Wed Apr 23 15:02:44 2008

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Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Detroit vs. Colorado

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(Sports Network) - If it wasn't for a timely goaltending switch by Detroit head coach Mike Babcock, we might have been talking about another disappointing playoff run by the Red Wings.

But Babcock did make the change, as he replaced the struggling Dominik Hasek after Game 4 and watched as Chris Osgood shut down the Predators in Games 5 and 6.

The 43-year-old Hasek is one of the best goaltenders in NHL history and has six Vezinas (best goaltender), two Hart Trophies (league MVP) and a Stanley Cup title to prove it. However, he was not good against Nashville, going 2-2 with a 2.91 goals against average and .888 save percentage.

Meanwhile, Osgood won both of his starts and stopped 53-of-54 shots in three games of action overall in the series. He also posted a shutout in the series- clinching Game 6 victory and had a 0.39 GAA and .981 save percentage in the first round.

Babcock has decided to stick with Osgood in the second round, which isn't surprising since it was never clear during the regular season who the team's No. 1 goaltender was. Osgood played in 43 games and made the All-Star team, while Hasek saw action in 41 outings.

Back to Detroit's recent postseason disappointments, which doesn't include last year when the Red Wings made a run to the conference finals.

Since winning their last Stanley Cup title with Hasek between the pipes in 2002, the Red Wings have been knocked out in the first round twice (2003 & 2006), and lost in the conference semifinals in 2004.

This year, Detroit won the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the best record in the NHL during the regular season. The last two times Red Wings earned that distinction were 2004 and 2006, seasons that ultimately ended too soon for Detroit and its fans.

Despite those playoff memories, the Red Wings should still be one of the most- feared opponents in the second round of the postseason. After all, the Red Wings had two forwards with over 90 points this year, and also boast the league's top defenseman in Nicklas Lidstrom.

Pavel Datsyuk had 97 points (31 goals, 66 assists) during the regular season and linemate Henrik Zetterberg added 43 goals and 92 points. Both players had solid but not spectacular first rounds against Nashville, with Datsyuk posting three goals and two assists, while Zetterberg had two tallies and two helpers.

All told, the Red Wings had six players with four points or more in the opening round, including forwards Jiri Hudler (2g, 3a) and Johan Franzen (2g, 2a).

Lidstrom led all NHL defensemen with 70 points during the regular season, but was outscored by a pair of Detroit blueliners in the opening round. Niklas Kronwall had five assists in the series against Nashville, Brian Rafalski added a goal and three assists, and Lidstrom was third with two tallies and a helper.

That speaks more to Detroit's depth at the defense position than any slide in production from Lidstrom, who is considered by many to be the best defenseman of his generation. In fact, Lidstrom has already won five Norris Trophies as the league's top blueliner, and is again one of three finalists for the award this year.

Also at defense for Detroit is 46-year-old Chris Chelios, who won three Norris Trophies himself in 1989, 1993 and '96. The experienced one is no longer the offensive threat that he once was, but is still a steadying presence on the blue line.

The Red Wings struggled on the power play in the opening round, scoring on just 3-of-26 (12-percent) of their opportunities against Nashville.

COLORADO AVALANCHE (6th seed, West)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 44-31-7

2008 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Minnesota 4-2 in conference quarterfinals

(Sports Network) - The Colorado Avalanche are back in the playoffs after a one-year absence, and will once against be meeting up with their old foes from Detroit.

Colorado earned this battle against the Red Wings by downing Northwest Division champion Minnesota in six games of the Western Conference quarterfinal series. The Avalanche missed the playoffs last year, ending a streak of 11 straight postseason appearances.

The Avalanche and Red Wings are two of the NHL's most successful franchises in recent history, as they combined to win five Stanley Cup titles from 1996-2002. However, this is the first time the clubs are meeting in the postseason since Detroit beat Colorado in seven games during the 2002 Western Conference finals. That was also the last time the Avs made it past the second round of the playoffs.

While Detroit's then-captain Steve Yzerman is retired, the Avalanche still have their leader from the Cup championship days in Joe Sakic.

Sakic was back for his 19th season with the Colorado/Quebec franchise in 2007-08 and his 15th straight year as team captain. The 38-year-old centerman is the franchise's leader in goals (623), assists (1,006), points (1,629) and games played (1,363).

The future Hall-of-Famer had just 40 points (13g, 27a) during this year's regular season, but that was due to injuries that allowed him to play in just 44 games. Sakic had a strong playoff series against the Wild, notching two goals and four assists to lead the Avs with six points.

Sakic is the NHL's active leader in playoff scoring with 184 points (84g, 100a) in 168 postseason contests.

While Sakic has been a mainstay with the franchise, the Avalanche also saw the return of Peter Forsberg this season. Forsberg was a member of Colorado's two Stanley Cup championship teams, but hadn't played with the Avalanche since the 2003-04 season. After stints in Philadelphia and Nashville, Forsberg sat out the beginning of this year before signing a free-agent deal with the Avs in late February.

The 34-year-old Forsberg had one goal and 13 assists in nine regular-season games with Colorado this year, and added five points (1g, 4a) in the first round against Minnesota.

Paul Stastny, the son of legendary Quebec Nordiques sniper Peter Stastny, was Colorado's leading scorer during the regular season with 71 points (24g, 47a), but managed just one goal against the Wild in his first career playoff series.

Forwards Wojtek Wolski and Milan Hejduk had solid series against Minnesota, as they notched five and four points, respectively. Veteran winger Ryan Smyth, a menace around the crease, had two goals and an assist in the series.

Turning in a spectacular first-round series for the Avalanche was goaltender Jose Theodore, who looked like the player who won the Hart and Vezina for Montreal in 2001-02. Theodore stopped 188-of-200 shots in the series against the Wild while posting a 1.88 GAA and .940 save percentage.

Theodore was sent to Colorado from the Canadiens at the trade deadline two years ago, but had been a disappointment until this year.

Adam Foote, another member of both Colorado championship teams, is a key component on the Avalanche's blue line. The 36-year-old Foote has never been much of an offensive weapon, but is steady and physical at 6-2, 224 pounds. Like Forsberg, Foote had been away from Denver for some time, but was brought back in a trade with Columbus before the deadline.

Ruslan Salei, another deadline acquisition, had a big impact from the blueline in the series against Minnesota. Salei, who came over from Florida on February 26, tied for the club lead amongst defensemen with three points (1g, 2a) in the series, and also paced the club with a plus-four rating.

Fellow defenseman Jordan Leopold, who missed the first three games of the series with a hip injury, tied Salei with three points -- all assists -- in three tests against the Wild.

Colorado did a solid job on the power play in the opening round, scoring on 21-percent (6-of-29) of opportunities with the man advantage.

MATCHUP

The Red Wings dominated the regular-season series with Colorado this season, winning all four matchups and outscoring the Avalanche 11-2 in the process.

Detroit shut out the Avs in the final three encounters, twice by Hasek and once by Osgood.

While regular season games are not the best way to predict an NHL playoff series, it's easy to see why Colorado had such a rough time against the Red Wings this year. In the three shutouts against Detroit, the Avalanche mustered an average of 17.3 shots per game.

When the Red Wings are playing at their best, the opposition finds it difficult to generate any offense in the face of Detroit's superb puck possession and defensive depth.

Detroit's top offensive weapons fared well against the Avs this year, as Datsyuk notched six points (1g, 5a) in four games, while Zetterberg added three goals over three tests.

Colorado has won three of the five all-time playoff series with the Red Wings, but Detroit did win the last encounter in 2002.

Don't expect the Red Wings to dominate the Avalanche the way they did in the regular season, but Detroit should carry some of that success over into this series.

With Osgood in goal, Lidstrom at the blue line and Datsyuk and Zetterberg up front, the Red Wings will have enough to get to the conference finals for a second straight year.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Red Wings in 6