HILLER Is NUTS: The Anaheim-Detroit Edition.

Well, well, well.

Tonight's the night.

The night of reckoning.  The night where we see how truly nuts Jonas Hiller is.

Fact is, he IS nuts.

Don't believe me?  Here's the proof:

About a week ago on CBC, they were doing a profile on Mr. Hiller.  They had behind-the-scenes footage, as well as on-ice clips.  The backstage/dressing room footage was nothing short of incredible; his eyes bugged out, his feet pacing, his focus...sharp.

Now, shoot to ice-level.  Hiller's in front of his net, his left cheek resting on his left shoulder, his eyes are closed, and his smile won't go away—he's TALKING to himself!

I haven't seen a goalie flake out this hard since the days of Fuhr, Hextall, and the like.
If that isn't nuts, I don't know what is.

Let's move on to the prediction for this series, shall we?

Yeah, Detroit is a monster offensively—that's undeniable.  But, they are going to spend the first two games without Draper and at least game one without Rafalski.  So, that leaves a nice dent in Detroit for Anaheim to take advantage of.

I'm not going to get too in-depth weighing out the line-by-line matchups, because it won't matter.  Bottom line is this:  Detroit has Osgood, Anaheim has Hiller.  Hiller is clearly off his proverbial rocker, ready to battle HARD, and if he decides to job any games, Giggy is waiting in the "wings."  Goaltending will be a huge factor in this series, and unfortunately for all you Red Wing fans, Anaheim has the advantage.

Let's also keep in mind Bobby Ryan, Getzlaf, and Perry were huge contributors to the so-called upset of San Jose.  The reason I like Getzlaf and Perry so much is because they mailed in the last two weeks of the regular season.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Great players show up at great times. 

Unfortunately for Detroit, Ryan, Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, Pronger, Whitney, Hiller, and the Niedermayer brothers are going to show up for six solid games.

Prediction:  Anaheim in six.