Anaheim Ducks 2009

[KrazyGangsta 79]

Sure the Anaheim Ducks just knocked off the Presidents Trophy winners but let me point out some facts that I'm sure most of you would agree. Now don't get me wrong Ducks are good but are also overrated.

1- Coaching experience ... Todd McLellan has 0 experience as a HC and was facing the Stanley Cup winning HC.
2- Sharks we're taking too many penalties, so we're the Ducks but ... Sharks weren't capitalizing. Wings aren't like Sharks they won't take stupid penalties.
3- Sharks had no bodies in front of Hiller.
4- Sharks 2nd half of season was there decline.
5- Sharks did not perform to there level.

Some people might argue that this Ducks team is better then the year they won the cup ... well you know what screw that I don't really care because our team was better then the Ducks team that year and we just got screwed by the refs. We are more improved, more experience then those Ducks.

Poor Hiller ... has to smell Holmstrom's ass every night ... Heard he doesn't wipe his ass when it's playoff time.

Go Wings Go

[HOCKEY MATTERS 167]

Sure the Anaheim Ducks just knocked off the Presidents Trophy winners but let me point out some facts that I'm sure most of you would agree. Now don't get me wrong Ducks are good but are also overrated.

1- Coaching experience ... Todd McLellan has 0 experience as a HC and was facing the Stanley Cup winning HC.

2- Sharks we're taking too many penalties, so we're the Ducks but ... Sharks weren't capitalizing. Wings aren't like Sharks they won't take stupid penalties.

3- Sharks had no bodies in front of Hiller.

4- Sharks 2nd half of season was there decline.

5- Sharks did not perform to there level.

Some people might argue that this Ducks team is better then the year they won the cup ... well you know what screw that I don't really care because our team was better then the Ducks team that year and we just got screwed by the refs. We are more improved, more experience then those Ducks.

Poor Hiller ... has to smell Holmstrom's ass every night ... Heard he doesn't wipe his ass when it's playoff time.

Go Wings Go

One of the many reasons I hold Homer in such high regard.

Edited April 28, 2009 by HOCKEY MATTERS

[PROBIE4PREZ 58]

The Ducks are hurting in secondary scoring. Shutting down the top line is going to be key. Selanne seems to have a hot stick when playing us. I dont see Hiller posing to much of a threat and hopefully we can make it rain with some pp goals .. keeping Sammuelson calm and collected will be key too he takes to many stupid peneltys after the whistle "standing up" for himslef. Wings in 6 .. LETS EAT SOME DUCK quack quack

[ilmickeyli 40]

we're were their there *head asplode*

jk

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Ah, the preemptive "we are better than them" thread.

Nothing spells doom quicker than LGWers trying to convince themselves we are the superior team because we're scared s***less.

I'm sure the Wings' players are totally fine. But for me. I am nervous. The Ducks are super hot, they've been hot for awhile now. They're riding a hot goalie and frankly, anything can happen when we play them.

IMO, this is going to be the toughest series for us. Tougher than any opponent we could face in the Conference Finals or the Cup Finals.

Sure, the Ducks don't have alot of secondary scoring. But has anybody stopped their top line? I haven't seen anybody shut down Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan. They are too big, too strong and too talented to think you are going to shut them down.

I watched the games and the Sharks are not a small team. They are certainly bigger than the Wings. And they could not contain the Getzlaf line or keep them off the board. That's one of the more dominant lines in the game.

As far as penalties go. I can fully see a series where the Wings are penalized more than Anaheim. Why? I can't really explain it but I just have a feeling.

We count on simply shutting down the Ducks top line. We count on them taking stupid penalties. I don't know if any of that is going to happen.

This is going to be a tough series and i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[Ozzie30 170]

Come on guys, don't give me this BS. Who cares who's next! The Wings are the team to beat! Ducks have Hiller - the wings have Ozzie. Ozzie got shelled game 4, Hiller got shelled game 3. Check goaltending off of reasons for concern.

Anaheim's top line? Bring 'em on! Let's see how many points they put on the board backchecking the whole game. Anaheim's bigger? I've got five words for that argument: Kronwall, Stuart, Clearly, Helm, and DATSYUK! Am I nervous. Hell yeah! Who wouldn't be. That's the fun of being a fan. Am I scared? Absolutely not. The Ducks are playing on borrowed time. This isn't Lewis's team anymore. Babcock will not let that perimeter B.S. happen. Homer, Cleary and Franzen will have their asses parked in front of Hiller so often that by the time the Wings toss Anaheims bloody carcass to the side, Hiller will have separation anxiety.

Wings in 5.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Ah, the preemptive "we are better than them" thread.

Nothing spells doom quicker than LGWers trying to convince themselves we are the superior team because we're scared s***less.

I'm sure the Wings' players are totally fine. But for me. I am nervous. The Ducks are super hot, they've been hot for awhile now. They're riding a hot goalie and frankly, anything can happen when we play them.

IMO, this is going to be the toughest series for us. Tougher than any opponent we could face in the Conference Finals or the Cup Finals.

Sure, the Ducks don't have alot of secondary scoring. But has anybody stopped their top line? I haven't seen anybody shut down Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan. They are too big, too strong and too talented to think you are going to shut them down.

I watched the games and the Sharks are not a small team. They are certainly bigger than the Wings. And they could not contain the Getzlaf line or keep them off the board. That's one of the more dominant lines in the game.

As far as penalties go. I can fully see a series where the Wings are penalized more than Anaheim. Why? I can't really explain it but I just have a feeling.

We count on simply shutting down the Ducks top line. We count on them taking stupid penalties. I don't know if any of that is going to happen.

This is going to be a tough series and i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm nervous too. But the Sharks are trying to shut down that monster line with a bunch of forwards masquerading as defensemen. Rob Blake, Christian Ehrhoff, Dan Boyle....these guys aren't especially defensive defenseman. Boyle and Blake have always been known more for their offense. I like our odds with Lidstrom or Kronwall much better than the Sharks' odds with Christian Ehrhoff and Marc Vlasic.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

I'm nervous too. But the Sharks are trying to shut down that monster line with a bunch of forwards masquerading as defensemen. Rob Blake, Christian Ehrhoff, Dan Boyle....these guys aren't especially defensive defenseman. Boyle and Blake have always been known more for their offense. I like our odds with Lidstrom or Kronwall much better than the Sharks' odds with Christian Ehrhoff and Marc Vlasic.

You have a point about the pseudo dmen for the Sharks. But on the other hand, nobody really shuts that line down. Doesn't matter if it is Lidstrom or Phaneuf. I've seen enough of them to know a couple of things

1. Ryan Getzlaf can make you look stupid. He has great vision and patience, a wicked slap shot and a great wrist shot from the point that seems to always get through to the net.

2. Corey Perry is no Tomas Holmstrom, but he has great hands and a nose for the net. The guy just scores goals plain and simple.

3. Bobby Ryan is sort of a poor man's Perry. I think he's got better feet than Perry though. But he's just as lethal.

I watch this line cycle the puck sometimes and I am just astonished by it. They simply wear you down and they keep moving their legs and eventually they get a chance.

Getzlaf is the best at it but Perry is good too. I liken it to what Datsyuk does along the wall when he protects the puck. you just can't seem to get it away from him. These 2 guys do the same thing only they are built like heavyweights so you can't really pin them.

I'm looking forward to the series because I hate the Ducks and I don't want to avoid them. I just think we're going to find our wins by doing other things. Counting on shutting down the Getzlaf line isn't really something I am hanging my hopes on. Kind of like not having a job and just waiting to hit the Mega Millions.

[finalfilppula 2]

we're were their there *head asplode*

jk

haha! thank you for doing what i could not bring myself to point out...

[GAWing 1]

This will not be easy by any means, but as long as the Wings stick to what they do best I see them winning in 5 or 6 games.

[egroen 384]

Ah, the preemptive "we are better than them" thread.

Nothing spells doom quicker than LGWers trying to convince themselves we are the superior team because we're scared s***less.

I'm sure the Wings' players are totally fine. But for me. I am nervous. The Ducks are super hot, they've been hot for awhile now. They're riding a hot goalie and frankly, anything can happen when we play them.

IMO, this is going to be the toughest series for us. Tougher than any opponent we could face in the Conference Finals or the Cup Finals.

Sure, the Ducks don't have alot of secondary scoring. But has anybody stopped their top line? I haven't seen anybody shut down Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan. They are too big, too strong and too talented to think you are going to shut them down.

I watched the games and the Sharks are not a small team. They are certainly bigger than the Wings. And they could not contain the Getzlaf line or keep them off the board. That's one of the more dominant lines in the game.

As far as penalties go. I can fully see a series where the Wings are penalized more than Anaheim. Why? I can't really explain it but I just have a feeling.

We count on simply shutting down the Ducks top line. We count on them taking stupid penalties. I don't know if any of that is going to happen.

This is going to be a tough series and i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Ultimately, the Ducks are a one line team. I strongly believe not even a one-line team from the All-Star game could beat the Wings in a series. Yes, they will get some points, but the Wings can afford to lean on them not only with their defenders, but their forwards as well, without sacrificing offense, as the Wings have three legitimate scoring lines. Players like Moen and Pahlsson were a constant problem in the '07 series - those guys are gone now. Hiller is a freakin' rookie; he shined against a flat Sharks team that was content to cycle and fire shots from the perimeter and not establish their game in front of the net. Andy MacDonald, Kunitz and Penner gave them a scary and legitimate second line two years ago - all gone. Selanne is mainly a power play specialist now.

Our defense is twice as good as what faced the Ducks two years ago. Lidstrom was forced to play over 30 minutes a game, with Schneider and Kronwall out the entire series. Rafalski, Stuart, Kronwall and Ericsson have all been added to our defense, while only losing Markov and Quincey.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg were just starting to come into their own two years ago, but they are both better today. Lang is gone, and essentially replaced with Marian Hossa.

The Wings should beat them, and beat them handily. I have been hoping for this matchup for some time. Teams able to consistently roll four lines of forwards will be more difficult for the Wings, IMO.

Edited April 28, 2009 by egroen

[DmitrifromRussia 0]

I'm still afraid remembering how Giguere stopped the team once in the first round. But now we got the coach and JS is not so scary lately. But I think there's gonna be battle. Wings in 6.

[Vladifan 680]

You have a point about the pseudo dmen for the Sharks. But on the other hand, nobody really shuts that line down. Doesn't matter if it is Lidstrom or Phaneuf. I've seen enough of them to know a couple of things

1. Ryan Getzlaf can make you look stupid. He has great vision and patience, a wicked slap shot and a great wrist shot from the point that seems to always get through to the net.

2. Corey Perry is no Tomas Holmstrom, but he has great hands and a nose for the net. The guy just scores goals plain and simple.

3. Bobby Ryan is sort of a poor man's Perry. I think he's got better feet than Perry though. But he's just as lethal.

I watch this line cycle the puck sometimes and I am just astonished by it. They simply wear you down and they keep moving their legs and eventually they get a chance.

Getzlaf is the best at it but Perry is good too. I liken it to what Datsyuk does along the wall when he protects the puck. you just can't seem to get it away from him. These 2 guys do the same thing only they are built like heavyweights so you can't really pin them.

I'm looking forward to the series because I hate the Ducks and I don't want to avoid them. I just think we're going to find our wins by doing other things. Counting on shutting down the Getzlaf line isn't really something I am hanging my hopes on. Kind of like not having a job and just waiting to hit the Mega Millions.

All this/these look like valid arguments from both of you. But meanwhile, how much scoring have we gotten from our second and third lines? Probably more than their second and third lines can deal with. Thank heavens it's not just a one-line game.

[edicius 3,269]

As far as penalties go. I can fully see a series where the Wings are penalized more than Anaheim. Why? I can't really explain it but I just have a feeling.

I can see that too. But it's because O'Halloran will likely be reffing a few games.

And before anyone says anything about him making the too many men call in Game 4 against Columbus, it was the linesman that made the call.

[DatsMyWings13 4]

The Ducks are a good team but I say Wings in 6! This should be a fun series to watch.

[Opie 308]

My thoughts from the preview thread:

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.

[DMAC 25 18]

we got holmstrom they should just give up haha