Wings Sink Ducks
I don't know if ducks can technically sink but writing catchy headlines is tough.
Anyway. After twice being behind in the series, those plucky Detroit Red Wings have managed to bring it back twice to equalize and forced the Anaheim Ducks into a final game decider.
Detroit Captain (and beard idol) Henrik Zetterberg opened the scoring early in the first period, and goals from Justin Abdelkader and Valtteri Filppula sealed the victory.
It wasn't all plain sailing though as Emerson Etem and Francois Beauchemin scored for the Ducks but it wasn't enough to top the Red Wings who now make the 300 mile journey to Illinois for the semi finals where they will meet conference champs the Chicago Blackhawks.
Detroit made things difficult, giving Anaheim more powerplays than necessary. Zetterberg took the final powerplay of the game after launching the puck over the glass and receiving an Delay of Play penalty for his troubles. This allowed the Ducks the opportunity to score. Detroit has notched up 67 penalty minutes in the playoffs, 27 more than the slightly more disciplined Blackhawks. Only the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders have worse penalty killing stats than Detroit. This is a serious concern.
The Anaheim Ducks will be disappointed by the results in this series, twice they've led and the games that they lost, were only lost by a goal or two. This has been a very close series and at no point was it clear who would progress.
The Ducks can be proud of their season. The team finished third overall in the league and there's no shame in defeat to Detroit. One of the longest standing NHL teams and current home to some of the best players in the league. Hopefully Anaheim will build on their success so far and come back stronger next season, who knows what the division changes will bring. Full recap here.
Anyway. After twice being behind in the series, those plucky Detroit Red Wings have managed to bring it back twice to equalize and forced the Anaheim Ducks into a final game decider.
Detroit Captain (and beard idol) Henrik Zetterberg opened the scoring early in the first period, and goals from Justin Abdelkader and Valtteri Filppula sealed the victory.
It wasn't all plain sailing though as Emerson Etem and Francois Beauchemin scored for the Ducks but it wasn't enough to top the Red Wings who now make the 300 mile journey to Illinois for the semi finals where they will meet conference champs the Chicago Blackhawks.
Detroit made things difficult, giving Anaheim more powerplays than necessary. Zetterberg took the final powerplay of the game after launching the puck over the glass and receiving an Delay of Play penalty for his troubles. This allowed the Ducks the opportunity to score. Detroit has notched up 67 penalty minutes in the playoffs, 27 more than the slightly more disciplined Blackhawks. Only the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders have worse penalty killing stats than Detroit. This is a serious concern.
The Anaheim Ducks will be disappointed by the results in this series, twice they've led and the games that they lost, were only lost by a goal or two. This has been a very close series and at no point was it clear who would progress.
The Ducks can be proud of their season. The team finished third overall in the league and there's no shame in defeat to Detroit. One of the longest standing NHL teams and current home to some of the best players in the league. Hopefully Anaheim will build on their success so far and come back stronger next season, who knows what the division changes will bring. Full recap here.
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