Ducks Gameday—Streak Comparison: This Season vs. Last

Anaheim Ducks (14-8-3, 3rd in west) at Detroit Red Wings (15-4-4, 2nd in west)
Battle of the Hangovers

For today's post I threw together a comparison table looking at how the Ducks and Red Wings have been performing compared to a specific stretch of games last season. For the Ducks, the selected stretches have been hand-picked from each season:

07-08: the first 19 games after Scott Niedermayer returned to the lineup.
08-09: the most recent 19 games (excluding the 1-5-0 first six games).

I decided to stick to stretches where the Ducks have been performing well points-wise. In the 07-08 stretch, the Ducks went 12-5-2; in the 08-09 stretch the Ducks went 13-3-3. For the Red Wings, the selection is much more straightforward:

07-08: the first 23 games of the season.
08-09: the first 23 games of the season.

This one's much more obvious: I'm just looking at how Detroit's "hangover" start (15-4-4) compares to its season start from last year (15-6-2). Now I don't want to read too much into these early-season comparisons, but I think it's worth noting that while each of these teams have actually improved their ability to accumulate standings points (for a stretch, anyways), a lot of the underlying numbers have gotten worse. Let's take a look:


Note: excludes shootout goals. Click image to enlarge.
Patterns: For both the Ducks and Red Wings, the current-year versions have been surrendering way more goals than they did last year -- each team is giving up around 2/3 an extra goal-per-game, with some of that comes from a declining penalty kill. Each team has found a way to generate wins despite a shakier defense, though, mainly through an improved team offense.

Offensively, one of the keys has been each team's power play, which has for each team produced more power play goals in fewer power play opportunities than the year before. Overall, each team has improved its offense, though not by the same margin that the defensive numbers have changed; each team this year has a worse goal-differential-per-game than the previous year.

Shot analysis shows a similar story: shots-for per game are marginally improved, but shots-against per game have increased even further; the net shot differential has gotten worse this year for both squads (the Ducks, in fact, are now typically outshot).

So basically, what does this mean? Both squads have shown an improved ability to accumulate standings points this year vs. last year despite some declines in the differential statistics and underlying numbers -- in a way, this suggests that the current win pattern is a bit illusory. I'd expect that each team would have gotten worse results with the current year's statistics, but at least so far, that hasn't really been the case. I wouldn't worry about these patterns just yet for either team (there is absolutely nothing wrong with illusory win streaks in November), but here's some open-ended questions for the comments:

• Why do you think these teams have continued to win despite worsened statistics: is there something to the notion of "knowing how to win all styles of hockey" where these veteran rosters are capable of adjusting to a more free-flowing game?


• What do you see as the primary drivers for the change in offensive and defensive numbers for these teams? Are opponents treating them differently, or are these squads more careless than they used to be?


• Going forward, what do you expect out of each team? Will the numbers eventually tighten up, or is this an offense-friendly evolution for the Ducks and Red Wings? If the statistics do not tighten up, can these teams continue winning the way they currently are?

Food for thought, anyway.

Prediction: Now that I've demonstrated a more offense-friendly tendency for both the Ducks and Red Wings, we're probably in for a tight defensive battle tonight. Ducks 2, Wings 1. Goals by Ryan and Pahlsson. For your Wings coverage, there's always A2Y, Winging it in Motown, and On the Wings.

Go Ducks.

The 16-Game Sniff Test: How do the Sharks measure up?

As the Sharks have racked up points to start this season, I've had my attention fixed on where they'd sit after the sixteen game mark. Why sixteen games, you ask? For one, it does represent the first 20% of the season, but more importantly, it's where I mentally set the bar two years ago when the Ducks finally suffered a regulation loss in Game 17.

This originally was going to be a comparison of just the 06-07 Ducks and the 08-09 Sharks, but since I started mulling the idea I've been reminded that it's not just the Ducks that started their season on fire en route to a Stanley Cup. Here's a look at the last four cup winners have performed in their (mostly) first sixteen games, with the Sharks thrown in for comparison. In the right-hand column I have included each team's record through 60 minutes -- probably more indicative of projected postseason play.

Overall Records:

Team	Raw Record	GF – GA = GD	PP	PK	Regulation Record
03-04 Lightning*	11-2-2-1, 25 pts 0.781	47 – 29 = 18 2.94 – 1.81 = 1.13	14 / 78 17.9%	7 / 64 89.1%	10-2-4, 24 pts 0.750
05-06 Hurricanes**	12-2-1, 25 pts 0.833	59 – 38 = 21 3.93 – 2.53 = 1.40	21 / 96 21.9%	15 / 81 81.5%	10-2-3, 23 pts 0.767
06-07 Ducks	12-0-4, 28 pts 0.875	57 – 32 = 25 3.56 – 2.00 = 1.56	18 / 86 20.9%	10 / 92 89.1%	9-0-7, 25 pts 0.781
07-08 Red Wings	13-2-1, 27 pts 0.844	54 – 33 = 21 3.38 – 2.06 = 1.31	18 / 77 23.4%	10 / 85 88.2%	11-2-3, 25 pts 0.781
08-09 Sharks	13-3-0, 26 pts 0.813	52 – 38 = 14 3.25 – 2.38 = 0.88	13 / 80 16.3%	9 / 61 85.2%	10-3-3, 23 pts 0.719

* Remember when standings used to have four columns? For those of us who need reminding (I sure did!), the Lightning had 2 ties and 1 overtime loss in their first 16.
** I gave the Hurricanes a break and only showed their first 15 games. In Game 16, the Atlanta Thrashers smoked the 'Canes 9-0 in Raleigh and threw off all the statistics. Mentally add it if you must.

First off, I want to caution reading too much into these comparisons: sixteen games guarantees absolutely nothing except a leg up on a playoff position, and there's no real need for the Sharks to outperform any of these prior cup winners -- San Jose won't be facing these lineups this year.

Secondly, I want to emphasize more about comparisons with the Ducks and Red Wings, and less about the Lightning and Hurricanes. I included the Southeast winners because they did reinforce the pattern, but their Cup Finals were a bit unique -- meeting a bottom seed in the west and requiring a seventh game at home to seize their prize. No offense, but the Ducks and Wings represent teams that cruised to victory over more traditional Finals opponents, and their regular seasons were more similar to today's NHL.

Thirdly, we should always keep in mind sample size -- sixteen games is meaningful, but stats still can certainly be affected by an outlier game. With that in mind, here's the home and road splits, which represent even fewer games :)
Home Records:

Team	Raw Record	GF – GA = GD	PP	PK	Regulation Record
03-04 Lightning	8-1-1-1, 18 pts 0.818	37 – 20 = 17 3.36 – 1.82 = 1.55	11 / 62 17.7%	5 / 47 89.4%	7-1-3, 17 pts 0.773
05-06 Hurricanes	7-0-0, 14 pts 1.000	30 – 18 = 12 4.29 – 2.57 = 1.71	10 / 48 20.8%	9 / 43 79.1%	5-0-2, 12 pts 0.857
06-07 Ducks	7-0-3, 17 pts 0.850	37 – 22 = 15 3.70 – 2.20 = 1.50	13 / 59 22.0%	7 / 58 87.9%	6-0-4, 16 pts 0.800
07-08 Red Wings	7-1-0, 14 pts 0.875	26 – 15 = 11 3.25 – 1.88 = 1.38	10 / 43 23.3%	6 / 38 84.2%	5-1-2, 12 pts 0.750
08-09 Sharks	9-0-0, 18 pts 1.000	32 – 17 = 15 3.56 – 1.89 = 1.67	6 / 47 12.8%	4 / 31 87.1%	7-0-2, 16 pts 0.889

Road Records:

Team	Raw Record	GF – GA = GD	PP	PK	Regulation Record
03-04 Lightning	3-1-1-0, 7 pts 0.700	10 – 9 = 1 2.00 – 1.80 = 0.20	3 / 16 18.8%	2 / 17 88.2%	3-1-1, 7 pts 0.700
05-06 Hurricanes	5-2-1, 11 pts 0.688	29 – 20 = 9 3.63 – 2.50 = 1.13	11 / 48 22.9%	6 / 38 84.2%	5-2-1, 11 pts 0.688
06-07 Ducks	5-0-1, 11 pts 0.917	20 – 10 = 10 3.33 – 1.67 = 1.67	5 / 27 18.5%	3 / 34 91.2%	3-0-3, 9 pts 0.750
07-08 Red Wings	6-1-1, 13 pts 0.813	28 – 18 = 10 3.50 – 2.25 = 1.25	8 / 34 23.5%	4 / 47 91.5%	6-1-1, 13 pts 0.813
08-09 Sharks	4-3-0, 8 pts 0.571	20 – 21 = -1 2.86 – 3.00 = -0.14	7 / 33 21.2%	5 / 30 83.3%	3-3-1, 7 pts 0.500

Takeaways: If the sixteen-game sniff test bears out, the Sharks are certainly keeping pace with Cup darlings from years past. Their goal-differential and special teams seem a little lower than the winners' trend, but it's certainly not an alarming difference.

One thing I didn't include on these tables was shot differential -- on average, the Sharks outshoot their opponents by a margin of 37 - 25, which is a whopping difference. Only last year's Red Wings on this list were able to match that for their first 16 games (34.5 - 22.4); the Lightning, Hurricanes, and Ducks were all only slightly ahead of their opponents in that regard. This is one reason I'm not too critical of the goal-differential and special teams for the Sharks; it seems like it's more a matter of luck than anything.

If you're looking for a spot of potential mediocrity, though, it might be in the Sharks' road record, which is only .500 through regulation (again, small sample size). Still, winning on the road is one thing that the other Cup winners did very well in their season starts, and that ability served them well enough in the postseason. I wouldn't worry about it too much at this point, Sharks fans, but it's something to pay attention to as the season continues along.

From the Ducks' point of view, there is one other key difference to note about the 06-07 Ducks' start and the 08-09 Sharks: the chasers. Even with the Ducks starting 12-0-4, they barely had any divisonal lead to speak of -- the Dallas Stars at that point were 12-4-0 and the Sharks were 12-5-0. It was an incredible start by all three Pacific teams. This year, the Sharks are being followed by the Ducks (2 games above .500) and the Coyotes (1 game above .500), and the immediate threat of being caught is enormously lessened.

I'm not crowning any champions today, and I'm not ruling out any team from next spring's Cup -- by the time the playoffs roll around, I'll care much more about how the last 80% of the season went than the first 20%, but I had the numbers fairly handy and I thought I'd show the comparison stats.


Question for readers: Why does this pattern exist? Does a fast start give a team any particular edge coming out of a long season, or is it just the case that excellent teams tend to have good starts and tend to win Cups? Also, seeing the comparison, what likelihood would you give these Sharks of becoming champions this coming spring? If you have any observations or theories you want to add (or have any questions about the underlying numbers), feel free to throw them in the comments.

Ducks Gameday—Mysterious Origin Comics, Part II

St. Louis Blues (5-5-0, t-10th in west) at Anaheim Ducks (8-5-1, 3rd in west)
Yeah, I was yelling "Blue-urns".

Well, another moderately-deserved two points snatched in L.A. last night, but I'll tell you -- the 2nd and 4th lines looked pretty outmatched through most of the night. Brendan Morrison is still struggling to produce, though I still don't mind his overall positional play, but I also think that Teemu's not fighting through enough checks, and Todd Marchant hasn't carried a scoring line since ever.

But hey, today's a new day and a new opponent -- the St. Louis Blues. Fun Fact: Did you know that St. Louis is in the Central Division, home of the Detroit Red Wings? Yeah, of course you knew that, but I'm horrible at segues.

But now that we're talking about Detroit, our friend, now mysteriously known as "The Swede" (though tireless research has revealed he doesn't live in Sweden), has produced another comic book masterpiece, this time focused on last week's encounter with the Red Wings. Now presented in thrilling two-part format!

Red Wings at Ducks, Oct. 29, 2008:

(click on either image to enlarge)
Overall: brilliant, but I especially like the look of the middle panel on the second page. Fantastic storyline progression, and it just looks damn cool. And I miss Brad May already.

* * *

More internet slutting guest appearances: I'm still not very comfortable in front of an imaginary microphone, but I was a guest on another podcast yesterday afternoon before the Kings game -- The Rink Podcast Episode Six with Tom Luongo and James "Tapeleg" Grailian. We talked a bit about the Ducks and Sundin rumors (I'm not in until the final third), plus there will be a full-length bonus interview sometime later this week. Let's hear it for thrilling two-part formats!

* * *

And lastly, I will put a proper post together sometime later for the Duck nominees, but I wouldn't fret too much about who is or isn't on the NHL All-Star Ballot. If you recall last year, I believe seven of the twelve popularly-elected starters actually showed up to the event, so it's not very meaningful anyways. Plus the vote is probably in boring one-part format, how lame.

Prediction: Maybe all Brendan Morrison needs is an encounter with Teemu's two favorite linemates, Andy McDonald and Paul Kariya, just to see how the Finn prefers to receive his passes. Ducks win, 3-2, in a thrilling two-part game (I dunno, let's say a pane of glass shatters midway through). Goals by Getzlaf, Pahlsson, and Montador.

Go Ducks.

San Jose Sharks vs Detroit Red Wings photos

Here are a few photos from last night's 4-2 Sharks win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. After a tight checking game in the first period and several spectacular saves by backup goaltender Ty Conklin, the Sharks opened up for 3 goals in the second and outskated a tired Wings team in the third. More notes and photos from the game will be posted here soon.

Measuring Stick #2: Detroit

The big story today seems to be the whole Todd McLellan vs. Mike Babcock sub-plot (I was going to do an Obi-Wan/Darth Vader Photoshop of the two with the "When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master," line but I ran out of time) but that whole thing doesn't really mean that much to me. I mean, these guys are professionals and they knew that some day this was probably going to happen.

My bigger focus is on seeing how the Sharks compare as a whole to the Wings. Like it or not, the god damn Red Wings have been the measuring stick for the league since the mid-90s (give or take a few seasons), and the emphasis is even higher now that they're defending champs. Holding Sidney Crosby and company to just a handful of shots showed that the Sharks were ready to put forth a strong defensive effort against an elite opponent, but I got the sense that the Penguins were off their game on Tuesday. I doubt I'm the only one who thought that the whole game was pretty darn boring.

So, what to expect tonight? The Sharks certainly are playing their own version of the Wings attack style, but I see San Jose as more based on speed and the Wings based more on passing/possession. The idea isn't to necessarily outshine Detroit at their own game; instead, it's all about bringing the necessary effort to make the Sharks' own system the superior one.

A few more random notes:

-Joe Thornton's groin injury seems more obvious with each game. He simply doesn't use his legs or lower body to protect the puck the way that he normally does, and assuming he didn't just revert into a craptacular player over the off-season, I'm assuming this is the lingering effects of his injury. Since I'm not a doctor (and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night), I don't know if this is one of those injuries where you can't rest it, you just have to work through it. I'm doubting that, though, since it seems like any sort of leg/abdomen injury would heal better with resting rather than playing at elite-level competition. Plus the team is scoring by committee right now, and I'd rather have 100% Thornton later than 75% Thornton for the bulk of the season (since these things linger forever).

-For all you King fans...um...well, I see what you were complaining about with Rob Blake. Those first two games kinda seem like an abberation now, don't they?

-The Sharks power play started using a slightly different look with one guy in the crease and another guy in the high slot. The strategy here seems to have the low guy providing a screen while the high player looks to deflect a shot in. Jonathan Cheechoo had a few dandy deflections against the Penguins and it's nice to get some refreshing special teams strategy after the Ron Wilson days.

Ducks Gameday—The importance of a good dentist

Detroit Red Wings (7-1-1, 2nd in west) at Anaheim Ducks (5-5-0, t-5th in west)
Ah, it's never felt so good to be back at .500

Well, I don't know if it was a lucky mix of positivity and poetry (Poetrivity!), but somehow the Ducks pulled off a nice 4-game sweep on their road trip, to nicely recover from their 0-4 season start. There's still plenty of things to improve on for the Ducks, but I'm still at the point that I care more that they are getting points than worrying too much about how they're getting them. Suffice to say that it was a fortunate road trip (really? only the third time ever a team has swept eastern Canada?), and it was extremely helpful to score the first two goals in each of the first three games.

But probably the one event on the road trip that probably shouldn't be overlooked was Ryan Getzlaf's trip to the dentist. Getzlaf had a virus removed from his gum that kept him out of the game in Toronto, but apparently the virus was adversely affecting more than just his inner mouth -- his entire forward line showed improvement once the infection was removed from the lineup. Here's the top line's very-much-improved stats from the road trip:

C. Perry 4 gp, 2g-5a-7p, +4
R. Getzlaf 3 gp, 3g-2a-5p, +4
C. Kunitz 4 gp, 1g-4a-5p, +2
Recall that in the six games prior to that dental visit, that trio combined for 18 gp, 0g-2a-2p, -14.


I can only assume this resembles Getzlaf before and after his dental visit.
It certainly mirrors the top line's performance since that pivotal event.
I don't want to seem overly presumptuous, but perhaps it's time to schedule Brendan Morrison for a teeth-cleaning. Ten games in, and he's got 0g-1a-1p and a -5. Just sayin'.

------------------------------
Meanwhile, the Red Wings come into town with a 5-game win streak of their own, thanks to Denis Gauthier's questionable decision-making. Like Anaheim, Detroit's win streak seems a bit illusory as well -- three of the five wins have come in OT/SO, and over the streak they've allowed 3.6 goals per game, which is definitely uncharacteristic.

Here's one stat that definitely differentiates Detroit's win streak from Anaheim's, though. In 5 wins, the Red Wings have outshot their opponents by a margin of 41.2 to 29.8. In 4 wins, the Ducks have been outshot by their opponents by a margin of 25.5 to 37.8. Detroit's also 5-0 on the road this season, and the Ducks haven't won a home game that I haven't attended, so hopefully this battle of the last two cup champions provokes some inspired play from the web-footed ones.

Prediction: Nevertheless, the Ducks pull it out. Ducks 4, Wings 2. Goals by the two-time Wing killers -- the fabulous Niedermayers, Pahlsson, and Pronger. For your Red Wings angles, make sure to hit up Abel to Yzerman, Winging It In Motown, On the Wings, and HockeytownTodd.

[9:30 am edit -- I've just been informed that the Chief over at A2Y will be running a live blog over at his site tonight, and I've agreed to join in the comments there to take my lumps like a good Ducks fan should. Feel free to join in, defend Pronger's elbows, and enjoy a hearty laugh at the persistence of 18-month-old injury excuses.]

Go Ducks.

Damn You, Gauthier

Damn that sucked last night. To see the Kings play such committed defense for 58 minutes and then lose it with one dimwitted pass was awful. Gauthier cemented his dipshit status last night. I felt bad for Kyle Quincey (who played like he wanted to murder everyone who didn't give him a shot in Detroit) and Drew Doughty (who looked a little overmatched but still played nicely). And why the fuck was Ivanans playing against the Red Wings? What, the Kings have to protect Kopitar from Henrik Zetterberg or Andreas Lilja? The worst things they're going to do is fuck him and not call him again. That's damaging psychologically, not physically. (Syphillis, maybe. Hold on, I'm still building this scenario.)

Oh well, it's a long season and the Kings have 6 games left on this homestand. Here's something to make you feel better:

Courtesy TMZ

I love how dogs in clothes are either insanely fucking happy to be wearing clothes* or unbelievably depressed.


*"Holy fuck, man! Check this out, I'm wearing clothes! Have you seen this shit? A dog in clothes! Unbelievable. Dogs should not be wearing clothes but here I am, blowing minds. Look, it even has a spot for my tail!"

Kings Gameday: Wait, the Kings Play Today?

Los Angeles Kings (3-4) vs. Detroit Red Wings (2009 Stanley Cup Champs)

7:30 PST, FSN West

-Jason Labarbera is playing fucking again today. I actually like it because I wanted him to get a chance to prove himself but give Eric Ersberg a chance, huh? Did Ersberg spit on Terry Murray's grave or something? (Because he looks like a corpse, you see.)

-Anze isn't looking that great to start the season. That's not bad. I've always found hockey to be cyclical: you feel great for a month, then you notice a little hitch that bothers you and it throws you off, then it seems like nothing is going right, and then all of a sudden you're fine again. The important part is that Kopitar is still being productive even though he's struggling. Both him and Frolov look like they're pressing a little bit, probably because they expected to be the leaders of this team, but they'll be fine.

-Detroit is a shithole.

Prediction: Kings win, 4-1, with dominant puck possession hockey while the Red Wings run around with shit in their pants. Now reverse the names on that.

Anaheim's All-Time Team: Who centers the top line?

Well, before I get started on this All-Time Team challenge, I should first point out that the Chief at A2Y has written up his Rival Rating for the Ducks ("the Fowl"), and brings up a lot of the same reasons that I listed in my pre-sponse post, plus some new ones (the summer snatchings of Fedorov, Schneider, and Bertuzzi). There's actually some glowing references to our cumulative effort here at BoC, so here's to classily hatin' ya, Red Wings.

No real reason for the Bertuzzi picture, I suppose, other than it's an image I hadn't used yet and now seemingly my window for paparatuzzi is suddenly over. Still, this mc79 post is gold; see ya in hell, Bert.

-----------------------------------
A sidenote about this BoC challenge (see Rudy's All-Time Kings and Chen's All-Time Sharks): We're not huge planners or schemers here at BoC, and it's very rare that a themed-set-of-posts idea moves from the "we should all do this" phase to reality, so this is pretty cool. Even so, in the summer Sleek tradition, I'm going to not quite follow instructions.

That is to say, instead of me just telling you my all-time team, I'm going to open one slot up for debate. Because really, that's what this Anaheim exercise boils down to. Top line wingers isn't much of a debate (see chart to the right), and in terms of top defensemen and a #1 goalie, the Ducks are at their peak right now -- they've never previously had the talents of a Niedermayer, Pronger, or Giguere.

But who is the #1 center for the Anaheim Sometimes-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (what else would you call this mythical all-time team?)? That and a few more items I think are worth separate posts before I fully endorse a Sleek roster, so here goes. Before I list out the candidates, though, I guess I should lay out some ground rules, or at least what I think are some considerations for "All-Timey-ness":

1. Think about the player at their Anaheim peak -- things not to consider: Adam Oates as a Boston Bruin, Andy McDonald's career without Teemu Selanne, or Ryan Getzlaf's future potential. This all should be based on games already played in an Anaheim uniform.

2. That said, longevity and consistency are pretty useful -- players should provide some identity as an Anaheim fan favorite.

3. Just to confuse things a bit more, also consider how well the top-line center would fit with wingers Kariya and Selanne; as we don't want our team outscored by the Sharks' imaginary squad.

So here's five candidate centers, in somewhat chronological order. Be warned, I suspect I only have room for four of these guys on my final roster, so in addition to telling me who should center the top line, I'm also looking for who should be cut from the team entirely. If you're feeling generous, you can even rank all five.

Steve Rucchin
Seasons: 10 (1994-95 to 2003-04)
Reg: 79 gp, 19-48-67, +26 (1996-97)
Post: 21 gp, 7-3-10, -2 (2003)

Roochie is the guy who represents steadiness and longevity on this list. Counting against him, though, he may be the least talented individual of the bunch. Still, I could be happy with Rucchin on the top line; for years Ducks fans heard about how some new person was finally going to take the top-line center position from Rucchin (who was a bit slow to keep up with Kariya and Selanne), but every time Rucchin held his spot. Rucchin did lead the 2003 Ducks in playoff goals.

Adam Oates
Seasons: 1 (2002-03)
Reg: 67 gp, 9-36-45, -1
Post: 21 gp, 4-9-13, +2

Old man Oates only came to Anaheim for one season towards the end of his career, and was a top-line mainstay between Kariya and Sykora during the 2003 cup run, where he co-led the team in scoring. Oates was a wizard with the puck, floating aerial passes that make goal-scorers salivate. He was stunningly quick at times, also, to the point where "Old Man Oates" became a tongue-in-cheek nickname. Oates never played with Selanne, so we can only conjecture there, but I suspect his puck-dishing would blend in well with the Finn's finish. As a bonus, Oates probably beats out this group in the category of "player I most enjoyed watching play".

Sergei Fedorov
Seasons: 2 (2003-04 and five games of 2005)
Reg: 80 gp, 31-34-65, -5 (2003-04)

Fedorov isn't a guy who Ducks fans are particularly enamored with, but there's little question to his talent. Also, I'd argue that Sergei represents Anaheim's first ever summer blockbuster signing -- a superstar in their prime choosing to come to SoCal. Sergei never played with Kariya and only got five post-lockout games with Selanne, but he did become the first player not named Kariya or Selanne to lead the Ducks in scoring since the inaugural season. Fedorov's quick, puck-smart, and a vicious backchecker; despite never seeing an Anaheim postseason, could he be the best fit on the top line?

Andy McDonald
Seasons: 7 (2000-01 to 2007-08)
Reg: 82 gp, 34-51-85, +24 (2005-06)
Post: 21 gp, 10-4-14, +6 (2007)

Andy Mac played seven seasons for Anaheim, but really only two are worth talking about: the two post-lockout seasons he spent with Selanne on his wing. Aside from those two years, McDonald's career has been fairly pedestrian. Still, as this is an exercise about peaks and playing with superstar wingers, Andy Mac could be a front-runner. His 85-point season is the top performance for any of the Anaheim centers, and he did lead the 2007 squad in playoff goals. Andy Mac's downfall has been consistency, or at least the ability to produce without superstar wingers, but should that affect his place on Anaheim's All-Time Team?

Ryan Getzlaf
Seasons: 3 (2005-06 to 2007-08)
Reg: 77 gp, 24-58-82, +32 (2007-08)
Post: 21 gp, 7-10-17, +1 (2007)

Getzlaf almost by default should take this position in the next couple of years, but is he all-time-top-line-ready now? Getzlaf earned the 1st line center role in his third year this past season, and was stellar, leading the team in scoring while facing opponents' top defenders. Other than the power play, Getzlaf hasn't shared that much ice time with Selanne in his Anaheim tenure, though, as he's fulfilling an on-ice marriage with Corey Perry. Perry, by the way, is not making my all-time squad, if that matters in the Getzlaf ranking.


Who shall center the #1 line?

So there you have it. Five centers who have spent at least one season in Anaheim and are competing for a coveted Kariya-Selanne center position for these Anaheim Sometimes-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Who gets the #1 spot? Who gets cut from the team completely? I'll take your rankings and justifications in the comments.

Go Ducks.

The Red Wings’ Biggest Rival: the Ducks? Here’s Five Reasons Why…

The Chief over at Abel to Yzerman has created a bit of a project to pass the summer dead time, trying to categorically determine who really represents Detroit’s best current rival. He starts his study with the Colorado Avalanche, the first of ten candidates, and scores them in six categories: Quality of Team, Hate Factor, Past Playoff Adventures, Blogger Quality, Regular Season Sadness Factor, and Miscellaneous. It’s a pretty decent set of criteria, and aside from Blogger Quality (Ducks bloggers are a bit shorthanded), Anaheim figures to score highly across the board.

Still, I think it’s worth writing up a case for the Ducks, though I should take a moment and clarify: in this post I am writing about the hatred of Red Wings fans, not who Ducks fans hate. Detroit’s rival search is much different from Anaheim’s, in that the Wings have been alone in the Central Division for so long that they need to their sights elsewhere. Go see Dan Wood for the Ducks rivalry question (bonus: my answer is in the first comment there)—we’ve still got plenty of options in the Pacific Division, with Detroit and Edmonton thrown in for fun.

Anyway, as promised, here's five reason why Wings fans should hate the web-footed ones, Five Guys Who Eliminated Detroit in their Last Two Playoff Meetings. Not many active NHLers can boast about eliminating the Red Wings in their last two tries, I think, and while this is by no means a complete list, I don’t think that it would get much longer with more research. It's a rare achievement, as Detroit has a 26-9 series record since the '94 lockout. Here's some Wing-killers, though:

1) J.S. Giguere: Really, this conversation should start and end with Jiggy and his 2003 upset sweep, but it’s worth talking about his 2007 series as well. In both series Giguere made just enough saves to win, but aside from that these series were quite different. Let’s take a look:

2003: I can’t stress enough how awesome the 2003 Wings were—hell, just look at their 12 forwards that postseason: Yzerman, Shanahan, Fedorov, Hull, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Robitaille, Larionov, Maltby, Draper, and McCarty. Heck, if they find a place for the Grind Line in the HHOF, this could end up being a list of eleven hall of famers plus Holmstrom. Sure enough, the Wings dominated play, outshooting the Mighty Ducks 171-120 in four-plus games (including a triple-OT and a single-OT). And yet, with all those snipers taking all those shots, they managed to score only six goals. Six. Goals. Giguere murdered in his playoff debut, sweeping the defending champs, which not only exorcised Anaheim’s playoff demons from the past (the Ducks were a combined 0-8 against Detroit in their first two postseasons), but also started a Cinderella run to the seventh game of the cup finals. And as impressive as Giguere’s later sweep of the Wild was (4 games, 1 GA), I really have to say that Minnesota represents his second-most impressive series of 2003. Giguere finished Round One with three first stars of the game and one second star. How sick is that?

2007: This was a different story completely, as the '07 Ducks were a much more formidable team in front of their netminder. Long gone were the days of getting murdered on the shot board, as were the days when Giguere had to be the unreal difference-maker. Still, the Red Wings were the top seed in the west, and were dominant especially on home ice and on special teams. Indeed, this was more a Goliath vs. Goliath battle than anything that had happened in 2003.

Giguere ended up with more saves in the four-game 2003 sweep than he made in the six-game 2007 win, and his save percentage wasn’t even in the same stratosphere (2003: .965, 2007: .908), but one thing that J.S. was able to duplicate against the Winged Wheel: overtime perfection. Combined, Giguere went to OT against the Wings four times, and four times he came away a winner. 46 Detroit OT shots. 46 Giguere OT saves.

2) Sammy Pahlsson: Another member of the 2003 and 2007 squads, Pahlsson remains the longest-serving Duck (his Anaheim debut was November 24, 2000, one day before Giguere’s) and of course has been my favorite player since well before this blog started. You want offense? Go buy a Selanne jersey. You want flash? Getzlaf is your guy. You want hard work, defensive positioning, and attention to detail? Welcome to the Pahlsson Party.

2003: In the first cup run, Pahlsson centered a line with 19-year-veteran Steve “Stumpy” Thomas and 19-year-old Stan “Cheesy” Chistov, which would prove to be a great source for secondary scoring throughout that playoff year. The Sammy line was a huge boost in the Detroit series, as that trio contributed 4 of Anaheim’s 10 goals scored in the series (including a really cheesy Cheesy goal in G3).

2007: By this time Sammy was the unquestioned shutdown center for the Ducks, on a “Nothing" Line with Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer. It was a banner year for Pahlsson, who probably got robbed of both a Smythe and a Selke within weeks of each other, but as usual put up zero fuss. Against Detroit, he worked the most difficult minutes available against Zetterberg and Datsyuk, and even got the two split up in an attempt to escape the Swedish Shadow.

In each of Anaheim's long playoff years, Sammy ended up playing the defensive center position on my favorite line of the postseason. His point totals against Detroit weren't that stunning (5 points in 10 games), but he did finish each series a +2 while averaging more than 4.5 shorthanded minutes per game.

3) Rob Niedermayer: The last member of the “2003 and 2007” club, Rob also played a significant role in twice eliminating Detroit. In both years, he played wing on the shutdown line, but had surprisingly strong offensive numbers (well, at least for Rob) while playing against the Wings' best.

2003: In his first playoffs for the Ducks, Rob played on a shutdown line with Steve Rucchin and Mike Leclerc, and proved to be a really strong forechecker. I remember him being a fabulous "first man in" after a dumped puck; Rob's strength is really on the offensive boards. Rob got 3 assists in the 4 games, which in Rob terms is phenomenal. In his first 31 playoff games with the Panthers before 2003, Rob had 4 assists.

2007: While Rob’s biggest contribution to the post-lockout Ducks was probably being Scott’s brother, he was also a strong contributor on Pahlsson’s shutdown line, strong enough that the trio played together for all 103 games of that season/postseason. Rob scored 3 goals in the Wings series to lead the team, and even though one of them was an empty-netter, we'll see below the importance of being able to score on an empty net.

Despite his shut-down role, Rob’s actually had impressive points totals against the postseason Wings: in 10 games, he has scored 8 points (0.8 pts/gm). Over the rest of his Anaheim career, he has played 50 playoff games NOT against Detroit and scored 15 points (0.3 pts/gm). Of course, Rob has his drawbacks also – between the two series he played more than 18 minutes of power play time without being on the ice for a PPG-for, but that’s more of a bad-use-of-personnel issue than a knock on Rob.

4) Scott Niedermayer: With Scott, you have to go way back in the time machine to look at his first time eliminating Detroit – he was a third-year player playing in his first cup finals for the New Jersey Devils. Still, Scott is another player who is 2-0 lifetime against the Winged Wheel, and while he might not inspire the same level of hatred as a Giguere or a Pronger, he’s scored some awfully kick-to-the-nuts goals against the postseason Wings.

1995: Ah, remember the days when lockouts would only last part of a season? At any rate, the 1995 cup finals featured Niedermayer’s Devils and the Detroit Red Wings, who at that point were 40 years removed from their most recent championship. Scott and the rest of the smothering Devils continued that drought, dropping the Wings in four straight. Though Claude Lemieux would end up taking home the Conn Smythe, Niedermayer had an impressive finals, with a highlight-reel, end-to-end goal and three assists in the four-game sweep.

2007: And if you think that ’95 goal was a back-breaker, Scott got even more clutch a dozen years (and 127 playoff games) later. He scored two goals in the six-game ’07 WCF, and both turned out to be huge. Game Two in Detroit he scored the game-winner from down low in the 15th minute of overtime to tie the series at 1 game apiece (assists to Rob & Sammy). Then, late in regulation of Game Five, with the Wings up by a goal and Giguere pulled for a 6-on-4, Scott delivered the "kick to the groin": a weak shot that deflected off the stick of Nick Lidstrom and fluttered lazily over Hasek’s shoulder (1:15 into this video). That shot, more than anything, decided that coin-flip series in Anaheim’s favor, and was probably the strongest case for Niedermayer’s Conn Smythe win.

The craziest thing about Scott’s tendency for huge goals is that the guy is pretty mediocre at shooting pucks. He’s nowhere near Pronger or Lidstrom in this regard. Still, there’s a lot of benefit having a full-time rover, and sometimes his weak-sauce shot is exactly what is needed to disrupt a goalie’s rhythm. Scott might not be as despised by Wings fans like Giguere or Pronger, but it’s tough to argue the importance of the goals he’s scored.

5) Chris Pronger: Ah yes, Sasquatch (as they call him). Pronger is the only member on this list to ever get eliminated by the Red Wings (four times on the Blues, I believe), but he’s certainly had his comeuppance since the lockout. In fact, one could make a claim that one of the biggest differences between Detroit’s 2008 cup run from the two previous attempts was that this time they didn’t have to go through Pronger. Or his elbows.

2006: Pronger was a monster for the Oilers in ’06, as the Red Wings would learn early and the Ducks would find out two rounds later. He scored seven points in the six-game Detroit series and ended the series a +4. That began a 2003-like run for the 8th-seeded Oilers, who proceeded to eliminate the Sharks and the Ducks before bowing out in their own SCF G7. Pronger finished Round One with three first stars of the game and one second star. How sick is that?

2007: Pronger was much more muted offensively in the ’07 WCF, only recording three assists in five games played, but his defensive numbers more than made up for that. In the '07 series, Detroit didn't score a single even-strength or power-play goal while Pronger was on the ice. While that’s impressive enough, I doubt that’s what Red Wings fans remember most.

Get off my elbow, Homer.
There’s a real case to be made that Pronger was the best player in both the 2006 and 2007 playoffs. Except for the technicalities that in 2006 he was a cup-loser and in 2007 he was suspended twice, he could have been the first back-to-back Conn Smyther since Mario Lemieux. Against the Wings both those years, he scored 10 points in 11 games and was on the ice for 20 GF, 10 GA, all while averaging more than 32 minutes per game. And despite his reputation, against the Wings he only had eight minors (somehow Rob Niedermayer went to the box for five minutes after this play).



The Two-Time Wing Killers. Can they make it Three?
I know this piece got awfully long and if you’re still with me, congrats. Still, I think it was worth going through the stories of these two-time Wing-killers, because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of players who have such streaks going (the only other one I could come up with in very limited research is Sandis Ozolinsh, who eliminated the Wings in his last three meetings – ’99, ’00, and ’03).

Combined, these five Ducks players made huge contributions in eliminating the Wings in ’95, ’03, ’06, and ’07, and it’s not a huge stretch to think if they hadn’t, Detroit might have won as many as four additional Stanley Cups by now. And really, who wants to live in that alternate reality? (Wings fans are insufferable enough as is.)

There's still plenty of other reasons for Wings fans to hate the Ducks (I didn't even mention the yappy mouth of Corey Perry), but I think this fivesome might prove as strong a rivalry argument as any. I'm hopeful that Detroit fans found this post as angering to read as I found it pleasing to write, because you know what that means. They'll be licking their lips for the next matchup, their chance for postseason revenge.

Welcome to the rivalry, Wings fans. Go Ducks.

Brad Stuart Re-Signs With Detroit

4 years, $3.75/year. This is weird; does this mean that Ken Holland actually made a bad decision, or does this mean I'm an idiot for thinking Brad Stuart sucked? I guess he fits in well with the Red Wings because he can run around doing whatever while the rest of the team plays perfect defense. Oh well, I'll just assume I'm smarter than Ken Holland. I mean, he didn't get promoted to late-shift manager at 7/11 in only 3 years, did he? I think that's some kind of record.

This is why we can't have nice things

When you go to Chelli's Chili Bar, you're never truly safe. People get shanked and even the greatest trophy is sports cannot make it out of that bad karmatic zone of beans and meat without a battle scar.

Battle of the Stanley Cup box office blockbusters

Detroit Free Press art director Rick Nease sent this Stanley Cup box office poster parody to the Sports Designer blog. "Extinction is just a goal away", a truely inspired tagline.



Pittsburgh Post-Gazette designer Ben Howard was responsible for this Indiana Jones-Sidney Crosby takeoff. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is one of the most bizarre sequels ever to come out of Hollywood. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas wanted to make a sequel to the X-Files and National Treasure, but with Harrison Ford and the Indiana Jones franchise they made Crystal Skull instead. 124 minutes of my life I will never get back.

Movie equivalent for the Sharks failed Stanley Cup run this season: Aguirre, the Wrath of God. The 1972 film written and directed by eccentric filmmaker Werner Herzog featured Spanish conquistadores in a brutal and grueling quest down the untamed Amazon river in search of the legendary city of gold. The quest does not turn out well, and many of the soliders end up on a raft floating aimlessly towards nowhere.

Nominate your films for the Ducks and Kings seasons in the comments.



[Update] We Bleed Teal noted earlier that Ryane Clowe was a "monster" in front of the net against Calgary. A Cloweverfield monster.

Throwing Down the Gauntlet

The Stars made like The Undertaker and sat up unexpectedly against the Red Wings (I can almost imagine Ken Hitchcock as Paul Bearer - all you need is an urn and some makeup). So, for the second time in this playoffs, I have decided to break out some lucky charms:

Brett Hull's lucky rabbit foot-in-the crease

The exorcised beard trimmings of Mike Modano

...And the combined might of Dave Tippett and Hitch's 'staches!!

Beat that, Ted Nugent!

A little dirty (but the Stars'll take it)

Some things never change. Do you think he has special goalie slash pads or something?

I'd like to preface this carefully: this has been a really, really good playoff year. Aside from Earl Sleek, Emilio Estevez, Chris Pronger's wife and Brian Burke, I think most folks would probably say that this year's playoffs have been way more entertaining than last year's.

That being said, there's been just some outright atrocious decisions made by NHL management/officiating/whatever. It honestly feels at times like hockey is such an outstanding product that it overcomes the idiocy that surrounds it.

The most despicable enterprise in hockey might just be the "makeup call" (no, wait, the most despicable enterprise is Sean Avery*. My mistake).

Holmstrom got away with goalie interference in Game 1 and therefore Detroit was improperly stripped of a goal that might have lowered the broom on the Stars in tonight's game. Is it "fair"? I guess, maybe. It might not take away the Stars win or the slight momentum it developed, but it's got to worry you about their chances in Game 5. Either way, the league's pin-the-tale-on-the-donkey approach to allowing or disallowing goals is getting downright old.


**********************************************
Then again, it could be worse:

It's going to take me a while to get over that one. Seriously, could the universe have picked a better coach to be a victim of such a ridiculous call than Angry John Totorella? Maybe Pat Quinn, but that would only be better because his cheeks would probably become rosy with anger. You owe it to yourself, as a hockey fan, to watch the clip under the "Unbelievable" link. (The Finnish goal scorer's reaction is particularly hilarious)

***********************************************
Honestly, the Stars simply don't have an answer for Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Every single time Zetterberg touches the puck, it feels like something bad is going to happen. And it pretty much does.

It's interesting how quickly the Stars are assuming the exact same stance that the Sharks did (although the Sharks had the extra carrot of a Home Game 7). The Stars have a lot of heart, but I do wonder if they'll simply get destroyed in the next game.

It'd be nice if tonight's win was more than a moral victory, but it's hard to imagine.

Then again, it has been 33 years since the last reverse sweep...

*I swear, I've almost misspelled Sean Avery by calling him Steve Avery at least 10 times this postseason. I guess if the confusion caused the former NY Mets pitcher to get Elisha Cuthbert in the sack he wouldn't complain, but otherwise the association would probably bother him...

The Dallas Stars star in: Vertigoal

What the Dallas Stars saw in place of Chris Osgood

When you're down 2-0 it can be hard to look on the bright side, but the Stars had to take a little something from tonight's closely played game. Marty Turco was both feisty and fantastic, as he's doing what he has to: punish the Red Wings for crashing his crease so that he doesn't get interfered with on a backbreaking powerplay goal.

I was unable to do a pre-game post, but I'm kind of glad because it would have been soaked in too-soon panic. But it's funny that my plan was to try to evoke the ghost of Battlin' Billy Smith. Low and behold, Smith's name was brought up as Turco was going semi-ballistic on Holmstrom and others. (Whichever Red Wing embellished in the second period Turco trip should get the gold medal for diving. He seriously looked like he got shot out of a frickin' cannon.)

Being down 2-0 is pretty terrible, but the Stars should keep the NBA playoffs in mind and remember that they can turn this series around with some clutch home wins. They now know that they can skate with the Wings, so they need to get it done (and for the love of God, get it on the net).

After an entertaining but still heartbreaking game 2 loss, it's time to play a little game of Good News/Bad News.

Good News

The Stars powerplay looked pretty good and featured a nice powerplay goal by Robo-das.

Bad News

The Red Wings powerplay scored another goal, making it four on the series. And their other powerplays looked pretty scary. Basically, when the puck goes to Nicklas Lidstrom, every Stars fan's sphincter gets uncomfortably tight.

Good News

Mike Ribeiro was fantastic in this game. He was able to stickhandle past Red Wings defenders all. game. long.

Bad News

On McRib's two breakaways, Osgood closed the 5 hole faster than a cocktease and made it look easy. And Ribeiro might get suspended on top of all that.

Good News

The Stars were able to create plenty of scoring chances in the beginning of the game.

Bad News

When the Red Wings decided to shut the game down, the Stars were basically buried in the third period.

Good News

2-0 is always hard to come back from, but I don't think the Stars are completely dead just yet.

Really Bad News

It was so obvious the Red Wings were going to win this game, the writing of this post began in the middle of the third period.

And I never doubted it. So that can't be good. My pre-series prediction was busted purchasing smack by an undercover cop shortly after the game.

Not sure if this will make anyone feel any better, but maybe you can distract yourself with this Vertigo-inspired music video by my favorite band from the state of California, Faith No More.

Everyone Listen to My Opinion!

Olympics Re-match: Team Sweden vs. Team Finland

The Detroit Red Wings are better than the Dallas Stars. That's fact. You can talk about motivation, heart, and all that other stuff*, but the Red Wings are better at the sport of hockey than the Dallas Stars. 4 of the 5 best players in the series play for the Red Wings (Turco being the lone Star). The Red Wings had a goal differential of +73, by far the best of any team in the regular season. Their goaltenders made the fewest saves of any team, meaning the Red Wings were excellent at controlling the play. Plus, they simply do not take penalties (best in the league; Stars were 20th.) It's not that the Stars aren't good at what they do, it's just that the Red Wings have quietly been one of the most dominant teams the league has seen since... well, the last Red Wings team.




*I'm not dismissing that motivation and heart doesn't play a role in determining a series, but it's pointless to try to predict it. Usually, whoever won the series becomes the team that wanted it more. Has a team ever wanted it more but lost?






Still, there's a chance for the Stars. The Stars excelled at getting the puck on Evgeni Nabokov even though the Sharks were 2nd in the league at limiting shots. Chris Osgood isn't as good as Nabokov, so they should not have trouble scoring. I don't know how their defense is going to be able to handle Datsyuk's line,* but I'm sure Dave Tippett can think of something. Oddly enough, this series may end up being the more high-scoring series than Pittsburgh-Philly. Plus, the Stars still have Marty Turco.



*You know what's crazy about Detroit? Their top line 5-on-5 is Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Rafalski-Lidstrom. Their top power play unit? Those same 5 guys. Their top crunch-time penalty kill? Same guys, minus Holmstrom. That's pretty awesome.

Is Chris Chelios about to kiss Zetterberg? I bet that happens to Henrik all the time.

Prediction: I think I'm going to have to break James' heart and go with the Red Wings fairly easily... 5 games? Sorry guys, but Sweden>Finland at hockey.

Pittsburgh v. Philadelphia



This series is weird for me because the city of Philadelphia is waaaaaaaaay better than Pittsburgh, but I like Pittsburgh's hockey team waaaaaaaaaaaaay more than Philadelphia's. I guess I'll cheer against Philly because I hate their style of play and Daniel Briere looks like Jack White. Plus Ben Franklin was a overrated philanderer and invented way too much shit. Give someone else a shot, man, don't be greedy. Also, cheesesteaks? What the fuck is that? What else is Philadelphia famous for, heart disease?

Prediction: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that someone in Philadelphia complains about the officiating. Just a little.

Stars-Wings preview III: D and O

In case you'd rather not scroll, here's a link to parts 1 and 2 of this increasingly exhaustive study of all things Wings and Stars:

Part 1

Part 2

OK, now let me break down the offensive and defensive units and give my prediction. As the series goes on, I'll probably post TiVo-delayed thoughts as well as a few corny theories and observations. Enjoy.

1. Top End Forwards

Photoshop Credit: Zanstorm .

With all due respect to The Mule and Mike Modano, this category basically comes down to a battle between Brenden (with an E) Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Brad Richards versus Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

As much as I love the play of the Stars' troika, the Zetterberg-Datsyuk combo is up there with Crosby-Malkin, St. Louis-Lecavalier and Heatley-Spezza as the best 1-2 punches the NHL has to offer.

Witnessing hockey games up close gave me a heightened sense of appreciation for just about every team I've seen, from Peter Forsberg in one of the last games of his prime and Teemu Selanne during his post-lockout renaissance. But seeing the Red Wings in the flesh truly makes you appreciate the elite talent of Zetterberg and the stunning genius of half man/half computer Nicklas Lidstrom.

As nice as Morrow and Ribeiro's stats were this year, Zetterberg's year was just a few strides (and maybe one injury) short of Hart Trophy caliber. He managed 92 points via 43 goals and 49 assists, including 7 game-winners and an outstanding +30. Zetterberg and Datsyuk aren't exactly defensive liabilities either, being that they both are candidates for the Selke award (one of the biggest compliments a forward can receive).

I think that Morrow, Ribeiro and Richards are difference members and are very much for real. But Zetterberg and Datsyuk are practically from another planet.

Advantage: Red Wings

2. Scoring depth

Red Wings blogger Matt Saler made a great point that the Red Wings' secondary scoring has been underrated at times in his Q & A on the immortal Mirtle's blog. Still, when looking at the Red Wings regular season team stats it's still reasonable to say that the Red Wings offense is pretty top-heavy (there's a 50 point drop from Datsyuk to their third-highest point producing forward, Daniel Cleary).

Naturally, Johan Franzen bridges that gap considerably in the playoffs, and it's hard to overlook the top-notch offensive abilities of Lidstrom and former NJ Devil Brian Rafalski.

While the gap in secondary scoring might be overstated, it still seems clear that the Stars have more balance in their offense. Looking at their regular season offense, there's a clear hierarchy too but there's a lot more guys contributing around 30 pts.

The Stars hold the advantage in depth, especially if Stu Barnes can come back from injury. But, again, the gap is nowhere near as big as it might seem (and don't forget about Jiri Hudler).

Advantage: Stars

3. Defense

When your team features Nicklas Lidstrom, one of the most flawless hockey players in NHL history, you're pretty much always at the advantage. Lidstrom differs from many shutdown D-men in that he rarely lowers his game to Prongerian depths of goonery. Simply put, he doesn't need to.

Brian Rafalski is, in my opinion, a huge upgrade over oft-injured current Duck Mathieu Schneider, if for no other reason than he typically stays on the ice and off the gurney (I'd also say he's just flat out better during the playoffs). Niklas Kronwall also looks like he's blossoming into the force pundits have been predicting for a few years, which is sad news for people who continue to countdown the crumbling of the Red Wing Empire.

Chris Chelios is old. But for a guy who was around when Father Time was wearing diapers, he's still a surprisingly capable defenseman albeit in a reduced role.

Still, the Stars aren't exactly Swiss cheese either.

Smokin' Sergei Zubov might not be quite as flawless as Lidstrom, but he's monumentally important to the Stars' D. But Zubov isn't the story of this year's playoffs. No, that goes to a guy who burst on the scene...

Sleek does it again

Yes, that would be none other than the breakout defenseman of this year's playoffs, Stephane Robidas. Robidas frequently caught my eye back before he started really making an impact, as it was clear as day that the guy could skate like a bat out of hell. But it wasn't until this season (and the playoffs especially) that "Robo-das" started to put a nice little ribbon on all that promise. He helped lead the Stars past the Ducks when Zubov was smoking away on the trainer's bench and was on the ice for many of the Stars' biggest playoff goals.His 8 playoff points in '08 are more than all of his other postseason NHL totals combined.

Thanks to Sleek for the kick-ass PhotoShop, although I worry that giving him a Robocop-inspired nickname might doom him to a future full of injury and disappointment (see: Ed "Jovocop" Jovanovski).

Both teams are heartily devoted to defense, so this is yet another category where neither team truly dominates. Still, giving a "pass" is just kinda wussy material, so...

Advantage: Red Wings