Bill Clement

When it comes to the NHL conference semifinals, the buzz is about the Alex Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals squaring off against the Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins.

That’s only natural, and by no means has this showdown been disappointing.

The two superstars both had hat tricks in Washington’s 4-3 win in Game 2. But while in the East the battle for one-upmanship wages on between Ovechkin and Crosby, in the West an exceptional matchup has defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit taking on Anaheim.

The Ducks won the Cup two years ago, and they’ve got plenty of experience to do it again. These two teams are incredibly closely matched. Maybe that’s why they played three overtimes in Game 2 before Anaheim finally prevailed. The Ducks are up 2 games to 1, with Game 4 Thursday night in Anaheim.

The caliber of hockey is outstanding. Anyone that’s missing viewing this series is missing something special. It’s extremely hard hitting, and the overall skill level in this series is the best of any of the four remaining playoff series. There’s an incredible level of talent and ability being displayed, combined with an unbelievably physical aspect to the series.

There’s so much that is intriguing about the Ducks pounding it out with the Red Wings. You want dream defensemen, you’ve got them. The three players who have owned the Norris Trophy (given to the league’s best defenseman) in this decade are all involved. Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom has taken the award six times since 2000. For Anaheim, both Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer have been one-time winners, although neither won the award while with the Ducks.

Detroit is a deeper team, so a fascinating storyline to the series is how much can Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle get out of his top line of center Ryan Getzlaf, and wingers Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry. How long before their tanks hit empty?

Carlyle is riding Getzlaf’s line because it is clearly Anaheim’s biggest threat to provide offense, and on a lot of nights, it’s its only threat to provide offense. Getzlaf is the only non defenseman in the top 10 players in time on ice in the playoffs.

Casual hockey fans, especially those in the East, might not be too familiar with Getzlaf, which is a shame because they are missing out on witnessing a spectacular hockey talent ply his trade.

Getzlaf has Mario Lemieux-like hands, and an Eric Lindros-like-approach to the physical aspect of the game. I don’t think he is as physical as Lindros was, and he doesn’t have quite the hands of Lemieux, but how many times have we seen both of those qualities in a hockey player? The influence of Getzlaf’s play on the success of the Ducks can in no way be understated. He’s their best defensive center, and he’s their best offensive center. Carlyle will ride him until he drops.

Detroit coach Mike Babcock has been countering the Getzlaf line with Henrik Zetterberg’s line for the most part, but Pavel Datsyuk’s line has also gone against them. Zetterberg thrives on these types of matchups so force against force and skill against skill make for some quite exciting and dramatic playoff hockey.

Anaheim poses quite a threat to Detroit, and as with any series, the deciding factors start with goaltending, and in this case, who will prove stronger, Detroit’s veteran Chris Osgood, whose regular season was extremely inconsistent, but whose playoff performances have been stout or Anaheim’s young Jonas Hiller, who took the No.1 job away from Jean-Sebastien Giguere late in the season?

There’s a lot to like about Hiller, starting with how he’s big in the net, and he’s very prepared for every shot. He’s a big butterfly goalie, who reads the plays really well, and sets up really well. He catches with his right hand, and when he is on his knees, he’s very tall from the torso on up so he takes away the upper corners of the net.

Also impressive, is it appears he’s blind to the pressure of the postseason. He seems to have the demeanor to compete at this time of year. His composure and poise are outstanding.

Besides the goaltending of Hiller, other key factors for the Ducks if they are to make the conference finals are playing disciplined hockey (they led the league in time shorthanded in the regular season), withstanding the barrage of offense Detroit will bring at them, and continuing to get super-human energy from Getzlaf and his linemates – not to mention some scoring.

Detroit’s a magnificent team with depth everywhere, but I really believe for the Red Wings to move on the biggest key is getting back sidelined defenseman Brian Rafalski, who has an upper body injury and won’t be back until Game 5 at the earliest.

It’s unfortunate the Penguins-Capitals and Ducks-Red Wings series are not happening in the conference finals, but if you are not watching both, you’re cheating yourself out of some great playoff hockey.

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