.

The offense has made the following changes:

Bobby Lang to Marian Hossa

Todd Beruzzi to Jiri Hudler

Defensive changes:

Chris Chelios (Mathieu Schneider) to Brian Rafalski

Danny Markov to Brad Stuart

Kyle Quincey to Niklas Kronwall

Andreas Lilja to Jonathon Ericsson

I would even go so far as to say that Z and Dats are much better and much more complete players than they were two years ago.

This year losing to the Ducks, imo would be a shame, it would mean that they lost due to lack of heart and intensity. Not saying the Ducks aren't good and aren't hot as hell. But lets bare in mind they just beat a perennial playoff disaster, Hiller was amazing, again against a perennial playoff disaster.

The Ducks will take this at least 5, more than likely 6 games, they will be tough to beat at home, very tough to beat at home. The line change could hurt, but with this team playing great team D, I don't see it being something the Wings shouldn't overcome.

All in all imo, the Wings win this in 5 losing the first game at the pond (game 3).

Remember two years ago the wings were supposed to be destroyed by the physical Flames and Sharks, they were not, and they lost to the ducks due to injuries and a crappy PP(IMO), not because they were beat up by the ducks.

This team is better all around, offense is better and has better pieces, defense is better and has better pieces if not just because they are healthy.

Great post - people need to remember these are completely different teams facing each other this year. One has gotten better since then and one is lucky to have even made the playoffs. The Ducks are not the best 8th seed to ever make the playoffs, they simply had the fortune of coming into their own at the right time and being the perfect poison to a San Jose team with almost no spark of life whatsoever. Yes, the Ducks played very well against the Sharks, but that Sharks team that came to play would have been rolled over by the St. Louis Blues this postseason. Even then, that series was not exactly a slaughter as the Ducks continue to struggle finding secondary scoring.

[Antilles328 0]

Wings defense in '07 Anaheim series:

Lidstrom-Markov

Chelios-Lilja

Quincey-Lebda

Wings forwards in '07 Anaheim series (don't remember combos exactly):

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Cleary-Lang-Bertuzzi

Franzen-Filppula-Samuelsson

Maltby-Draper-Kopecky

The '07 Wings team was significantly worse than the '09. Keep in mind that Lang and Bertuzzi were totally ineffective and Filppula and Franzen weren't nearly as good yet. Hell, Datsyuk and Zetterberg weren't as good. That defense speaks for itself -- Chelios was playing upwards of 25 minutes a game.

Meanwhile, that Anaheim team was better than their '09 version. Granted, Getzlaf and Perry hadn't totally broken out yet either, but they had two good scoring lines and the best shut down line in hockey. MacDonald and Selanne killed the Wings with their speed while Pahlsson's line gave Hank and Pavel fits. They now have one great scoring line and a bunch of spare parts. I'm not too worried about Selanne alone on the second line.

...and the Wings still almost won.

I'm pretty confident the Wings can do this.

Leaping Yzermans! I expected to win with a team like that? Lang? Bertuzzi? Chelios? I forgot how bad the injury situation was that year.

Both the offense and the defense are significantly better this year. This really made me more confident. Wings in 2.4

[egroen 384]

Oh - and don't forget Kyle Calder. Did he even get off the bench in the Ducks series two years ago? Man, that guy sucked.

Lidstrom - Markov

Lilja - Chelios

Lebda - Quincey

VS

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Ericsson - Lebda

Big Difference. wish Lilja was back, however - he would be a big improvement over Lebda.

[Opie 308]

Oh - and don't forget Kyle Calder. Did he even get off the bench in the Ducks series two years ago? Man, that guy sucked.

Lidstrom - Markov

Lilja - Chelios

Lebda - Quincey

VS

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Ericsson - Lebda

Big Difference. wish Lilja was back, however - he would be a big improvement over Lebda.

Lilja's shot blocking abilities would be great this round, Ducks are going to be all around the net, stopping shots before they get to Ozzie would be a great help, lets just hope the guys can clear the puck!

[egroen 384]

I'm actually in favor of playing Chelios over Lebda in this series.

[Opie 308]

I'm actually in favor of playing Chelios over Lebda in this series.

Actually in my diatribe you quoted above I had originally written Chelios D would be much better over Lebda's O upside, or basically his speed!

But I thought better of it and left it out, I am still torn though, the old man knows what he is doing back there, I sure as hell wouldn't mind knowledge back there! Not much Cheli hasn't seen in the game of hockey!

[isbister 0]

If I was a Wings fan I would be a tiny bit nervous. And I do mean tiny. The Ducks D was 100% under rated in this series. Hiller played well but the rebounds were not there for "tiny" joe

Hiller will be kindly introduced to Homer and The Mules ass and believe me Hiller WILL give up rebounds. Heres the dealio Duck Fans... You have a good 1rst line which will be countered by Hank and friends but thats a big problem for you. Who is going to stop the Dats Hos Homer line? Oh and not to mention our 3rd line is stronger than your 2nd line. Hopefully no injuries for either side and I see another sweep in tact. Thats right gang, Wings in 4.