What made the 2007-08 Red Wings so good?

[Terry Yake]

No one? If that puck doesn't bounce up Lidstrom's stick into the net when Anaheim had the goalie pulled in game 5, Detroit wins that series. That Ducks team was great, but they were absolutely on the ropes at that point. I knew the Wings weren't winning game 6 in Anaheim after that (I also knew they wouldn't win in OT). Lilja's gaffe was almost inevitable.

nope

they were the team of destiny that season and got all the bounces they needed (which is the case for every team that goes all the way) the niedermayer goal to send game 5 in OT is just one example of that

 

[K Fleur]

I hate to use the term keep away but the pretty much did just that. They held onto the puck and didn't give it away. I remember my boss at the time ( whos wife was a Flyers fan) asking me if the Flyers (who were in the ECF) had any shot at the cup. I remember telling him Detroit will dominate anyone, I remember watching the first 2 WCF games vs Dallas and they just dominated the possession like nothing I had ever seen. The fact that the Dallas and Pittsburgh series got to 6 games was a surprise in itself.

The worst part was those teams should have won 3 in a row. If they beat the Ducks in 07 the definitely beat Ottawa, and I still say that the 2nd Talbot goal for the Pens in Game 7 in 09 was offside. That game goes to ot they win the cup. At the same tie they were the last of the late 90s-00s old guard in the NHL.

That goal was not even close to offside.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

It was Derek Meech. Derek Meech did it.

 

[c9777666]

Was Schneider a liability in DET? I remember a lot of discussion on how his absence affected them in the ANA WCF. He actually had more assists in 2006-07 than 2005-06, but fewer goals. Still only had 7 fewer points (59-52) so it's not like he completely fell off. (Heck, he actually scored an OT game winner against San Jose that effectively turned the series around)

Like, if they still let Bertuzzi walk, could they have found a way to keep Schneider and Rafalski? Or was the salary cap lower than now, thus forcing them to decide on keeping Schneider or adding Rafalski?

Because theoretically, having Lidstrom/Schneider/Rafalski/Kronwall as your top 4 blueliners would have been fascinating.

 

[steve141]

They outshot opponents by an average of 11 per game during the regular season and 13 per game in the postseason. I don't think people quite appreciate or understand how ridiculous those numbers are. The phrase "puck possession" gained popularity because of those Detroit teams.

As with most great teams, it started with their best players. They had two 90+ pt, Selke finalist centers and a top 5 defenseman of all time. Babcock could control matchups. He could play Datsyuk/Zetterberg together against your top line if he had last change or he could put them on their own lines and not lose a minute of sleep. I'd argue that all three of them were Top 10 players league wide that year. That's a good starting point as to why Detroit was so good.

Then the depth was there. You had specialists: Draper was dominant in the dot, Holmstrom and Franzen were among the best net front guys. You had a mixture of skill and grit throughout the lineup. The postseason 4th line was a microcosm of that: Hudler-Helm-McCarty. Skill, speed, and toughness.

And it just all came together and worked. They completely bought into Babcock's system and rightfully so. That was Detroit's 4th Cup team of that whole era, but none of them were quite like that 08 group. We keep saying machine like, but that's really the only way to describe it.

And yes, Anaheim was a great foe during those few years.

Good summary. I'll add that their top 4 with Lidstrom-Rafalski-Stuart-Kronwall was the best in the league.

Team-wise they remind me most of the Islanders dynasty, in that they were a really well-built team with great balance between skill/grit, speed/strength, offence/defence etc. They had it all.