Faceoff Factor

Red Wings vs. Avalanche Series Preview

Jesse Marshall | National Hockey League

Apr 24, 11:04 AM | Hype this story!

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Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Colorado Avalanche (6) Conference Semifinals Preview
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Detroit survived a scare from Nashville as Colorado polished off the Northeast Division champions. Let’s go to the bloggers again for this preview. I asked three questions to two blogs, check out their answers to both. First, we have Draft Dodger from In The Cheap Seats providing us with some Avalanche analysis.

FF: 1. In your opinion, how much of the old rivalry spirit of years past will be re-kindled for this series?

ITCS: I think the series will be intense, but I doubt either team has a lot of interest in getting involved in the chippy stuff of the past. Both teams have toughness, but I think Detroit and Colorado are more comfortable making skilled play the priority with the rough stuff becoming almost an afterthought. With any series, a couple of questionable hits can quickly turn up the intensity, but I don’t think these two teams are any more likely to get to a melting point because of the past.

FF 2. A lot of people peg Jose Theodore as the perfect playoff goaltender, how has he performed thus far and what was the consensus in Colorado about him heading into the post-season?

ITCS: Even with a tremendous second half of the season, there were still some people wondering how Theodore would perform in the playoffs – myself included. Actually, if I’m being fair then I have to say that I’ve been one of the biggest critics of Theo during his tenure in Denver. I’ve been completely swayed by his first round performance, though. He was the difference against the Wild, and that series has many people comparing his play to that of a certain Mr. Roy.

FF 3. Give three reasons why the Avalanche will win this series.

ITCS: Theodore would be the first. Adam Foote would be the second; he and Kurt Sauer did an amazing job shutting down Marion Gaborik and Pavol Demitra in round one. If they can repeat against Zetterberg and Datsyuk, it will put a lot of pressure on other players to step up. Finally, the Avs are deep up front. Ryan Smyth spent much of the first round on the 3rd line, and Wojtek Wolski had 5 points despite spending significant time on the 4th line. The ability to roll four good lines puts a lot of pressure on the other team’s defense. The Wild defensemen eventually broke down as the series wore on and started committing costly turnovers. The Wings are deeper on the blueline, but they too have some guys who might start making some mistakes under pressure.

Now, for the Wings side of things, we hear from Christy of Behind The Jersey.

FF: 1. In your opinion, how much of the old rivalry spirit of years past will be re-kindled for this series?

BTJ: Well, I certainly feel that we will see the most re-kindling in the mass media particularly the columnists of the major Detroit and Denver papers. It doesn’t hurt that Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote re-joined Colorado this season and Darren McCarty found his way back to the Wings. Otherwise, it would’ve been Joe Sakic, Nicklas Lidstrom, Kris Draper, etc. and that’s not really going to get a rivalry rekindled. However, Avs fans hate McCarty and Wings fans can’t stand Floppa, oh, I mean Forsberg. So I think we’ll see some more scrums and pushing/shoving between the two teams, but the rivalry can never be the same and I think these teams want to win so bad that they won’t let an old rivalry distract them or get in the way of accomplishing their goals.

FF: 2. Talk about the goaltending situation in Detroit, will we see Hasek much in this series and what are your thoughts on Chris Osgood at this point?

BTJ: We will only see Dominik Hasek this series if Ozzie has a bad game or two. As long as Ozzie keeps winning (or isn’t the reason for the loss), the Wings will keep Ozzie in net. They only pulled Hasek because in three consecutive games in the playoffs, he allowed multiple goals within a short time frame (ex. 9 seconds, 11 seconds) and he was hurting us. Ozzie doesn’t need to win us games, but he just needs to play solid enough to keep us in a game and not cause us to lose. Osgood isn’t the same player he was back in ’98 when he was in goal for the Stanley Cup victory. He has changed up his style of goaltending and now just exudes a calm confidence with both his demeanor and play. Hasek is all out there – he’s flopping, poking away pucks, straying away from the crease, etc. while Osgood just stays in his net and plays consistent hockey. Right now, the team is winning with Ozzie so that’s where we should stay until something happens (hopefully not) to cause us to go back to Hasek.

FF: 3. Name three reasons the Red Wings will win this series.

BTJ: The first reason the Wings will win the series is captain Nicklas Lidstrom. Not only is he a great veteran leader and a calming influence on the team, but he’s the smartest defenseman to play the game in who knows how long. He’s usually perfectly positioned and the other team’s top line always has a hard time against Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski (his linemate). The second reason will be our scoring depth. The first round showed us that the Wings don’t rely on just their top line for their goals. We saw multiple goals from the first line all the way through the fourth line and our defensemen as well. If the Wings are going to win, it’s because all four lines continue to show up on the scoreboard. And the final reason will be home ice advantage. In a tight series like this one, the Wings will need a loud home crowd urging them on. If the series goes to Game #7, home ice advantage could potentially be a huge difference maker.

There you have it. Thanks to both In The Cheap Seats and Behind The Jersey for the report, and make sure you stop by both those sites throughout the series.

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Team Numbers
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Standings
Detroit: 51-21-7; 115 pts; 1st Central; 1st Western; 1st NHL
Colorado: 44-31-7; 95 pts; 2nd Northwest; 6th Western; 12th NHL

Records
Detroit: 4-0-0 vs COL
Colorado: 0-0-4 vs DET

Special Teams
Detroit: PP, 20.7% (3rd); PK, 84.0% (8th)
Colorado: PP, 14.6% (28th); PK, 81.4% (21st)

Scoring
Detroit: 252 GF (3rd); 179 GA (1st)
Colorado: 224 GF (15th); 216 GA (13th)

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Player Leaders
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Goals
Detroit: Zetterberg (43), Datsyuk (31), Franzen (29)
Colorado: Hejduk (29), Svatos (26), Stastny (24)

Assists
Detroit: Datsyuk (66), Lidstrom (60), Zetterberg (49)
Colorado: Stastny (47), Brunette (40), Wolski (30)

Points
Detroit: Datsyuk (97), Zetterberg (92), Lidstrom (70)
Colorado: Stastny (71), Brunette (59), Hejduk (54)

Penalty Minutes
Detroit: Downey (116), Lilja (93), Stuart (69)
Colorado: Laperriere (140), McLeod (120), Foote (107)

Wins
Detroit: Hasek (27), Osgood (27)
Colorado: Theodore (28), Budaj (16)

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Injuries
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Detroit: No injuries reported.
Colorado: Brett Clark (IR, Dislocated Shoulder)

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Series Schedule
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GAME 1: April 24 @ Detroit 7:30 p.m.(ET) VERSUS, TSN

GAME 2: April 26 @ Detroit 3:00 p.m.(ET) NBC, TSN

GAME 3: April 29 @ Colorado10:00 p.m. (ET) VERSUS, TSN

GAME 4: May 1 @ Colorado 10:00 p.m..(ET) VERSUS, TSN

~GAME 5: May 3 @ Detroit1:00 p.m.(ET) NBC, TSN

~GAME 6: May 5 @ Colorado10:00 p.m. (ET) VERSUS, TSN

~GAME 7: May 7 @ Detroit TBD (ET) TSN

~if necessary