First Round Recap: Minnesota vs Anaheim

Minnesota Wild (7) vs Anaheim Ducks (2): Anaheim won series 4-1.

This seemed like an easy series for Anaheim, since it grabbed a 3-0 lead and closed things out in five, but those first three wins were all by only one goal. Then again, great teams win one-goal games. Losers don't.

Speaking of losers, I don't have time to write up detailed reviews of the last three Western series, so I'll make this brief. The Ducks were just too strong defensively for Minnesota. Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, and Francois Beauchemin were all huge, Sammy Pahlsson's line was suffocating, and youngsters like Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Penner, and Cory Perry all contributed offensively, allowing the Ducks to survive despite Teemu Selanne scoring only one goal.

Turning Point: As I've said many times, a series doesn't start until the home team loses. Minnesota dropping the first two in Anaheim was no big thing, but losing Game Three was devastating.

Trailing 1-0 heading into the third, the Wild were only one shot away until Rob Niedermayer scored at 9:43 to put the Ducks up 2-0 and pretty much remove all doubt. Anytime "The Other Niedermayer" scores a goal, it leaves a mark. Petteri Nummelin connected for a power-play goal in the final minute to spoil the shutout, but it was too little, too late. And unless the Wild were planning on signing Dave Roberts and Bill Mueller, there was no coming back from a 3-0 series deficit. Go Sox.

Heroes: Ilya Bryzgalov had a rather pedestrian regular season, going 10-8-6 while watching J.S. Giguere reestablish himself as Anaheim's No. 1 netminder. But with Giguere needing a little extra time to handle a family issue, Bryzgalov stepped into the starting gig and won the first three games, stopping 73 of 77 shots. Granted, playing net behind Anaheim isn't exactly the hardest job in show business, but one bad goal can spell doom come playoff time. Bryzgalov held the fort until Giguere was ready. Not many backups would have fared so well. I mean, can you imagine if Johan Holmqvist had to start four straight games for Tampa Bay? Never mind.

Hey, maybe this is the postseason people start noticing that Samuel Pahlsson is one of the top two or three defensive forwards in hockey. Not only did Sammy play a big role in containing Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra, he also chipped in three assists.

For the Wild, the great Derek Boogaard was certainly heroic in standing up for Kim Johnsson after the Brad May assault at the end of Game Four. While Boogaard never could get his hands on May, he initiated the big scrum before Game Five and was a vocal critic of May in the papers. Here's my favorite quote...

"Just suckering a guy that I don't think has had a fight in his NHL career shows that a guy like Brad May has no respect, so he deserves no respect from anybody, and that's how he's going to get treated."

Had May not been suspended, I'm sure Boogaard would have seen that he didn't play much longer anyway.

And even though he lost four of five, Nicklas Backstrom acquitted himself quite nicely in goal for Minnesota, posting a stellar .929 save percentage. It should have been enough to answer any lingering questions about his ability as a true No. 1 goaltender. Right about now would be a good time to be Backstrom's agent.

Weasels: If you listen to the Wild, the officials were the biggest weasels, turning a blind eye to Anaheim's obstruction and interference. Of course, in Anaheim, they simply call it "defense."

Any Minnesota forward not named Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, or Derek Boogaard could also qualify. Everyone knew Minnesota had to get secondary scoring from somewhere, and they're still looking. Gaborik (3) and Demitra (1) had four goals, the same number as the rest of the Wild forwards combined.

Then, of course, there's the weasel of weasels, Brad May. Dude, you don't sucker punch Kim Johnsson in the face. That's just silly. It's like beating up a Swedish cub scout. And not even a Webelo.

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