With the Stars beating the Shark last night in 4 O/T (8th longest game in NHL history), here is the Western Conference Finals Schedule, courtesy of “The Highlander” at Red Wings Corner:

Game 1, Thursday, at Detroit
Game 2, Saturday, at Detroit
Game 3, Mon. May 12, at Dallas
Game 4, Wed. May 14, at Dallas
Game 5, Sat. May 17, at Detroit
Game 6, Mon. May 19, at Dallas
Game 7, Wed. May 21, at Detroit

MSM analysis and previews updated in the replies as they become available.

For the statistical analysis, I include the regular season statistics because I think 82 games is a great sample to gather team tendencies.  Granted the competition level in the playoffs is way up, and teams inensity is way up.  I think it is still a good way to determine what a team is good at, and not so good at.  No worries, playoff stats are also included.

Regular Season Team statistical comparison, numbers from NHL.com:

WINP% G/G GA/G 5-5 F/A PP% PK% S/G SA/G Sc1%

DET:  REG SEASON:  .701 (1st), 3.07 (3rd), 2.18 (1st), 1.41 (1st), 20.7 (3rd), 84.0 (8th), 34.4 (1st), 23.5 (1st), .860 (1st)

DAL:  REG SEASON: .591 (8th), 2.89 (9th), 2.49 (6th), 1.11 (6th), 18.1 (13th), 85.6 (2nd), 26.7 (27th), 26.1 (4th), .625 (25th)

Keep in mind as you examine the post-season stats (especially the individual stats), the number of games played:

DET 10 gp, 8-2
DAL 12 gp, 8-4

Post Season Team statistical comparison, numbers from NHL.com:

WINP% G/G GA/G 5-5 F/A PP% PK% S/G SA/G Sc1%

DET: PLAYOFFS:  .800 (2nd), 3.80 (1st), 2.10 (3rd), 1.64 (1st), 20.4 (9th), 85.4 (4th), 39.3 (1st), 24.9 (1st), .857 (4th)

DAL: PLAYOFFS:  .667 (3rd), 2.92 (5th), 2.00 (2nd), 1.36 (3rd), 25.0 (2nd), 85.7 (5th), 30.0 (8th), 27.0 (3rd). .667 (7th)

DET has an edge on the G/G, and S/G = a more offensive team.  The G/G stats are a little misleading because of the blowout in game 4 of the Av’s series.  I’d contend that S/G are accurate.

DAL has edge on the PP.

Otherswise the stats are fairly even.

Faceoff %:

DET 52.4 (3rd)
DAL 49.1 (11th)

INDIVIDUAL STATS: From NHL.com

POINTS:
1.  Jaromir Jagr NYR 15

2.  Johan Franzen DET 14

3.  Daniel Briere PHI 14

4.  Evgeni Malkin PIT 14

5.  Mike Ribeiro DAL 14

GOALS:
1.  Johan Franzen DET 11

2.  R.J. Umberger PHI 9

3.  Daniel Briere PHI 8

4.  Henrik Zetterberg DET 7

5.  Brenden Morrow DAL 7

ASSISTS:
1. Sidney Crosby PIT 12

2.  Mike Ribeiro DAL 11

3.  Jaromir Jagr NYR 10

4.  Vaclav Prospal PHI 9

5.  Brad Richards DAL 9

PLUS/MINUS:
1. Henrik Zetterberg DET 10

2.  Johan Franzen DET 9

3.  Randy Jones PHI 8

4.  Rob Scuderi PIT 7

5.  Nicklas Lidstrom DET 7

GOALS AGAINST AVG.
1.  Chris Osgood DET 1.52

2.  Marty Turco DAL 1.73

3.  Marc-Andre Fleury PIT 1.76

4.  Evgeni Nabokov SJS 2.18

5.  Dan Ellis NSH 2.52

SAVE %
1. Marc-Andre Fleury PIT .938

2.  Dan Ellis NSH .938

3.  Chris Osgood DET .937

4.  Marty Turco DAL .929

5.  Tim Thomas BOS .914

KHAN! has a quick rundown on the regular season series between the Wings and Stars, and also a summary of Turco’s struggles against the Winged Wheel, MLIVE.com:

The Red Wings won the season series from Dallas 3-1, outscoring the Stars 12-5. Dallas, the fifth seed in the Western Conference, knocked off Anaheim and San Jose on the way to its first appearance in the conference finals since 2000.

Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood is 6-0 in the playoffs and has a career regular season record of 27-10-3 vs. Dallas. The last time these teams met in the playoffs, Osgood led the Wings past the Stars in six games in the conference finals on the way to the Stanley Cup title. Stars goalie Marty Turco has been strong in the playoffs the last two years after struggling in the postseason earlier in his career. But he still has trouble against Detroit, with a 2-10-5 lifetime record vs. the Wings. That includes a miserable 0-7-2 record, 3.38 goals-against average and .882 save percentage at Joe Louis Arena.

Jeff Sagarin’s ratings are useful in determining the relative strength of each team, from the USATODAY.com:

Jeff Sagarin NHL RATINGS from the USATODAY Through games of May 4, 2008.

HOME ADVANTAGE = 0.25 . . . . .  RATING . . W . . L . . SCED(RANK) . . VS top 10.| VS top 16
1 Detroit Red Wings . . . . . . . .  = 5.24 62 30 4.02 (15) 20 5 | 40 19
2 Dallas Stars . . . . . . . . . . . .  = 4.74 53 41 4.16 (9) 26 18 | 37 28

Wings are predicted by Sagarin to be .50 goals better per game than Stars.  Home advantage adds another .25 goals to the home team.  Wings at home are a .75 goal per game better than Stars according to Sagarin.

Also, look at the Wings amazing record against Sagarin’s top ten rated teams: 20 - 5!!!  an 80% winning record.

The Hockey News has chimed in with their Conference Finals Prediction:

DETROIT RED WINGS vs. DALLAS STARS

NUTS AND BOLTS
Detroit - Home | Stats | Roster | Schedule | Transactions | Injuries
Dallas - Home | Stats | Roster | Schedule | Transactions | Injuries

Regular Season Record:
Detroit - 54-21-7, 115 pts
Dallas - 45-30-7, 97 pts

Season Series
Detroit – 3-1-0 (12 GF; 5 GA)
Dallas – 1-3-0 (5 GF, 12 GA)

Leading Scorers vs. Opponent
Detroit – Valtteri Filppula, 5 (1G, 4A); Nicklas Lidstrom 5 (5A); Pavel Datsyuk 5 (3G, 2A)
Dallas – Joel Lundqvist 3 (3A); Jere Lehtinen 2 (1G, 1A); Loui Eriksson 2 (1G, 1A)

2008 Playoff MVP
Detroit – Johan Franzen. Has four more playoff goals – including two more playoff game-winners – than anybody else on Wings.
Dallas – Marty Turco. Only Philadelphia’s Martin Biron has faced more shots in these playoffs than the Stars starter, but Turco’s save percentage (.929) is far better than Biron’s (.914).

Why They’re Here
Detroit – The Red Wings needed a bit of good fortune to get past the plucky Predators in the first round and had a relatively easy go of things against an injury-plagued Avs squad. They’ve been good, but far from fantastic.
Dallas – The Stars have received timely contributions from just about every player on the roster, but have leaned heavily on Turco when their opponents made pushes. He’ll need to be stupendous again this time if Dallas is to have a chance against the high-powered Wings.

Special Teams
The Wings’ post-season power play came in at ninth overall (20.4 percent) after two rounds, but their penalty kill was much better, ranking fifth at 85.4 percent. Dallas edged out the Wings with the fourth-best penalty kill of the post-season (85.7) and only the eliminated Calgary Flames had more success with the man advantage than the Stars’ 25 percent ratio. Edge: Dallas

Forwards
Franzen’s scoring prowess has taken some of the focus off Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and the duo responded in the second round by combining to put up 17 points; Mikael Samuelsson and Tomas Holmstrom have been quietly effective, registering nine points between the two of them against Colorado. Dallas’ forwards have spearheaded their offense, led most notably by Brenden Morrow (seven playoff goals), Mike Ribeiro (14 points) and Brad Richards (nine assists). Greybeard Mike Modano is tied with Morrow and fellow veteran Stu Barnes for the team lead in game-winning goals with two. Edge: Dallas

Defense
Three of Detroit’s top seven scorers this post-season are blueliners, as Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski amassed 22 points in just 10 games. The D-unit has supported Chris Osgood enough to the extent that the veteran goalie doesn’t have to steal the show. Meanwhile, the Stars’ defense corps performed admirably and got a big boost with the return of Sergei Zubov (1 goal, 4 points) in the Sharks series. But they don’t have anywhere close to the depth and all-around skill level of Detroit’s D-men. Edge: Detroit

Goaltending
Chris Osgood has yet to lose a post-season game this spring, and his stellar .937 save percentage and playoff-best 1.52 goals-against average in these playoffs isn’t a fluke. That said, Turco (1.73 GAA) has faced tougher playoff opponents and emerged from beating them looking just as good, if not better. He’s looking like a driven man. Edge: Dallas

Coaching
Coach-of-the-year candidate Mike Babcock has his toughest coaching challenge in Dallas’ Dave Tippett, whose laid-back attitude is just about the polar opposite of the intense Wings coach. Both have received great results, but Tippett has been getting results under intense pressure since Doug Armstrong lost his GM job. A virtual toss-up here. Edge: Detroit

X-Factor
People will question the Wings’ ability to cope with Dallas’ physical style, and rightfully so. That’s not to say Detroit doesn’t have its share of bangers and bruisers, but they’ve yet to encounter a smart, sturdy, snarly opponent like the Stars.

Prediction
Goaltending will be one of the main focuses of what is sure to be a tight series, and right now it looks as if the Stars have the better one. They’ve also overcome two very tough tests in Anaheim and San Jose, while the Wings had somewhat of a lighter load in taking out Nashville and Colorado. That could give Detroit a little extra energy, but it also could mean they’re less able to deal with Dallas’ intensity. Dallas in seven.

EGAD!!!  Once again questioning the Wings’ toughness—ENOUGH ALREADY!!  And obviously, the folks at THN discount Turco’s amazing history against DET (that or they are completely unaware)!!!!  Equally as obvious, they given no thought or mention to the fact that DET outscore DAL 12-5 this year.

UPDATE Interestingly, to recall the so-called experts at THN from ROUND 2:

Prediction
This will not be the physical war we have seen these teams engage in previously, but will be a hard-fought battle nonetheless. One of two old-timers – Lidstrom or Sakic – will be the difference maker. Colorado in seven.

Hit that nail squarely on the head didn’t they!!!

ESPN.com has a poll about the Wings/Stars series.  Over 8000 fans voted as follows:

1) Which team has the better offense?

82.3% Red Wings

17.7% Stars

2) Which team has the better defense?

66.9% Red Wings

33.1% Stars

3) Which team has better goaltending?

60.7% Stars

39.3% Red Wings

4) Which team has better special teams?

69.8% Red Wings

30.2% Stars

5) Which coach would you rather have on your bench?

70.7% Mike Babcock

29.3% Dave Tippett

6) Has Marty Turco erased all questions regarding his goaltending ability in the playoffs?

67.0% Yes

33.0% No

7) Which Red Wings goaltender will start more games this series?

83.1% Chris Osgood

16.9% Dominick Hasek

8) Which team will win this series?

45.5% Red Wings 4-2

20.5% Stars 4-3

13.9% Red Wings 4-1

9.4% Stars 4-2

7.4% Red Wings 4-3

2.2% Red Wings 4-0

0.5% Stars 4-1

0.5% Stars 4-0

Total Votes: 8,004

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Not to be outdone, the Globe and Mail also have a poll on who will be in the SCF (of course the results are continually updated—but you get the idea:

Who will meet to play for the Stanley Cup?

Pittsburgh and Dallas:  18%, 109 votes

Philadelphia and Detroit:  7%, 45 votes

Pittsburgh and Detroit:  70%, 433 votes

Philadelphia and Dallas:  5%, 33 votes

Scott Morrison offers his breakdown on the Wings/Stars series, from CBC.ca:

DETROIT (1) vs. DALLAS (5)

RED WINGS

STRENGTHS - They are well rested, healthy and have so many weapons. Their best players haven’t had to be their best players night in-night out, to prevail. In addition to the likes of Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom, who have been terrific, they have been getting great efforts from the supporting cast, especially Johan Franzen, who had nine goals in the four-game spanking of the Colorado Avalanche. Four were on the power play, three were even strength and two were shorthanded, making him an equal opportunity threat.

WEAKNESSES - The goaltending has been good, not great. But then it hasn’t had to be and Chris Osgood has found a way to get the job done. Not many cracks in this lineup, but if not a weakness, then there is a question as to whether this team has been tested yet. They were ordinary to start against a Nashville team playing on fumes, but got much better and easily won. Then they steam rolled over a Colorado side that was missing five of its top nine forwards and a Cinderella goaltender who saw midnight. So, the question is how good are the Wings right now?

KEY PLAYER - Henrik Zetterberg. He scored a few highlight reel goals against the Avs, but now is the time for the big line to take charge.

STARS

STRENGTHS - Confidence. They got a monkey off their backs by winning the first round, then another by not choking on a lead in round two against San Jose. Marty Turco has been great in goal. Brenden Morrow has been a force up front and virtually everyone is playing well and with enthusiasm. They are a team firing on all cylinders. Now, they did appear rattled at times against the Sharks, surrendering a couple of leads and making life difficult, but they ultimately found a way to win, which is key.

WEAKNESSES - Those blown leads are a concern. Closing the deal is important, especially against a team like Detroit. At times the Stars appeared to sit on leads, to lose the aggressiveness that got them leads in the first place. Worth remembering, is they have knocked off two of the best teams in the west, Anaheim and San Jose, in convincing fashion so as long as the scoring holds up.

KEY PLAYER - Marty Turco. He has proven he is a big-time player and will have to be at this best to survive the third round.

Ross McKeon chimes in with his analysis and predictions, from YahooSports.com:

West finals: Dallas Stars-Detroit Red Wings

While Detroit cruised to a four-game sweep of Colorado in the conference semifinals that was capped by an 8-2 rollover in Game 4 on Thursday, Dallas had to endure two mentally and physically draining series against Pacific Division rivals Anaheim and San Jose.

The key in both earlier-round triumphs was the Stars’ ability to win the first two games of each series on the road. They went one better against San Jose, rolling up a 3-0 lead before finding out that getting that fourth win truly was the most difficult. It didn’t come until 69:03 of overtime during a Game 6 that started Sunday night in Dallas but didn’t end until the wee hours of Monday morning.

Fatigue could certainly be a factor for Dallas as the series against Detroit opens on Thursday. The Red Wings are notorious for defending home ice, and Dallas would appear to have its hands full to even hope for a split of the first two games.

Dallas came out of the San Jose series in better health than when it started the six-game showdown. If there was any question about Sergei Zubov, who returned for Game 3 after being out since mid-January, the veteran defenseman answered that with his 53:50 of ice time in Game 6.

The Stars are still missing another veteran defenseman, Philippe Boucher, but youngsters such as Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric are filling in admirably. Matt Niskanen is another rookie on the backline, but after 11 playoff games and 78 in the regular season, the mid-season “Young Star” has to be considered a young veteran at this stage.

Where the Stars will have their hands full is the Red Wings’ ability to possess the puck. Detroit seems to have it 65-70 percent of the time. The Red Wings are patient, they’re quick on transition and they just never seem to stop coming at you.

San Jose coach Ron Wilson complimented the Stars as being one of the best shutdown teams in the league once they have a lead. The key for Dallas will be scoring that first goal, or taking a mid-game lead and keeping the Red Wings at bay. Oddly, the team that scored first in the San Jose-Dallas series lost every time except for Game 6.

Key individuals for the Stars figure to be goalie Marty Turco, captain Brenden Morrow, defenseman Mattias Norstrom and clever center Mike Ribeiro.

Turco doesn’t mind a heavy workload, and the University of Michigan product figures to see it from a Red Wings team that always seems to be outshooting their opponent 2-to-1. Norstrom has been up and down in Dallas since coming over from Los Angeles two years ago. He’ll need to keep the front of Turco’s net clear, especially when Tomas Holmstrom appears on the Detroit power play.

Morrow is emerging as one of the game’s top leaders. Much like Jarome Iginla in Calgary, Morrow just does whatever it takes to win. He can be physical, he can score, he can be abrasive, he can be smart. As odd as it was at the time when Morrow was selected captain over Mike Modano, people are now seeing why the move was made.

Ribeiro has been one of the biggest surprises of the postseason because as good as he was in the regular season, he’s been even better in the playoffs. Along with linemates Jere Lehtinen and Morrow, Ribeiro is heading up the best line of the postseason that nobody is talking about.

It’s almost been too easy for the Presidents’ Trophy winners, but maybe Detroit just makes it appear that way. The Wings zipped out to a 2-0 lead on Nashville, watched as the Predators surprisingly went home to tie it and chase Dominik Hasek in the process, but lose it when they got totally outplayed in Games 5 and 6 even if the scores were close.

The Wings faced an injury-depleted Avalanche team in the second round and it was no contest. Questions abound surrounding the Wings. What would happen if an opponent actually tests Chris Osgood? What would happen if Detroit actually loses a home game? What would happen if Johan Franzen stops acting like Wayne Gretzky?

Something suggests there’s yet another Detroit hero about to emerge. Both Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg have already been good in these playoffs, and there’s so much depth on this team. Detroit is not banged up like it was by the time it reached the third round against Anaheim last spring. And coach Mike Babcock, along with Dallas’ Dave Tippett, remains one of the most underrated coaches in the league.

Prediction: Red Wings in five.

Scott Burnside has his analysis and prediction on the WCF, from ESPN.com:

NOTE:  EDITED DUE TO SPACE CONSTRAINTS

FIVE POINTS TO SERIES:

1. Not stubborn, just smokin’. Here’s the thing about Johan Franzen, goal-scoring machine—he didn’t just start his torrid tear when the playoffs began. Down the stretch, the Red Wings forward scored 15 goals in the last 16 games of the regular season. When you factor in his 11 postseason markers, Franzen has scored 26 times in his past 26 games. More impressive, however, has been the crucial nature of Franzen’s contributions. He scored eight game-winning goals during the regular season and has added four more winners in the playoffs. Forget about Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom. Whether the Stars can stop the big Swede they call “The Mule” may be the most important question of this series.

2. Captain Morrow. The decision to make Brenden Morrow a captain at the start of the 2006-07 season created quite a kerfuffle in Dallas, given the iconic status of former captain Mike Modano. Morrow missed half of last season with wrist and groin injuries, but played in all 82 regular-season games this campaign and has helped solidify the Stars’ hard-working and skilled identity. Morrow finished second in team scoring to Mike Ribeiro with 74 points and was a team-best plus-23. In the playoffs, he has taken another step forward as he leads the team with two overtime winners, including the series-clincher versus San Jose. Morrow, who played 51 minutes in the deciding game and was credited with 19 hits, also had two goals disallowed in Game 5, but he didn’t let that slow him down. In the way that Steve Yzerman used to be “the guy” in Detroit and Modano used to be “the guy” in Dallas, Morrow is now that player for the Stars.

3. The big men on the blue line. This series features two of the finest veteran defensemen in the game in Lidstrom and Dallas’ Sergei Zubov. Lidstrom is unparalleled—the cool, calm catalyst that drives a precise Detroit engine. Lidstrom is expected to win his sixth Norris Trophy and third in a row as the game’s best defenseman. This spring, he’s added seven points, is a plus-7 and has one game-winning goal for the 8-2 Red Wings. Zubov, meanwhile, has been a surprise contributor to the Stars’ playoff success. The often underappreciated Russian missed the start of the playoffs, not to mention 26 regular-season games, trying to work through a sports hernia injury. The 37-year-old went to Germany on the eve of the playoffs to have the injury treated, returned in the second round and made an immediate impact with four points in five games. He played an astounding 53:50 in Game 6 against San Jose. Both Lidstrom and Zubov are key to their teams’ respective power plays and have the ability to turn the course of a game on their own.

4. The snarl factor. The expected knock ‘em down, drag ‘em out battle against the Avalanche never materialized for the Red Wings. Detroit so often was ahead early in games that Colorado was forced to open things up as opposed to grind them out. The Wings may yet get that type of series against a Stars team that is comfortable playing close to the vest. Last season, the Wings displayed a surprising amount of grit in advancing to the Western Conference finals against Anaheim, and they have the tools to play that type of game with veterans like Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Dallas Drake and the reclaimed Darren McCarty. The Stars, meanwhile, don’t mind the dirty work in the corners, either, with Steve Ott and Morrow. . .But don’t think this series won’t get a bit ugly.

5. Ozzie redux, again. All Chris Osgood has done since coming off the bench for an inconsistent Dominik Hasek after Game 4 of the first round is win six straight games. The 35-year-old veteran won a Stanley Cup as the starter here in 1998 but has never really been given credit for being an elite netminder. The perception is no different now, and many will suggest the Stars hold a significant advantage in goal with Turco. Still, Turco is the one who historically has struggled in the playoffs. Both have played exceptionally well this postseason. Osgood leads the league with a 1.52 goals-against average and a third-best .937 save percentage. Turco has a 1.73 GAA and .929 save percentage. Watch for Detroit coach Mike Babcock to go back to Hasek if Osgood can’t match Turco save for save. Not that he may have to worry about that.

KEY MATCHUP:

• Mike Ribeiro vs. Niklas Kronwall: Mike Ribeiro remains the Stars’ most dangerous forward and leads the team with 14 points in 12 games. He can expect to spend a lot of time making sure he’s not getting his head handed to him by Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who is making the most of his first playoff run with the Wings. The injury-prone Swede has good offensive tools, is strong in his own zone and has the added bonus of being able to deliver the big open-ice hit. The Stars need Ribeiro’s continued offensive production, while the Wings need Kronwall to shut him down.

HOT AND NOT:

• Red Wings: Zetterberg is second in team scoring with 13 points and is a league-best plus-10 through the second round. Daniel Cleary has one goal and one assist through 10 games.

• Stars: Stephane Robidas is tied with Kronwall for the lead among NHL defensemen with eight postseason points. Niklas Hagman has just two points in these playoffs, and both came in one game against San Jose.

We didn’t have enough courage to pick the Stars in the second round after picking them to beat Anaheim. And as much as we love how far the Stars have come this season, we once again lack courage to pick them against a Red Wings team that is healthy, rested and just a little too deep for the Stars to handle.  Wings in seven.

The hockey people at TSN.ca note some interesting statistics for the WCF:

Statistical keys to the series:

- Detroit ranks first in the playoffs with 3.80 goals per game. Dallas ranks fifth with 2.92 goals per game.

- Dallas ranks second in the playoffs with 2.00 goals against per game. Detroit ranks third with 2.10 goals against per game.

- Dallas ranks second in the playoffs with a 25.0% success rate. Detroit ranks ninth at 20.4%.

- Detroit ranks first in the playoffs with 39.3 shots on goal per game. Dallas ranks eighth with 30.0 shots on goal per game.

- Detroit ranks first in the playoffs with 24.9 shots against per game. Dallas ranks third with 27.0 shots against per game.

- Detroit’s Johan Franzen leads the playoffs with 11 goals.

- Dallas’ Mike Ribeiro ranks second in the playoffs with 11 assists.

- Detroit’s Johan Franzen and Dallas’ Mike Ribeiro are tied for second in the playoffs with 14 points.

- Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen rank first and second in the playoffs at plus-10 and plus-9, respectively.

- Dallas’ Brendan Morrow and Stephane Robidas rank first and second in the playoffs with 66 hits and 59 hits, respectively.

- Dallas’ Mike Ribeiro ranks second in the playoffs with 16 takeaways.

- Detroit’s Kris Draper leads the playoffs (min. 50 face-offs) with a 62.4% face-off winning percentage.

- Detroit’s leaders in playoff power play ice time (per game):
Nicklas Lidstrom 4:36
Brian Rafalski 4:21
Pavel Datsyuk 4:16
Henrik Zetterberg 4:15
Tomas Holmstrom 4:06
Johan Franzen 3:06

- Dallas’ leaders in playoff power play ice time (per game):
Stephane Robias 5:10
Mike Ribeiro 4:45
Brenden Morrow 4:31
Jere Lehtinen 4:19
Mike Modano 3:42
Sergei Zubov 3:12

- Detroit’s leaders in playoff penalty killing ice time (per game):
Nicklas Lidstrom 3:13
Chris Chelios 2:28
Brad Stuart 2:23
Kris Draper 2:22
Niklas Kronwall 2:07
Daniel Cleary 2:02

- Dallas’ leaders in playoff penalty killing ice time (per game):
Jere Lehtinen 2:35
Steve Ott 2:33
Stephane Robidas 2:31
Mark Fistric 2:31
Mike Modano 2:23
Trevor Daley 2:15

Alan Ryder offers up his observations on the Conference Finals.  Interestingly, he is one of the few in the MSM who do not believe the Wings lack “grit.” From the Globe and Mail:

There is an advantage to examining the playoffs from the mountain top of statistics rather than the valley of the games themselves. The view is much clearer.

The most visible factors of post-season success are team quality and goaltending. Regular-season success is the best predictor of success in the playoffs. Goaltending is the biggest potential perturbation of the predictive power of the regular season. A hot goaltender can hijack a series. The final factor is grit — an ability to play both at a high energy level and within oneself. Grit is difficult to identify before the post season and therefore a major force of randomness in playoff results.

Each of these factors has emerged in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Detroit Red Wings

The Wings entered the Stanley Cup tournament as the team with the top record during the regular season. But they have been there so many times recently. And their detractors will point out that they have no recent Cups.

Very few analysts have called Detroit the team to beat this year. Their recent history of playoff ‘failure’ has been blamed on a lack of grit. However, the untold story is that the road to the Stanley Cup final has been through Joe Louis Arena for some time.

Last season they bowed to the eventual Cup winners, the Ducks, only after a terrific tussle in the third round. They provided tougher competition for Anaheim than did the Senators in the finals, outscoring the Ducks 17-16 and losing three one-goal games including two in overtime. Perhaps they were out-gritted, but only by the grittiest team in the 2007 tournament.

In the 2006 spring tournament, they bowed out in the first round. But, again, the loss was to a Stanley Cup finalist — the surprising Edmonton Oilers. In 2004, the story was similar. This time it was a second-round exit to a Cup finalist, the Calgary Flames. In 2003, they dropped out in the opening round to the then-Mighty Ducks who also went on to be finalists.

Oh, and in 2002 the Red Wings went all the way.

This is a profile of arguably the finest team in the NHL over the past five seasons. They remain my favourite to win the Stanley Cup.

Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger break-down the ECF and WCF, on video at TSN.ca.  DET/DAL preview starts at 2:05.  Noted at the end of the clip:  Chris Osgood has more victories against DAL than he has against any other team in the league.