Detroit, for all its Hall-of-Fame manpower, is not unbelievable five-on-five. Its power play, on the other hand, was second in the league, a mere tenth of a percentage behind top-ranked Los Angeles. For Vancouver, the key to beating the Wings lies in shutting them down when they have the man advantage.

During the regular season, Detroit beat Vancouver three times and lost only once. During those four games, Vancouver's 15th ranked penalty kill managed to hold Detroit's potent power play to a meager 2-24. So, the Canucks understood how to step up their penalty killing in the regular season, but five-on-five was a problem. All four Detroit-Vancouver games were played before Jan. 10. That's before Vancouver went on the tear it kept up through the end of the regular season. Since Christmas, the Canucks posted a 28-9-3-3 record. The Wings have yet to face the new, more powerful Canucks.

To shut down Detroit's power play, the Canucks must shut down Wings quarterback Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom is a left-handed shot and likes to run the power play off his forehand, moving the puck from left to right to Chris Chelios, Sergei Fedorov or Steve Yzerman on the other point. Vancouver's penalty killers, led by veteran Trevor Linden, will have to force Lidstrom to his backhand, breaking the natural flow from point to point.

Defensemen Ed Jovanovski and Mattias Ohlund will have to be aware of Luc Robitaille, floating in front of the net, looking for rebounds and garbage goals, and of Brett Hull, skulking on the off-wing, looking for a chance to blast his cannon of a one-timer. Even if all goes well, the goaltender is often the best penalty killer, and Dan Cloutier will need to make big saves.

Against Colorado last season, the Canucks took too many penalties and it cost them. Against a Cup-hungry Red Wings team, they'll have to turn the other cheek as often as possible. If they're going to take penalties, they have to be necessary ones. Detroit is most dangerous when they can manage a few power-play goals per game.

Five-on-five, the teams should match up well. Canucks forwards Todd Bertuzzi, Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund form one of the league's most potent lines. Bertuzzi will be double shifted with Andrew Cassels and the Sedin twins, spreading the wealth to the lower ranks and allowing Vancouver to roll four solid lines against the Detroit machine.

If momentum counts for anything, Vancouver has a leg up going into this first-round series. Detroit did not win a single game in April, going winless in their past seven games. But, in the playoffs, everything starts over. Win the battle of the special teams, win the series.

Lindsay Berra writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail her at lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.