2008 Western Conference Final
It all starts tonight as the Stars and Red Wings face off for the Western Conference Championship. The
Stars have taken the long road playing two 6-games series’, while the Red Wings have cruised to the conference final seemingly without effort. Both teams, however have something to prove.
Breaking Down Dallas
The Dallas Stars, in particular Marty Turco, have been known to have a tremendous regular season only to pull a swift disappearing act in the playoffs. The Red Wings were at this same point last year, but fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.
Brendan Morrow has been impressive thus far, providing both grit and talent on a consistent basis for the Stars. Sergei Zubov, since coming back from a foot injury, has shown flashes of the offensive prowess that made him the Ranger’s leading scorer back in 1994 when they won the cup. Yes, that’s right…Zubov led the Rangers in scoring, besting the likes of Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Tony Amonte and even Alexei Kovalev!
Marty Turco has been nothing short of stellar to this point in the playoffs. He may finally have shaken that playoff monkey off of his back, but Detroit will be a huge test fro Turco. One has to wonder if Detroit has a huge mental advantage over the Stars and Turco before this series even begins. You see, Marty Turco has never won a game against Detroit in Joe Louis Arena! Yep, never. In fact, he is only 2 wins against Detroit all together and we know he’ll need to double that statistic if the Stars are to move on to the Stanley Cup Final.
Turco’s performance will dictate the outcome of this series for the Dallas Stars.
Is Detroit The Real Big “D”?
This Detroit team is one that has such a balanced attack that it stifles even the most season
ed of coaches when it comes to matching lines. The Red Wings can come from all angles with offense, and have been the beneficiary of an unlikely hero in Johan Franzan who leads all playoff scorers with 11 goals this post season, two more than Philadelphia’s R.J Umberger.
Osgood, who has finally garnered the respect of Mr. Babcock, has unseeded the elderly Dom Hasek in the Detroit goal. As much as Turco is the key for Dallas’ chances in this series, Osgood has to continue to be on point for the Wings. Osgood is a perfect 6-0 in this year’s post season, but he will need help from Kronwall, Lidstrom, and the crafty veteran Chelios to keep the Stars’ offensive attack under wraps. Stifling the Stars’ explosive power play, which is second overall among playoff teams, will be crucial to gaining control of the series.
If Detroit can continue to receive balanced scoring and Osgood is able to make some key saves in penalty kill situations, look for Detroit to pull out a win in this series.
Who Is Going To The Cup Final?
Predictions have never been our strong suit at NHL Digest, but this series should go the distance. Sometimes these things are just too close to call. It all comes down to confidence and momentum so this is the prediction:
The team that wins Game 1 will win this series in 7 Games.