By Ray Flowers
May 12, 2009 5:02pm CDT

#2 Detroit Red Wings vs. #8 Anaheim Ducks
Wings lead Ducks, 3-2.
Detroit: 27.3 percent power play / 70.0 percent penalty kill
Anaheim: 27.5 percent power play/ 80.4 percent penalty kill

ANAHEIM

* After jumping out to a 2-1 series lead, the Ducks find themselves on the brink of elimination, and with it the dream of knocking off arguably the top two teams in hockey (San Jose and Detroit) is dying.

* Ryan Carter missed practice on Monday to attend to some personal matters. He will be available to play in Game 6. He has scored two goals with two assists in eight playoffs games, though he has but one assist in his last three contests.

* Erik Christensen has been a healthy scratch in these playoffs, but he returned to action in Game 5 in place of Josh Green. He did spend some time skating with Ryan Getzlaf, but you have to think that was just a shot in the dark that isn't likely to be repeated moving forward.

* Ryan Getzlaf, the Western Conference leader with 16 points in just 11 playoff tilts, continues to deal with an illness. Still, he has scored eight points in five games against the Wings, though he is an uncharacteristic (-3) in his last two games. The club will need him to summon all his strength to win the final two games of the series.

* Jonas Hiller, the club's playoff dandy, is now just 6-5 though he still owns terrific ratios (2.18 GAA, .944 save percentage). However, after dominating the Sharks with his superb play, his effort has fallen off against the Wings as he has allowed at least three goals four times in five games leading to a 2.80 GAA in the series, though his save percentage is still .930 so its really hard to blame him for the struggles of the team. However, many will see the eight goals allowed the past two games as a sign that perhaps he is physically wearing down.

* Bobby Ryan has been on and off the top line with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf of late as head coach Randy Carlyle is searching for the right mix (he was frequently replaced by Ryan Carter). Ryan started out like gangbusters with four points in his first four playoff games, but since then he has totaled a mere assist in seven games while recording a (-5). His ability to turn that around will go a long way to determining the Ducks chances.

* Ryan Whitney scored a goal on the power play on Sunday, his first goal as a member of the Ducks since he was acquired at the trade deadline, a span of 31 games (11 playoff) In the playoffs, Whitney has posted four assists with a (-2) rating.

* James Wisniewski returned from a lung contusion to skate over 22 minutes in Game 5, this after being sidelined for Game 4. It was a triumphant return to the ice, but it did little to help out the club.

DETROIT

* Dan Clearly does a little bit of everything on the ice making him somewhat of an unsung hero amongst all the stars in Detroit. This playoff season he has eight points in nine games to go along with a Western Conference leading +10 mark.

* Pavel Datsyuk has been a solid player in the playoffs, though his offensive production has been woeful. The 97-point regular season scorer has recorded just one goal and four points in nine games. "The way he handles that puck, it's just a matter of time," Kirk Maltby said. "We're not worried about Pav scoring goals." Well, we are concerned, but the man is so sublimely talented that we feel confident in stating that the points should come, and in bunches, soon.

* Johan Franzen, aka the "Mule," has been simply amazing in his playoff career. Franzen averages a goal every 3.5 games during his regular season career, but once the playoffs hit he has gone nuts with 24 goals in 49 playoffs games (one goal per 2.0 games). Even more impressive, the dude has an amazing 20 goals in his last 25 playoffs contests. He has a team leading seven goals and 13 points in nine playoff games this season while recording a +8. That spectacular effort just barely outpaces the work of Henrik Zetterberg who has six goals, 11 points and a +8 rating.

* Tomas Kopecky will likely miss the rest of the playoffs after undergoing facial surgery to fix a fractured cheekbone suffered in a fight with Francois Beauchemin in Game 4. Fellow forward Kris Draper will miss Game due to his upper-body injury. His defensive game has been in the press box for the entire playoffs.

* Chris Osgood has seven victories against only two loses in these playoffs, and he leads the Western Conference with a 1.97 GAA, more than a full goal below his season long mark of 3.09. His save percentage has also climbed to .923 and that means all of those pundits who predicted that Osgood would "turn it on" when the bright lights of the playoffs struck were completely right.

* Brian Rafalski returned to practice on Monday for the first time in roughly two weeks as he has been on the sidelines due to an upper body injury. He will be a game-time decision for Game 6, and his return will only further bolster an offensive attack that seems to be hitting its stride.


#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #4 Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks defeated the Canucks, 4-2.
Vancouver: 25.0 percent power play / 82.4 percent penalty kill
Chicago: 29.4 percent power play/ 79.5 percent penalty kill

CHICAGO

* The Blackhawks defeated the Canucks to move on to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1995. Including the playoffs, the team has gone over the million mark in attendance (1,006,920).

* The Hawks were 22nd in the league in hits during the regular season. In the playoffs they are up to third. Their young, feisty, youthful players have been at their frisky best.

* Dave Bolland was a great two-way player in the series against the Canucks with six points in six games, this after a strong regular season that included 19 goals, 47 points and a +19 mark.

* Brian Campbell has earned his money so far this post-season. He has scored twice while handing out seven assists, and he has also been a +5 this post-season thanks to a terrific series against the Canucks in which he was a +6.

* Martin Havlat has continued to be a terrific offensive performer in the post-season with a team leading 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 12 games including six in his last four contests. He has also been very active on the power play with five points in man-advantage situations.

* Patrick Kane came to play in the clincher recording his first hat-trick of his career, regular season or post-season. Kane has tallied eight goals and four assists in 11 playoff games. The offense has been there, and he really stepped up the other night, but his all-around game could stand a bit of a boost, he is a (-3).

* Nikolai Khabibulin continues to hold down the fort. The results are positive, after all he is 8-4, but the ratios are far from where they should be (2.76 GAA, .896 save percentage) for a guy who was so strong in the regular season (2.33 GAA, .919 save percentage). He figures to continue to be between the pipes barring some catastrophic meltdown, so don't expect to see Cristobal Huet except in a mop up role.

* Patrick Sharp has recovered from his knee injury to produce five goals and four assists in these playoffs, though he has been held to just three shots and one assist in his last four games. If the team can get him rolling, the offense would be formidable.

* Jonathan Toews has 10 points in 12 games this postseason, and he too stepped up in Game 6 to record two goals and an assist, this after three scoreless outings and just one assist dating back six games.

VANCOUVER

* Alex Burrows, such a star this season down the stretch when he recorded 18 goals and a +23 rating in his final 34 games, simply vanished against the Blackhawks recording one measly assist in six games. The Sedin Twins, his linemates, also failed to lead the charge. Daniel did score two goals in the season ending loss, but he failed to register a point in Games 4 and 5. Henrik produced two assists in the last three games, but he too failed to help the line carry the play often enough.

* Pavol Demitra didn't appear after a Game 2 injury. The club could have sorely used his offensive genius, especially with the man-advantage.

* Roberto Luongo finished the playoffs with a 6-4 record, and his ratios were almost spot on his career marks with a 2.52 GAA and a .914 save percentage (2.57 GAA, .919, though it should be pointed out that he has posted a GAA below 2.40 in each of the past three seasons). However, he lost each of his last three starts and allowed seven goals in the season ending loss to the Hawks. "They had a few chances early and I made some saves, but the rest of the way I didn't help my teammates out," Luongo said. "I'm sorry, guys." Can't blame the guy for the team falling out of the playoffs, but for a guy who is supposed to be the best at what he does, this was a pretty pathetic way to go out.

* Sami Salo returned from missing Games 3 and 4 with a lower-body injury, to return to action in Games 5 and 6. However, his offense stayed in the press box. After scoring three goals and six points in his first five playoff contests this season, he was held to one assist in this two games while recording a (-1). If the guy could only stay healthy he could be one heck of a fantasy option.

* Mats Sundin may or may not continue his professional career next season. He showed that he still had plenty of jump left in his 38-year-old body as he recorded two goals and two assists in the last two games of the year. All told he recorded eight points in eight playoff games around the injuries he suffered.

* The team has a whole host of other players to consider the futures of. The Sedin Twins need new contracts, Roberto Luongo has only one more year left on his contract, and Mattias Ohlund, long a stalwart of the blue line, might also be on his way out of town as an unrestricted free agent (as is Taylor Pyatt).