'Ultimate Playoffs': Rd 2, Series 3

’01 Avalanche vs. ’98 Red Wings

TEAM BIOS
2001 COLORADO AVALANCHE
#1 Seed, Western Conference
Season record: 52-26-10-4 (118 points)
Head Coach: Bob Hartley
Playoff Roster:
#1 G David Aebischer
#4 D Rob Blake
#7 D Greg de Vries
#11 LW Chris Dingman
#13 RW Dan Hinote
#14 RW Dave Reid
#19 C Joe Sakic (C)
#21 C Peter Forsberg
#23 RW Milan Hejduk
#24 D Jon Klemm
#25 RW Shjon Podein
#26 C Stephane Yelle
#27 RW Scott Parker
#28 C Steven Reinprecht
#29 LW Eric Messier
#33 G Patrick Roy
#37 C Chris Drury
#39 LW Ville Nieminen
#40 LW Alex Tanguay
#41 D Martin Skoula
#44 D Nolan Pratt
#52 D Adam Foote
#77 D Ray Bourque

Playoff Stat Leaders:
Goals-
Joe Sakic, 13
Chris Drury, 11
Milan Hejduk, 7
Assists-
Milan Hejduk, 16
Alex Tanguay, 15
Rob Blake, 13
Alex Tanguay, 13
Points-
Joe Sakic, 26
Milan Hejduk, 23
Alex Tanguay, 21
Goalie Stats-
Patrick Roy (16-7, 1.70 GAA, .934 SV%)

The Road to the Cup:
WCQF- 4-0 over #8 Vancouver Canucks
WCSF- 4-3 over #7 Los Angeles Kings
WCF- 4-1 over #4 St. Louis Blues
SCF- 4-3 over #1 New Jersey Devils
Conn Smythe winner: Patrick Roy

Turning point of the playoffs:
Game 6 vs. New Jersey… With the Stanley Cup in the house after losing 2 straight, Colorado found an extra gear on the road to force the decisive Game 7. The Avs killed off penalty after penalty in the opening moments of the game, then cruised to a 4-0 victory. Foote collected 3 points, including the game’s opening goal. Roy was stout in net, stopping all 24 shots that came his way. This win left the Devils stunned, and it carried over into Game 7 as the Avalanche won, 3-1.
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1998 DETROIT RED WINGS
#3 Seed, Western Conference
Season record: 44-23-15 (103 points)
Head Coach: Scotty Bowman
Playoff Roster:
#2 D Slava Fetisov
#3 D Bob Rouse
#5 D Nicklas Lidstrom
#8 C Igor Larionov
#11 F/D Mathieu Dandenault
#13 LW Slava Kozlov
#14 LW Brendan Shanahan
#15 D Boris Mironov
#16 D Vladimir Konstantinov
#17 RW Doug Brown
#18 RW Kirk Maltby
#19 C Steve Yzerman (C)
#20 RW Martin Lapointe
#22 F Mike Knuble
#25 RW Darren McCarty
#26 RW Joey Kocur
#27 D Aaron Ward
#30 G Chris Osgood
#31 G Kevin Hodson
#33 C Kris Draper
#34 D Jamie Macoun
#41 C Brent Gilchrist
#44 D Anders Eriksson
#55 D Larry Murphy
#91 C Sergei Fedorov
#96 LW Tomas Holmstrom

Playoff Stat Leaders:
Goals-
Sergei Fedorov, 10
Martin Lapointe, 9
Tomas Holmstrom, 7
Assists-
Steve Yzerman, 18
Nicklas Lidstrom, 13
Tomas Holmstrom, 12
Larry Murphy, 12
Points-
Steve Yzerman, 24
Sergei Fedorov, 20
Tomas Holmstrom, 19
Nicklas Lidstrom, 19
Goalie Stats-
Chris Osgood (16-6, 2.12 GAA, .918 SV%)

The Road to the Cup:
WCQF- 4-2 over #6 Phoenix Coyotes
WCSF- 4-2 over #4 St. Louis Blues
WCF- 4-2 over #1 Dallas Stars
SCF- 4-0 over #4 Washington Capitals
Conn Smythe winner: Steve Yzerman

Turning point of the playoffs:
Game 4 vs. Phoenix… Detroit was in a bit of trouble after trailing 2-1 in their series against the Coyotes… but the Wings were able to pick up a 4-2 win on the road. Scotty Bowman’s club ended up taking the series in six, and beat the Blues, Stars, and Capitals on their way to the Cup.
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SERIES SUMMARY:
Avs/Wings… hockey’s hottest rivalry was so pre-lockout! And here you’ve got ‘Ray’s Cup’ against ‘The one for Konstantinov’. Up front, the Wings have the upper hand even with Peter Forsberg still around for Round 2 before his ruptured spleen. But on the back end, the Avs get the advantage with Roy manning the crease and Blake & Bourque in front of him.

Colorado would have the home-ice in this series, and were the most dominant team in the 00/01 season. Even though the ’98 Wings were a great team and story, the Avs advance in six as Sakic & company are too much.

Avalanche win in 6 games… will face winner of ’07 Ducks & ’02 Red Wings