Red Wings 2, Ducks 1
The one major thing that stood out for me again in this 2-1 Wings victory over Anaheim was the Wings' ability to stand up to Anaheim physically. That probably wouldn't have been the case three or four years ago. Maybe two years ago. But last year the tide turned in that way, and at this point, people would probably be shocked if the Wings didn't match Anaheim's level of physicality or surpass it. Anaheim was rested, coming off a disappointing loss, was playing at home...and it all didn't matter. The Wings, playing the second game on back-to-back games, outplayed the Ducks. Does it guarantee playoff success for the Wings? No, not at all. But it has to be nice to know, if you're the Wings, you're capable of beating the Ducks the way they did on this evening. Other quick observations: 1) Babcock matched Johan Franzen against Ryan Getzlaf all evening and the Franzen pretty much shut down the Ducks' talented young center. Getzlaf extended his point streak to 15 games but it was an assist on Chris Pronger's power play goal. At even strength, Franzen did a fine job. With big centers such as Getzlaf and Joe Thornton in the West, Franzen has the capability of being a crucial player. 2) Tomas Kopecky was another guy who played hard and well. 3) Dan Cleary showed something by standing up to Pronger in the first period. That's 6-foot Cleary against 6-6 Pronger. Cleary's left eye was completely shut after the game. But it set the tone the Wings weren't going to back down.
