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May 28, 2007
I'm not one to
say...
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(LOS ANGELES, CA) -- I'm not one to say, I told you
so... but I told you so.
Ever since mid April when the playoffs started, I've
kept saying that the Anaheim Ducks were the class of
this year's Stanley Cup field. They could go
wire-to-wire without too much resistance and capture
their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Frankly, they're just deeper, better and stronger than
the competition and if they finally figure out how to
play SMARTER than they did against the Red Wings, you
can bury those Ottawa Senators now.
The
Western Conference Finals proved some things. They are,
in no particular order: |
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Wings Fan, you really didn't want Andreas Lilja coming out in
front of the net with the puck in overtime, did you? Nicky
Lidstrom, yes. Chris Chelios, sure. Lilja, well, LA Kings fans
were snickering after that move.
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If you go to overtime against the Ducks, you're not beating
them because Jean-Sebastien Giguere won't let you. He's now
12-1 in Stanley Cup sudden death, a ridiculous record when you
digest it. Giguere is once again on the Conn Smythe track,
stealing Games 4 and 5 by being clearly better than future
Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek. Chris Pronger was running neck
and neck with him but after the defenseman foolishly pole-axed
the Wings' Tomas Holmstrom in Game 3, he's out of
consideration (more on Pronger later).
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The Ducks' depth along the forward wall proved decisive.
Dustin Penner was invisible (not a bad trick for a 6’ 5”, 245
lb. guy) and Andy McDonald was a non-factor except for pushing
Lilja towards Teemu Selanne for the goal that essentially won
the series. Penner had 29 goals in the regular season and
McDonald's the number one center (or maybe not if he flounders
in the Finals as well) but sophomores Corey Perry and Ryan
Getzlaf (I keep telling you he's their best player inside of
two years) delivered the goods with the former two's lack of
production.
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Sammy Pahlsson is a nasty, nasty defensive force. Where was
Pavel Datsyuk anyway? Probably calling Sergei Fedorov for
advice on how to spend $42 million in Detroit. Pahlsson is as
vital to this team's success as any of its major stars and is
clearly one of the most underrated players in the NHL.
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Can Chris Pronger really still be that pissed at the
media in Edmonton for all those things said about
him last year? I'm a conspiracy theorist and here
what I think; GM Brian Burke is smart, Coach Randy
Carlyle could care less about the media, so that
little dog and pony show was playoff posturing at
its best, devised by team management.
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Wings' Coach Mike Babcock is certainly feeling Dave
Lewis' pain of following legendary Scotty Bowman
right about now. He's probably has next year to win
the Cup or hell be out too.
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And probably my favorite, Brett Hull ain't much of a
prognosticator. After the Ducks' Game 5 OT win, Hull sat in
his chair ever so smugly and basically said Anaheim was lucky
to have beaten Detroit (guess when you're an alumni, you lose
your objectivity) and quoting him, "they shouldn't worry about
winning the series. The way they're playing they can go in and
win Game 6 in Anaheim and 7 in Detroit." The Wings certainly
didn't come out like they weren't worried in Game 6, did they?
Obviously Brett must have been taking walks down Fifth Avenue
during the televised play because if he had noticed the way
Giguere was playing, he never would have uttered those words.
Now as for the Finals... it goes like this.
On one side you've got Selanne, the other Mike Fisher.
Or how about Pronger vs. Joe Corvo?
You've got one game to win, which goalie are you picking,
Giguere or Ray Emery?
Are you feeling me, folks?
This isn't the same Ducks' squad that went to the Finals in
2003. That was a sixth seeded, purely defensive team that rode
the back of Giguere to sneak up on other teams and they were
facing a veteran New Jersey Devils team with Martin Brodeur in
his prime.
This team is the freight train that was coming down the track
everyone knew about. Rightfully, they should be the favorite
in the Finals, but let's give some credit to the Sens because
there's no way I had them beating Buffalo.
Coach Bryan Murray has instilled confidence in this team that
former Coach Jacques Martin never could. But with that said,
there's nothing spectacular about Canada's capital city
heroes, especially between the pipes, but Ottawa fans hopes
can be heartened with two words, Cam Ward.
If Ray Emery stands on his head the whole series and the Ducks
continue to take poor penalties (that gave Detroit hope), it
could give Ottawa a smidgen of hope. But there is such
disparity in play between the East and the West; this would be
a massive upset if the Senators could bring the Cup back to
Canada for the first time in thirteen years.
My pick: I'm not one to say I told you so but... like
every other round I'll say: Ducks in 5.
POST SCRIPT
Jim Rome, the acerbic radio and TV talk show host on NBC
Sports' decision to cut away from Ottawa-Buffalo last Saturday
as they were preparing to go into overtime, preferring to go
to pre-race coverage of the Preakness Stakes: "It tells you
what kind of shape your sport is in when NBC would rather show
horses walking around in blankets."
Dennis
Bernstein, the man behind SCORE! Media, is a columnist for
TheFourthPeriod.com and the Los Angeles Correspondent for The
Fourth Period Magazine.
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