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Uphill battle for Avs

By Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 23, 2008 at 10:49 p.m.

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It's the playoff matchup most fans, the media and probably the NHL wanted.

The Avalanche and Red Wings will rekindle their rivalry starting tonight in the Western Conference semifinals in Detroit.

"I'm sure a lot of fans and the media like it," Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote said. "It was a good rivalry. It will probably be good for the game."

Detroit, a puck-possession team that controls play in the neutral zone, won the President's Trophy as the best team in the NHL during the regular season. The Red Wings dispatched Nashville in six games during the first round of the playoffs.

The Red Wings won all four games against the Avalanche in the regular season. But Colorado holds a 3-2 edge against Detroit in playoff series.

"I feel we are playing our best hockey at the right time but we have a big challenge ahead of us," defenseman Kurt Sauer said.

The Avalanche, which eliminated Minnesota in six games in the first round, is a different team now than two months ago. Several top players are back from the injured list and new players were acquired at the trading deadline.

"I don't think we're at our peak yet," forward Ian Laperriere said. "We know we are going to have to be better. It's going to get harder and harder."

Detroit is making its 17th consecutive playoff appearance, the longest streak in pro sports.

"Some of the younger players gained a lot of experience from last year's playoffs," Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lindstrom said. "That's going to help us going into the second round."

How the teams match up for the second-round series.

Offense

* Avalanche: Joe Sakic, Andrew Brunette, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth stood out against the Wild. Eleven players scored goals, and that allowed the fourth line to focus on checking.

* Red Wings: Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Hudler, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom provide ample front-line scoring and the forwards receive scoring support from the defensemen.

* Who has the edge? Red Wings. Detroit, thanks in part to the offensive capabilities of its defensemen, led the Western Conference in scoring.

Defense

* Avalanche: The shutdown duo of Adam Foote and Kurt Sauer will be challenged, but the Avalanche has played well defensively since midseason and has quality depth.

* Red Wings: Perennial Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom is one of the NHL's best. The Red Wings had three defensemen (Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronvall) score 30 or more points. Chris Chelios, 46, is in the playoffs for the 23rd season.

* Who has the edge? Avalanche. Detroit allowed a league-low 184 goals during the season, but Colorado has a slight edge because of its depth and physical presence on the blue line.

Goaltending

* Avalanche: Nobody has played better the past two months than Jose Theodore. He's confident, aggressive and focused - a winning formula so far in the playoffs.

* Red Wings: Chris Osgood, who took over for Dominik Hasek in Game 4 against Nashville, will start but both goalies have won Stanley Cups.

* Who has the edge? Avalanche. Theodore is playing like the Hart and Vezina winner he once was. The Red Wings goalies might be looking over their shoulders.

Special teams

* Avalanche: Special teams play was shaky during the regular season but improved during first round. The Avalanche went 6-for-30 on the power play (20 percent) and allowed three goals while skating short-handed 21 times (85.7 percent).

* Red Wings: Playoff power play has clicked at only 11.5 percent but penalty killing has been excellent, allowing only two goals on 23 short-handed situations (91.3 percent).

* Who has the edge? Red Wings. The Avalanche still has to prove its power play can score consistently with the game on the line. Detroit's power play is one of best in the NHL.

Coaching

* Avalanche: Joel Quenneville made all the right moves against the Wild - calling timeouts at key times and shuffling his lines at the start of the third period in Game 5.

* Red Wings: Mike Babcock is the first coach in NHL history to win 50 games or more in his first three seasons with a team. But entering this season he was only 12-12 in playoffs.

* Who has the edge? Even. Both coaches need to polish their resumes with more postseason success.

Intangibles

* Avalanche: A hot goalie and playing confident and under control the Avalanche scored first in all six games against the Wild.

* Red Wings: Plenty of veterans who have blended with talented younger players to make them the league's most feared team.

* Who has the edge? Red Wings. Detroit is the team to beat, and the Avalanche still has to show it is capable of doing that.

Series rundown

* REGULAR SEASON Date Score Goaltenders W/T goal

Dec. 27, 2007 Red Wings 4, at Avalanche 2 Peter Budaj/Dominic Hasek Hudler

Jan. 8, 2008 at Red Wings 1, Avalanche 0 Jose Theodore/Hasek Datsyuk

Feb. 1, 2008 at Red Wings 2, Avalanche 0 Budaj/Hasek Zetterberg

Feb. 18, 2008 Red Wings 4, at Avalanche 0 Theodore/Chris Osgood Chelios

* PLAYOFFS Year Round Result

1996 Western Conference finals Avalanche won 4-2, outscoring Red Wings 20-16

1997 Western Conference finals Red Wings won 4-2, outscoring Avalanche 16-12

1999 Western Conference semifinals Avalanche won 4-2, outscoring Red Wings 21-14

2000 Western Conference semifinals Avalanche won 4-1, outscoring Red Wings 13-8

2002 Western Conference finals Red Wings won 4-3, outscoring Avalanche 22-13

QUICK GUIDE

Detroit (1) vs. Colorado (6)

* Season series: Red Wings won 4-0, outscoring the Avalanche 11-2.

* First-round studs: Detroit - G Chris Osgood allowed one goal in three games after Dominik Hasek struggled. Avalanche - G Jose Theodore stopped 96 of 100 shots in the final three games against Minnesota.

* Whose house is tougher? Named for a boxer, Joe Louis Arena is old-school and cranky; the Pepsi Center is staid during the regular season but cranks it up a notch in the playoffs. No edge.

* Celebrity meter: Former Masters champion Craig Stadler has been known to sit on the glass at the Pepsi Center; the Red Wings counter with Detroit bad boy Kid Rock. Edge Red Wings, just for the simple fact Rock once was married to Pamela Anderson.

* Rocky prediction: Aaron J. Lopez - Avalanche in 6. Rick Sadowski - Red Wings in 6.

Comments

  • April 24, 2008

    9:12 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    octopus writes:

    Colorado has an edge on defense?! Are you kidding?

    I can understand being a homer, but it's not even close here. Detroit's 5-6 guys would be 1-2 in Colorado. Foote might be comparable to Chelios, at this point in their careers. Chelios can barely get any ice-time in Detroit, with Lids-Rafalski-Kronwall-Stuart ahead of him.

    So, Detroit has the best GAA in the NHL, but our goaltending is suspect, and our defense is worse than Colorado's. Maybe we just got lucky, I don't know. ;)

  • April 24, 2008

    12:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    GoMaltby writes:

    What a ridiculous opinion that Colorado has the edge in defense. Nick Lidstrom alone is worth Colorado's top D paring. Datsyuk, and Zetterburg are in the running for the Selke (The best defensive forward.) Oh yeah, and Hasek and Osgood won the William M. Jennings trophy for fewest goals alowed.
    I can see exactly where you're coming from... Colorado, but I can't see what you're basing your oppinons on.
    Sure Theodore was hot against the Wild (not know for scoring goals), but let see how he's doing after a couple games in Detroit.

  • April 24, 2008

    12:05 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bubbabeers writes:

    Detroit seems to be having trouble scoring - thier 2 top scorers in the playoffs have combined for 5 goals in six games. If Theodore plays as well as he did against the Wild, Detroit WILL lose this series.