Wes Goldstein

Say what you want about the Alex Ovechkin-Sidney Crosby duel going on, the most remarkable story of these playoffs is being written by the Anaheim Ducks.

This is an eighth seed team after all -- obviously not a typical one considering all the holdovers from its Stanley Cup winning roster two years ago -- but the Ducks were generally written off as late as the trade deadline and needed to scratch and claw just to get to the playoffs. Now they're setting the stage for a second straight major upset.

Anaheim still has its hands full against the Detroit Red Wings. But after eliminating the Presidents' Trophy winning San Jose Sharks in the first round, and beating Detroit 2-1 tonight, can anyone argue that Anaheim isn't good enough to beat the defending Stanley Cup champs in this series and go all the way? The Ducks are big, they're physical, they have two Norris Trophy winners and future Hall of Famers patrolling the blue line and they get the scoring they need when it  counts.

Oh yes, they have the hottest goaltender around these days in Jonas Hiller. Hiller had what may have been his best game so far, stopping 45 shots, 34 of them in the last two periods as the Ducks took a 2-1 lead in the series.

Anaheim caught a big break as well in the dying minutes of the game thanks to a ridiculously quick whistle that robbed Detroit of what should have been the tying goal. Referee Brad Watson blew the play dead after losing sight of the puck, but Hiller never had control of it before Marian Hossa tapped it in. Still, as Hiller noted later, teams that play a full 60 minutes earn their breaks and the Ducks certainly did tonight.

The Red Wings, meanwhile showed up as well, but the frustration level is starting to show, especially because Hossa and Pavel Datsyuk have yet to score in this series and they are not making Anaheim pay for penalties. Detroit is clearly feeling the absence of power play quarterback Brian Rafalski along the blue line, particularly since it means extra ice time for Chris Chelios, who is looking more like a 47 year old with each passing game.

But Chelios isn't the story right now.  Hiller is and that's why the Ducks are becoming one too.