Sport and Cinema.com

Baseball’s Midsummer Classic returns to Anaheim Tuesday for the third time since the All-Star Game began in 1933, but the event has changed quite a bit since the city first hosted the exhibition (in 1967 when the NL won in dramatic fashion on a Tony Perez home run in the 15th inning).

In hoping to win the Stanley Cup for the fifth time in 12 seasons and to lift the spirits of an especially economically depressed area, Detroit’s tough Game 7 victory over Anaheim sets up an Original Six matchup against the well-rested Chicago squad in the conference finals beginning today at the Motor City’s Joe Louis Arena.

With only Chicago through to the next round after their exciting six game series against Vancouver, all three remaining matchups come down to a seventh game.

Anaheim vs. Detroit

The Red Wings had clinched their last eight playoff series wins with victories on the road and looked to do the dame here, but Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Jonas Hiller made 38 saves as the Ducks beat the Red Wings 2-1 last night to force a decisive Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Scott Niedermayer and Bobby Ryan added assists for the Ducks, who built a two-goal lead in the second period and managed to shut down the Red Wings until Johan Franzen brought Detroit within a goal with 2:25 to play.

Facing elimination, the Ducks returned to the form that carried the team to a league-best 10-2-1 mark in the final weeks of the season, then through a first-round upset of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks.