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May 2008
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And then there were four

May 9, 2008   ·     ·   Jump to comments

In case anyone forgot and it would be quite easy to considering how much time off there was between Rounds 2 and 3, there was hockey played last night in Motown where the Red Wings used three power play goals in a 4-1 Game One victory over the Stars in the WCF.

For the naysayers who don’t want to believe in the Wings just cause of who they played (didn’t realize that’s how it worked), they’re legit and proving to be more than a one trick pony as Dallas found out. Four different goalscorers not named Datsyuk or Zetterberg did the trick for top seeded Detroit with former Devil blueliner Brian Rafalski getting the party started on a five-on-three. Then Johan Franzen continued his torrid pace showing no rustiness by getting to the front of the net and deflected home his postseason leading 12th for a 2-0 lead after one.

Veteran Tomas Holmstrom also screened Marty Turco a bit illegally scoring in the paint where the Swede’s made his living. Before Dallas captain Brenden Morrow snapped Chris Osgood’s shutout bid with 1:07 left in the second, Valtteri Filppula got the Wings’ fourth putting the contest out of reach as they stopped the Stars’ early road success by taking Game One 4-1 at The Joe.

Entering last night, Dave Tippet’s club was a perfect four-for-four in the first two games of Rounds 1 and 2 in victimizing the defending champion Ducks and Sharks both from their Pacific division. Just maybe Detroit’s a step up in competition unlike what’s been sold because they feasted on the Preds and Avs. Couldn’t have been because they’re actually good? Nah. Why even give a team credit when it has proven to be very equipped to bring Lord Stanley back to Michigan?

The Wings have excellent skaters who can beat you a number of different ways. Whether it’s the skill and finesse of Datsyuk and Zetterberg or the grit and determination of Franzen, Holmstrom along with underrated secondary help Filppula, Jiri Hudler, Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson, Mike Babcock’s Original Six club has the right mix to go all the way.

It should be tougher starting with Game Two where the balanced Stars should be sharper getting back to their defensive style. They’d be wise to stay out of the box where Detroit did most of their damage going three-for-seven. The Stars took the collar in four chances.

The Wings outshot them 31-21 making it a manageable night for Ozzie, who stopped 20 shots in improving to a perfect 7-0 since taking over for Dominik Hasek. Detroit also had the puck a lot winning 35-of-56 draws which played right into their puck possession attack.

Coming into this series, there was a lot to like about Dallas with Turco playing lights out and deadline pickup Brad Richards (2-9-11) performing up to expectations. With Morrow continuing to lead his hockey club and Sergei Zubov back healthy on the blueline, the Stars have a chance to comeback and reach their first Cup Final since 2000. They’ll need outstanding efforts from their best players along with point leader Mike Ribeiro (3-11-14), Stephane Robidas plus veteran champion forwards Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen.

The problem is that Detroit can more than match them up front with a very balanced attack duly noted above. The Red Wings also could have the edge on D with team captain Nick Lidstrom headlining it with Rafalski and emerging physical standout Niklas Kronwall, who with two assists raised his team-leading helper total to 10.

If Osgood continues his reemergence in net, it’s hard to see the Stars prevailing. They would’ve been wise to finish off San Jose earlier instead of requiring an ungodly seven more periods.

I don’t feel they’re overmatched but kind of see Detroit winning in six to advance to their first Final since winning it all back in 2002 when yours truly had a stint in Bristol, Connecticut.

Now to the other series which begins later tonight with a 7:30 start time at Mellon Arena. The Battle of Pennsylvania should be a fun filled series with lots of edge to it. These two teams don’t like each other. There were a couple of games during the regular season which saw lots of penalty minutes and fisticuffs. So, expect it to be very physical as well as entertaining due to the kind of aggressive fast skating teams both the Flyers and Pens have.

The Flyers got some bad news as top defender Kimmo Timonen is expected to miss the series due to a blood clot in his ankle. They were really depending on the very overlooked Finn D to see a lot of Malkin and Crosby. How John Stevens replaces him is beyond me. Maybe he’ll pair Braydon Coburn with the physical Derian Hatcher.

Team captain Jason Smith will have to be a beast in this series. I figure he’ll see a lot of Crosby while Hatcher and Coburn have their work cut out for them against Malkin. Stevens also could opt to move up Lasse Kukonen to pair with Coburn while sending out Hatcher with Smith to work over Sid the Kid. Randy Jones is decent.

Obviously, with no Timonen, the edge goes to the Pens, who boast superb offensive skating power play tandem Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney while also being able to send out the rough Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill. Plus Rob Scuderi, who always seems to fly under the radar. He’s real smart and plays his position well leading the Pens with a plus-seven rating during a postseason run which has seen them win eight of their first nine. Kris Letang also is a very good skating D who is solid overall.

When you assess that Pitt blueline, there really aren’t any glaring weaknesses. They can skate, jump into the rush and pinch in, take out the man making you pay a price while moving the puck effectively. While Malkin, Crosby, Marian Hossa along with a big talented forward crop which includes Ryan Malone, Petr Sykora and Jordan Staal all can hurt you offensively, it’s that D which has really been making a difference.

In order to have a chance, the Flyers must use their attacking cycle to make that defense work in its end. The Rangers just weren’t a fast enough skating team to exploit it. Philly has more capability featuring veteran offensive leader Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Montreal killer R.J. Umberger (8 of 9 goals in Rd. 2).

The supporting cast of Mike Knuble, Vaclav Prospal, Joffrey Lupul, Scott Hartnell and the speedy Scottie Upshall have enough speed, size and grit to nullify the Pens’ attack. They must get in on the forecheck and disrupt Pittsburgh. Get in the face of Crosby and hit pest Jarkko Ruutu every chance they get. Also, playing Malkin physical will fluster the talented Russian. Hossa also doesn’t like being hit.

There’s little doubt that Martin Biron has been the best goalie in the first two rounds standing on his head to steal Game Seven over Ovechkin’s Caps and totally outplaying rookie Carey Price last round. He’ll need to be even more brilliant. Marc-Andre Fleury has played well for the Pens but is prone to bad rebounds. Shoot low on him and attack the net.

Even without Timonen, I see the Flyers making this one interesting. Their forwards are plenty good enough. They must win the battles down low and keep the Pens in their end. If it turns into a track meet, they won’t be able to win.

I still say this goes seven but figure a late marginal new NHL phantom hook will help the Pens advance making everyone except the hypocritical city of Pitt shake their heads in disgust.

A Pens-Wings final would work wonders for NBC. Crosby, Hossa and Malkin versus Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom.

One final thought on the subject of the long layoff. Why the semifinal round couldn’t start on say Tuesday and Wednesday is inexplicable. Even the NBA doesn’t have this kind of ridiculous delay between rounds. They start their next round quickly not waiting for a long series to finish which is how it should work. Instead, our league is intentionally dragging things out catering to NBC, who cares more about silly horse races even when one tragically is murdered in their precious Derby than about our game.

What a disgrace.

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  1. Nba » And then there were four on May 9th, 2008 4:33 am

    [...] Slam Dunk Central is your one-stop source for all the latest NBA basketball news! wrote an interesting post today on And then there were fourHere’s a quick excerptEven the NBA doesn’t have this kind of ridiculous delay between rounds. They start their next round quickly not waiting for a long series to… [...]

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