It seems that once again the Red Wings were defeated not by an entire team that had more talent, but rather by a goaltender who simply went lights-out. You have to give credit to Anaheim, however — they were able to defeat a Detroit team that has plenty of talent and playoff experience to make their own trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. Once again, Hockeytown will have to wait another season to feel the joy of lifting the Stanley Cup for the eleventh time.
A Look Back at the Western Conference Finals
- Game 1 — Ducks 1, Red Wings 2
Amid two goals via deflection, the Wings took the opening game of the series; though the victory was a close call despite a clear 32-19 advantage for Detroit in shots on goal. - Game 2 — Ducks 4, Red Wings 3 (OT)
Anaheim out-shot the Red Wings, and despite a battle between the goaltenders, the Ducks’ Scott Niedermayer scored towards the end of overtime to tie the series and take the home ice advantage away from the boys from the D. - Game 3 — Red Wings 5, Ducks 0
Tomas Holmstrom had a trio of points with two goals and an assist to lead the Wings to victory in game three, giving them their home ice advantage back. Dominik Hasek stopped 29 shots for his second shutout of the playoffs.
- Game 4 — Red Wings 3, Ducks 5
With a split in Anaheim, the series became a best-of-three with things even at two games apiece. Even without Chris Pronger, who was suspended for a hit on Holmstrom in game three, the Ducks were able to manage plenty of offense — his replacement scored from the blueline on the powerplay in his first career playoff game. - Game 5 — Ducks 2, Red Wings 1 (OT)
Putting the Wings’ backs against the wall, the Ducks took away the home ice advantage with a game five win. A deflection on a shot by Scott Niedermayer crossed the line with less than a minute remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime, despite the superb play of the Red Wings. A turnover right in front of the net led to an easy goal by Teemu Selanne to win the game for Anaheim around midway through overtime. Andreas Lilja made the turnover, but also scored Detroit’s only goal — frustrating for Wings fans considering the clear Detroit advantage in shots on goal. JS Giguere stopped 36 of 37 shots, while Hasek saved 24 of 26 shots. - Game 6 — Red Wings 3, Ducks 4
Anaheim led 3-0 through two periods on goals by Niedermayer, Perry, and Getzlaf; however, Detroit was not going to be eliminated without a fight — and fight they did. The Red Wings scored three goals in the final period of play, but Anaheim saw one more added onto their own tally, giving them just enough of a lead to avoid a game seven. Anaheim had a 4-1 lead before Pavel Datsyuk scored two goals on the power play in the final ten minutes of the period. For the record, both goaltenders faced 29 shots.
2007 NHL Playoffs: Round One (Red Wings 4, Flames 2), Round Two (Red Wings 4, Sharks 2)
