Posted by Pierre LeBrun
Your normal playoff series usually ramps up in the third or fourth game as teams get to know each other and the dislike grows with each passing moment.
Detroit-Anaheim? Ha! The nastiness started right off the bat in Game 1 on May 1 and hasn't relented. Mike Brown hammered Jiri Hudler in Game 1, just like Niklas Kronwall nailed Ryan Carter in the same game -- both borderline hits. From then on, it's been blood, sweat and tears trying to gain an inch on the ice.
Sure, the Pittsburgh-Washington series has been the most exciting, but no series has been more intense in the second round of the NHL playoffs than the Wings-Ducks matchup.
And the fun continues Sunday at Joe Louis Arena with a pivotal Game 5 with both teams sitting at two wins apiece.
"It's been fun though, right?" Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told ESPN.com on Friday night. "That's what it's about. Because they're a champion and because we're a champion, we both are in our own right, no question about it, and we've been through it before and we've played against each other in the playoffs.
"Even in our seasons this year, both teams at times looked bored to death, but when we played each other, there were hockey games. I think that's how it's been. It's carried over from there. It's been hotly contested. It's a best-of-three. If you would have asked me before I would have expected it to be exactly like this."
The Wings were somewhat on the ropes before Thursday night's clutch 6-3 win at Anaheim to tie the series and avoid a 3-1 hole. Even the defending Stanley Cup champions can feel the heat.
"I said to the guys before the game, 'Boys, we've been called out. Let's not kid ourselves, this is the swing game right here. We've been called out and we've got to respond. We're going to respond.' And I thought we did," said Babcock. "There's always a point in the playoffs, you're going to have a long run, where you get called out. And you've got to respond. And if you don't respond, you go fishing. It's that simple."
Babcock deserves some of the credit for the Game 4 win, mixing up his top lines to great effect part way through the first period after Anaheim opened the scoring. Johan Franzen, Marian Hossa and Valtteri Filppula were put together and the trio exploded for four goals on the night. For Hossa, it was his first two goals of the series and he got the monkey off his back. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk also played well while reunited on a line.
But it's more than line changes that sparked the victory, Babcock said.
"I also think they've had good goaltending and they've played hard," he said of the Ducks. "But we've carried the play in the second half of every game. Eventually, if you keep playing hard, it'll go your way. You do good things, good things tend to happen. I'm a believer in that."
The Ducks need to steal one more game at Joe Louis Arena, whether that's Game 5 or Game 7, and also win at home Tuesday night. Anaheim's overreliance on Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry is beginning to catch up. The Wings can roll their lines more evenly and the fatigue seems to be setting in on the Anaheim side. Someone else is going to have to step up for the Ducks or else they're toast in this series.
Injury update
We've yet to see star blueliner Brian Rafalski or veteran checking forward Kris Draper for Detroit in this series.
"At this point, it doesn't appear to me like we're going to have Raffy or Drapes this series," said Babcock. "So we're going to have to win it so they get to play. Although there's a chance for Rafalski."
Forward Tomas Kopecky was injured in a fight with Francois Beauchemin in Game 4 and also appears out.
On the Ducks' side, defenseman James Wisniewski, who suffered a lung contusion in Game 3, practiced Saturday and will be a game-time decision. Getzlaf did not skate Saturday, but is expected to play. The star center played through what appeared to be an illness in Game 4, although the team has not confirmed that.
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
