DETROIT -- After the Red Wings stopped the Ducks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday. Detroit forward Mikael Samuelsson said, "Sometimes the stars take each other out a little."
And when the big-name guys cancel each other out, the Wings usually are left in a better position that their opponents, which was the case in Game 7, when Darren Helm, Samuelsson and Dan Cleary provided the final three goals in a 4-3 victory. Jiri Hudler scored the first goal of the night on a power play.
Helm never has scored a goal in the regular season (14 games) but he has four postseason goals, and his breakaway score on Thursday showed off his terrific speed. Samuelsson is a role player, but has a nose for big playoff goals, while Cleary is a grinder. His game-winner with three minutes left Thursday was his first goal of the series.
DETROIT -- This was more like it when it comes to a Game 7.
The second-seeded Red Wings and the No. 8 Ducks continued their hearty battle in the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday here at Joe Louis Arena, and Anaheim very nearly pulled off an upset of the defending champs, two weeks after knocking off the top-seeded Sharks.
Instead, it was hard-nosed Dan Cleary, not one of Detroit's marquee players, who willed the Wings into the conference finals by hammering the puck past Jonas Hiller with three minutes to play, giving Detroit a 4-3 victory over the tough Ducks. Detroit will meet the Chicago Blackhawks in a matchup of Original Six teams for the right to go to the Stanley Cup Finals.
After some late-game fisticuffs on Tuesday, the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks are set to take part in a one-and-done Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena, in a contest that has to be more entertaining -- from a competitive standpoint -- than what we saw on Wednesday in Washington. Depending on who you ask, the line brawl in the closing minutes of Game 6 could be a rallying cry for the Red Wings.
Anaheim vs. Detroit, 7 PM ET | series tied, 3-3 Carolina vs. Boston, 8 PM ET | Game 7 Preview | Where on TV?
There were eight first-round series in the NHL playoffs. Three of them ended in sweeps, and six of them were over before they got to a seventh game. While no one complained about getting a couple of super Game 7s in the first round, it was hardly as competitive as some thought it would be.
As we approach Game 7 between Pittsburgh and Washington (Game 7s between Carolina-Boston and Anaheim-Detroit will be played Thursday night), let's take a moment to talk about how great this second round of action has been.
At the end of Tuesday night's Game 6 between the Red Wings and Ducks, Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer added to Anaheim's history of extreme physicality, elbowing Pavel Datsyuk in the face and, in the process, adding to a large melee. Don't expect Niedermayer to get suspended, though, because this is the NHL, and that would make too much sense. Video of the elbow is above, and video of the fight at large is after the jump.
Ryan Getzlaf finally looked like himself again after a bout of flu or an undisclosed injury, take your pick. And with Getzlaf rejuvenated, the Ducks were rejuvenated, outplaying the defending champion Red Wings much of the night to force Game 7 at Detroit on Thursday night.
Getzlaf, who'd managed only two shots in the previous two games for the eight-seeded Ducks, scored Anaheim's first goal and assisted on the second in the Ducks' 2-1 victory at the Honda Center, evening the Western Conference semifinals series at three games apiece.
Normally, it's the Anaheim Ducks keeping everything on the perimeter. Most of the time, they're the ones that are making life miserable for opposing forwards who are trying to get to the net.
Sunday evening, it was the Detroit Red Wings turning the tables on their Western Conference semifinal opponents. Detroit put on a stirring display of puck possession and unending grit, and they got two late goals to put away the Ducks in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score will indicate.
The Detroit Red Wings are getting ready to take on the Anaheim Ducks Sunday evening with their Western Conference semifinal series tied at two. They're likely going to be without forward Tomas Kopecky who is looking at the possibility of surgery following his one-sided (not Kopecky's side) fight with Francois Beauchemin on Thursday night.
Marian Hossa, who signed with Detroit for just one year in the hopes of winning a title, was near invisible the first three games of the Red Wings' Western Conference Semifinal series against Anaheim.
Playing on Detroit's second line with playoff heavy lifter Johan Franzen on Thursday, Hossa came to life, scoring two goals in the second period, and Franzen put in two of his own in the first, to fuel the Red Wings' 6-3 victory in Game 4 at Anaheim. There were no early whistles to be heard, and the series heads back to Detroit for Game 5 on Sunday even at two games apiece, with the Red Wings regaining the home-ice advantage.
No one will ever mistake the Anaheim Ducks for a group of Lady Byng candidates. They're not afraid to impose their physical will, and they're willing to cross the line in order to accomplish it.
The Detroit Red Wings aren't this type of team. They would prefer to skate their opponents into submission. Of course, this isn't stopping the Ducks from accusing their opponents of dirty hockey.
NHL 
DETROIT -- After the Red Wings stopped the Ducks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday. Detroit forward Mikael Samuelsson said, "Sometimes the stars take each other out a little."
There were eight first-round series in the NHL playoffs. Three of them ended in sweeps, and six of them were over before they got to a seventh game. While no one complained about getting a couple of super Game 7s in the first round, it was hardly as competitive as some thought it would be.
Ryan Getzlaf
Normally, it's the Anaheim Ducks keeping everything on the perimeter. Most of the time, they're the ones that are making life miserable for opposing forwards who are trying to get to the net. 
Marian Hossa
No one will ever mistake the Anaheim Ducks for a group of Lady Byng candidates. They're not afraid to impose their physical will, and they're willing to cross the line in order to accomplish it.
