Red Wings knot Series with 3-2 Comeback Victory
The Red Wing knotted their Western Conference Semi-Final series 1-1 with their victory over the San Jose Sharks this afternoon. Just as important, they found their game after once again falling behind 2-0 early in the contest. The Sharks got goals from Jonathan Cheechoo and Joe Thornton in the first 4:17 of the hockey game. Thornton’s goal came after Dominik Hasek tried to move the puck from behind the Detroit net. Milan Michelak forced the turnover and centered the puck for Thornton’s goal.
Mikael Samuelsson generated one of the first good scoring chances for Detroit when he went to the net in the latter half of the first period. His shot was stopped by Evgeni Nabakov but the rebound provided a good scoring chance. The Red Wings would generate more of those scoring chances than they did in Game 1 and it made all the difference. Shortly after that scoring chance Joe Thornton took a slashing penalty at the 13:59 mark. The Wings centered a pass to the front of the net that was stopped by Nabakov but the shot created some chaos in front of the net.
The Wings finally ended their scoreless streak at the 17:30 mark of the first period. Pavel Datsyuk gained control of the puck in the offensive zone and passed it along the left wing to Henrik Zetterberg, who got behind San Jose’s skaters. He put a shot on net as Jiri Hudler went to the front of the net. Zetterberg’s shot eluded Evgeni Nabakov and landed in the goal to cut the Sharks’ lead in half.
Detroit played a physical game this afternoon that included solid forechecking and a better effort to finish their checks. They were also better at using their speed to generate scoring chances in transition. Dan Cleary had a good chance when he went in on net at the 8:10 mark of the second period. His shot was stopped by Nabakov but once again a rebound was there for a good scoring chance. Henrik Zetterberg had a good scoring chance on the power play when he received a centering pass from Todd Bertuzzi on the doorstep. But Nabakov made the save. Zetterberg had another quality scoring chance at the 19:00 mark of the second period.
The Red Wings started the third period on the penalty kill and that was where they would get the equalizer. Detroit got a turnover from Bill Guerin at the 1:20 mark of the period. Dan Cleary scooped up the puck and drove toward the net before putting a shot on net that was partially blocked by Nabokov but still found the back of the net to knot the game at 2-2. Cleary would generate another quality scoring chance shortly after that goal but Nabakov made the save.
Those shots that resulted in rebounds? Well, one finally paid off with just under 90 seconds left in regulation. The Red Wings did a good job cycling the puck. Henrik Zetterberg carried the puck behind the San Jose net before passing the puck to Mikael Samuelsson in the slot. Samuelsson put a shot on net that Nabakov stopped. But the Sharks netminder gave up a rebound. Pavel Datsyuk was in front of the net and was able to gather up the rebound and put the puck past the sprawled out netminder to give Detroit their first lead in the series.
The Red Wings’ forecheck was excellent over the final 1:24 to preserve the win. Nabakov couldn’t vacate the crease until there was less than 20 seconds remaining in the contest.
Aside from a second shaky start this was a good game for Detroit. They held the Sharks off the scoreboard for the final 55:43 of the game and didn’t give up a power play goal to San Jose even though the Sharks had the man advantage 6 times. Detroit was physical, forechecking and hitting the Sharks to throw off their usually sharp passing game. The Wings generated good scoring chances in transition by using their speed and they didn’t settle very often for low-quality perimeter shots. The Red Wings also won the Specialty Teams battle this afternoon as they scored a short-handed goal.
This looks to be a low scoring series. The Sharks have significantly cut down on Detroit’s shots on net compared to the first round series against Calgary. Today Detroit registered only 22 shots on goal. The Wings put together all of the elements they need to be successful during the last 55 or so minutes of this game. They are going to have to maintain that level of play in order to win at least one of the next two games in San Jose, which is going to be critical for their chances to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
Dan Cleary Henrik Zetterberg NHL Playoffs Pavel Datsyuk Red Wings San Jose Sharks1 Comment(s)
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
Great win for the Wings today, but I was a bit disappointed with Hockeytown Cafe, as they would not put the game on today (about 4 PM, just as Zetterburg scored, as we left the Tiger game early). I could see a tv in the corner, but my son was facing the other way and ESPn, or something was on.