2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog - Conference Semifinals

Mike Babcock described it as the most compelling series he’d ever been a part of as a National Hockey League coach.

Few would argue with the assessment of the Detroit Red Wings’ bench boss.

An epic, seven-game Western Conference semifinal between the Wings and Anaheim Ducks was ultimately decided by a solitary goal by Detroit’s Dan Cleary with three minutes remaining in the third period of Game 7, earning the Wings a 4-3 verdict in the game and the series.

“I thought it was a real good series - the best series I’ve been in since I’ve coached in the league,” Babcock said. “The hardest series, the most even, the least room, lots of high-end players.”

Cleary the hero

The only Newfoundland-born player to win the Stanley Cup, Cleary kept his dream alive of becoming the only Newfoundlander with back-to-back Cup victories when he shovelled a puck between the legs of Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller to snap a 3-3 tie.

“It’s the biggest goal I’ve ever scored,” Cleary said. “Everybody who plays hockey does the Game 7 winner thing, so it’s pretty neat.

“Ever since I’ve come to Detroit, a lot of good things have happened. Winning a championship, signing a new contract. It’s certainly been a home for me and they’ve showed faith in me.”

Thin line

After seven hard-fought battles, one goal separated these two teams.

“They played the game one notch higher than us and they won the hockey game,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

The Wings required every ounce of their mojo to dispatch the plucky Ducks.

“We gave everything we had to win this game,” Detroit right-winger Mikael Samuelsson said. “We had to. One goal apart from going home, to win it or lose it. It’s not getting any tighter than that.”

Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood felt the outcome offered further evidence to those who doubt Detroit’s character.

“It was a tough series, probably one of the toughest we've played in a long time,” Osgood said. “Probably a series a lot of people thought we'd get bumped around physically and hammered around the ice. I thought we stood up to that. Nobody panicked when they beat us 2-1 (in Game 6).

“They played real good in Anaheim. They've got a good team. We're not the only team that's good in the National Hockey League. It took everything we had to beat that team in this series and I'm proud of the way we played.”

This was good, too

While the hockey world fixed its eyes on the Pittsburgh-Washington showdown between the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and the Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Detroit and Anaheim, the last two Stanley Cup champions, were putting on quite a show of their own.

“Geez, we were even watching that series,” Cleary said of the Penguins-Capitals showdown. “That was pretty good.”

As was this one.

“The great players stepped up in that series and in this series, you saw great players step up, too,” Cleary said. “(Ducks centre Ryan) Getzlaf almost single-handedly willed them to a seven-game series win. I thought Getzlaf was great. (Henrik) Zetterberg and (Anaheim’s Jonas) Hiller were good, so was Ozzie (Chris Osgood).

“(Ducks defencemen Chris) Pronger and (Scott) Niedermayer are world-class defencemen. Getting (Brian) Rafalski back (from injury in Game 6) really helped and (Nicklas) Lidstrom was his usual self - unbelievable.”

Sticky situation

The Ducks rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the third period when Bobby Ryan scored his first of the series on a play that started when Detroit defenceman Jonathan Ericsson fumbled the puck away when he got caught up in an abandoned stick behind the Wings net.

At that point, Wings coach Mike Babcock wondered whether the hockey gods were smiling elsewhere this spring.

“You think to yourself, ‘My goodness, maybe we’re not supposed to do this,’” Babcock said.

The Ducks also wondered whether fate was smiling on their side. “I think a lot of guys had been planning on overtime,” Ducks defenceman Ryan Whitney said.

Draper delivers

Out since the start of the playoffs with an upper-body injury, Detroit inserted checking-line centre Kris Draper for the first time and he came through. Playing 6:38, he was plus-one and dominated the face-off circle, winning seven of nine draws.

“Bringing back Drapes was huge,” Cleary said of the four-time Cup winner. “He added another element. He was great on faceoffs. For not playing for a long time, he was really good. Another experienced guy who knows what to do.”