Game 3 Recap
If you watched a fair amount of the games between the Predators and the Red Wings this season there was one theme from those earlier games that has come into play over the past two games: the Wings have had leads erased pretty quickly by the Predators. This obviously happened in Game 2 when the Preds scored two goals in 11 seconds to knot the game at 2-2. It also occured last night as Nashville outdid themselves by scoring 2 goals in 9 seconds to take a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.
Here are the games from this season where Nashville scored in fairly quick succession.
November 22: scored one goal with 52 seconds remaining in the 2nd and another 2:22 into the third to win 3-2.
February 12: The Preds scored three goals in the first 8:49 of play to cruise to a 4-2 win.
March 9: They Wings were cruising to an easy win with a 4-0 lead when they gave up three straight goals in a span of 7:35 in the third period before squeaking out a 4-3 win.
March 20: The Preds tied the score at 3-3 with two goals in a 2:18 span in the third before the Wings pulled away for a 6-3 win.
To their credit Nashville didn’t back off and play conservative hockey while they were holding onto a 4-3 lead last night. That’s what many coaches would do when they are nursing a one goal lead. Instead they continued to forecheck the Red Wings aggressively in Detroit’s defensive zone and made it difficult for the Wings to set up in the offensive zone. Detroit stuggled to gain the zone, which prohibited them from pinching their d-men in the offensive zone, and also prevented Hasek from getting off the ice to gain an extra attacker.
Tomorrow night’s game obviously becomes the most important game in the series. If the Wings win they are in great shape to claim the series; but if Nashville wins it becomes a whole new series as each team will have won two games on home ice and the Preds will have to feel very confident about their chances in this series.
Here’s a quick look at some of the opinions on last night’s game.
First A2Y takes a look at Hasek’s performance and says he’s still the guy between the pipes for the Wings.
You don’t replace your goalie because you lose Game 3 and maintain a 2-1 lead. In fact, the Wings don’t have to change much at all.
I agree completely. JS Giguere has looked terrible up until tonight, Marty Turco is getting rocked [wooo 66.6% save percentage] as I type this, and the fact of the matter is that very few goalies with any sort of track record are looking invincible. Carey Price obviously looks good but he’s also going up against a Boston team that doesn’t exactly overwhelm you with their firepower. The B’s have scored the third fewest goals amongst playoff teams and were -10 when comparing their goals for and goals against.
On the Forecheck comments on David Legwand’s return to action:
David Legwand was simply outstanding in his return to action, logging more ice time as the game went on, including nearly seven minutes in the final period. What remains to be seen is how his foot recovers from last night, and whether this is something that will steadily improve over time, or linger.
No question. Legwand played just over 16 minutes, had a goal, was +3 and generated 5 shots on goal. Early on he played on a line with Darcy Hordichuk and Rich Peverly. He was largley going up against the fourth line of Mark Hartigan, Dallas Drake and Darren McCarty along with Chris Chelios and Andreas Lilja. But later in the game he was on a line with Jan Hlavac and JP Dumont when the Preds tied the score at 2-2 and again at 3-3.
The goal that made the score 2-2 was scored against the third line, while the goal that tied the game at 3 was scored against the Valterri Filppula-Pavel Datsyuk-Tomas Holmstrom line. It’s tough to blame that on the lines though as at least one of those third period goals was a shot that Dom normally stops. Hasek was screened on another. The game winner was likely the result of a bad line change by the Wings. So basically it was a team effort!
Brad Stuart had a rough game, as pointed out by On the Wings and Red Wings Corner. First here’s Matt:
Suter’s goal, like Radulov’s before it, was one Hasek had little or no chance of stopping. A beautiful Brad Stuart screen made sure of that.
Here’s what Bruce says:
– Detroit defensemen are getting caught stepping up on people way too often. Andreas Lilja and Stuart were guilty last night.
Christy over at BtJ comments on the raucous crowd in Nashville:
The crowd at the Sommet Center certainly was a factor in giving the team a much needed boost after their two key goals so you have to hand it to the fans as well.
The crowd was very lively once the Predators got back into the game. Prior to that when the Wings were largely controlling play they were pretty tame. But they definitely got behind their team when they mounted their comeback. Pred Joe mentioned this:
Following the two goals in 9 seconds to give the Preds the lead the place went berserk! For the final four and a half minutes the place was on it’s feet yelling and screaming. My ears we’re ringing as I left the game last night…and no that is not an exaggeration. It was that loud!
Here’s a quick recap of the key questions I posed at the start of the series.
5. How will Brad Stuart perform for the Wings?
As mentioned above, Stuart had a rough game. He’s even in terms of plus/minus rating and he hasn’t registered a point yet.
4. How will the younger forwards look?
Jiri Hudler has been solid for the Wings. I don’t think it’s a mere coincidence though that he’s started to generate assists now that he’s on the third line where he has easier matchups. When he was playing on the second line he wasn’t nearly as proficient at generating points. The third line seems to be a great fit for him as he’s put up 4 points in three games and is -1 for the series.
3. Who will provide scoring depth for Detroit?
Secondary scoring definitely wasn’t a problem in Game 3. The Wings got goals from Hudler and Kris Draper. Three goals will typically be enough scoring to win games and it looked like Detroit had a good shot to win the game 3-2 before the Preds scored two goals in 9 seconds to take control of the game.
2. Will the Wings solve Dan Ellis?
Once again the Wings scored enough so that Ellis wasn’t really a factor. The Predators protected him the best way they could when they took a 4-3 lead by aggressively forechecking the Red Wings in Detroit’s defensive zone. If you average 3.33 goals per game you will typically win a playoff series. So far the offense is coming through pretty well for Detroit.
1. Will Dom play like the Dominator?
There were extenuating circumstances to be sure, but Dom had his worst game of the playoffs thus far. Prior to last night he was allowing an airtight 1.5 goals per game. But he’s still the guy Detroit has to ride during the playoffs. The Wings were outshot by two shots last night which seldom happens. The Predators have shortened their lines and perhaps that’s something Mike Babcock will consider. Tomas Holmstrom had 19 minutes of ice time but was also -3. Dan Cleary played 16:30 and was even. Mikael Samuelsson - possibly the biggest whipping boy amongst Red Wings fans - played 16:46 and was +1. So perhaps Babcock will juggle lines and get some more defensive stoppers on the ice for heavier shifts.
The Predators faced their first must-win game last night and came out on top. Tomorrow is another must-win game for them. While Game 4 isn’t technically a must-win game for the Wings, it is likely a game that would put them in firm command of the series if they win.
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