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Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue
The Wings-Ducks should be quite a series. The Ducks are really the last team I wanted to see the Wings face, but so be it. Their top line is playing as well as any line in hockey right now. They are incredibly solid along the blueline and Hiller, their only potential question mark going into the playoffs, was perhaps the best goalie in any first round series. The Ducks have plenty of experience and should provide a very difficult challenge. The Wings have more depth at forward, the defensive corps are pretty comparable, and the Ducks have the edge in goaltending.
Hopefully Corey Perry will be rightly suspended for at least 4 games for his elbow to the head last night. It was every bit as vicious as Brashear's hit on Betts, the only difference was that Cheechoo (if it was Cheechoo) was lucky enough not to get injured. If he had gone down and was knocked out of the game, there would be no question that a multi-game suspension would be in Perry's future. Since the NHL takes a weird approach to these things, given Cheechoo came away pretty much unscathed means that Perry will likely not be suspended or, if so, it may only be for one game.
Still, if the NHL wants to be serious about getting rid of shots to the head, a message should be sent. 4-5 games would be appropriate based on the Brashear precedent in these playoffs. Let us not forget that Perry is a recidvist and was suspended for 4 games earlier this season for an elbow to the head.
Where's Collin Campbell's number or e-mail address? I would like to submit a brief on this for his consideration.
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I'll admit it was tough for me to see some good replays of the hit because I was working at the time, and couldn't stop to watch, but what I have seen meshes with what bhlloy said, that the Perry elbow wasn't innocent or nothing, but not really anything more than a usual elbow hit, nothing vicious to it or anything. I could see a game, but anything more than that would be way more than called for. Besides, wouldn't you rather beat the Ducks at full strength?
As for the matchup with the Wings, I think it's going to be a tough series for the Ducks, because they haven't had much success against the Wings in recent matchups. Now, they did beat the Wings in '07 and in '03, so not like it's unheard of for the Ducks to beat the Wings in the playoffs, but I just don't like the matchup. What makes the Ducks really dangerous is their physical play, their playoff tested and experienced and talented blueline, a tremendous top line and their goaltending. The only thing the Wings can't match is the goaltending, as noted, and even then, Osgood has a history of playing very well against the Ducks. And on top of that, the Ducks will play four at Joe Louis, of course, never easy to do. Not that same playing at The Tank, which, let's face it, is a rather aptly named building at the moment.
I will disagree one thing DeTox said, and that's about the Ducks perhaps being beat up. Uh-uh. Not the Ducks. Burke may not be here anymore, but this is still largely the team he built. Physical play doesn't wear these guys out, it just gets them more motivated. In fact, I think the Sharks trying to get chippy with them is only going to make the Ducks a little edgier and ready to scrap going into the Wings series.