FanHouse JamesWisniewski

No one will ever mistake the Anaheim Ducks for a group of Lady Byng candidates. They're not afraid to impose their physical will, and they're willing to cross the line in order to accomplish it.

The Detroit Red Wings aren't this type of team. They would prefer to skate their opponents into submission. Of course, this isn't stopping the Ducks from accusing their opponents of dirty hockey.

Tuesday night the Red Wings threw everything they could at Jonas Hiller and the Ducks defense; heck, there might have even been a kitchen sink thrown in there somewhere, as the Wings put 46 shots on the young netminder compared to only 23 going the other way at Chris Osgood.

In the end, the Wings would lose, 2-1, but not after the Ducks got some last-second help from referee Brad Watson. Watson prematurely blew his whistle, disallowing a potential game tying goal from Marian Hossa with under a minute to go in the game. Video, plus more, after the jump.

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Two years ago, a much more heralded Anaheim Ducks team took out Detroit on their way to a Stanley Cup. This time, the Ducks enter a series against the Red Wings as perhaps the most-feared eighth seed in NHL playoff history. That said, they're still an eighth seed, and a decided underdog. Is this the end of "Cinderella"?

Patrick Marleau has borne the brunt of the criticism during San Jose's recent postseason disappointments, and that carried right into the first two games of the Sharks' first-round series against the Anaheim Ducks.

That is until the Sharks' captain came up with the game-deciding goal in Tuesday night's 4-3 victory over Anaheim at the Honda Center. Marleau's tip-in from the slot came with 10:33 left in the third period and the Sharks on a power play after Corey Perry was called for hooking San Jose's Dan Boyle.

That gave the Sharks their fourth one-goal lead of the night, and they held on as Bobby Ryan got off the only shot for Anaheim after the Ducks pulled goalie Jonas Hiller with 1:30 left. The eighth-seeded Ducks lead the series two games to one over the President's Cup winners.

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Here's a short video reel I shot on Wednesday afternoon in the Chicago Blackhawks locker room immediately following their practice at Wrigley Field just one day ahead of the 2009 NHL Winter Classic. In this clip, you'll see Brian Campbell, James Wisniewski and Kris Versteeg all answering questions about the weather conditions they'll have to endure on gameday, January 1.