West Conference Final: (1) Detroit vs. (2) Anaheim
Battle of the big dogs in the West. Anaheim’s not a surprise to me here but I must say Detroit is. Of course, Detroit finished first in the Western Conference, missed winning the President’s Trophy by less than a single point, which is very much consistent with their success… well, seems like forever now. Maybe I have to start giving them a little credit.
If nothing else, I’m tempted to pick the Wings if only because of the three series I’ve been wrong on so far this year, TWO have been picking the Wings to lose.
The Wings will continue to win if they can survive the loss of their number 2 defenceman (Schneider) and continue to play their solid defensive game - limit shots on Hasek, play patiently, make the most of the opportunities as they occur. I also the Wings being successful if they can lengthen the series - the Ducks have only played 10 games so far in the playoffs and they rely heavily on 6 forwards and 4 defencemen. Do they have the endurance to last in a long series against a difficult opponent?
The Ducks will win if they succeed where Calgary and San Jose failed - get bodies to the net and get Hasek off his game without taking penalties. They have the luxury of keeping a Norris candidate on the ice twice as often as Detroit and both of their top two lines have performed very well so far this year. If this series were starting in Anaheim I think I would pick the Ducks, but with home ice advantage lying with the Wings, Anaheim has an uphill battle to climb with their first serious test this summer. They also need their core of young players, whom they rely on quite heavily, to play above their level of experience.
Home ice advantage and the unwillingness to be wrong picking Detroit to lose in three straight series has me giving this one to the Wings, but I suspect Anaheim will draw it out to the limit.
My prediction: Detroit in 7
May 9th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
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