I have returned from the wild world of Europe, and it sounds like I missed one hell of a series. Congrats to the Detroit Red Wings on being the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions.
I will be watching the games in the coming weeks, and will post a more detailed review of the series after I’ve watched them. As of right now, all I can say is that Detroit was simply the better team. Kudos to Pittsburgh for putting up one hell of a fight, and pushing the series as long as they did, but it seemed from game 2 that it was only a matter of time.
In other news, Dominic Hasek, Trevor Linden, and Mattias Norstrom all announced their retirements this week. After his collapse in the playoffs, it was only a matter of time before the announcement from Hasek. His level of play has been slowly declining over the past few season, but its hard to argue his contributions earlier in his career. He will certainly be a Hall of Famer.
Most of the Vancouver community knew Linden would not be returning, so his announcement was also not surprising. The team’s last home game ended in an uplifting tribute to the man who spent 16 of his 19 seasons with the club. He has always been one of the classier players in the game and I hope he continues to stay involved in the NHL.
The NHL awards ceremony is tonight at 7PM EST on VS. I’ll take a closer look at the winners tomorrow!
The Red Wings came out flying in Dallas last night, led 3-0 after the first period, and never looked back. It seemed the team finally found the killer instinct they lacked in games 4 and 5, and they put away the Stars 4-1. They now move on to face the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals. Here are the highlights:
Detroit simply outworked the Stars from the first drop of the puck last night. They came out fighting hard in the first two periods and Dallas didn’t have an answer until it was too late — much like the first 2 games of the series. Zetterburg and Datsyuk got back on the scoreboard and some of their second tier scorers got back on the board by getting themselves planted in front of Turco to create scoring opportunites. Kris Draper scored a goal off his chin — now THAT’S playoff hockey at its finest.
Keys to the series:
Sloppy Defense
Dallas was sloppy on defense early on in the series, tightened up in the games they won, and crumbled a bit again early in game 6. Detroit’s offense is too explosive to allow for any mistakes. One sloppy pass and Zetterburg, Datysuk, or any number of other talented forwards is burying one at the other end. There were a TON of bad defensive plays, sloppy passes, and turnovers in the neutral zone in games 1, 2, &, 3 before Dallas really got themselves together — and by that point, it was too late.
Power Play
Philly went through this with Pittsburgh, and it was no different in this series. Dallas’ power play had more than enough opportunities to rescue them when games were still within reach, and they just couldn’t convert. Last night, Detroit spent the majority of the second period down a man, and Dallas barely registered a shot on the man advantage. You aren’t going to win games this way. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Dallas took way too many penalties against a potent power play. In game 1, they were down 3 goals very quickly because of bad penalties — a deficit they never overcame.
Zetterburg and Datysuk
Possibly the most dynamic pair in the league, this duo of Selke finalists had a fantastic series, and gave Marty Turco fits. Zetterburg had two shorthanded goals and Datsyuk had a hat trick in game 3. Both were nearly invisible in games 4 and 5 when Detroit lost — coincidence? Not likely. When these guys are on their game, Detroit wins. The key to beating the Red Wings is shutting them down, and Dallas didn’t do it nearly well enough.
Goaltending
It pains me to say it because he’s one of my favorites, but Marty Turco struggled in the early stages of this series. Detroit’s net crashing got under his skin, and I think he had a bit of a mental struggle due to his personal record against Detroit being so poor. That being said, he also had some spectacular moments — he played amazingly in Game 5 and some of the earlier games could have been a lot worse for Dallas were it not for him. But he admitted himself that he felt he wasn’t at his best, and teams don’t win championships without consistently reliable goaltending. Osgood, on the other hand, has been just that - consistent. He lost his first game of the playoffs in Game 4, and preserved leads for the Wings more than a few times in this series. I’ve been repeatedly impressed with his play, and he’s quietly putting on one of the best performances of his career.
Overtime Hangover?
The Stars took 2 games to find their legs and really start playing strong hockey. After an exhausting 4OT victory to eliminate the Sharks in the previous round, they only had 2 days off before the Conference Finals. The Wings had a full week between series. Was the exhaustion a factor? With an extra few days (or two fewer overtimes), does Dallas come out stronger sooner? The Stars certainly proved in games 4 and 5 that they could compete with Detroit. Had they brought that intensity from the start of the series, this could have been an entirely different beast.
After an impressive 6-0 hometown showing against the Flyers yesterday, the Penguins are the first team to head to the Stanley Cup Finals. I’m sure Gary Bettman & Co. threw a party afterwards. Here are the highlights — Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa are particularly impressive.
Pittsburgh showed the true intensity of their offensive firepower all throughout this game, and the Flyers just couldn’t keep up. You have to wonder if Michel Therrien drew some inspiration from watching Detroit falter on Saturday — the Penguins came out playing for the kill. They never looked nervous, never once looked like they doubted themselves. For a group of very young players, they are showing a great deal of maturity. Marc-Andre Fleury continues to impress — early in the game when it was still close he made a couple of unbelievable saves that turned the momentum in favor of the Penguins. These kids are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the finals.
The keys to this series:
Kimmo Timmonen/Braydon Coburn
The Flyers were a different team in Game 1 without Timmonen. Their power play suffered, and some mistakes were made that may not have been with him in the lineup. When Coburn went down early in Game 2, leaving them with only 5 defensemen for the majority of the game, the complexion of the series changed dramatically. Losing their top defensive pairing against a team with the firepower of Crosby, Hossa, and Malkin (and Malone, and Sykora, and…) was a huge blow to this team. Watching their power play yesterday, you could see how much better the puck movement was with Timmonen in the lineup. This was the number 2 power play in the league during the regular season. Having that attack all series has the potential to make a huge difference. The injuries were a factor.
Transition Game
This Penguins team is FAST. There is little to no room for error in the neutral zone, or they will be on the attack before you have time to blink. They move the puck unbelievably well and have an uncanny ability to just…find each other…up ice. This is part of what makes this team so scary. The Flyers just didn’t have an answer for them, and the lack of their defensive core hurt as the series wore on.
Power Play
The Flyers (read: Derian Hatcher) take stupid penalties. They are a tough team, which benefits them at times, but also bites them in the ass. Being in the box a lot against a team full of snipers is not going to benefit your cause. The Pens power play was lethal during this series, and the Flyers weren’t able to fight back, even though they had plenty of opportunities as this thing got a little ugly. They had a couple of chances when the game was still salvageable yesterday and couldn’t put one home. This is as much a credit to the Pens penalty kill, but you have to take advantage of the power play when you get one — and you can’t take stupid penalties in the playoffs, or you aren’t going to move on. Just ask Ryan Hollweg.
Danny Briere/Vinny Prospal
Has anyone seen them? Danny Briere played a great Game 4 to send this thing back to Pittsburgh, but I’d be hard pressed to find any great moments from Prospal all series. The duo carried the team through the end of the regular season after Prospal was acquired at the trade deadline, and they were phenomenal against Washington and Montreal. Where’d they go? If you’re going to win in the playoffs, your big guys need to step up
Pittsburgh awaits the winner of Dallas/Detroit. Game 6 is tonight in Dallas, after Marty Turco stood on his head on Saturday to grab his first-ever victory at Joe Louis Arena and help his team live to see another day. Dallas has some new life, and Detroit is looking a little tense. I think Dallas might be able to push this another game — all the momentum is in their favor right now. The pressure is on Detroit to prove that they can close out the series and not let things linger any longer. I called Dallas in 7 from the start of the series — will we see a miracle comeback?
