Wings claim Game One: 2-1
Giguere and Beauchemin try to stop a puck
that was redirected off Homer’s shoulder
Jerry Mendoza - AP Photo
Detroit’s top line scored two power play goals and Dominik Hasek stopped 31 of 32 shots to pace the Red Wings to a 2-1 win. They lead the best of seven series 1 game to none. Henrik Zetterberg scored Detroit’s first goal at the 3:44 mark of the first period when his centering pass was directed into the goal by Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin. Anaheim would score the lone goal at even strength when Chris Kunitz tied the game at 1-1 at the 1:34 mark of the third period.
Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle called the game “highly competitive” and said his team did a good job executing their gameplan. After they tied the game they became more physical to try and get the go-ahed goal. But Detroit withstood the flurry and took advantage of a Ryan Getzlaff slashing penalty at the 14:33 mark. Nick Lidstrom put a shot on net from the left point that hit Tomas Holmstrom before it bounced off Francois Beauchemin and went into the net. Homer was credited with the goal, which came at the 15:06 mark of the 3rd period.
The Ducks pulled Jean Sebastian Giguere when Robert Lang took a hooking penalty at the 16:41 mark to get an extra attacker but couldn’t get the equalizer. The Wings also killed a 5 on 3 and a 4 on 3 power play during this game, which Mike Babcock deadpanned was “interesting”. Bill over at Abel to Yzerman also commented on how the game was called. Babcock said that his team commented that they didn’t have their legs in this game, which was the case in their first game against San Jose in the second round. So hopefully that will change beginning with Game Two when the Red Wings will attempt to hold serve before heading to Anaheim.
Todd Bertuzzi had a good game as he was involved with two good scoring chances in the first period. The first came when Kris Draper centered the puck but Bert was a little slow getting to the net. If he was a bit quicker he would have been in great position for a one-timer. The second chance came when he centered the puck to Kyle Calder. But Calder wasn’t able to pull the trigger. Mike Babcock commented on a great scoring chance Detroit had on the power play at the 13:15 mark of the second period when Mikael Samuelsson passed the puck to Hank Zetterberg, who was on the doorstep and would have buried the puck for a sure goal. But the timing was just a fraction of a second off and they weren’t able to score.
The Ducks played the way they wanted to play and they are likely to stick with their gameplan as it gave them a chance to win the game. Chris Pronger rang a bomb off the crossbar on a power play and Ryan Getzlaf also had a great scoring chance. Dominik Hasek absolutely robbed a Duck player when he was sprawled out on the ice but lifted his glove to deny a great scoring chance late in the 3rd period. He was recognized as the second star of the game. Detroit’s top line registered two goals and one assist, while Nick Lidstrom tallied two helpers. The hits were even, with both teams being credited with 22 hits.
Valterri Filppula, Dan Cleary and Kris Draper were dominant in the faceoff circle. They combined to go 18 out of 24 for 75%. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Robert Lang went 10 for 31 for 32%. Detroit top 4 defensemen played 29:23 (Lidstrom), 22:45 (Lilja), 20:11 (Markov), and 19:20 (Cheli). Brett Lebda played 16:47 and Kyle Quincey played 8:35. So no huge ice time for any of the blueliners. Anaheim outshot Detroit 32 to 19. Anaheim Ducks Chris Kunitz Henrik Zetterberg NHL Playoffs Red Wings Tomas Holmstrom
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[…] Dave @ Gorilla Crouch: The Ducks played the way they wanted to play and they are likely to stick with their gameplan as it gave them a chance to win the game. Chris Pronger rang a bomb off the crossbar on a power play and Ryan Getzlaf also had a great scoring chance. Dominik Hasek absolutely robbed a Duck player when he was sprawled out on the ice but lifted his glove to deny a great scoring chance late in the 3rd period. He was recognized as the second star of the game. Detroit’s top line registered two goals and one assist, while Nick Lidstrom tallied two helpers. The hits were even, with both teams being credited with 22 hits. […]