Lidstrom Downs Ducks, B's Bash Canes

Anaheim played a very efficient game. Chris Pronger was a force on the blue-line. Ryan Getzlaf now leads the post-season in points after registering two helpers last night. Corey Perry had a goal and a fight. Jonas Hiller stopped 34 shots. Seems like the recipe for Anaheim success, right?

Nope.

Despite limiting the offensive exploits of the Red Wings, the Ducks still fell 3-2 in Game One via Nicklas Lidstrom's second goal of the game. With only 50 seconds left in regulation, Lidstrom was able to sneak in from his point, fire a shot on Jonas Hiller off of a Dan Clearly centering pass, then convert his own rebound to put Detroit up for good.

Like I said in my predictions, the numbers just don't add up for Anaheim. I thought they played a very solid Game One, minus a few costly penalties (i.e. Mike Brown's late hit on Jiri Hudler).

Cutting down on penalties won't be an easy task for the Ducks. For one, they have to play on the edge. If they aren't playing physical or chippy hockey they won't be successful. Combine that with Detroit's speed and puck possession and you have two elements that equate with a lot of Detroit man-advantages.

The two best players on the ice were Chris Pronger (two assists) and Nicklas Lidstrom (two goals, one assist). Pronger was dominant in his own zone, creating headaches for Detroit's top guns all night. Lidstrom continues to prove why he is Detroit's back-bone. The guy knows how to run a power-play, stifle opponents defensively, and lead with his play both on and off the ice.

One worriesome stat for Duck's fans has to be 27:55. That's how much Ryan Getzlaf played last night. He led Anaheim forwards in even-strength ice-time, power-play ice-time, and penalty-kill ice-time. Those are hard minutes. It will be interesting to see if he wears down as the series progresses...

Over in Boston, Tim Thomas' Bruins were able to KO Cam Ward's Hurricanes. The Bruins managed to convert four goals on only 24 shots - not Cam Ward's best outing.

Carolina is going to need to keep Marc Savard and David Krejci off of the scoresheet, or atleast limit the number of occurrences, and also receive better performances from Cam Ward and Eric Staal...