NHL Western semis: Ducks at Red Wings, Game 1
Thanks to the Anaheim Ducks, the Detroit Red Wings now will have home-ice advantage through the Western Conference playoffs. But those same Ducks showed how dangerous they can be in upsetting the top-seeded Sharks, so don’t think for a minute that the Wings will be taking No. 8 Anaheim like a typical eighth-seeded team.
The Ducks and Red Wings, the last two Cup champions, will meet in a second-round series that will begin Friday and Sunday in Detroit. Games 3 and 4 will be played at the Honda Center next Tuesday and Thursday in Anaheim.
Detroit is a -325 series favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Meeting in the playoffs is nothing new for these veteran clubs. The Red Wings swept the Ducks in the first round in 1997 and 1999, but the Ducks in 2003 swept the Wings and became the first team in 50 years to sweep a defending champion out of the first round. In 2007 the Ducks defeated the Red Wings in six games to win the Western Conference title and advance to the Stanley Cup finals, where the Ducks beat Ottawa.
Since 2003, the Ducks lead the NHL in playoff-game victories since 2003, with a 46-24 record. The Red Wings are second at 37-28. Since 2006, the first postseason after the NHL returned from a lockout, the Ducks and Detroit have each won seven playoff rounds, most in the league. The Red Wings are 32-18 in playoff games during that span, with the Ducks at 31-18.
“It’s always good games when we play each other,” Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “They have a really solid team, a good defense, a good goalie. It’s going to be a fun and tough round.”
The Red Wings were 3-1 against the Ducks this season but Anaheim is a much different team since acquiring Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski and getting Francois Beauchemin back from injury. The return of Beauchemin gives Anaheim four defensemen that can at least match the Red Wings – no other team in the NHL can probably say that.
Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller played only 19 minutes of one game vs. Detroit during the season. But he was in goal for the entire series and gave up 10 goals on 230 shots. His regular-season loss to the Red Wings was a tough defeat as he allowed just one goal.
Hiller was tremendous against San Jose, but he will face a foursome of forwards (Pavel Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Marian Hossa and Johan Franzen) that is unmatched in the NHL. The Wings also led the league in converting on the power play in the regular season at 25.5 percent and are at a stunning 31.8 percent in the playoffs. And they are well-rested, having swept the Blue Jackets with relative ease. Detroit is -245 on WagerWeb.com to win Game 1, with an over/under of 5.5 goals.
WagerWeb.com Key Game 1 Trends
* Under is 13-3-2 in the last 18 meetings in Detroit.
* Favorite is 13-5 in the last 18 meetings.
* Home team is 35-16-2 in the last 53 meetings.
* Under is 25-12-5 in the last 42 meetings.
* Ducks are 6-22-1 in the last 29 meetings in Detroit.
NHL betting odds at WagerWeb.com
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