paul_kukla's blog
Pre-series pointers, observations
Tuesday May 06, 2008 @ 10:31 AM EDT
Paul Kukla is the man behind the excellent Kukla’s Korner blog site. The longtime NHL fan and devoted Red Wings’ supporter is joining NHL.com as a regular contributor this season. His blogs are a must read for hockey fans.
If you are a Pittsburgh Penguins fan and want a little different slant of the coverage, I suggest you visit Empty Netters at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Flyers message board is heating up with Pittsburgh/Philadelphia talk.
Red Wings fans have been streaming to Snapshots at Mlive for their daily fix on anything Wings related and Dallas Stars followers make Andrew’s Dallas Stars Page a daily stop.
For a slightly different angle, on the Dallas side, I suggest reading Jennifer Floyd Engel (aka Little Ball of Hate) of the Star-Tribune and Abel to Yzerman if you follow the Wings.
Goaltending is always under the microscope during the playoffs and holds especially true in the Wings-Stars series. Chris Osgood must be steady and avoid the “how did that one get by him” question, while Marty Turco must continue to be outstanding. You can be sure both teams will be trying to get to the opposing goalie and rattle their cages a bit. Whichever keeper maintains his focus the most should win this series.
Defense to offense will also be a key in this series. The Wings’ offensive transition game starts with the defense. Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall see the ice very well, and when they are on the ice, the Wings’ transition game is something to watch. Dallas must make it hard on the Wings by hitting those players at every opportunity and put a kink into the Wings’ game plan. On the other hand, Detroit coach Mike Babcock has become Scotty Bowman-like when matching up his lines, especially on home ice.
Another key is how the Wings’ checkers match up with the Stars’ goal scorers. Will Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro be too much to handle, will Johan Franzen be forced to play more of a defensive game? Can Mike Modano be an offensive force causing the Wings to break up Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk to spread their offensive game more evenly across all lines?
I see a very tight checking series, with most games being decided in the third period. It will be a chess match to the end, all that needs to be answered is which team will be holding the king at the end.
Both goaltenders in the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia series will be starting in their first Conference Finals matchup. Both Marc-Andre Fleury and Martin Biron have been great of late, but have on occasion experienced a few games they would like to forget. Biron is expected to be the busier of the two goalies, and if he can stonewall Pittsburgh, frustration may set in for the young Penguins and the Flyers’ confidence in their goaltending will be at an all-time high and could sway this series to the side of the Flyers.
The key to this series is the Flyers’ defensive coverage. Will the Flyers D-men be forced to chase around the skating Penguins or will the constant pounding from Derian Hatcher and Jason Smith wear down the Penguins? The Penguins know they will be getting hit at every opportunity and how they react will influence this series.
One way for the Penguins to force the Flyers out of their game plan is to score on their power-play opportunities. If not, the Flyers will be able to force their “vengeance” on the Penguins even more than anticipated.
The team that can stick to its strategy will win this series. Needless to say, a lot of questions will be answered in the next two weeks.
As hockey fans, we are in for a treat while watching four teams, all with different styles of play, competing to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Only two will make it, so it is your turn, tell me your picks for the Stanley Cup Final.
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2 Comments - 0 Replies
RedM3
May 06 2008 14:29
Wings vs Pens in the Finals
When I look at each category that is how I see the finals shaping up.
Wings/Stars
Offense – Detroit
Defense – Detroit
Special Teams – Detroit
Goal Tending – Dallas
How much better does Turco have to be than Osgood for the Stars to advance? The answer is a lot better. This is not the same Wings that were pounded into submission by the Ducks last year.
Flyers/Pens
Offense – Pens
Defense – Even
Special Teams – Pens
Goal Tending – Slight edge to Flyers
Neither team has showed me much on defense. The Pens power play is almost as scary as the Wings. Briere is the x factor to some extent. Neither goalie is that great that they make the difference in this one. In the end I think it will be the Pens power play that makes the difference in this series. Montreal had plenty of chances to take advantage of a weak defense and my prediction is the Pens won’t make that mistake.
Wings in 6 over Pens to take the cup. Defense still wins championships and the Wings have the best D.
vehrehk
May 06 2008 12:45
My Picks
I think the Flyers will show just how mortal the Pens are in 6 for the Stanley Cup berth out of the East.
The Pens are going to be as physical as they can with the Flyers, but the Flyers know how to dish it out too. That said, if the Flyers have the Pens playing catch up then it will limit the amount of minutes that Laroque will play. I think the Flyers have forwards big enough and strong enough to play through and around Hal Gill, but what they need to keep in mind is Pascal Dupuis, who I think has been overlooked. When it comes down to it, the third and fourth lines will be integral in the outcome of this series. So I give the edge to the Flyers having more scoring depth by committee than do the Pens who rely on their big lines to score. The Pens are going to have to figure out how to play against three lines that are strong scoring threats, as well as outlast the fourth checking line that the Flyers use consistantly.
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I think the Dallas Stars will be the ruination of the firebrand that is the red wings in 7.
The ability of Dallas to weather an onslaught by their opponents will allow them to strike like lightning. I believe that Nabby was and is a better goal tender than Osgood, so when it comes to stopping the chances that the Stars get will be the key. I think that Morrow will once again step up and crush the fast flying top line of the Redwings with punishment that’ll have them thinking twice and looking around before they commit to anything. Of course that will probably be the doubt in their heads in later periods of game one. However, if the Stars can steal one of the first two games, the Wings will have it in their head the rest of the series. I think more than anyone on the wings, Franzen is the force that will change the face of this match up. He could very well be the down fall of the Stars if he Stays hot. The stars could very well lose it in 7, having so many intangibles hovering over this series makes it tough to make the right prediction. It’s almost too close to call. But I still think the Stars will win.