3/15/06 Anaheim at Detroit

at Detroit, 4:30 PST, FSNW2

Site — Joe Louis Arena.

Radio — 1090.

Records — Ducks 31-20-12; Red Wings 44-15-5.

Record vs. Red Wings — 1-2-0.

Update — Beginning a stretch of seven road games in their next nine, the Ducks are 6-1-2 in their last nine away from home. But they haven't won a regular-season game in Detroit since March 19, 2002. With a team-leading 28 goals, Teemu Selanne needs two more for his eighth 30-goal season and first since 2000-01. Detroit won 2-0 on March 1 with goals from Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg, who helped lead Sweden to the Olympic hockey gold medal. Zetterberg, a third-year left wing, already has a career-high 33 goals and 38 assists.

LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-duckstonight15mar15,1,7091866.story?coll=la-headlines-sports)

The Detroit Red Wings have the Western Conference's highest point total, a three-game win streak and a lot of confidence.

The Red Wings have a 56-34 scoring advantage in their last 13 games.

Datsyuk has a point in each of his last 10 games, totaling 18 in that stretch, and center Robert Lang has six points in his last five games.

The Red Wings, winners of 11 of 13, seek to keep rolling when they host the surging Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

The Mighty Ducks, scrapping for a playoff spot, have won three straight and six of eight. They have recorded at least one point in five consecutive games since a 2-0 home loss to the Red Wings on March 1.

A four-goal third period lifted the Ducks to a 5-2 home win over the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday.

Scott Niedermayer's two assists gave him 41, setting a single-season franchise record for defensemen and surpassing Frederick Olausson's mark of 40 from the 1998-99 season. He has two assists in each of his last three games and at least one in his last five.

Selanne also has a five-game points streak.


Team Stat Leaders
Goals
T. Selanne ANA 28
H. Zetterberg DET 33

Assists
S. Niedermayer ANA 41
P. Datsyuk DET 52

Points
T. Selanne ANA 61
P. Datsyuk DET 77

Plus/Minus
T. Selanne ANA 21
M. Schneider DET 24

Yahoo Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/preview?gid=2006031505&prov=ap)

I don't care abotu the win, I just want to see the Red Wings physically maimed, mauled and injured.

Ok, so the 2 points would be nice but this is one of those 'yeah right' games.

Plain and simple if the Ducks come out like all teams and try to match skill they will lose, but if they come out hitting and roughing up players left and right they may have a chance. This is a team with 4 fighting majors all season. I hope Konopka or Moen find their way into the lineup and either Kunitz or Hedstrom should sit. Vish needs to go headhunting as well. :dunno:

The ducks need to take advantage of other teams losing..I would be very satisfied with a point, and elated with a win. These guys need to bring their work boots and play a gritty, physical, defensive minded game.

The problem vs. the wings is, that their scoring is very balanced, along with the best defense in the league. They have 8 players who scored more or equal than 44 points...we have 3 :(

For all the fellow Canadians, this one will be aired on TSN.

Plain and simple if the Ducks come out like all teams and try to match skill they will lose, but if they come out hitting and roughing up players left and right they may have a chance. This is a team with 4 fighting majors all season. I hope Konopka or Moen find their way into the lineup and either Kunitz or Hedstrom should sit. Vish needs to go headhunting as well. :dunno:

If we spend all game in the box, we'll definitely lose. Gotta play tough without taking stupid penalties.

I'd love to see the Ducks come out and play physical as long as it doesn't lead to Detroit power plays. They are lethal on the PP and if the Ducks are in the box all night, it's going to be a long night. I'm not feeling confident at all about tonight's game. If a point comes out of tonight's game, I'll be thrilled.

I will be the first to say that Anaheim WILL win this game tonight. Detroit doesn't have nearly enough to play for as Anaheim. Plus, it seems that whenever the Wings play on TSN, they are a different team ( in a bad way). Sure, the Wings are given'er right now, but their penalty kill has been poor. I can see an upset tonight in Detroit. 4-3 Ducks :cry:

Faith! GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!

I want the Ducks to win this game & I think they'll go all out tonight but I have a feeling Detroit will win as they are a very strong team. I predict a shoot out loss against the Wings.

I'd love to see the Ducks come out and play physical as long as it doesn't lead to Detroit power plays.
Yea this can't be one of those games where we spend half a period straight on the PK. The last time we were in Detroit Carlyle was fined because he complained about the officials, as he should have. This is also our 1st of 7 games in the next 11 days.

Kunitz back on the top line with Andy Mac and Teemu.

Kunitz jumped on a puck in the Wing's for a scoring chance right away.

1-0 Detroit

yeah...not the start we wanted.

bad goaltending...that was not a great scoring chance.

man Getzlaf almost tied the game...

Ducks going on the powerplay...

1-0 Detroit

yeah...not the start we wanted.

bad goaltending...that was not a great scoring chance.
:cry:

ref calls a little hook right off the faceoff to cancel out the powerplay :(

Another penalty for the Wings
4 on 3 play

man, if this keeps up, could be a long night

marginal hooking call on Detroit there...

4 on 3 powerplay for the Ducks.

Cheap goal but the Ducks have had some good offensive zone time so far...

O'Donnell just threw the puck over the glass...delay of game penalty... :shakehead

ref just gave the Wings a 5 on 3 for over a minute...that's all we need...

2-0

refs will owe us some calls later...

we're beating ourselves here, hopefully a big goal on the ppl will get this thing back on track.

Selanne!

2-1

sweet pass by Scott Niedermayer to Selanne.

2-1

yes! great pass Scott Neids, nice backside cut as well.


NINJA EDIT: Damn you guys are quick. :shakehead

good pressure here

You know, the Ducks played just as well if not better than the Wings there and if not for a bad first goal this game could be tied.

too bad Giguere let that early goal in...otherwise it was an even period.

2-1 after the first.

Good period for the Ducks. Loads better than that pathetic excuse for a game the last time the Ducks played the Wings.

TSN just showed video of Jordan Smith getting hit in the eye...scary stuff

man the powerplay was looking great and the ref finds a way to cancel it out.

wow

another ppl coming up, hopefully for the full two minutes.

2-1 after 2 periods.

Ducks have played a good game so far...just have to find a way to get that 2nd goal in the third.

Wish we could get that 1st goal back. Good 2 periods though. Ducks just have to keep battling and hope a puck bounces their way.

Would have been nice if Friesen didn't fall on that first goal too. Once they stopped watching Detroit play the first ten minutes, they've played much better since. Someone has to finish though because they've had numerous chances and only one has gotten by Osgood.

theres another ducks penalty to kill the momentum...

kunitz for tripping...chelios got his legs caught with Kunitz's...theres no trip there...thats a crap call

huge save by Giguere on Yzerman.

that makes up for the bad early goal.

now lets tie the game!!

is the feed really crappy for anyone or is it just my cable provider?

man Detroit is reminding me of Minnesota right now...collapsing back guarding the blueline with 3 defenders...terrible hockey to watch.

is the feed really crappy for anyone or is it just my cable provider?

mine looks normal.

Babcock's influence I suppose. He was always a nazi about defending leads.

this is frustrating...the refs now have swallowed their whistles..

damn, good chance.

we need a fluke goal here...we deserve it...a point shot deflected in off a d-man's leg or something.

disgusting...Franzen had a chance for a 2 on 1 and he chips the puck in and gets back to trap...how is that good for the NHL?

Oh well. Didn't expect to win this one anyway. Still, don't let any bandwagoning Detroit homers tell you that Anaheim can't play with these guys.

wow the Ducks deserved better...3-1 loss...Ducks didn't play great but they played good on the road and should have gotten a point out of this one.

I haven't seen a team collapse back and trap on a 2-1 lead for a period and a half in a long time. That was disgusting. Who pays money to watch that?

Ducks played hard tonight and hung with the Wings, just couldn't bury one to tie it. My only beef is having Friesen's line out there late instead of the kids line. I didn't expect a win, was only hoping for a point. Time to move on and beat up on the BJs and Hawks.

Ducks played hard tonight and hung with the Wings, just couldn't bury one to tie it. My only beef is having Friesen's line out there late instead of the kids line. I didn't expect a win, was only hoping for a point. Time to move on and beat up on the BJs and Hawks.

They played well. It was close the whole game.

Can't say I'm surprised by the loss. I thought the ducks played a pretty good game, they just didn't get traffic in front of Osgood. How can he suck against everyone else and own this team?

How many times did the wings dive?

wow the Ducks deserved better...3-1 loss...Ducks didn't play great but they played good on the road and should have gotten a point out of this one.

I haven't seen a team collapse back and trap on a 2-1 lead for a period and a half in a long time. That was disgusting. Who pays money to watch that?

The Wings have been very sloppy since the Olympic break (moreso in the games Legace has played). In the 5 games he's played he's given up 20 goals, Osgood's three games 4 goals against. The two Anaheim games since the break were by FAR the Wings' most cautious. Partly because they were blown out 5-1 the first game back without the Swedes and then because the Swedes were gassed when they did play the following night. Since then we've given up 3-4 goals a night and Babcock has stressed that that has to change. Enter a more defensive approach to tonight's game. Our offense doesn't need much work, so the stretch run is going to be used to work on preventing goals.

You guys skate and play hard. Wouldn't want the Wings to run into you in the 1st. Strange things can happen in the playoffs.

I haven't seen a team collapse back and trap on a 2-1 lead for a period and a half in a long time. That was disgusting. Who pays money to watch that?

Man that's funny.

Man that's funny.

care to explain your response? Or is it just a pointless comment?

You guys skate and play hard. Wouldn't want the Wings to run into you in the 1st. Strange things can happen in the playoffs.
Strange things like that did happen ...

Strange things like that did happen ...
I don't know of what you speak. :dunno:

Just have to move on. Wings are a good team and we played pretty well. :)

meh, kind of a stupid game. A little frustrating to watch, I wanted that win so bad. Off to Chicago....

care to explain your response? Or is it just a pointless comment?

Maybe he means meh . . .

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=meh&f=1 (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=meh&f=1)

See especially definition 14.

I guess by "that's funny" he meant, how in the world can you have the audacity to accuse Detroit of trapping when every game against the Ducks this season Anaheim comes out the locker room trapping. This isnt a knock so please dont get insulted, but the Ducks play the most passive trapping system outside of Minnesota. Sometimes you guys had one forechecker, sometimes you didnt forecheck at all, but the Ducks ALWAYS clogged up center ice all night long. It worked, because Detroit didnt generate much of anything off the rush. But please dont start throwing the "trap" word around like the Ducks dont do it....because oh boy, do they ever.

I guess by "that's funny" he meant, how in the world can you have the audacity to accuse Detroit of trapping when every game against the Ducks this season Anaheim comes out the locker room trapping. This isnt a knock so please dont get insulted, but the Ducks play the most passive trapping system outside of Minnesota. Sometimes you guys had one forechecker, sometimes you didnt forecheck at all, but the Ducks ALWAYS clogged up center ice all night long. It worked, because Detroit didnt generate much of anything off the rush. But please dont start throwing the "trap" word around like the Ducks dont do it....because oh boy, do they ever.

The Ducks don't trap. Their gameplan against the Wings is to clogg up the neutral zone so that the Wings can't carry the puck into the zone like they do so well, this forces them to dump and chase. By no means are the Ducks a 'trapping' team.

Detroit, on the other hand, traps each and every game. It's just boring hockey to watch, that is all McDonald19 is saying. Obviously, the Wings are one of the best clubs in the league, they just don't play a 'fun to watch' type of style.

The Ducks don't trap. Their gameplan against the Wings is to clogg up the neutral zone so that the Wings can't carry the puck into the zone like they do so well, this forces them to dump and chase. By no means are the Ducks a 'trapping' team.

Detroit, on the other hand, traps each and every game. It's just boring hockey to watch, that is all McDonald19 is saying. Obviously, the Wings are one of the best clubs in the league, they just don't play a 'fun to watch' type of style.

Frankly, I don't think anyone here has demonstrated the ability to distinguish between the actual trap and determined backchecking.

Personally, I find it amusing, considering that until THN wrote that article about the trap about 10 years ago no one ever so much as mentioned the word, despite the fact that many teams, including high-powered offensive ones, had been using it for DECADES with nary a complaint. Some journalist had to meet a deadline and wanted to show off how smart he was, and all of a sudden it became chic to complain about the trap. Unfortunately, it's over-used by think-they-know-it-all fans so much now that "trap!" apparently means any team that dares play defense.

Really, I don't know how anyone can complain about what Detroit did ... they knew that with a 2 goal lead, if they played smart defense the Ducks probably wouldn't have enough firepower to come back. It's called smart hockey, and the problem isn't Detroit's style of play it's with Anaheim's mediocre offense, so quit whining. As for our friend from Detroit, anyone who accuses the Ducks of trapping and not forechecking has either not watched any Anaheim games except against Detroit, or has no idea what the trap is.

Make no mistake, I'm not calling the Ducks a trap team....for the most part they play a pretty aggressive offensive game. But you are talking to a man who watched New Jersey trap the life out of Detroit in the '95 finals, so I know a trap when I see one. Against Detroit the Ducks trap, for sure. It's a good strategy that has led to very close, competitive games. But it's a trap, and a very passive trap. And I didnt see a lot of backchecking pressure from the Ducks....really the whole team just mucked up center ice so Detroit could get any speed to get anything on the rush.

Make no mistake, I'm not calling the Ducks a trap team....for the most part they play a pretty aggressive offensive game. But you are talking to a man who watched New Jersey trap the life out of Detroit in the '95 finals, so I know a trap when I see one. Against Detroit the Ducks trap, for sure. It's a good strategy that has led to very close, competitive games. But it's a trap, and a very passive trap.


It's also why Ducks fans don't get to see Detroit play their very entertaining, puck possession, tic-tac-toe style. ;) Not that they should be complaining about trapping Detroit 'cuz it's effective. Some teams try to run and gun with the Wings and most of the time that is a bad strategy.

But other things went into making this one of the most boring games I've watched in awhile.

Anaheim is trying to make the playoffs, they're going to be tight defensively, that's good for them.

Detroit has been giving up goals left and right lately, and are trying to stop, so they were playing more defense-minded than in their last few games.

It all adds up to crappy, boring hockey.

I guess by "that's funny" he meant, how in the world can you have the audacity to accuse Detroit of trapping when every game against the Ducks this season Anaheim comes out the locker room trapping. This isnt a knock so please dont get insulted, but the Ducks play the most passive trapping system outside of Minnesota. Sometimes you guys had one forechecker, sometimes you didnt forecheck at all, but the Ducks ALWAYS clogged up center ice all night long. It worked, because Detroit didnt generate much of anything off the rush. But please dont start throwing the "trap" word around like the Ducks dont do it....because oh boy, do they ever.

No I disagree, we aren't a big trap team this season. The Ducks were a bigtime trap team before the lockout when Babcock was our coach...and guess who Detroit's coach is this season...Babcock...coincidence? No...there is a reason people were saying the Ducks/Devils Final was the most boring Final ever.

Really, I don't know how anyone can complain about what Detroit did ... they knew that with a 2 goal lead, if they played smart defense the Ducks probably wouldn't have enough firepower to come back. It's called smart hockey, and the problem isn't Detroit's style of play it's with Anaheim's mediocre offense, so quit whining. As for our friend from Detroit, anyone who accuses the Ducks of trapping and not forechecking has either not watched any Anaheim games except against Detroit, or has no idea what the trap is.

This argument can go on and on. It started with the Devils championships. One person would argue that winning is all that matters. Then the other person would argue that winning with the trap is not good for the league and attendance, which is definetly true.

Secondly I can complain as much as I want about the way Detroit played, so don't tell me otherwise.

Actually I think the Ducks are pretty good at staying aggressive when they get a lead. They are far from the worst teams who sit back and clog their own D zone with 5 skaters to earn a 2-1 win.

YAWN Detroit games are about as boring to watch as womens soccer.
I thought it was time to try a different style against a team that has no physical presence but i guess Carlyle fell into the same trap as other coaches who try to match skill. No roughing penalties

It's also why Ducks fans don't get to see Detroit play their very entertaining, puck possession, tic-tac-toe style. ;) Not that they should be complaining about trapping Detroit 'cuz it's effective. Some teams try to run and gun with the Wings and most of the time that is a bad strategy.

But other things went into making this one of the most boring games I've watched in awhile.

Anaheim is trying to make the playoffs, they're going to be tight defensively, that's good for them.

Detroit has been giving up goals left and right lately, and are trying to stop, so they were playing more defense-minded than in their last few games.

It all adds up to crappy, boring hockey.
The worst part about the game is the lack of energy and hitting..that is why I hate the trap, this became a very boring game.

YAWN Detroit games are about as boring to watch as womens soccer.
I thought it was time to try a different style against a team that has no physical presence but i guess Carlyle fell into the same trap as other coaches who try to match skill. No roughing penalties

Agreed. Throw Konopka and Moen out there and agitate the heck out of the Wings and see what happens. Would be more interesting that watching a 2-1 snoozer.

Selanne indicated Wednesday he wants to wait until after the Ducks complete their season before making definitive plans for next season.

Selanne, the club leader with 29 goals and 62 points after signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Ducks in August, stands to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. General Manager Brian Burke approached Selanne's agent, Don Baizley, during last month's Olympic break, but Selanne would prefer not to sign a new deal any time soon.

"I'm not saying this because I want to wait to July first," Selanne said. "I'm not going to wait to July first. I've learned over the years that I want to be in a place where I'm happy. I know where I'm happy.

"I'm almost 100 percent sure that I'll stay here. The only thing is that I decided I want to go one year at a time. A couple weeks after the season, you know how your body feels, if you want to play anymore. You know how sometimes you feel really high about everything? And sometimes you feel low? I don't think those are the best times to do any decisions."

Selanne, 35, suffered through a career-worst 16-goal, 32-point season with the Colorado Avalanche in 2003-04 before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery and rehabilitating during last season's NHL lockout.

"If I had to decide now, for sure I'm going to play (next season)," Selanne said. "I've been enjoying this year so much. Everything has been just great. The sides will talk after the season, Burke said.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/pros/article_1052769.php

Interesting quote from Chris Osgood...."Anaheim plays a kind of trap, a real defensive style, so it's important to not allow more than 3 goals, sometimes that's enough for them to win". So whether or not it's just against Detroit, the fact is the Ducks play a passive trapping system against the Wings. It's effective though. ;)

Detroit, on the other hand, traps each and every game. It's just boring hockey to watch, that is all McDonald19 is saying. Obviously, the Wings are one of the best clubs in the league, they just don't play a 'fun to watch' type of style

Yeah, Detroit has scored the 3rd most goals in the entire league and we just sit back every game after we go up by 1 goal.

Detroit plays a puck possession game, when they're on their game other teams are skating all around just trying to get the puck while Detroit plays keep away. I guess you could call it boring, but I would probably go with more frusterating for the other team.

I dunno, do you think the Ducks are really that exciting? Datsyuk and Zetterberg sure make Detroit games fun for me to watch!

I'm probably alone in thinking it was a pretty good game. Well played on both sides. The Ducks need to get through this patch with some points. The final stretch, from March 28th on, has us playing twelve games in 21 days, all against Western Conference teams that are either in or currently fighting for playoff spots. If we don't have a little breathing room by the 28th, I think we're done.

The problem is that 95% of the posters here at HF can't tell the difference between different defensive styles, let alone different types of trapping.

Detroit is such a good skating/puck moving team and so deadly on the PP that it makes for a very difficult combination to play against if your team does not flat out out muscle them if they don't have the ability to skate with them (which most teams don't). If you start hooking them as they skate by you, they will destroy you on special teams as they have done for most of the year...gotta get up on them early, hit them early and don't let them back in the game on special teams. Ducks did none of this yesterday.

The problem is that 95% of the posters here at HF can't tell the difference between different defensive styles, let alone different types of trapping.

Well, that puts us in our place.

I see your hopes weren't met in the game:

I don't care abotu the win, I just want to see the Red Wings physically maimed, mauled and injured.

Ok, so the 2 points would be nice but this is one of those 'yeah right' games.

What exactly were you wishing for? A broken femur for Zetterberg? A career-ending concussion for Lidstrom? Or would a simple dislocated shoulder for Datsyuk have sufficed?

Yeah, Detroit has scored the 3rd most goals in the entire league and we just sit back every game after we go up by 1 goal.

Detroit plays a puck possession game, when they're on their game other teams are skating all around just trying to get the puck while Detroit plays keep away. I guess you could call it boring, but I would probably go with more frusterating for the other team.

I dunno, do you think the Ducks are really that exciting? Datsyuk and Zetterberg sure make Detroit games fun for me to watch!
Whatever 'systems' being played today were defensive, there was no physicality at all, not alot of rushes. just boring hockey.

YAWN Detroit games are about as boring to watch as womens soccer.
I thought it was time to try a different style against a team that has no physical presence but i guess Carlyle fell into the same trap as other coaches who try to match skill. No roughing penalties

Agree with you %100. The way you beat Detroit is you make them bleed.