2008 Woodie Awards
Detroit, San Jose Struggle Against Lower Seeds
NHL
Emre Aksoy
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Sports
With the first round coming to a close, one thing is evident in the Western Conference; history is bound to repeat itself, and if teams don't learn from it, they'll be in deep trouble.
Before the playoffs started, it was evident the Western Conference held a much deeper field than the East, but I didn't think the higher seeds in the West would have this much of a struggle putting away their first round opponents.
The third-seeded Minnesota Wild had their season ended on Saturday night by the sixth-seeded Colorado Avalanche, and there might be two more upsets in the first round if both Detroit and San Jose aren't careful.
The first-seeded Red Wings were in danger of losing their first series but found a way to escape the first round.
The Red Wings captured the President's Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record, so you would expect them to have no trouble putting away the eighth-seeded Nashville Predators. With the Red Wings winning both games at home, it seemed clear the Red Wings were in control of the series, but the Predators fought back and won both games on their home ice to tie the series.
You shouldn't have been shocked though. In fact, the Predators had done this once before.
In 2004, both these teams met in the first round, and the same events occurred. The Red Wings took a 2-0 series lead only to have it disappear as they traveled to Nashville. After those losses the Red Wings regrouped though and won both Game 5 and 6 to advance to the next round.
Now fast-forward back to the present. In Game 5 the Red Wings refocused and won via an overtime goal by Johan Franzen. Now they traveled to Nashville to close out the series.
As the puck dropped for Game 6, the Predators were once again without their captain Jason Arnott, who missed Game 5 and 6 with a concussion. Arnott, the team's leading scorer, was the only playmaker on a power play that did not struggle heavily during the regular season, and with him out of the lineup, the Predators didn't have another option.
Before the playoffs started, it was evident the Western Conference held a much deeper field than the East, but I didn't think the higher seeds in the West would have this much of a struggle putting away their first round opponents.
The third-seeded Minnesota Wild had their season ended on Saturday night by the sixth-seeded Colorado Avalanche, and there might be two more upsets in the first round if both Detroit and San Jose aren't careful.
The first-seeded Red Wings were in danger of losing their first series but found a way to escape the first round.
The Red Wings captured the President's Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record, so you would expect them to have no trouble putting away the eighth-seeded Nashville Predators. With the Red Wings winning both games at home, it seemed clear the Red Wings were in control of the series, but the Predators fought back and won both games on their home ice to tie the series.
You shouldn't have been shocked though. In fact, the Predators had done this once before.
In 2004, both these teams met in the first round, and the same events occurred. The Red Wings took a 2-0 series lead only to have it disappear as they traveled to Nashville. After those losses the Red Wings regrouped though and won both Game 5 and 6 to advance to the next round.
Now fast-forward back to the present. In Game 5 the Red Wings refocused and won via an overtime goal by Johan Franzen. Now they traveled to Nashville to close out the series.
As the puck dropped for Game 6, the Predators were once again without their captain Jason Arnott, who missed Game 5 and 6 with a concussion. Arnott, the team's leading scorer, was the only playmaker on a power play that did not struggle heavily during the regular season, and with him out of the lineup, the Predators didn't have another option.
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