(8) Anaheim Ducks (0-0) at (2) Detroit Red Wings (0-0), 7 p.m.
Coming off a major upset in the opening round of the playoffs, the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks will visit the defending champion Detroit Red Wings tonight at Joe Louis Arena in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals.
The Ducks ousted the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in the conference quarterfinals to become the eighth No. 8 team to knock off a No. 1 since 1994. That upset set the stage for this series, which pits the last two Stanley Cup champions against each other.
The second-seeded Red Wings are trying to become the first NHL team to repeat as Cup champions since the franchise did it themselves back in 1997 and '98. Detroit's repeat run got off to an excellent start in Round 1, as the Wings battered Columbus en route to a four-game sweep.
The Red Wings and Ducks have met on four occasions in the postseason, with each team winning two series. Anaheim, however, has won the last two playoff encounters, including a six-game triumph over Detroit two years ago in the conference finals.
All told, Anaheim has taken eight of the last 10 playoff games against the Red Wings.
Detroit won three out of four against the Ducks during the 2008-09 regular season and was held to fewer than four goals in just one of those matchups.
Detroit is led on offense by a trio of superstar forwards in Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa. Datsyuk, the most complete player in that group, led the Red Wings with 97 points (32 goals, 65 assists) this year and is a finalist for three awards -- the Hart (MVP), Selke (top defensive forward) and Lady Byng (sportsmanship).
Datsyuk had one goal and one assist for Detroit in the opening round, while Zetterberg, last year's Conn Smythe recipient, led Detroit with three goals in the series against Columbus. Hossa had two goals and two assists for Detroit in the conference quarterfinals.
On the back end, the Red Wings have the most-decorated defenseman of his generation in Nicklas Lidstrom, who may win his seventh Norris Trophy as the league's top blueliner this year.
Lidstrom, who became the first European captain to lead his club to a Stanley Cup title last year, is the most complete rearguard in the NHL, as he possesses an amazing array of skills on both the defensive and offensive ends of the ice. Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall each had four points in the opening round to lead Detroit defensemen in offense.
Chris Osgood had a rough regular season between the pipes for Detroit, but was excellent in the opening round against the Blue Jackets, going 4-0 with a 1.75 goals against average and .936 save percentage. In contrast, he struggled to a 3.09 GAA and .887 save percentage during the regular season.
Osgood won his third Stanley Cup title last season and his second as a starting goaltender.
Detroit will be without veteran forward Kris Draper for the first two games of this series as he battles an upper-body injury. Draper, who had seven goals and 10 assists during the regular season, didn't play at all in the Columbus series.
Meanwhile, the most notable difference between this year's Ducks and the championship team of two years ago is the starting goaltender. In 2007, Jean- Sebastien Giguere turned in an outstanding postseason between the pipes, going 13-4 with a 1.97 GAA in the playoffs that year. However, Giguere, who also won a Conn Smythe for Anaheim in 2003, struggled this year to a 19-18-6 record and 3.10 GAA in 46 games and it was 27-year-old Jonas Hiller (23-15-1, 2.39 GAA) who was instrumental in leading the Ducks to a 10-2-1 record down the stretch en route to a playoff spot.
Despite the fact that Hiller had never played in an NHL postseason game, the Ducks decided to start the second-year pro against the Sharks. Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle would not regret the decision, as the Swiss backstop recorded a pair of shutouts and finished the series with a 1.65 GAA and .957 save percentage.
The good news for the Ducks is that if Hiller does struggle against Detroit, they have Giguere, one of the best postseason goaltenders of this millennium, as the backup.
Making life easier for whomever is in net for Anaheim is the play of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, who make up the Ducks' outstanding top defensive pairing. Both players are former Norris Trophy winners and were the key ingredients to Anaheim's 2007 title run, which ended with Niedermayer claiming the Conn Smythe.
On offense, the Ducks are led by the top unit of Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry, who combined for 17 goals and 21 assists in the team's last eight regular-season games. The line continued to dominate in the first round against the Sharks, accounting for exactly half of Anaheim's 18 goals in the series.
Detroit, which will also host Game 2 on Sunday, had a 27-9-5 record as the host this year. The Ducks posted a solid 22-15-4 mark as the visiting club.
Coming off a major upset in the opening round of the playoffs, the eighth-seeded Anaheim Ducks will visit the defending champion Detroit Red Wings tonight at Joe Louis Arena in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals.
The Ducks ousted the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in the conference quarterfinals to become the eighth No. 8 team to knock off a No. 1 since 1994. That upset set the stage for this series, which pits the last two Stanley Cup champions against each other.
The second-seeded Red Wings are trying to become the first NHL team to repeat as Cup champions since the franchise did it themselves back in 1997 and '98. Detroit's repeat run got off to an excellent start in Round 1, as the Wings battered Columbus en route to a four-game sweep.
The Red Wings and Ducks have met on four occasions in the postseason, with each team winning two series. Anaheim, however, has won the last two playoff encounters, including a six-game triumph over Detroit two years ago in the conference finals.
All told, Anaheim has taken eight of the last 10 playoff games against the Red Wings.
Detroit won three out of four against the Ducks during the 2008-09 regular season and was held to fewer than four goals in just one of those matchups.
Detroit is led on offense by a trio of superstar forwards in Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa. Datsyuk, the most complete player in that group, led the Red Wings with 97 points (32 goals, 65 assists) this year and is a finalist for three awards -- the Hart (MVP), Selke (top defensive forward) and Lady Byng (sportsmanship).
Datsyuk had one goal and one assist for Detroit in the opening round, while Zetterberg, last year's Conn Smythe recipient, led Detroit with three goals in the series against Columbus. Hossa had two goals and two assists for Detroit in the conference quarterfinals.
On the back end, the Red Wings have the most-decorated defenseman of his generation in Nicklas Lidstrom, who may win his seventh Norris Trophy as the league's top blueliner this year.
Lidstrom, who became the first European captain to lead his club to a Stanley Cup title last year, is the most complete rearguard in the NHL, as he possesses an amazing array of skills on both the defensive and offensive ends of the ice. Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall each had four points in the opening round to lead Detroit defensemen in offense.
Chris Osgood had a rough regular season between the pipes for Detroit, but was excellent in the opening round against the Blue Jackets, going 4-0 with a 1.75 goals against average and .936 save percentage. In contrast, he struggled to a 3.09 GAA and .887 save percentage during the regular season.
Osgood won his third Stanley Cup title last season and his second as a starting goaltender.
Detroit will be without veteran forward Kris Draper for the first two games of this series as he battles an upper-body injury. Draper, who had seven goals and 10 assists during the regular season, didn't play at all in the Columbus series.
Meanwhile, the most notable difference between this year's Ducks and the championship team of two years ago is the starting goaltender. In 2007, Jean- Sebastien Giguere turned in an outstanding postseason between the pipes, going 13-4 with a 1.97 GAA in the playoffs that year. However, Giguere, who also won a Conn Smythe for Anaheim in 2003, struggled this year to a 19-18-6 record and 3.10 GAA in 46 games and it was 27-year-old Jonas Hiller (23-15-1, 2.39 GAA) who was instrumental in leading the Ducks to a 10-2-1 record down the stretch en route to a playoff spot.
Despite the fact that Hiller had never played in an NHL postseason game, the Ducks decided to start the second-year pro against the Sharks. Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle would not regret the decision, as the Swiss backstop recorded a pair of shutouts and finished the series with a 1.65 GAA and .957 save percentage.
The good news for the Ducks is that if Hiller does struggle against Detroit, they have Giguere, one of the best postseason goaltenders of this millennium, as the backup.
Making life easier for whomever is in net for Anaheim is the play of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, who make up the Ducks' outstanding top defensive pairing. Both players are former Norris Trophy winners and were the key ingredients to Anaheim's 2007 title run, which ended with Niedermayer claiming the Conn Smythe.
On offense, the Ducks are led by the top unit of Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry, who combined for 17 goals and 21 assists in the team's last eight regular-season games. The line continued to dominate in the first round against the Sharks, accounting for exactly half of Anaheim's 18 goals in the series.
Detroit, which will also host Game 2 on Sunday, had a 27-9-5 record as the host this year. The Ducks posted a solid 22-15-4 mark as the visiting club.
