Red Wings ground Ducks in season- ending upset
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula each had a goal and an assist and the Detroit Red Wings finished off the Anaheim Ducks with a 3- 2 victory in Game 7 on Sunday night.
Justin Abdelkader scored a short- handed goal and Jimmy Howard made 31 saves as the seventh- seeded Red Wings won three of the first- round series’ final four games to oust the Ducks, who had the NHL’s third- best record in the regular season.
Detroit faces the West’s topseeded Chicago Blackhawks in the second round.
Emerson Etem and Francois Beauchemin scored and Jonas Hiller stopped 29 shots for the Ducks, who failed to win their first playoff series since 2009 despite home- ice advantage in Game 7.
After the clubs played four overtimes in the series’ first six games, the Red Wings largely dominated the anti- climactic clincher — and for the first time in the series, the Wings didn’t even need overtime to win.
Beauchemin got credit for a power- play goal with 3: 17 to play when the puck banked off Jonathan Ericsson’s skate in front of Howard, but Anaheim never really got close to a tying goal late.
Detroit got a big finish from Zetterberg, their Stanley Cupwinning captain, who scored just 1: 49 into Game 7 on a rebound in the slot — although he also took the penalty that led to Beauchemin’s goal.
Zetterberg scored three goals in Detroit’s past two victories after getting blanked in the first five and he finished with seven points in the final three games after just one assist in the first four.
After winning a Game 7 on the road for just the third time in their franchise’s lengthy history, the Red Wings are in the second round for the sixth time in seven seasons. Detroit also beat Anaheim in a seven- game series in 2009.
The Motor City’s team even prevented the first Freeway Faceoff in NHL playoff history. Anaheim would have faced Los Angeles in the second round, the first post- season matchup for Southern California’s two teams.
The loss completed an ugly flop for Anaheim, which had the best winning percentage in franchise history while winning just its second Pacific Division title during the lockout- shortened season.
The Wings earned a third trip to California with an overtime win in Game 6 on Friday night — and they made it count with the Wings’ fourth win in six appearances at Honda Center this season.