OT: Go Dodgers

Russell Martin's Canadian, so this counts as appropriate for this blog. The Angels can go fuck themselves.

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.

Nadal, Federer and the need for legitimate winners

Rafael Nadal: a whimpering, tennis world splicing of Petr Sykora and Ed Hochuli?

I don't consider myself a tennis fan, but my friend and I were lucky to stumble upon today's Wimbledon final where Nadal finally bested Federer in the longest Wimbledon final ever. The ridiculously close match made me think of those unforgettable marathon OT games in the NHL playoffs.

It compels me to say that sudden death overtime is the only way a playoff hockey game should ever be decided.

Gary Bettman and his team of buffoons can fumble perfect marketing opportunities, bungle year-long strikes and allow the league to expand to places where ice barely exists, but they must not be allowed to ruin the playoffs.

Pittsburgh - Detroit was a classic. San Jose - Dallas was pretty damn amazing. And the tennis equivalent of a multi-OT game was compelling to even the most casual observers. Let that be a lesson to the NHL.

Please, don't fuck this up.

Nothing left now but the hot stove...

In many ways, this was a playoff run for the ages. After hearing about the best-since-2002 ratings (sort of sad in some ways, really) I cannot help but compare this year to the majestic Mark McGwire - Sammy Sosa home run battle that "saved" baseball after its lockout.

(I guess McGwire = the Red Wings for favorite and team color reasons, although that's stretching an already thin analogy even thinner. Unless we find out that the Penguins were corking their sticks...)

Ultimately, the NHL's best team won. After the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Prongoilers and other Cinderella teams began fighting for and sometimes even winning the Cup, it's really interesting that we've had back to back dominant teams. The Red Wings and Ducks were both the odds-on favorites in their respective Cup runs, which shows you that there's always a trend even when it seems like new ground is being broken.

Anyway, it will be both nice and depressing to have a little break from the nail biting back and forth hockey of the playoffs. But soon enough, October will be upon us. And who knows which team will be the odds-on favorite to win the Pacific.

What are the Sharks, Ducks, and Stars going to look like after retirements, firings and free agency take their course? Will the Kings shock the world and find some competent goaltending? And could the Battle of California become the Battle of the Pacific (that last question is probably my fault)?

There's plenty of stories to follow. Over the hot, hockey-less months I'll throw in some random posts ranging from not particularly hockey related to cockamamie backseat GMing posts. All in the hopes of entertaining the unwashed hockey masses.

Until the draft, though, Old Lady NHL can take a break and rest her weary eyes...

Burnside roofs it with his Stanley Cup Playoffs wrap-up...

Best Stanley Cup Finals game of the 2000s?

Did we just witness the best game of this almost-decade? Just wondering.

(And I'm not just saying that because it delayed the awful Jay Leno for an hour...)

(Also, I wish Rudy Kelly was around to see whether or not he thought the officiating was awful.)

(Pensblog is going to be burning the midnight crack-of-dawn oil for this one...what a game...)

(OK, I'll stop...)

heartattackblog

The first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals made you wonder if the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks switched jerseys with the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were that lifeless and one-sided.

But, to the luck of the NHL and NBC, the first game on NBC was a doozy. I'm going to have to do some drinking to calm my nerves.

And the blogosphere eagerly awaits what Pensblog has to say (clearly, the headline was a total ripoff more than a little bit inspired by their writings).

It's over

Mike Modano's future figures to be one of the big stories of the off-season.

Well, that was decisive. The Red Wings left no doubt about which team deserved to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals tonight, with a brutal 4-1 win over the Stars. If I had to point to one person in this series, it has to be Henrik Zetterberg.

With all the publicity Ovechkin and Crosby get, Zetterberg tends to slip under the radar for casual NHL fans. But he's absolutely one of the best forwards in the NHL. Plus he looks a lot like Jared Leto.

A hearty tip of the cap goes to Stars fans, many of whom sat through what must have been a tough game to watch in order to bid the Stars a fitting adieu. Dallas fans get a lot of guff for being front runners (sometimes deservedly so, although you could say that about any fans, really). And hockey in Dallas is often treated as a joke.

But tonight Stars fans showed a lot of character by sticking around to give Morrow & Co. a salute. Sometimes, fans match the team. Both showed plenty of heart this year.

Sure, it must hurt to get this far and not go all the way, especially for older guys like Modano and Zubov. And Marty Turco plays with the daring of a young man, but he's a lot older than he seems.

But it's hard not to be positive about this team's future. Ribeiro and Morrow developed into one of the best lines in the Western Conference. Stephane Robidas scored the last goal of the Stars season and raised his game substantially. The team's young defense looks like it will ease the inevitable loss of Zubov. And maybe most importantly, from an annoying storline standpoint, Turco shook a ton of supposed monkeys off his back.

Morrow proved the worthiness of his captaincy with Thor-like power.

There's plenty of questions going into the 2008-2009 season. Will Modano retire? Can Ribeiro stay focused and remain in the second or third tier of scoring forwards? Is Phillipe Boucher still alive? And can the Stars manage to sign a finisher for Mr. $5 dollar shake, Brad Richards?

I'll be around to offer puns and observations along the way. Who knows, maybe next season I'll be butchering the English language as part of The Battle of the Pacific? We'll see.

Also, I threw my name in the hat at the Live Blog at the FanHouse today. That Liveblog thing is the cat's pajamas, really. (Sure, I mostly talked about Ray Emery eating bugs and hockey video games, but give me a break the game was over by the 1st period!)

So, this isn't really goodbye. Just see you later...

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...

To goal or not to goal: what the process to decide a video reviewed goal must look like in Toronto

Some clever blogger(s) decided that the NHL uses an arbitrary wheel to decide suspensions, but after watching Brenden Morrow and Sidney Crosby get robbed of goals because of context (or cowardice or stupidity), I'm guessing that the Toronto video goal judging looks a lot like this:

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.

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

And my prediction

Note: Blogger for some reason refused to allow me to keep the font for the prediction section below Maddox-level huge, so I decided to split it from the rest of the post. (Let's just pretend I did it for dramatic effect)

Prediction

This series is the brainiest duel in many years. You have two consistently competent coaches in Mike Babcock (formerly of Ducks Cinderella run fame) and Dave Tippett (whose mustache I still sort of miss). Each team has plenty of experience, a nice mixture of grit and European flair, plus enough skeletons in their playoff closet to remind them that they have a long way to go before they can smile and relax.

It's a tough call, really. The Red Wings have been so lights-out that Marty Turco's Run of Redemption could be devoured by their dominant, puck possessive style. Then again, maybe the Red Wings greatest "weakness" might end up being their goaltending after all.

My brain says Detroit.

But my heart, gut and balls say "Dallas is the team of destiny."

The Stars have been tested by two tough Battles of California and have convincingly defeated teams pundits expected to see sipping from the greatest trophy in sports. The Red Wings either haven't really been tested or are simply better than anyone else.

As with most decisions in my life, I'm going to go with feeling over theory.

My pick: Stars in six nail-biting epics (going 2-1 at the Joe).

Breaking down the Stars - Wings Part 1: the next round of Goalie H-O-R-S-E

Before I get into any of my pre-series buffoonery, the YouTube Gods demand that I embed the two jaw dropping saves of that epic 4 OT game:

OK, now that I've got that out of my system, lemme do my best to breakdown the Stars-Wings series. Since there's an agonizingly long break (Thursday? RAAUGH I can't wait that long!!!) between games, I figure I might as well breakdown the bejesus out of this series. So I'll chop it up into a few digestible chunks, starting with the netminders:

Marty Turco vs. Chris Osgood/the rotting corpse of Dominik Hasek

If this were just NHL '08 (why can't everything in life be NHL '08, honestly?) then it would be an easy call to choose Marty Turco. And although Turco has had his catcallers and doubters when it comes to big game performances, few goalies in the history of the NHL have received more semi-unfair abuse than Chris Osgood.

Note: I know that Osgood let up an infamous goal back in the mid-90s, one of those career-defining gaffes. But I cannot remember what team it was against and YouTube seems to only have positive Osgood clips. But then I realized that Osgood would live on in YouTube immortality for the Roy fight, not that gaffe:

*Sigh* Simpler times. Scott Burnside did a solid little breakdown of the series on ESPN:

"Osgood leads the league with a 1.52 goals-against average and a third-best .937 save percentage. Turco has a 1.73 GAA and .929 save percentage."

But there are some disturbing statistics that Burnside overlooked, and they paint an interesting picture that makes you wonder if the Red Wings are in Turco's head. Stars fans might want to burn their eyes or at least look away from the screen at these disturbing statistics:

"The former University of Michigan star is 2-10-5 lifetime against the Red Wings, which includes an 0-7-2 record in Detroit, where he has posted a 3.38 goals-against average and awful .882 save percentage."

Yikes. Still, there's no doubt that Turco is on Old Man Momentum's speed dial this year. Breaking the Stars' single playoff game record with 61 saves is the icing on his playoff redemption sundae.

No doubt about it, Chris Osgood has been putting up bananas numbers all year. But it's difficult to tell how much of that is chalked up to the luxury that is roving supercomputer on skates Nicklas Lidstrom making the right play basically every moment he's on the ice (not to mention the benefits of playing behind Mike Babbock's brilliant puck possession system). Still, Osgood is an experienced, solid goalie who won't lose the game/pull a Carey Price for his typically superior team.

Check out Osgood's scouting report (which includes an uncalled for potshot "has always had trouble with long shots") and see his expansive playoff experience. And you never know when the man with the Slinky Spine might come back from the dead again.

It's difficult to hate Osgood, especially considering the abuse he's faced over the years, but Turco has to be the pick as the top goalie in this series. Turco's world-class ability to play the puck gives a lot of teams fits and it might just be a skill that grants the Stars an occasional reprieve from the Red Wings collective hockey IQ.

It also doesn't hurt that he's had two tough series to really get his swagger back, while the Wings absolutely annihilated an Avalanche team that, let's face it, probably didn't deserve to be in the second round. Sometimes an easy series can be poison for a great team's rhythm.

There's basically two ways this goalie matchup can go: either both guys will have zero margin of error (good) or Turco will have to conjure the ghost of 2003 J.S. Giguere simply to keep the Stars from getting destroyed (bad). If it's more of the coin-flip-it's-anybody's-game variety, the Stars just might have a chance to make a few octopus-chucking hands clammy.

But this is the scariest, smartest Red Wings team since well before the lockout.

Goaltending Advantage: Stars.

Speaking of Playoff Overtime...

Well wasn't that something last night? The seventh overtime period of the six-game series, grittily played from opening whistle until Brendan Morrow's final tally early on a Cinco morning. I got the following e-mail sent to me 10 days ago, but between my 'week off' and the zaniness of the Sharks-Stars series I've been waiting to post it, but I guess now it's as appropriate as it's ever going to be:

Earl--

My name is Jonathan Harris and I work at a human-powered search service called Mahalo.com.

I've been a big fan of The Battle of California for a few seasons now and appreciate the pro-Ducks coverage I can get there (I'm a die-hard Anaheim fan myself, and am still reeling from high expectations and disappointment.)

At any rate, one of my associates at Mahalo has recently completed a page celebrating the Best Hockey OT Winners in NHL history. We think this is a great page with original content and commentary and we're trying to get it featured on as many hockey/sports related blogs as we can. I thought you might like to see it, considering your love of the game and penchant for slightly off-beat hockey content off your own (I particularly like your recent cartoon of the Sharks and Flames begging each other to score first).

Take a look at the page when you get a chance. Let us know what we're missing and how we can improve the result!

Jonathan

Nothing gets my attention like a little flattery. So, if you're inclined, take a look at their collection of OT winners and offer your suggestions, either here or on their comments section. The plug e-mail also got me thinking, though, 'What was my favorite OT winner in Anaheim's playoff history?' It's not that easy a question, I think, because it should consider:

a) The prettiness or grittiness of the goal
b) The game up to that point (were goalies unbeatable to that point?)
c) The importance of the game and perhaps what followed
d) The game-winning hero

Based on that criteria, I am leaning towards Steve Rucchin's overtime winner in G4 of the first round of the 2003 playoffs, the goal that completed the sweep of the defending champion Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't the prettiest of goals, but it was the only time I ever saw defenseman Keith Carney carry the puck behind the opponent's net, and Rucchin was as appropriate a hero as Anaheim had on that squad. It was a huge statement goal, one that vanquished the Red Wings curse that had swept Anaheim in both previous playoff appearances, and helped propel the upstart Ducks all the way to the seventh game of the cup finals.

Still, I am open to suggestions on this one, so let me open it up to the comments: For any team, what was your favorite OT winner in your team's playoff history? Who was the hero, and why was it so special?

(Side note: Incidentally, today is the 5-year anniversary of the G6 when Anaheim ousted the Dallas Stars in 2003. I remember the date specifically, because a fan sitting next to me at that game had put together one of the more memorable signs I saw that playoffs: "It's Cinco de Mayo--Time to Sink DiMaio!" Rob DiMaio was just a bit player for Dallas, of course, but I've always been a sucker for stubborn puns.)

Dang

Well, I suppose technically, the Sharks went farther than they did in previous seasons. I know Doug Wilson said that he thinks no one should question the heart of this group of players, and perhaps that's true--their comebacks certainly showed a never-say-die attitude that we haven't seen previously.

So that's all well and good, but you know, if the Sharks played with both smarts and hearts during the first three games of the Dallas series, they'd be gearing up to play Detroit right now. With leads in all of the games, the Sharks shot themselves in the foot with their constant reliance on a stupid defensive shell that couldn't handle the Brenden Morrow line. That same defensive shell often led to several panic plays that gave you that horrible "This is gonna lead to a goal" feeling. The damn thing never, ever, ever works, and one has to wonder whether their constant reliance on it is a coaching strategy issue or an issue of the players just not getting it.

As I mentioned before, there definitely needs to be a change in the team, but I don't think that change has anything to do with Patrick Marleau or Joe Thornton. I'll put together a full post-mortem in a few days after I've had a few days to digest the whole thing. I'll still be covering the playoffs on my other blog and FoxSports.com, but I'll probably be laying low here for a little bit. I'm sure all Sharks fans just want to breathe for a few seconds anyways.

Marathong

I knew the Stars wouldn't make it through a single playoff year without at least one ridiculous game that would make Jaromir Jagr lose 8 lbs. I'm writing this during the intermission after the Third OT and it might be a while until I could get much more up, so here's a few dopey observations to warm your hockey logs (good God look at what three OTs will do to my already horrid punnery).

ANYWAY...

Evgeni Nabokov's first OT save was artful to say the least. Definite save-of-the-year material when you consider the importance and paper thin margin of error. But just as I was about to bring out the annointing oils, Marty Turco made an awesome throwback kick save. (1,000 Monopoly dollars to whoever can link me the YouTube clips on those bad boys)

Anyway, after those two saves I decided that Turco and Nabokov must be engaged in some form of Goalie H-O-R-S-E. By my unofficial count, Turco's on H-O-R-S at this point.

• Mike Ribeiro's hesitation during a tense moment definitely solidified the time-honored shooting cliche of having too much time in front of the goalie.

• If multiple scoring chances would dictate an OT GWG and the Stars win, Brad Richards would probably deserve the goal because he's had a million close calls in this game.

• Am I wrong in thinking that Jeremy Roenick bares a striking resemblance to cooky kindred spirit Willem Dafoe? I'd certainly cast him in the lead role in the JR Story.

Sharks Gameday: Cliches and Statistics

I think we're running out of sports cliches to describe where the San Jose Sharks sit. Backs against the wall, give a 110%, do or die, bla bla bla. Momentum does exist in sports, but it's not a game to game thing. It's more like an ebb and flow, and it can only last one or two shifts or it can last an entire playoffs. It's the kind of thing you can't really detect or define; you just know it when you see it.

Ron Wilson's been trying to psych his team up by talking about history. Well, here are some stats courtesy of WhoWins:

(Mike's note: Some of these numbers were compiled after looking at a bazillion tables. I might have made a counting error.)

-In NHL history, 150 teams have been down 0-3. Of those teams, only two have come back (1942 Maple Leafs and 1975 Islanders).
-Of those comebacks, one was for the home-team series and one was for the visitor-team series.
-The average win percentage of the team up 3-0 winning game 4 (in other words, a sweep) is 65.1%.
-One comeback was in the Stanley Cup Final (Leafs), the one was in the conference semifinal (Islanders)
-In the modern era, a Game 7 has only been forced twice, both by the Islanders in 1975 (one win, one loss). In the early days of the NHL, this happened a few times, such as the 1939 Boston win over the New York Rangers.
-In total, ten teams have come back to force Game 6. In the modern era, only five teams have done this, the most recent being the 2004 Colorado Avalanche--losing to the San Jose Sharks.

So, the whole deal is about making history, right? Well, the Sharks are in pretty rare company as it is, and if they pull off tonight, they'll be in even rarer company.

The big, big difference between a lot of 3-0 series and this one is that the games have been extremely tight affairs with a number of overtime periods and disallowed goals. For the Sharks, we all know how they can be topsy-turvey in a maddening way; at this point, I don't question their heart anymore, I question their smarts, because if they'd played smart the whole way through, we wouldn't be in this mess. Still, you learn from your mistakes, and this team has been set on proving to everyone that they could withstand adversity.

Well, here's the ultimate adversity. Let's take another step towards history tonight.

Go Sharks.

This Is It

Alright, man. You've had all the regular season success, the praise, the accolades. Now it's time to buck up and show your worth when the stakes are higher. Put your team on your back and control this game. You're the inspirational leader to this team. You're the one who decides whether or not you win this game. Now, I know you've got a history of coming up short in the post-season, but I believe you can come through in this game. The people need you to be great, they want you to be great, but they need you to give them a reason to anoint you. Likewise, some want you to fail so they can label you soft or a choker, but you can shut them up forever today. You ultimately write your own story, Kevin Garnett; what's it going to be?

(Who'd you think I was talking about?)

Sharks vs Dallas Stars Game 5 photos

More notes and photos from the Sharks 3-2 OT win in game 5 will be up here soon. Now accepting nicknames for Joe Pavelski.