Round 2-Sharks v. Red Wings

Since I'm not going to have time today to do a full run down of all the series, I'm at least going to get my predictions and thoughts in about the first game of Round 2.

This series is going a showcase of skills. Both teams are puck possession teams, so the stars on each team like Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Franzen on Detroit; and Thornton, Marleau and Heatley are going to have to bury their chances. Detroit has the depth and will get secondary scoring from players like Helm, Abdelkader, and Cleary. San Jose needs their "Gold Medal Line" of Thornton, Marleau and Heatley to get on a roll if they're going to have a chance. Likewise, Pavelski, Setoguchi and Clowe need to keep on the same pace that they were on in Round 1.

Both teams have solid defensemen. Lidstrom and Rob Blake are the anchors on Detroit and San Jose's blue lines. Rafalski keeps the Wing's power play ticking along and Dan Boyle is going to have to do the same for San Jose.

In net, Nabokov is going to have to steal the show. Detroit is going to be peppering him with shots and he will need to be on the top of his game. Howard, although relatively unproven so far, will be facing the biggest challenge of his career by facing the high powered San Jose offense-when it shows up.

All together, I think this series is going to go the distance. San Jose is fighting for their playoff lifes and Detroit is rolling along like they do every year. Still, I'm taking San Jose in 7.

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