Wings dominant in gaining WCF bid
Last night’s 8-2 win was shocking not so much because the Red Wings swept the Avalanche, but because they so thoroughly controlled play it was almost like watching NHL ‘08 rather than a real NHL playoff game. That was true all the way from Johan Franzen’s hat trick and his NHL record for goals in a 4-game playoff series to Hank Zetteberg’s no-look, falling backwards backhander that beat Peter Budaj to give Detroit a 5-1 lead.
The dagger - a mercy shot as much as anything - was when Detroit scored two goals in 47 seconds near the end of the first period to build up an insurmountable 3-1 lead and chase Jose Theodore from the net. The series was so thoroughly dominated by Detroit that even the one minor controversy - should Joel Quenneville start Budaj in place of a sick/ineffective Theodore - was definitively answered by the Wings as they put 5 pucks past Budaj in less than 30 minutes.
As was reported by several Detroit media outlets, free agent Fabrian Brunnstrom watched the game with Red Wings officials as he works on deciding where he will sign to play hockey at the NHL level. The Red Wings organization certainly put their best foot forward:
–That had to look like a lot of fun. Think the guy wasn’t salivating at the idea of getting out there and getting prime scoring chances from Pavs, Lids, Hank, Jiri Hudler, Mule and Valtteri Fillpula?
–Every single Red Wings goal was scored by a player from Sweden!
–If he wonders “can I fit in on a talented team like Detroit?” all he needs to do is look at the Mule and realize the path has recently been taken by Franzen.
–He’s old by rookie hockey player standards. And eeeeveryone knows you have to be oooolld to play hockey for the Red Wings.
Of course he could look at the Red Wings lineup and realize there’s a lot of competition for time on a scoring line. Regardless the organization certainly gave him the best possible impression as he weighs his decision. Bruce MacLeod indicated Detroit would offer the maximum compensation as allowed under the NHL’s CBA labor agreement.
For now the Wings get to rest and prepare for the Western Conference Finals. The rest actually began last night, with Nick Lidstrom playing just over 16 minutes and Datsyuk and Z playing less than 15 minutes. The second pairing of Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart were the only guys who played more than 20 minutes for Detroit last night.
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