 |
POWER
PLAY |
29TH
- 14.6 |
PENALTY
KILL |
20TH
- 81.4 |
FORWARDS |
PAUL
STASTNY |
24-47-71
(+22) |
ANDREW
BRUNETTE |
19-40-59
(+5) |
MILAN
HEJDUK |
29-25-54
(+8) |
DEFENSEMEN |
JM
LILES |
6-26-32
(+2) |
RUSLAN
SALEI |
6-24-30
(-4) |
BRETT
CLARK |
5-16-21
(+5) |
GOALTENDERS |
JOSE
THEODORE |
28-21-3
(3 SO)
2.44 GA
.910 PCT |
|
PETER
BUDAJ |
16-10-4
(0 SO)
2.57 GA
.903 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Colorado
vs Detroit |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
| 1 |
APR.
24 |
COLORADO
3 - DETROIT 4 |
SEED
6 |
2 |
APR.
26 |
COLORADO
1 - DETROIT 5 |
SEED
1 |
44-31-7
(95) |
3 |
APR.
29 |
DETROIT
4 - COLORADO 3 |
54-21-7
(115) |
| |
4 |
MAY 1 |
DETROIT
8 - COLORADO 2 |
|
| |
5 |
MAY 3 |
COLORADO at DETROIT |
|
| |
6 |
MAY 5 |
DETROIT at COLORADO |
|
| |
7 |
MAY 7 |
COLORADO at DETROIT |
|
| Detroit
Wins Series 4-0 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW |
| |
Colorado
Avalanche - 44-31-7
For the first time six years we have a return to the Avalanche
vs. Red Wings rivalry that dominated the Western Conference
from the mid 90's until the season lost to labor strife
in 2004 -2005. Losing Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote due
to salary cap restrictions and questionable management
decisions put the vaunted rivalry on hold as the depleted
Colorado team struggled to find it's sea legs in the turbulent
post lockout era.
With the return of the magic initiated by reacquiring
Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote at the trading deadline
this season the 'Avs are ready to battle for their rightful
place in the Western Conference upper echelon.
Colorado has great depth at forward including the previously
mentioned Forsberg. All time everything and team captain
Joe Sakic can still dazzle and astound with his amazing
wrist shot, his leadership, and work ethic. He will most
likely continue to center the first line alongside the
wily vet Andrew Brunette and young skilled winger, Wojtek
Wolski.
Paul Stastny, son of former Quebec Nordique great Peter
Stastny, is fast becoming the go to guy centering the
line with Forsberg and former league top goal scorer,
Milan Hedjuk, on the wings.
The third scoring line for the Colorado Avalanche consist
of hard nosed power forward Ryan Smyth and newcomer David
Jones centered by Tyler Arnason, This line has had some
great scoring chances and is very skilled at moving the
puck around and creating opportunities for Smyth in front
of the opposing goaltender.
Ian Laperriere, Ben Guite and one of Cody Mcleod or Cody
McCormick make up the checking line but this line can
also score some goals. This is also the forward grouping
most likely to deliver some frontier justice when and
where it is needed.
On defense the 'Avs late-season acquisitions of Ruslan
Salei and Foote have gone a long way towards cementing
what was an inconsistent blue line. The single greatest
improvement in the team over the course of the season
is the play of the defensmen. Scott Hannan and John-Michael
Liles are the creative pairing with Hannan's no-nonsense
stay at home style as the perfect compliment to Liles'
offensive flair. Foote and Kurt Sauer are the shutdown
pairing that play against the oppositions top forward
lines leaving Salei and Jordan Leopold to check the opponent's
secondary forward lines. Jeff Finger and fleet footed
Kyle Cumiskey will be available for spot play or in the
event of an injury.
Jose Theodore has turned his career around with the help
of some hard work, timely advice from a former goalie
and the assistance of the 'Avs goalie coach Jeff Hacket.
A former Vezina and Hart trophy winner, Theodore has struggled
mightily the past three years. Last year he was benched
for most of the season and relegated to playing backup
and head cheerleader for Peter Budaj, his resurgence is
probably the second biggest story of the 'Avs season and
the biggest story in the playoffs so far.
An Avalanche against Red Wings series needs no hype and
has all the ready made anticipation of one of the very
best, bloodiest, and bitterest rivalries in recent NHL
history. There are even a few players from both teams
that were a part of some of the feuding. Forsberg and
Foote, two of the principals involved in the nastiness
on the Avalanche team are back and Joe Sakic is still
here. Kris Draper, Darren McCarty, Kirk Maltby, and Nicklas
Lidstrom still play for the Wings although it is doubtful
that the violent aspect of the rivalry will be reborn
the competitiveness will be rekindled and that bodes well
for a very entertaining series.
Detroit Red Wings 54-21-7
The President's Cup winners for the best regular season
record in the NHL this season obviously come into this
series as the #1 overall seed and have had their way with
the Colorado Avalanche in all four of the regular season
match ups including shutting them out in the last three
games.
Detroit boasts some extremely talented forwards starting
with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. These two recorded
over 90 points each during the regular season and have
been the cornerstones offensively for this team. They
are joined on the top line by Thomas Holmstrom, an opportunistic
player in front of the net with a great pair of hands
to do the work down low.
The second forward line is made up of Valtteri Filippula,
Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary, three serious scoring threats
that are also quick and hard to contain. Dallas Drake,
Kris Draper and Mikael Samuelsson comprise the shutdown
third line with Jiri Hudler, Darren Helm and Darren McCarty
assigned the checking role but Jiri Hudler also has a
scorer's touch so that is something the Avalanche will
need to watch out for.
The reigning Norris Trophy winner is the Red Wings stalwart
defenseman, Nicklas Lidstrom. If "Lidas" keeps up his
amazing play for a few more years some new words are going
to be needed to describe him. As is Lidstrom was the league's
leading blue line scorer and a likely shoe-in for the
Norris again this post season. He is paired with Brian
Rafalski, the former New Jersey Devil.
Niklas Kronwall who is paired with Brad Stuart, has been
one of the best Red Wing defensemen in the playoffs thus
far. He not only hits hard and often but had five assists
to his credit in the series against Nashville.
The ageless wonder on defense, Chris Chelios, will either
play with Brett Lebda or Andres Lilja. At 46 Chelios is
not the dominant player he used to be but still has the
smarts and skill to contribute in a positive way each
and every night.
Dominick Hasek faltered badly in the Nashville playoff
series and has been benched to allow Chris Osgood to guard
the crease in the second round. All reports on Osgood
claim he has improved his positioning and rebound control
and has really rounded into the complete goalie. He played
very well in relief of Hasek to finish out the Predators.
Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg are the leaders of this
Red Wings team these three will dictate how far the Wings
advance in the playoffs.
The Detroit Red Wings have a dominant defense and fast
skilled forwards, they are the favored team in this match
up and will very likely come out the winners. The only
question marks for them are the goaltending and maybe
the forward depth. If Osgood can match Theodore save for
save and the vaunted defense of Detroit can stop Sakic
and Forsberg then the Wings will take the series in six
games or less.
Contact the author at terry.sanford@prohockeynews
|
|
Game
1 |
Colorado
3 - Detroit 4 |
| by Terry Sanford - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Detroit
Leads Series 1-0 |
Detroit,
MI - The first inkling that things were not going
to go the 'Avs way tonight was the announcement that Peter
Forsberg would be scratched due to a groin injury. As
the best player on the ice in the clinching Game 6 of
the previous series, Forsberg's absence was going to be
a tough challenge to overcome.
Detroit with their high energy and even more highly-skilled
first line than Colorado's came out blazing and had the
'Avs back on their heels for much of the first period.
Surprisingly enough it was Colorado's Paul Stastny who
broke through with the game's first goal at 8:53 of the
first period on the backhanded assisted by Ryan Smyth
and Milan Hedjuk.
That goal seemed to wake up the "Winged Ones" and before
the end of the first period Detroit had scored three unanswered
goals to take a 3 to 1 lead into the locker room. Henrik
Zetterburg scored at 9:46 with a backhand shot assisted
by Pavel Datsyuk and Brian Rafalski. Daniel Cleary with
help from Johan Franzen and Rafalski added the second
Red Wings goal at 13:48 and a final tally on the power
play came at 17:23 off the stick of Franzen as he tipped
in a point shot from Niklas Kronwall on a set up by Jiri
Hudler.
Franzen's second goal of the night, a long range slapper
assisted by Valtteri Filppula and Mikael Samuelson, chased
a flu-ravaged Jose Theodore from the net and Peter Budaj
replaced him at 1:13 of the second period.
With the score 4 to 1 in favor of Detroit, Budaj stood
tall in net to keep the crease clean of Red Wing goals
for the remainder of the game. That allowed the Avalanche
to fight for scoring chances and chip away at the three
goal deficit.
John-Michael Liles scored on a long slap shot at 5:17
of the middle period after getting the puck from Cody
Mcleod and Scott Hannan to cut the Wings lead in half
and at 16:29 Hedjuk brought the visitors within one goal
on a beautifully executed 3-on-2 rush led by Smyth and
Stastny.
The final period included several great scoring chances
but Chris Osgood for the Red Wings and Budaj for the Avalanche
stopped all shots to keep the score 4 to 3 in favor of
the hometown Red Wings after 60 minutes.
Notes: Theodore succumbed to the flu in the second period
and was sent back to the hotel to avoid contact with the
rest of the team. Budaj replaced him in goal and emergency
goalie Tyler Weiman suited up to back up Budaj.
First line winger Wojtek Wolski left the ice with an apparent
lower body injury after a collision with Rulan Salei in
the middle of period one he did not return over the course
of the game.
Game two will be Saturday at 1:00 P.M. MST at Joe Louis
Arena in Detroit, MI.
Contact the author at terry.sanford@prohockeynews
|
|
Game
2 |
Colorado
1 - Detroit 5 |
| by
Terry Sanford - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Detroit
Leads Series 2-0 |
Detroit,
MI - Game 2 started out bad for Colorado and
then got exponentially worse. Defensive cornerstone Scott
Hannan was an injury scratch after taking a puck to the
shin in the previous game, Peter Forsberg's ice time consisted
of the few minutes of skating around in the pre-game that
it took for him to determine his injured groin was not
up to the physical stresses of a playoff game. Worst of
all for the second time in two games Avalanche goalie
Jose Theodore was pulled after allowing four goals against.
Johan Franzen, the new Avalanche killer, scored a hat
trick with a goal in each of the three periods. Valtteri
Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg also scored in the second
period leading to Theodore's exit.
Any chance that the Avalanche would have had to get back
into the game after Peter Budaj took charge of the net
was denied by six straight penalties called against them
including nearly three minutes of five-on-three penalty
kill time.
The third period brought one of few positive moments for
the 'Avs in the entire game as hard-nosed fourth line
winger Ian Laperriere scored on an assist from Cody McCormick.
All thoughts of a possible Colorado comeback were extinguished
a short time later when Franzen scored his third goal
to push the Detroit lead to 5 to 1.
Chris Osgood played a workman-like game and did not have
to be spectacular while stopping 20 Avalanche shots, most
of them in the third period with the game already decided
in favor of the Red Wings.
Budaj and Theodore each faced 20 shots with Budaj stopping
19 and Theodore stopping 16.
The series switches to The Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado
on Tuesday, April 29th for Game 3 in the best-of-seven
series.
Contact the author at terry.sanford@prohockeynews |
|
Game
3 |
Detroit
at Colorado |
| by
Terry Sanford - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Detroit
Leads Series 3-0 |
Denver,
CO - The Dallas Stars lead the San Jose Sharks
3 games to none, the Pittsburgh Penguins are up 3 games
to none on the New York Rangers and after tonight a third
team, the Colorado Avalanche, also finds themselves on
the brink of being swept in a seven-game series.
It was another good news/bad news/more bad news night
for the Avalanche. Peter Forsberg and Scott Hannan were
able to start the game but one of the better forwards
for the 'Avs in this series was unable to go. Ryan Smyth
injured his "lower body" blocking a shot in Game 2 and
joined Wojtek Woltek, out for the series with a shoulder
injury, on the sidelines. Youngster T.J. Hensick made
his playoff debut in Smyth's place.
Despite the injury situation the Avalanche started strong
and scored the first goal of the game on a delayed penalty
called against the Red Wings at 5:17 of the first period.
Cody McLeod tipped in a Hensick slapper with a secondary
assist from Tyler Arnason to give the home team a 1 to
0 lead.
With Ian Laperriere in the penalty box, Pavel Datsyuk
scored on the Red Wing power play at 12:14 in the first
with helpers from Henrick Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom.
Less than a minute later Johan Franzen dealt the Avalanche
a blow by scoring to take the lead on assists from Brett
Lebda and Mikael Samuelson.
The injury woes struck the Avalanche again in the first
period as a relatively harmless looking collision between
Pavel Datsyuk and Paul Stastny saw Stastny limp off. Although
Stastny was able to finish the period he did not return
to the ice for after the break and was out for the remainder
of the game.
In the second period the physical play picked up with
the 'Avs battling to get the score evened up and the Red
Wings determined to extend their lead. Datsyuk's second
goal of the game on the power play at 6:36 of the middle
period put Detroit ahead 3 to 1 but Andrew Brunette cut
the lead to 3 to 2 shortly afterwards as he tipped in
John-Michael Liles point shot at 8:08. The Red Wings second
goal of the period, another power play tally, came off
the stick of Zetterberg with linemate Datsyuk getting
the primary assist to restore Detroit's two goal lead.
The third period saw the Avalanche play their best period
of the series thus far, outshooting the Red Wings 13 shots
to 7 and getting some quality scoring chances. However
the lone goal from Brunette, off a rebound of a Joe Sakic
shot, was not enough to give Colorado a win.
Down 3 games to 0 in a best-of-seven is a place only a
few teams in the history of North American pro sports
have come back from but the Colorado Avalanche can only
look as far as the next game which will be Thursday, May,
1 at 8:00 P.M. in Denver, Colorado.
Contact the author at terry.sanford@prohockeynews
|
|
Game
4 |
Detroit
8 - Colorado 2 |
| by
Terry Sanford - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Detroit
Wins Series 4-0 |
Denver,
CO - Like the previous three games of this Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche, Game 4 was not as close as the 8 to 2 score indicates. In each and everyone of the four games the Colorado team was vastly outplayed and were never able to justify being on the same ice as the Red Wings.
Credit the injury-depleted team for playing some competitive hockey in period one. The few able-bodied vets and a slew of Lake Erie Monsters took the ice and did their best to keep up with the fleet skating Wings. Mikael Samuelssn's long range slap shot at 4:33 did not faze them and these Av's battled back and tied the score at 6:51 when Tyler Arnason working the give and go with Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette got off a snap shot that beat Chris Osgood to tie the score at one.
It appeared that the effort of these mismatched, cobbled together lines would escape the period tied with the vaunted Red Wings but alas with less than 90 seconds to play in the period Thomas Holmstrom got free and slapped a shot past Jose Theodore to put Detroit up 2 to 1 and 40 some seconds later Johan "Av's killer" Franzen wristed the puck by Theodore for a quick two goal lead that chased Theodore from the net for the third time in the four games.
As bad as period one turned out to be, period two was even more difficult for the Avalanche as the Red Wings put the pedal to the metal and went all out to bury the reeling Colorado team. Henrick Zetterberg scored twice in the second and assisted on a third, an acrobatic no-look flip to Franzen who scored the short handed goal to make the score 6 to 1. Franzen turned the trick late in the period with his third goal of the game, this one on a power play.
Down 7 to 1 to start the third,the Avalanche tried to muster their pride and at least end the season playing with some heart. Sakic dug deep and skated with enthusiasm and the team perked up a bit and followed the captain's lead but alas when you are fighting to come from so far behind the risks you take often end up in your own net. As was the case when Samuelsson scored his second of the game at 8:02 of the third period.
At 10:26 of the third period, John-Michael Liles managed to squeeze a slapshot by Osgood on a power play,
with assists from Ruslan Salei and Joe Sakic, to close out the scoring in the game.
As bitter as the series loss was it is hard to imagine any other outcome with the severely depleted Avalanche bench. Peter Forsberg was only able to play one game and he was obviously severely hampered in that game. Paul Stastny went down with a knee injury early in Game 3 and missed two periods of that game and all of Game 4. Ryan Smyth was injured blocking a shot in Game 2 and was unable to play in Games 3 and 4. Scott Hannan was similarly injured and was out for one game. Jose Theodore started Game 1 still recovering from the flu and was likely to have been affected by that throughout the four games.
Once again the winning team and the losing team met at center ice and exchanged the traditional handshakes and words of encouragement and congratulations.
The Detroit Red Wings move on, the only team to sweep it's opponent in the second round, and will meet the winner of the Dallas and San Jose series in the Western Conference Finals.
Contact the author at terry.sanford@prohockeynews
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
POWER
PLAY |
4TH
- 20.7 |
PENALTY
KILL |
8TH
- 84.0 |
FORWARDS |
PAVEL
DATSYUK |
31-66-97
(+41) |
HENRIK
ZETTERBERG |
43-49-92
(+30) |
DANIEL
CLEARY |
20-22-42
(+21) |
DEFENSEMEN |
NICKLAS
LIDSTROM |
10-60-70
(+40) |
BRIAN
RAFALSKI |
13-42-55
(+27) |
NIKLAS
KRONVALL |
7-28-35
(+25) |
GOALTENDERS |
DOMINIK
HASEK |
27-10-3
(5 SO)
2.14 GA
.902 PCT |
|
CHRIS
OSGOOD |
27-9-4
(4 SO)
2.09 GA
.914 PCT |
|
|
|
