Hey, for once the Red Wings are the underdog. They are the team that is coming into this match-up with that desperate barely-made-the-playoffs storyline. The mighty Detroit Red Wings will be considered an underdog, and fairly so. Now Bruce Boudreau has tried to say that it is the Wings who are the favorite due to their playoff experience, but I don’t think the oddsmakers are buying that, should we? How is this Duck’s team different from last year’s team that missed the playoffs?

So one thing to determine before we go any further is how good the Ducks are. Besides the Hawks, there was no better team in the West. The Ducks learned this year that they have two great goalies that together made a top tier duo in the NHL all season long. Both Fasth and Hiller have been playing outstanding, perhaps Fasth outplayed Hiller a bit. Even Bruce Boudreau does not know which one will start the first game against Detroit. This team has also found out that they can score, and score lots, as a team.

Once again only the Hawks scored more goals in the West this year than the Ducks, and if you were to be a Ducks fan, the best part about this stat is that they do not have a single 20-goal scorer. What they do have is six players with 10 or more goals, and while that may seem like not that many, remember that we did only play 48 games. I also wrote that at one point I considered the Ducks the best team in the league.

In contrast, Detroit has only five players with 10 goals or more.

Now let us start with the issues the Ducks will face here. Detroit Red Wings did not limp into the playoffs like the Wild did. Instead they pretty much dug down deep and pulled together a very solid April to earn a playoff spot. It’s also worth noting that Detroit has beaten the Ducks twice this year out of the three meetings, in back to back games.

Duck players have very high shooting percentages that are way above their norms. This usually corrects itself throughout the season, but during the playoffs everything starts at 0. A new season and law of averages can come to haunt you. There are always anomalies as well, but for the most part you get what you get and a players shooting percentage is just a standard that most settle on.

I am not particularly impressed with the Ducks defense and I have seen them get worked quite a bit. While their overall defensive stats are fairly good, some have said Francois Beauchemin may get a Norris nomination. There have been very poor losses, or should I say performances.

This is where I see the Red Wings gaining a bit more advantage. In my eyes, Detroit has been under-performing all season long and specifically in scoring goals. This could have something to do with lack of puck-moving defensemen. Or maybe it has to do something with lack of size, injuries, and maybe even lack of depth, which hasn’t been an issue for around two decades.

To me, Detroit has had a very good month. The big guys showed up to the important games and delivered a 22nd consecutive playoff visit. Ever since that embarrassing loss to Chicago, they have been playing some quality hockey, and while people have doubted this team, I see a lot of positives in their play right now.

Why?

Jimmy Howard is playing extremely well (he will be the difference in this series) and I love the lines Babcock has rolling right now. The Datsyuk-Abdelkader-Zetterberg line is, well, top-class. You will be hard pressed to find teams scoring against that line. The other two lines offer a very good variety of size and speed. The Nyquist and Brunner line is really interesting one to me; I think the speed of these two will give a lot of issues to a bigger but a bit slower Ducks back-end.

Weaknesses on Detroit? It is without a doubt in the back-end. The defense is a bit young and green. There is no true dominant guy back there because he retired last year, remember? But the group has been getting their wits together in the last few games and have been helping to improve the abysmal power-play Detroit had all season.

So, who wins this one? Well to be honest I feel like Ducks are one of those few teams that can really challenge the Hawks for the West, but unfortunately for the Ducks, I feel like Detroit matches up really well against them. If I were to go with the logical pick I would take Anaheim in 6 and call it a day. That said, I say Detroit bags this in six games because Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still better than Getzlaf and Perry. Plus, I am here to tell you what will happen, not what should happen.

Anyone else want to see Datsyuk and Perry fight?

Here are what our other writers had to say, as they see things differently than I do:

Mitch Tierney: Ducks in 5: The Wings barely grabbed a playoff spot while the Ducks looked playoff bound the whole season. This will be on display during the series.

Russell McKenzie: Detroit is coming into the playoffs on a hot streak, but the Ducks will out muscle them. Ducks in 6.

Ben Kerr: Ducks in 5. The Ducks feature a great one-two punch of Getzlaf and Perry, and overall the offence is too much for Detroit, who are still adjusting to life without Lidstrom.

Game 1: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 10:30 p.m. Detroit at Anaheim NBCSN, TSN

Game 2: Thursday, May 2, 2013 10 p.m. Detroit at Anaheim NBCSN, TSN

Game 3: Saturday, May 4, 2013 7:30 p.m. Anaheim at Detroit NBCSN, TSN

Game 4: Monday, May 6, 2013 8 p.m. Anaheim at Detroit CNBC, TSN

Game 5: *Wednesday, May 8, 2013 10 p.m. Detroit at Anaheim TSN

Game 6: *Friday, May 10, 2013 TBD Anaheim at Detroit TSN

Game 7: *Sunday, May 12, 2013 TBD Detroit at Anaheim TSN

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photo credit: Dinur via photopin cc