Anaheim Preview

[Ms_Hockey 0]

You Reds will wilt under the hard checks and goonery that we throw at you.

Prepare for some super-slow motion puck cycling, extremely dirty plays, and plenty of no-calls.

This series will be hard to stomach for you.

I'm not concerned in the slightest.

Not only is our team filled with playoff veterans, they know how the Ducks play. And if there's one thing the Wings are good at - it's not reacting foolishly to overly-physical play. Be as physical as you want, but we'll probably just skate away like we always do.

There is no greater revenge than getting the puck and scoring.

[drfnr14 0]

^^ have you even watched a ducks game? what u speak of is the complete opposite the ducks have palyed all season and playoffs so far!

get ur nine-iron out and charge your golf cart, ur going home!

[egroen 384]

You Reds will wilt under the hard checks and goonery that we throw at you.

Prepare for some super-slow motion puck cycling, extremely dirty plays, and plenty of no-calls.

This series will be hard to stomach for you.

Could be right -- the Ducks, with their size are very dangerous when cycling down low, and I think the wings especially have a hard time with that. However, the Wings are the best in the league at disrupting other teams' transition game, so they will severely limit those chances.

And there are a few Wings whom have no problem "embellishing", which is actually a smart way to play a team who counts on the refs not calling all their infractions. Like it or not.

[Ms_Hockey 0]

^^ have you even watched a ducks game? what u speak of is the complete opposite the ducks have palyed all season and playoffs so far!

get ur nine-iron out and charge your golf cart, ur going home!

Who are you replying to?

[bonan78 1]

Ignore: open that users profile, click "options" on the left and you will see ignore. And he realizes exactly where he's posting at. He is from another board that exists solely to troll other boards.

Thanks for the tip. I know what he is doing, I just get nauseous every time I see his avatar, that guy has a face that was made for radio.

[Vladifan 680]

You Reds will wilt under the hard checks and goonery that we throw at you.

Prepare for some super-slow motion puck cycling, extremely dirty plays, and plenty of no-calls.

This series will be hard to stomach for you.

And if the refs do their job in this series, with any luck at all you may be puking up your guts.

Have a nice day.

[Vladifan 680]

Could be right -- the Ducks, with their size are very dangerous when cycling down low, and I think the wings especially have a hard time with that. However, the Wings are the best in the league at disrupting other teams' transition game, so they will severely limit those chances.

And there are a few Wings whom have no problem "embellishing", which is actually a smart way to play a team who counts on the refs not calling all their infractions. Like it or not.

Oooooh, yeah! Good point! I'd forgotten about that angle of working the refs!

[Jersey Wing 1,521]

It's all about the Detroit powerplay. The Ducks felt free to hack and whack the Sharks until the Sharks made them pay for it on the powerplay, they never did so Anaheim settled into their comfort zone. The Ducks will continue to play the way the love to play, borderline dirty, until someone has success on their powerplay and forces them to adjust. If the Wings can have success on the powerplay and forces Anaheim to play a different style, the Wings should win. Should Detroit have success early it will frustrate the Ducks and again, the penalties will come.

IF the Wings don't score on the powerplay, like the Sharks series, the Ducks will hit their comfort zone in playing any way they please and you're looking at a very long drawn out series. If Detroit's powerplay goes into the tank, the Ducks can survive as a one line team (I didn't say win, I said survive) and counterpunch and wait for their breaks.

Hiller looked like a pretty cool customer as he got bumped and jostled by the Sharks. Of course there is a big difference between getting bumped and jostled while the other team is NOT scoring on you as to getting banged when they ARE scoring.

Mr Holmstrom, Mr Franzen and Mr Kopecky, get to work

[Guest bobbyryan]

Mr Holmstrom, Mr Franzen and Mr Kopecky, get to work

All good points. I don't expect Hiller to perform well with someone like Holmstrom sitting in the crease. Could see Jiggy.

The over looks good to me for this reason.

[Frozen-Man 144]

What the hell? You're on our board, bubba. And I checked out Kingsternet and it seems to be the place where all boys between the ages of say, 14-18 can go to use all those words their mommies don't let them use at home. No real hockey talk. Just idiotic, pubescent-type putdowns. Neeeuuuooo, thank you!

Are you still here? Go home! It's over!

That is what I thought when I went there - no knowledge of the actual sport whatsoever.

all these trolls....

Duck Guy - always one of my favorite posters. Thanks for having intelligent posts and enhancing the hockey discussion unlike hammertime who is basically:

they didn't take a boatload of penalties against san jose - they were only shorthanded 24 times in 6 games; the sharks were shorthanded 22 times. one of the things that impressed me most about the ducks in round 1 was their more disciplined play. they were still physical but they did not take a ton of dumb penalties like they did against the stars last year.

IMO there is no way they will beat this wings team if they cannot continue to control their aggression.

That is incorrect, not including fighting majors:

In game 1 the Ducks took 6 penalties.

In game 2 the Ducks took 6 penalties.

In game 3 the Ducks took 5 penalties.

In game 4 the Ducks took 3 penalties. and a 10 minute game misconduct.

In game 5 the Ducks took 3 penalties.

In game 6 the Ducks took 10 penalties.

THE DUCKS TOOK 33 PENALTIES IN 6 GAMES and 10 penalties in one game alone. The Wings only had 16 all series (yeah I know they played two games less). Still the Wings were at 8 PIM/G and the Ducks were at 15.2 PIM/G. Combo that with the fact that the Wings PP clicked at 31.8% and the Ducks were at 21.7% and all those penalties add up (and whatever you want to say about the Sharks being better but Mason is a Vezina goalie nominee so not too shabby).

Also, one of their best players Getzlaf committed the most on the team which is not too good for them either.

I will agree that they did not take as many dumb penalties as they did last year but they won the first two games on the road (and took 6 penalties each game) which relieved a lot of pressure and frustration. Lets see what happens when they aren't up all series and lead most games. That is when they tend to take stupid penalties out of frustration - what did they have to be frustrated about last game.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Man, if this "preview" doesn't sound a whole lot like the Calgary-Wings series in 2007, I don't know what does.

[steveyzerman 0]

Bring it on, *******.

I'm calling for a swift Jiri Hudler elbow to Pronger's eye socket. Pew pew.

Edited May 1, 2009 by steveyzerman

[saven 48]

I know ducks fans are happy and they should be but if the wings played in the pac. div. they would have easily won the prez. The worst team in detroit's div missed 8th by 3 points the worst in duck had 79 points. Our div. put 4 of 5 teams in the playoffs so yeah detroit had a harder year all year long and still had 3 rd best record. Wings in 6

[TheSupafly 50]

That is what the Sharks thought too and they got lit up by Getz/Perry/Ryan.

This will be a great series. I say Ducks in six only because I am rooting for them, but my hockey sense tells me Wings in 7.

As an aside, I am not surprised everyone thinks the Wings will win, this is afterall a Wings site. However, I am a bit surprised at all the "Wings in 4" and "Wings in 5" predictions. I would be stunned if this series was that short. Not that it isn't possible, but I see it as unlikely. The Wings can definitely roll four better lines, have a playoff proved team and coach but so do the Ducks. These two teams are no strangers to playoff hockey and neither team will fold after a loss, bad goal, change in momentum, etc. Just my two cents.

So go ahead, let me have it!!!!

That's what they thought because it's true. The ducks lack offensive depth. They will need more secondary scoring to handle the wings. Plain and simple the Sharks didn't get the job done. They also failed to convert on the power play close to the frequency they needed to. I don't think the wings will come up short in that department. I'm not saying it's a slam dunk, and it will be a hard fought and close series. I just think the wings have too much depth and wont falter in the areas that the Sharks were weak in.

[Guest bobbyryan]

Holmstrom parked in front of the net is the Ducks greatest liability (Hiller's just not used to it).

1) Pronger and Nieds will need to displant him.

2) Carlyle has already started to lobby the interference card.

3) Jiggy may get the call.

[UKWING 8]

That is incorrect, not including fighting majors:

In game 1 the Ducks took 6 penalties.

In game 2 the Ducks took 6 penalties.

In game 3 the Ducks took 5 penalties.

In game 4 the Ducks took 3 penalties. and a 10 minute game misconduct.

In game 5 the Ducks took 3 penalties.

In game 6 the Ducks took 10 penalties.

THE DUCKS TOOK 33 PENALTIES IN 6 GAMES and 10 penalties in one game alone. The Wings only had 16 all series (yeah I know they played two games less). Still the Wings were at 8 PIM/G and the Ducks were at 15.2 PIM/G. Combo that with the fact that the Wings PP clicked at 31.8% and the Ducks were at 21.7% and all those penalties add up (and whatever you want to say about the Sharks being better but Mason is a Vezina goalie nominee so not too shabby).

Also, one of their best players Getzlaf committed the most on the team which is not too good for them either.

I will agree that they did not take as many dumb penalties as they did last year but they won the first two games on the road (and took 6 penalties each game) which relieved a lot of pressure and frustration. Lets see what happens when they aren't up all series and lead most games. That is when they tend to take stupid penalties out of frustration - what did they have to be frustrated about last game.

just because they took 33 minor penalties it does not mean they were shorthanded 33 times. there was a lot of after the whistle stuff in that series and so a lot of those 33 penalties did not result in shorthanded situations - ie because they threw a guy from each team into the box.

and so the ducks were only shorthanded 4 times per game whilst the wings were shorthanded 3.5 times per game - not really that much difference especially when you consider that the wings were rarely put under extended periods of pressure like the ducks were.

in the 1st round the ducks impressed me with their discipline - they were still aggressive but they were not running around taking dumb, needless penalties like in years past.

however, you make a very valid point about the frustration factor and that is why it will be key for the wings to try and get ahead early. it will also be interesting to see how they cope with guys like franzen, cleary and homer crashing the net at every opportunity without taking penalties.

[Frozen-Man 144]

That is what the Sharks thought too and they got lit up by Getz/Perry/Ryan.

This will be a great series. I say Ducks in six only because I am rooting for them, but my hockey sense tells me Wings in 7.

As an aside, I am not surprised everyone thinks the Wings will win, this is afterall a Wings site. However, I am a bit surprised at all the "Wings in 4" and "Wings in 5" predictions. I would be stunned if this series was that short. Not that it isn't possible, but I see it as unlikely. The Wings can definitely roll four better lines, have a playoff proved team and coach but so do the Ducks. These two teams are no strangers to playoff hockey and neither team will fold after a loss, bad goal, change in momentum, etc. Just my two cents.

So go ahead, let me have it!!!!

Regarding the bolded part, I don't think many here think it will be a 4-5 game series. Check out this thread where we are playing a game predicting series outcomes and you'll find most here don't think it will be a sweep.

[Frozen-Man 144]

just because they took 33 minor penalties it does not mean they were shorthanded 33 times. there was a lot of after the whistle stuff in that series and so a lot of those 33 penalties did not result in shorthanded situations - ie because they threw a guy from each team into the box.

and so the ducks were only shorthanded 4 times per game whilst the wings were shorthanded 3.5 times per game - not really that much difference especially when you consider that the wings were rarely put under extended periods of pressure like the ducks were.

in the 1st round the ducks impressed me with their discipline - they were still aggressive but they were not running around taking dumb, needless penalties like in years past.

however, you make a very valid point about the frustration factor and that is why it will be key for the wings to try and get ahead early. it will also be interesting to see how they cope with guys like franzen, cleary and homer crashing the net at every opportunity without taking penalties.

I gotcha, true that they were not short handed every time they took one of the penalties and that negates the power play but the Wings are not the type of team that get as many of the matching penalties. They will let Getzlaf and Pronger take the only penalties rather than retaliate and even it up (most of the time).

More my point was just that while much better than last year (could they be much worse) they still took a lot of penalties especially in that last game when the took 10. When you look back at the season as a whole the Wings were the 2nd least penalized team and the Ducks were the 2nd most penalized team (in the playoff the Wings averaged were the least penalized and the Ducks were 10th least penalized team). This is in large part because the Wings don't take retaliatory penalties that result in matching penalties. To me the Ducks were not that disciplined they took all those penalties, its just that the Sharks were not that disciplined either and negated the advantage (which the Wings don't often do).

Edit:

BTW where did you find the stats about how many times a game each team was actually short handed? I tried to find that stat somewhere but couldn't and was too lazy to look through all the box scores.

Edited May 1, 2009 by Frozen-Man

[teckaholic 0]

THE DUCKS TOOK 33 PENALTIES IN 6 GAMES and 10 penalties in one game alone. The Wings only had 16 all series (yeah I know they played two games less). Still the Wings were at 8 PIM/G and the Ducks were at 15.2 PIM/G. Combo that with the fact that the Wings PP clicked at 31.8% and the Ducks were at 21.7% and all those penalties add up (and whatever you want to say about the Sharks being better but Mason is a Vezina goalie nominee so not too shabby).

But you faced the Blue Jackets...the Blue Jackets that hardly put any pressure on. You dont take penalties unless you need to (Well thats the way it is supposed to be). The Ducks will have many more scoring chances than the BJ's.

[Frozen-Man 144]

But you faced the Blue Jackets...the Blue Jackets that hardly put any pressure on. You dont take penalties unless you need to (Well thats the way it is supposed to be). The Ducks will have many more scoring chances than the BJ's.

Yeah that may be the way that is is supposed to be but it is not the reality of how the Ducks and the Wings play. Look at the stats for the regular season, the play offs last year, and the season last year. The Wings ALWAYS take among the least penalties in the league and the Ducks ALWAYS take among the most penalties in the league.

Additionally, the Wings put big bodies in front of the net much more and much better than the Sharks did and that is one of the places that the Ducks seem to always take bad penalties. Furthermore, look at who is being touted as the best on the Ducks, Getzlaf and Pronger and see how often it is one of those two guys that is the one taking the penalty - not their best option for those guys to take so many penalties (although it is more understandable with Pronger and what he brings to a team). The Duck may have more scoring chances than the Blue Jackets but there is a reason that Dats can win the Lady Byng and the Selke and Z can be a finalist for the Selke as well (oh and don't forget Hossa). Those guys routinely are the best defensive forwards and do so without taking tons of penalties. The Ducks have no one that can really say that.