Anaheim stood tall, coming back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits with goals by Teemu Sellane, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan. But even with the stellar play of Jonas Hiller, the Ducks could simply not stop the Wings.

It’s obviously great to see the Wings advance, but I can’t help but think that this was the real series that determined the team who would ultimately win the Stanley Cup. Obviously, there are eight more games to win. But few of the remaining teams posess the depth and strength of the Ducks.

For the Wings, there is still an opportunity to play better. The Datsyuk-Hossa-Holmstrom line was offensively offensive but defensively delightful in the Ducks series. Their defense has been stellar and effectively neutralized Anaheim’s best players. Role players like Darren Helm and Clearly have effectively closed some of the gap in scoring and have significantly outplayed the third and fourth lines of Anaheim, but the Datsyuk-Hossa-Holmstrom line will need to find some of their scoring touch if the Wings wish to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Yahoo! Sports: Game 7 Recap