Anahiem Ducks Are Confident for Game 6

Watching the Anaheim Ducks practice on Monday, one would never guess that they are only one loss away from being eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals. In the last two games Anaheim, who shocked the hockey world by upsetting the heavily favored San Jose Sharks in the opening round, have seen their 2-1 series lead against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings quickly evaporate.

Over the past two games the powerhouse Wings who were the No. 1 scoring team in the league, have out shot the Ducks 78-45 and outscored them 10-4 in taking a 3-2 series lead. Despite this sudden turn in momentum Ducks coach Randy Carlyle decided to hold a fun non-pressured practice on Monday.

“You can see a lot of smiles on faces and a much lighter approach to practice.”  states Randy Carlyle.

Anaheim who grabbed the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with 91 points, face a monstrous challenge on Tuesday night in Game 6 as the Wings are on a streak of closing out eight straight series on the road. “I think we play maybe more relaxed than the other team, we know it’s their last chance and we take advantage of that,” Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said.

A key for Anaheim is to pay close attention to the Wings hottest scorer Johan Franzen, who has now scored three goals in the last two games. The Ducks won the Stanley Cup back in 2007 are still very confident that they can win two in a row and move on to the conference finals.

“We’re optimistic we can play a better game of hockey,” Ducks centre Todd Marchant said. “We won two games in this series for a reason. We have to get back to things we did in those games to be successful.”