OPINION

By Victor Chi

updated 12:47 p.m. ET April 21, 2008

The final minutes for the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday were quite fitting. Captain Chris Pronger was in the penalty box. The Dallas Stars converted the power play as Mike Modano handled the empty-net honors.

The Stars took control of this series by dominating the first two games on the power play. They ousted the Ducks, 4-1, in Game 6 by opening and closing their scoring with power-play strikes.

Defenseman Stephane Robidas capped a huge series by scoring the tying goal and feeding Stu Barnes for the winner. The Stars needed Robidas to assert himself because Sergei Zubov was still hurt and Philippe Boucher missed half the series. Robidas survived a scare in Game 5 when he took a puck to the face. He played Game 6 with a full-cage facemask and logged over 26 ½ minutes of ice time — more than Pronger, more than Scott Niedermayer.

It shouldn’t be a shock to see a fifth seed like Dallas prevail over a fourth seed like Anaheim because, at least in theory, the series should be the most competitive. But the way that both teams ended the regular season suggested that the Ducks had the significant upper hand in addition to the home-ice advantage. Dallas won just three of its final 10 in the regular season and lost twice to the Ducks. Anaheim, meanwhile, went 8-2 in its final 10, with both losses coming against San Jose, the league’s hottest team down the stretch.

But the Stars ambushed the Ducks by punishing them for foolish penalties in Games 1 and 2, and never trailed in the series.

For Anaheim, its season had a disjointed feel from the get-go when it had to open the season in London. Then came the waiting game as everyone guessed when Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne would end their in-season sabbaticals. Then, the salary-cap juggle to accommodate Niedermayer cost them Andy McDonald, who was their top playoff goal-scorer last year. It is a credit to the Ducks’ talent and toughness that the club still managed to register 102 points in the regular season.

The weariness, though, seemed to take hold even after Corey Perry gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead in Game 6. They couldn’t match the Stars’ hunger, which was considerable and understandable for a team that hadn’t escaped the first round since 2003.

The San Jose Sharks have never hosted a Game 7, and they were hoping they could avoid such a history-making date in this series against the Calgary Flames. Unfortunately for the Sharks, those hopes fell flat along with the team Sunday in a 2-0 loss inside the Saddledome.

The Flames have to like their situation heading into Game 7. The pressure will be on San Jose, the No. 2 seed in the West, and the Flames have already won three times in the Shark Tank, twice in the regular season and the opener in this series.

If you’re a Flames fan, you’re hoping this will be a reversal of fortune from 1995, when the Sharks won Game 7 at Calgary, which was the No. 2 seed in the West.

If you’re a Sharks fan, you’re hoping that Milan Michalek ends his slump in Game 7. Michalek was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Joe Thornton, but he has zero points in this series and botched a 3-on-1 situation in Game 6.

The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings finally dispatched the Nashville Predators with a 3-0 victory Sunday in Game 6.

The Predators, though, should be proud of their season and performance.

The sense after this playoff loss is much different than it was the previous two seasons. The Predators were the higher seed both years, so even if San Jose had the better team, the losing was more difficult for Nashville to swallow. Last year in particular was doubly tough because a) the Predators thought they had learned what it takes to beat the Sharks, and b) management had opted against their usual conservative approach by going for the Peter Forsberg bombshell.

After ownership turmoil, a salary purge and a talent exodus, the Predators earned respect with their pluck and grit. Their young defense, led by Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, is a good reason for optimism.

The Claude Julien angle is getting plenty of play as the Boston Bruins head into Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens.

In 2004 Julien was Montreal’s coach when the Canadiens shook off a 3-1 series deficit and upset the top-seeded Bruins. Now Julien is behind the bench for the Bruins, who have responded from a 3-1 series deficit to tie the top-seeded Canadiens.

Nice parallels there, but let’s dig deeper:

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In 2004, the Bruins won Game 2 in overtime. In 2008, the Canadiens won Game 2 in overtime.

In 2004, the Canadiens won Games 5 and 6 by scoring five goals in each. In 2008, the Bruins won Game 5 and 6 by scoring five goals in each.

In 2004 Bruins goaltender Andrew Raycroft went on to win the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. In 2008, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is expected to make a strong showing the Calder voting. This isn’t a direct comparison between the two goaltenders—not fair and not really the point here --- butt rather the circumstances, which don’t necessarily inspire optimism if you’re a Montreal fan.

Price wasn’t as shaky in Game 6 as he was in Game 5 when his goof goosed the Bruins into a scoring binge. But the bottom line was that he again gave up five goals, including four in the third period. The spotlight is always more intense in Montreal, and the focus will remain on Price.

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