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spt_WingsDucksDefensemen[i-1].body = "When it comes to hardware, there's going to be enough of it on the ice during the Western Conference final between the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks to stockpile a fair-sized Home Depot. The list includes nine Norris Trophies. Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom four has won the award for the NHL's top defenseman four times, while teammate Chris Chelios has been honored three times. Anaheim's Chris Pronger and Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer each have a Norris to their credit. In fact, the last seven winners of the Norris will be on display, since Lidstrom (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006 winner), Niedermayer (2004) and Pronger (2000) are this year's Norris finalists.
It's just the third time in Stanley Cup history that four Norris Trophy winners have played in the same series. Among the many factors that will determine the outcome, how each team's dynamic duo of Norris winners performs will be a significant key.
Pronger, who led Edmonton to the Cup finals last season, was dealt to Anaheim in the summer, giving the team two future Hall of Famers in the prime of their careers, each capable of playing 30 minutes a night.
Lidstrom logs those kind of minutes in all situations for Detroit, while Chelios, 45, was asked to up his minutes from 18 to 25 per game late in the second round against San Jose following a season-ending fractured wrist suffered by Mathieu Schneider. ";
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Niedermayer is Anaheim's go-to blue-liner, playing in all situations.
\"He's a big part of our lineup, like Nicklas Lidstrom is in Detroit,\" Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said of his captain.
Niedermayer's game is skill, skill and more skill. He is among the NHL's best skaters, moving up ice in seemingly effortless fashion. On the ice, he's often a human highlight film, capable of going end-to-end at any moment, the closest thing the league currently has to Bobby Orr.
He established career highs in goals, assists and points this season with 15-54-69 totals that led all NHL defensemen, the first time he'd done so during his career and the first time the feat had been accomplished by a Ducks defender.
The Ducks have an overall regular season record of 89-46-26 with Niedermayer in the lineup. His 10 regular-season overtime goals are an NHL high for defensemen. Niedermayer captained the Eastern Conference during the 2004 All-Star Game.
He topped all scorers with 16 assists and 18 points as he led New Jersey to the 2003 Stanley Cup title.";
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Niedermayer's trophy case is loaded in a unique, one-of-a-kind fashion. He is the only player in hockey history to win the Stanley Cup (New Jersey Devils, 1995, 2000, 2003), an Olympic gold medal (Canada, 2002), a world championship (Canada, 2004), a World Cup (Canada, 2004) a Memorial Cup (Kamloops, 1992) and a world junior championship (Canada, 1991). Niedermayer was named MVP of the 1992 Memorial Cup tournament.
He added another achievement to the list this season when Niedermayer was voted in as a starter for the NHL All-Star Game.
He's played in four Stanley Cup finals, losing with New Jersey in seven games to the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 and this marks Niedermayer's seventh appearance in a conference final series.
The Ducks captain is the only current captain who has captained a team in both the Eastern (New Jersey) and Western Conferences.";
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In the spring of 2003, Niedermayer's Devils defeated the Ducks in a seven-game Stanley Cup final. Two seasons later, he came out of the NHL lockout an unrestricted free agent and signed a contract with the Ducks.
\"We haven't talked about it much,\" Niedermayer said about his role in Anaheim's only Stanley Cup finals appearance.
\"I think it's probably not a great memory in that sense as far as (losing in) Game 7. The whole playoff run for them I'm sure was a great experience, but I've been on that side of it losing in Game 7 in a Stanley Cup final (to Colorado in 2001), and it's a pretty tough feeling, the amount of work and commitment you've put in to get that far and to come up just ever so short is tough ... We're looking forward. We're trying to do something here and compete as hard as we can, and we haven't really talked about that a whole lot.\"";
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One of the big attractions that drew Niedermayer to the Ducks was the chance to suit up alongside his younger brother Rob, a center with the Ducks. Rob and Scott are trying to become the 11th set of siblings in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup as teammates.
\"Since he was 15 and I was 16 we've been apart playing hockey and now we've gotten an opportunity to be on the same team like we were in minor hockey in Cranbrook, (British Columbia),\" Scott said.
\"As kids growing up, being competitive, we were always playing against each other,\" Rob said.
In 2003, when Scott's New Jersey Devils beat Rob's Ducks in a seven-game Stanley Cup final series, they were the first brothers to face off in the finals since Boston's Terry Reardon and Montreal's Kenny Reardon in 1946. When they met in the handshake line after the series ended, the brothers embraced. Scott patted Rob on the arm and spoke into his ear as Rob nodded.
\"That was the hardest part,\" Scott said. \"I really didn't know what to say. I wish he could've been with us, carrying the trophy around. I just told him I was proud of him.\"
Added Rob: \"It's pretty special to play against your brother in the finals.\"
But it's much better to try and win the Cup together.";
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Nominated as a Norris Trophy finalist for the fourth time, Pronger leads all Ducks scorers in the playoffs with 3-8-11 totals. He's coming off his best regular season since the 1999-2000 campaign, when he registered 62 points and won the Hart and Norris Trophies while his St. Louis Blues captured the President's Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team.
When Niedermayer and Pronger were both named Norris finalists this season, it marked just the third time since the 1968-69 season that teammates were opposing each other for the award (Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios, 2001-02, Boston's Bobby Orr and Ted Green, 1968-69.
Pronger collected 59 points this season despite missing 16 games through injury and his 0.89 points per game average led all NHL blue-liners.
\"With the acquisition of Chris Pronger, it made a huge statement to everybody involved with our organization and specifically our players, about how serious we really were going forward,\" Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. \"We took on the responsibility that mediocrity was not going to be accepted.\"";
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It's not true that when Pronger extends his arms from his 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame, that he can touch both sides of the ice surface. It only looks that way to the opposition. With most NHL defensemen, if a forward can get a step on them, they can get around the defender. With Pronger and his 78-inch wingspan, it's going to require a minimum of three steps to get past him.
\"He's a totally different player from Scotty Niedermayer from the standpoint that he uses his size and range and his stick very effectively, where Scotty is a guy that he uses his skating ability,\" Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. \"I think with Prongs, the thing that you usually utilize is his ability to retrieve the puck and to defend and to make that good first outlet pass. And he has that wingspan that he covers half the ice when he's out there being 6-6, the long arms and whatnot and the long stick and he can defend. All of those great players have strong stick skills on the defensive side.\"
Ducks netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere is amazed at the way Pronger deploys his gargantuan size to take control of the area in front of his net.
\"Chris is really tall and big and just uses a lot of room,\" Giguere said. \"Anybody that's trying to go one-on-one against him, he's got a long reach and It's really hard to get past him.\"";
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Years of playoff disappointment came to a halt for Pronger last spring when he performed stalwartly on the Edmonton defense as the eighth-seeded Oilers came within one victory of lifting Lord Stanley's mug.
\"It's tough to sit here and think you were one game away from being the Stanley Cup champions,\" Pronger said. \"It's difficult. Certainly it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. But it leaves that sense of understanding of how hard it is to get there and how much you have to sacrifice and give up to get there. It was a great run for us last year in Edmonton, certainly one that a lot of us will never forget.\"
That it began with a first-round series victory at the expense of Detroit, a team that had ended Pronger's season four times previously, must have added a little sweetness to the run, even if he won't admit it as Pronger is on the eve of another playoff tilt with the Wings.
\"When you don't win people are going to look and point fingers,\" he said. \"Some of them I was hurt for, some of them I wasn't. At the end of the day, they were the better team.\"";
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Many hockey people viewed last spring as a coming-out party for Pronger, who'd always been on the cusp of greatness, but too often allowed his temper to get the better of him in key situations. While he still plays an in-your-face brand of hockey and is among the league's most prolific trash talkers, the last two seasons, Pronger has performed with a discipline and maturity not previously seen at playoff time, avoiding the retaliatory penalties that once plagued him.
\"I think he's one of the best obviously for a reason with his skill level,\" Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf said of Pronger. \"But it's a lot of stuff. I think it starts right off the ice. He demands that everybody around him tries as much as he does and he helps us a lot off the ice as well as on the ice. He's not a guy that will ever accept losing, as he shouldn't; he does that stuff off the ice and on the ice. And when he's out there, he gives everybody that bit of confidence in making first pass and knowing that he's behind you.\"
Added Carlyle: \"He's a leader in our room, a big-time minutes guy.\"
Pronger and Niedermayer generally only team up on the power play, but at least one of the pair is on the ice the majority of the game.
\"What we try to do is to at least have those players on for at least 50 to 55 minutes a night combined ice times,\" Carlyle said.";
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When he turned 45 Jan. 25, Chelios, the oldest active NHL player, joined former Toronto goalie Johnny Bower as the only players in NHL history to be active in the league on the first day they were eligible to put in a claim for their NHL pension. He surpassed Bower to become the third-oldest player to perform in an NHL game and overtook Phil Housley (1,495) as the American-born player with the most NHL games played.
\"Chris, undoubtedly (is) one of the greatest American players of all time,\" said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey.
Chelios is appearing in the playoffs for a Stanley Cup-record 22nd season and only Patrick Roy (247) has played more Stanley Cup games than Chelios (240). He also set a record by going 16 years between Stanley Cup wins with Montreal (1986) and Detroit (2002).";
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Look at him from the neck down, avoiding the graying hair and you'd swear Chelios was 25. His physique is as lean as it is astonishing.
\"He's a genetic freak,\" said former Detroit captain Steve Yzerman, who retired after last season at the age of 40.
The will and the work ethic of Chelios are almost as legendary as the workout. A disciple of California fitness guru T.R. Goodman, he's done triathlons and lately is more prone to mountain biking as a way to stay in shape during the summer months, feeling there's less pounding on his knees than with running. As part of his daily regimen, he takes a stationary bike into the sauna and rides it.
\"Cheli's got some hormones in his body that makes him age better than the rest of us,\" Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.
After 23 seasons, even Chelios knows he won't go on forever, but he's not planning any retirement parties for the near future.
\"When I do retire, it'll be physical thing, not a mental thing,\" Chelios said. \"Physically, I feel great. I guess I have the mentality of a 10-year-old. I just love what I'm doing.\" ";
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The Wings often pair Chelios with the youngest, most inexperienced player on their defense. He played much of this season alongside second-year player Brett Lebda and when Lebda went down with an injury in the first playoff round against Calgary, minor-league call-up and six-game NHL veteran Kyle Quincey found himself inserted into the lineup alongside Chelios.
\"I can’t say enough good things about him,\" Quincey said. \"Every day I’m here, he’s making me a better player. He calms me down out there. That’s a huge part of my game.\"
During Detroit's last Stanley Cup win in 2002, Chelios served as mentor and steadying presence alongside Jiri Fischer, 22 at the time.
\"Chris knows the game, he knows the opponent and he plays the game with an edge,\" Boston coach Dave Lewis said.";
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Though his offensive game is nowhere near what it once was -- Chelios didn't score a goal all season and has netted one in the playoffs -- he's as tenacious as ever. Chelios may still be the best penalty-killing defenseman in the NHL.
\"He's competitive, he's going to play a combative style,\" Nashville forward Paul Kariya said of Chelios. \"That's why he's one of the best defensemen of all time.\"
Growing up in Chicago, Chelios patterned his abrasive and intense style after a childhood gridiron hero.
\"The Chicago Bears had a linebacker by the name of Dick Butkus,\" Chelios said. \"He was the toughest, meanest, nastiest competitor I've ever seen. Every kid on the south side of Chicago wanted to be like Dick Butkus. I try to play hockey the way Dick Butkus played football.\"
Off the ice, Chelios is equally combative. He took on the NHLPA when he felt the selection process of executive director Ted Saskin wasn't on the up-and-up. He led a group of 27 players who filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, asking that it investigate what they feel were improprieties in Saskin's hiring. Ultimately, the player unrest led to Saskin's firing.
\"This is the first big step in the right direction to unify the union,\" Chelios said. \"I'm very happy about that.\"";
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The only European-trained NHLer to be named MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs when Detroit won the Cup in 2002, he's also seeking to become the first European-trained captain to lead a team to the Stanley Cup. Lidstrom looks to join Bobby Orr (eight), Doug Harvey (seven) and Raymond Bourque (five) as the only defenders in NHL history with at least five Norris Trophies on their resumes.
Only Steve Yzerman (196) has appeared in more Stanley Cup games for Detroit than Lidstrom (186). Lidstrom tied Yzerman's club record this spring by appearing in the playoffs for the 15th straight season. Lidstrom is the active leader in playoff goals by a defenseman with 38.
Lidstrom and Chris Chelios occasionally play as a pair in five-on-five situations, but they see most of their combined minutes with the penalty-killing unit.";
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Lidstrom succeeded Steve Yzerman as Detroit captain this season, but the calm, quiet Swede seems to share Yzerman's approach to wearing the \"C.\"
\"The way he played before is what you’d expect from a captain,\" teammate Kirk Maltby said. \"This year, he’s maybe spoken out a little more. Maybe that’s what's making it such an easy transition. Stevie wasn’t a guy who came in here and yelled at guys, or yelled at the guys as a group. Stevie was a guy who said things when they needed to be said, but who led by example, on the ice, in the weight room and in the way he carried himself off the ice. Nick basically fits that mold. He’s not a guy who’s a real loud guy, but when there’s something that needs to be said, he’ll either pull guys aside or he’ll address it as a team.\" ";
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Steady as he goes, Lidstrom's game is about being in the right place at the right time. His game is like the Volvos produced in his native Sweden -- undeniably reliable. He won't make flashy plays, level big-time hits, or embark on end-to-end rushes, but he seldom makes the major faux pas that leads to a goal being scored on his team. Lidstrom's work never makes play of the day, but he constantly makes the plays that pay off in victory.
\"He's always in position and doesn't get beat,\" teammate Chris Chelios said of Lidstrom.
Despite logging almost all of his five-on-five ice time against the opposition's top forward line, Lidstrom finished as a plus-40 this season, the third time he's reached that plateau. He's never been a minus player in any of his 15 NHL seasons and is a career plus-338 for his career. He also Detroit's all-time scoring leader among defensemen with 868 points.
He's also much stronger than people think. So far in his playoff matchups, Lidstrom's got the better of Calgary's Jarome Iginla and San Jose's Joe Thornton.";
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Lidstrom, Paul Coffey (1995) and Red Kelly (1953-54) are the only Detroit defenders to win the Norris Trophy. Kelly (1950-51, 1952-53, 1953-54) and former Wing Bill Quackenbush (1948-49) are the only defensemen in NHL history to win the Lady Byng Trophy, which goes \"to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, combined with a high standard of playing ability.\"
Since Kelly's last win, the only other defenseman to come close to winning the award is Lidstrom, who finished as runner-up in the Lady Byng voting in 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2002-03. This is an amazing feat, considering the nature of his position -- defending the goal -- requires constant interaction with opponents.
\"Usually, when defensemen get penalties, it's because of their stick; they cross-check someone or get beat and give the guy a tug,\" Boston Bruins coach Dave Lewis said. \"Nick's such a good positional player, he doesn't have to rely on that.\""; spt_WingsDucksDefensemen[i++] = new Array("","Vote: Best of bunch?","","","","", "sub", "", "", "", "left", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); spt_WingsDucksDefensemen[i++] = new Array("spt_0509_WingsDucksDefensemen","Which would you take?","","","","", "lv", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); // END editorial data