Three Stars for Second Round Series
Following up on this post where I named the top three stars from the series against the Calgary Flames, here are the three stars from the recently-concluded series against the San Jose Sharks.
Third Star - Tomas Holmstrom
Homer takes Ty Webb’s advice and ‘be’s the puck’
Jed Jacobsohn - Getty Images
Homer missed the first 4 games of the series, and over that time the Red Wings went 2-2 and were outscored 8-7. In the two games he played Detroit went 2-0 and outscored San Jose 6-1. Now that dramatic turnaround isn’t all on account of the Demolition Man, but he likely played a big role in the top line getting loose in Game 5, where they generated 3 goals and 5 assists. That game ended up being the series, and Tomas Holmstrom made his presence felt.
Games: 2
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Plus/minus: +1
Second Star - Dominik Hasek
Dom found it tough to do the chicken dance while holding his stick
Jed Jacobsohn - Getty Images
There was a lot of talk following the first round series about how Dominik Hasek didn’t have to face many shots. The shot differential grew closer in the series against San Jose but Hasek still made several big saves to keep Detroit in games and to preserve leads. I commented in this post on how Dom has shut the door during long stretches of the latter parts of games. In four of the first 5 games he did not allow a goal over the last 50 minutes of play. He followed that up with a Game 6 performance where he didn’t allow a single goal. In 10 of the 12 games Detroit has played in the playoffs the Red Wings have given up 2 or fewer goals.
Record: 4-2
GAA: 1.50
SV%: 0.933
First Star - Nicklas Lidstrom
Joe Thornton looks thrilled to see Nick Lidstrom
Dave Sandford - Getty Images
For the second straight playoff series I have Nick Lidstrom as the first star. Make no mistake, Lidstrom got plenty of help when it came to containing Joe Thornton. The big Sharks center got off to a good start in this series, scoring 1 goal, 4 assists and going +4 over the first 4 games of this series. But the Red Wings eventually curtailed his production, as Thornton didn’t generate a goal or an assist over the final two games while going -4. With Thornton held in check San Jose’s offense ground to a halt.
Lidstrom also made a highlight reel save on a wraparound attempt by Mike Grier in Game 6 that preserved a 1-0 Detroit lead. That would be San Jose’s best chance to score in the game, but Lidstrom sold out and stretched his hockey stick out across the goalmouth to keep the puck out of the net. And his offensive production wasn’t far behind Thornton’s as he scored 1 goal, had 2 helpers and was +1 for the series.
The Red Wings team as a whole deserves credit, as Detroit completely shut down one of the best offensive teams in the NHL over the last two games. This was a Sharks team that finished the regular season #6 in the NHL in goals for (3.12) and scored slightly above that average (3.2) when they defeated the Nashville Predators in 5 games. But Lidstrom led the way as he once again put on a performance that has done absolutely nothing to diminish his status as the odds-on favorite to win the Norris trophy. Dominik Hasek NHL Playoffs Nicklas Lidstrom Red Wings San Jose Sharks Tomas Holmstrom
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