Postgame Analysis- Det-Ana Game 6 WC Final

Final score: 3 Anaheim logo 4

Anaheim wins series 4-2 to advance to second Stanley Cup Final in four years.

For two periods, the Ducks seemed completely in control up three goals against the Red Wings and on their way to a second Stanley Cup Final appearance in four years (three seasons).

But the Wings had other ideas and made Anaheim and the entire Pond building sweat out a wild ending till that final buzzer sounded with fireworks, a relieved exhale from Duck players and the celebratory handshake.

If Detroit had little to offer the first 40 in which they were overwhelmed on the scoreboard 3-0 and outshot 26-13, the top seed wouldn’t roll over in the final 20 making the Ducks earn victory.

They would pepper Jean-Sebastien Giguere with 16 shots and launch a desperate all out attack to try to make up two three-goal deficits. After Henrik Zetterberg struck on a nice redirect finish of a Chris Chelios pass to cut it to 3-1 at 3:15, their comeback temporarily stalled 2:39 later when Selke candidate Sammi Pahlsson scored a huge goal finishing off three-on-two by backhanding home a Rob Niedermayer rebound past a sprawled out Dominik Hasek to restore a three-goal lead with 14:06 left.

From that point, it was hang on for dear life. The Wings got shots on Giguere from everywhere by pinching their D and moving the puck quickly up the ice. But it would be the power play which gave them new life. With Todd Marchant in the box, it took Pavel Datsyuk only 14 seconds to deflect home a Nick Lidstrom shot pass and slice the deficit to two with 9:52 remaining.

One shot. One power play goal. A sharp contrast to how their first four went in which they managed just one shot the first two periods.
With time running out on their season, Detroit got another chance when Ryan Getzlaf went to the box for cross checking with 3:13 to go. If you thought Datsyuk’s last tally was quick, his next one was even faster. This time, the Wings’ No.1 pivot took a Henrik Zetterberg feed at the doorstep and whipped a wrist shot past Giguere for his eighth- using just nine seconds to suddenly cut the margin to one with a lengthy 3:04 still on the clock.
The way Detroit was coming now, that final 184 seconds must’ve felt like an eternity to Anaheim. When Travis Moen was whistled for a hook 21 ticks later, it gave Detroit a third consecutive man-advantage to try and tie it with 2:52 left.

They came oh so close when Datsyuk’s rebound attempt of a Mikael Samuelsson shot narrowly missed going in the open side.

Detroit coach Mike Babcock waited until there were 10 seconds left in the PP to pull Hasek for an extra attacker. Should the ex-Ducks coach who led them to the 2003 Final have done it earlier? Debatable.

What we do know is Tomas Holmstrom came very close to tying it in front on one of those deflections. Anaheim couldn’t get the puck out a couple of times making for a frantic conclusion. Had Detroit hit the net, maybe they score. There certainly was enough traffic in front.

The last chance came when Todd Bertuzzi missed one wide with 31 seconds left. Anaheim would clear the zone. Detroit would make one last dump to Giguere’s left. But Chris Pronger was positioned perfectly waiting for it and flipped the puck high in the air. Detroit was unable to keep it in and get off a last shot as time wound down touching off a celebration on one side of the ice while dejection set in at the other bench.

One can only wonder where this sort of desperation was from Detroit the first two stanzas. They fell behind a goal 3:51 in when Rob Niedermayer got the back of his skate on a Pronger point shot for a shorthanded goal.

The Ducks were much better in this game while the Wings were on their collective heels getting outshot 14-7. If not for Hasek, it would’ve been worse.

Anaheim continued to pepper Hasek in the second, who did all he could to give his team every opportunity to respond. All night, the big line of Getzlaf, Dustin Penner and Corey Perry were dangerous. A dominant shift by the young trio resulted in the second goal from Perry. On a delayed penalty call, Perry snuck in from the right side to find a Francois Beauchemin rebound and stuff it home at 9:52.

The Wings finally started to pick it up getting a couple of chances on Giguere but he was equal to the task. After killing off an Anaheim PP, the Wings had a terrible change resulting in a costly too many men on the ice bench minor.

It took Getzlaf 29 seconds to convert by getting to a rebound Todd Marchant dug out before Hasek could freeze it for a huge PPG which made it 3-0 with 87 seconds left in the period.

At that point, it looked like it would be an easy Game 6 clincher for the Ducks. Little did they know how close Detroit would come to forcing sudden death. They can breathe easier and start preparing for Eastern champion Ottawa. The Stanley Cup Final won’t get underway until next Monday at The Pond on Versus.

Can anyone explain why there’s such a long layoff? Good old NHL. We can’t.

Some quick hits:

1.Pronger is going to his second consecutive Stanley Cup Final with two different teams (Edm, Ana). He’s not the only player though as Ottawa backup goalie Martin Gerber represented Cup champ Carolina as they went on to defeat Pronger’s Oilers in seven games.

2.After getting blown out 5-0 in Game 3 on home ice, the No.2 seeded Ducks rallied to win the next three games to eliminate the higher seeded Wings. The comeback will be remembered for how close they were to going down 3-2 before Scott Niedermayer’s late PPG tied Game 5 preempting Teemu Selanne’s OT heroics. Selanne will finally reach a Cup Final in his 15th season. He notched an assist tonight to extend his point streak to three games (2-4-6).
3.Getzlaf and Perry were terrific tonight and contributed two goals and a helper. They were flying all game. Their size and speed gave Detroit fits. Look for their line along with rookie Penner to be a factor against their next opponent Ottawa.

4.Datsyuk’s late heroics gave his team a chance. He nearly completed the natural hat trick on a third PP but might’ve grazed the post on his stuff attempt. Before this postseason, the top center who signed a big extension (7 years, $46.9 million) was never a big playoff performer. After inking his new rich deal, the Russian took some big steps this Spring by scoring eight goals and adding eight assists for 16 points in 18 games.

5.If Datsyuk was good, then Detroit captain Lidstrom was his usual self this Spring. In defeat, the four-time Norris winner added an assist to increase his point total to 18 (4-14-18)- most among all defensemen. The model of consistency on the blueline might’ve come up a little short but as usual logged a plethora of minutes. In defeat tonight, he finished minus-two in 30:13 with four giveaways. Maybe finally the 37 year-old anchor of the D wore down. Especially without Mathieu Schneider. He still teamed well with Chelios and did a sound job.

6.Though shots finished even at 29 due to Detroit’s strong third, the Ducks did a great job getting in the path of shots- blocking 17. Not only did the Wings have 17 blocked, but another 17 missed the net, meaning 34 shots never reached Giguere. Detroit wasn’t too bad in this area either blocking 11 including a game high five from ultimate warrior Chelios. Scott Niedermayer paced the Ducks with four. A little comparison of shots which didn’t get through:

Detroit- 34 (17 MS, 17 blocked)
Anaheim- 20 (9 MS, 11 blocked)
7.In a losing effort, the Wings were strong on draws winning 34-of-58 including a solid 16-11 from Datsyuk in the faceoff circle. Defensive specialist Pahlsson took many of those draws finishing 13-for-29.

8.Giguere was outstanding in this series and rebounded well from a tough Game 5 in which he was pulled after allowing three. He finished with 26 saves tonight while counterpart Hasek turned aside 25 of 29. Giggy was just a little better and sparked his team to victory.

9.Detroit won the physical battle outhitting Anaheim by two (23-21). Thirteen players registered a hit with no player getting more than three. Meanwhile, the Ducks had 12 players make the scoresheet with Pahlsson finishing with a game high five.

10.There will be a new Stanley Cup winner between two Expansion teams. The Senators reentered the league in 1992 after a 58-year hiatus. According to legend, the Original Sens franchise existed from 1893-1934 winning 10 Stanley Cups including one in 1927 by defeating Boston 2-0-2. Most of their championships came prior to the NHL assuming complete control of Cup competition. Now, the new Sens will try to add their name to the Stanley Cup when they take on the Ducks.

Originally named the Mighty Ducks for Disney’s hit movie featuring Emilio Estevez, they entered the league a year later in 1993. After a disappointing decade, they made a miraculous run as a lower seed to the Final in 2003 before falling to the Devils in seven games. A year after bringing in Niedermayer to captain the team and coming within a series win of another final, they traded for Pronger and now are back playing for the Cup against Ottawa in what promises to be a good series.
Only one will emerge as a new champion.

Our three stars:

3rd star- Pavel Datsyuk (2 PPG, 4 SOG, 16-11 on draws in 24:05 TOI)