Wings vs. Sharks preview

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Detroit Red Wings are back in the post season in spring again and are almost as regular as allergies this time of year. They are always at the dance whether you want them there or not. We aren’t going to polish their shoes and go into detail as to why they have been the most consistent team in pro sports over the past 20 years. Like allergies, we just accept it.
What is different this time around though, is who they are facing, and where their opponent has come from. The San Jose Sharks are a different team now, than in years past and different in a good way. This squad has been through quite a bit since last year’s first round upset. They have different personnel, their young guns are that much older and more experienced, they have proved they can handle adversity, and the key offensive roles have changed. This team has learned how to push through and not wait around or rely solely on the Thornton line for production. When that line does get going this team will be a load to stop.
Let’s look at these teams from the net forward:
GOALIES:
Detroit ’s Jimmy Howard earned the starting job in the fall after he garnered some big league experience. He has is a 27 year old rookie, who was nominated along with Tyler Meyers from the Buffalo Sabres and Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s top rookie. Like so many of Detroit’s key players, Howard had time to develop in the minors before facing the pressure of the world’s best hockey league. Having said that, Howard has shown he is still a rookie in the NHL. He was good enough to win a seven-game series against the Phoenix Coyotes, and the Wings have Chris Osgood, as the back up net minder who has years of playoff experience, but in the next round against San Jose, the shooters are going to be sharper and the team is fairly healthy, as far as this time of year goes. Howard will need to play better than he did, against Phoenix to advance to the next round. The question remains as to whether he capable of bringing that much game, to beat the Sharks four times in seven opportunities.
Evgeni Nabokov, on the other hand, outside of game 2 of the first round, has improved with each time out and has shown great poise and resilience to overcome the bad bounces that were endured against Colorado. Let’s face it, bad breaks aside, the Sharks could have been done with Colorado in four or at the most five games. Nabokov has more experience in big games, than his counterpart Howard, and regardless of the outcome of those games, good goalies learn from their mistakes and build on it. Coach McLellan has shown confidence in “Nabby” as the home town fans call him, so he is not looking over his shoulder.
Goaltending advantage, even with Chris Osgood backing up Howard, goes to San Jose.
DEFENSE:
The blue line in Detroit is one of the best in the league. They have great leadership and offense with Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. They have Andreas Lilja, Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart that play a physical game. Their average age is the same as the Sharks, and the older players like 40 year old Lidstrom and 36 year old Rafalski don’t play real physical style. What I mean by this, is their bodies haven’t taken the same punishment, so they are a young 40 and 36.
San Jose ’s D is comparable in many aspects. They have their skaters and puck movers in Dan Boyle, Jason Demers and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Douglas Murray and Rob Blake lead the physical charge and the leadership from the point is exceptional with the Sharks. Both Blake and Boyle have Stanley Cup rings and Olympic gold medals.
Even though both teams have future hall of fame players on the point in Nick Lidstrom and Rob Blake, the Defense advantage goes to Detroit. They have more guys who have been there before and know how to step it up in the playoffs.
FORWARDS:
The Wings are fully stocked in forward positions and have a great mix of youth and experience. In most situations, having Europeans or non-North Americans as your go to guys, is a disadvantage. In this case, we are talking about Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zettergerg and Thomas Holmstrom. These three are the keys to the Wings success and have proven over many years and numerous cups, that they are capable of handling themselves in the NHL. Mix in some youth with the likes of Darren Helm and Valtteri Filppula and it makes you wonder, where they were all year long. Simple, they were injured. For the first time this year, this team has no player that plays major minutes on the injured reserve.
On the other side of the puck the San Jose forwards may be going through an identity crises, but it is one that will help. The line that consists of Ryan Clowe, Joe Pavelski in the middle and Devon Setoguchi have become the go to guys on the Sharks squad and have not disappointed. In the first round of the playoffs, this line combined for 22 points, one game-tying goal and three game winners. The coming out party for the Pavelski line may be what the Thornton threesome need to get off the schnied. They won’t see the other teams top D pairing or the Red Wings top defensive forwards, as much as they did during the regular season. If you somehow stop the top six forwards for the Sharks, watch out for Logan Couture who had huge success in the AHL this year statistically, while only playing in 53 games. His success has crossed over to the NHL, as he has become comfortable with the speed of this league. Couture scored two goals in game 5 including the game winner.
On paper these teams are fairly even up front, so it will be decided by the intangibles. In this case the intangibles consist of a hungry Sharks team, who has plenty to prove to everyone in the NHL, including themselves after the last few years post season disappointments.
The Red Wings have been to the Cup finals the last two years and have played up to 40 games more than other clubs in that span. The Wings will only have two days rest, versus the Sharks’ five, since finishing their first round opponent, so fatigue will be an issue.
With the depth up front in San Jose, with Logan Couture coming out and guys like Scott Nichol playing above their heads, I give the edge to the Sharks.
This series, like the other western conference semifinals match up, looks to be as good as it gets. Any of the four teams remaining have a good chance of representing the west in the Cup finals.
To say the Sharks are due, is an understatement, but that is not why they will win this series. This team has shown from day one of the regular season that they are playing a style of hockey that wins playoff games. They play rolling four lines and have received scoring from all of them. Their first commitment is to team defense and we all know that defense wins you Stanley Cups.
The Sharks brought up numerous players from the AHL during the season, not only to give them a look, but also to give them a chance to play at the NHL level so if they are needed in the post season they aren’t thrust into a situation they are uncomfortable with. This is a make or break year for this nucleus and they know it.
My prediction is San Jose in seven.
Keep your sticks on the ice, Contact Cam.Gore@prohockeynews.com