Chicago Blackhawks resume rivalry with Detroit Red Wings in Western Conference semifinals

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  Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews celebrates a goal by Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa in the first period as the Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-1 in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Chicago, Thursday, May 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Daily Herald, George LeClaire)The Associated Press

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  The Detroit Red Wings celebrate their 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of their first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, May 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)The Associated Press

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CHICAGO –  Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks got to watch all the action in the NHL playoffs while they waited for an opponent to emerge for the second round.

What they saw from the Detroit Red Wings looked very familiar.

"Just that same relaxed, patient experience that they've shown in the playoffs and makes them a tough team to beat," Toews said. "They got some veteran guys who have won Stanley Cups. They understand what it takes to win during playoff time and that's the reason they came out on top."

Yup, Chicago's next opponent is a very familiar one. Detroit's 3-2 victory in Anaheim in Game 7 on Sunday night set up one last matchup between the "Original Six" teams in the Western Conference semifinals.

Under the NHL's realignment plan, the Red Wings will move to the East next season, meaning they will not face the Blackhawks in the playoffs before the Stanley Cup. That adds another level of intrigue to a best-of-seven series that already features one of the NHL's biggest rivalries in the tense setting of the second round of the postseason.

"I think it's just fitting, final year of being in the Western Conference and we're facing the Hawks here in the playoffs," Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard. "It's going to be a lot of fun."

Detroit had to scramble to extend the longest active playoff streak in major professional sports to 22 straight seasons, winning the last four games of the regular season to secure the seventh spot in the West. Still, it's the lowest playoff seed for the Red Wings since the NHL moved to the 1 vs. 8 conference format in 1993.

That hardly mattered in the first round against Anaheim.

The Red Wings and Ducks alternated wins for the first six games of the playoffs. Anaheim got its first chance to close it out on Friday night, but Henrik Zetterberg scored in overtime to lift Detroit to a 4-3 victory after it blew a two-goal lead with 3½ minutes left in regulation.

Zetterberg then had a goal and an assist in the deciding game as the Red Wings emerged from a 3-2 series deficit for the first time they beat Colorado in the 2002 Western Conference finals. They went on to hoist the Stanley Cup.

"I think we believe in what we do," Zetterberg said. "Of course it's nice to win games and win games in the way we've done it, in overtime, those close games.

"That series is over now. It's a new team and new challenges."

Chicago has been quite the challenge of late. The Blackhawks have won seven in a row against the Red Wings dating to last season, including four games this year. But half of this year's games went to a shootout and another was decided in overtime.

"When we played them during the year, there was maybe one game where it kind of got out of hand," Chicago goalie Corey Crawford said. "But the other games were pretty tight games. We won a couple in shootouts.

"They're a team that can skate with us and obviously they have a lot of skill. It's going to be fun."

The Red Wings caught a break when the NHL scheduled the first game of the series against the Blackhawks for Wednesday night, giving them an extra day to rest following the grueling series against Anaheim and the trip back across the country. There also could be another extra day before Game 2, since the United Center has to stay clear on Friday night for a possible Game 6 between the Bulls and Heat in the NBA playoffs.

But Chicago gets the extra rest as well, and it's taking full advantage of its extended break since it beat Minnesota in five games in the first round. Center Michal Handzus missed practice Monday, but coach Joel Quenneville called it a maintenance day and said he expects him back on the ice on Tuesday. Center Dave Bolland and goalie Ray Emery will be available against Detroit after they missed the series against the Wild with lower body injuries.

"Certainly we've had a good history with them in the past and had some very intense games," Quenneville said. "Had a couple of great games with them this year. It helps with our travel as well, but certainly we're excited about getting into this round. We're going to have our hands full with this team, but we're excited about it."

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AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Romulus, Mich., contributed to this report.

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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

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Kevin Durant scores 35, Thunder edge Grizzlies 93-91 in Game 1 of West semifinals

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Kevin Durant was in just the right spot and, once he had the ball, knew exactly what to do with it.

Derek Fisher poked the ball away from Memphis' Mike Conley and it squirted right to Durant standing under his own basket.

The three-time NBA scoring champion raced into the open court, pulled up and connected on a jumper with 11.1 seconds left for the last of his 35 points, lifting the Thunder to a 93-91 victory over the Grizzlies on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

"I just wanted to get up the floor as quick as possible and find a shot," said Durant, who finished second to LeBron James in league MVP voting announced Sunday. "That was the only shot I could find and, by the grace of God, it went in."

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

Thabo Sefolosha kept the Grizzlies from going back ahead, deflecting a pass that Conley was able to corral — but only after diving out of bounds. Reggie Jackson then hit a pair of free throws for a three-point lead, and Quincy Pondexter couldn't force overtime after getting fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left.

Pondexter, a 72 percent career free-throw shooter, missed the first free throw. He made his second attempt before intentionally missing the third, but Durant swatted the rebound away and Marc Gasol's attempt at a buzzer-beater was late.

"Every player on our team saw this win, and it didn't happen," Pondexter said. "So, you've just got to move on and not make the same mistakes twice."

Kevin Martin scored 25 for Oklahoma City, which trailed for much of the game but was able to avoid repeating its Game 1 loss from when these two teams met in the West semifinals two years ago. The Thunder were able to rally and win that series in seven.

The Grizzlies lost the first two games in the last round before winning four in a row to reach the second round.

"Hopefully it's a good luck pattern that we dig ourselves in a hole and come back swinging and win," Pondexter said. "But it's one game. They're up 1-0 and our job is to try to steal one on the road. The series is just getting started."

Durant finished off the opener after a key defensive stop by Fisher, a five-time NBA champion who only joined the Thunder after asking to be released by Dallas for family reasons earlier in the season. Conley had gotten past him on a drive to the basket when Fisher reached in from behind and knocked the ball free.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks opted not to call timeout, but said he might have if the ball hadn't bounced to just the right person for Oklahoma City.

"In any situation, he is going to be tough to guard," Conley said. "But obviously when they didn't call a timeout, it is tough to guard a guy when you've got a team backing up and you are trying to set up a defense. Either way, we were going to have our hands full."

Tayshaun Prince backpedaled at full speed and couldn't recover in time when Durant stopped on a dime and shot from the left wing.

"Kevin Durant's a great player and he got going to make some good shots," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "Talk about whatever you want to talk about, but he made those shots. That last one on the break when they were down one and he made that shot to put them up one, not everybody is making that shot at that particular point."

Zach Randolph chipped in 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, and Pondexter and Conley scored 13 apiece. As a team, Memphis went 14 for 24 on free throws. Oklahoma City, which was the league's top foul shooting team with the third-best mark in NBA history, was 22 of 25.

"Obviously, we have to make free throws, especially myself," said Pondexter, who was slapped on his right arm by Jackson on his attempt at the tying 3-pointer. "We've just got to take this as a learning experience and move on."

The Grizzlies led most of the way, letting a seven-point lead slip away in the first half before surging out to a 70-58 advantage late in the third quarter. Pondexter seemed to thwart one rally when he hit a buzzer-beater from the half-court logo to finish the third quarter and bump the lead to 73-64, but Oklahoma City opened the fourth on a 9-2 run to get within 75-73.

The Thunder finally tied it at 84 with 3:47 left after a 7-0 burst, with Durant sandwiching a pair of driving buckets around Fisher's 3-pointer. The Grizzlies went back up 90-87 when Serge Ibaka missed one of two free throws and Gasol followed with a hook shot with 1:08 to go, but couldn't close it out.

"When you lose, everything can't be negative," Gasol said. "When you win, not everything is positive. ... I know we're mad, but we've got to get better for next game."

Notes: Durant also finished second in the MVP race last season and in 2009. He got 93 of the 121 second-place votes in the balloting announced Sunday. ... The Thunder made their first nine shots in their only win of the season against Memphis, the best start to a game by an NBA team this season. They missed their first 10 in this one. ... Nick Collison was called for a flagrant foul after leveling Prince on a baseline drive in the second quarter. ... In the three regular-season games, the Grizzlies attempted 52 more shots largely because they had 24 more offensive rebounds. Memphis had just one more offensive rebound in this one and two more shots.

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