The Wings put on one of their weakest performances of the year yesterday in one of the biggest games of the season and ended up getting shut out 1-0 in front of their own fans. They played very uninspired hockey and were almost completely outplayed by the Flames.

Curtis Joseph once again served as a barrier to a blowout and was one of the few Wings who had a good game. He was left out to dry numerous times but came up with the save all but once.

The first period was the Wings’ worst. Their passes were terrible and their offense was not clicking as a result. They continually failed in attempts to pass the puck across the ice because the puck was either too far in front or behind the intended target. They turned the puck over numerous times in the defensive zone and the only reason the score stayed at 0-0 is because Curtis Joseph came to play, unlike the rest of his teammates. The Wings were being outshot 7-1 at the halfway mark of the period though they did have a few minutes where they controlled the play in the second half. They only had a couple chances and never really threatened the Flames too much though. Shots ended up 8-7 Wings.

They started out a bit better in the second but still weren’t all that threatening and still looked flat compared to Game 4. They had a couple power plays and generated good pressure but couldn’t get the puck into the net so they were totally wasted. Steve Yzerman was injured a few seconds after the second power play expired (11:57) when Mathieu Schneider’s point shot was deflected by the leg of Rhett Warrener (returning to the Flames lineup after going down in Game 2). The Captain was skating behind the net and never saw it coming. The puck hit him in the area of his left high and he immediately clutched his face and went down. He then jumped up and tried to skate a few feet before falling down again writhing in pain. At first I didn’t know who it was because it happened live on the edge of the camera frame but as soon as I realized it was Yzerman, I was stunned as was the whole of Joe Louis Arena. The ref immediately motioned for the trainers to come out and The Captain laid on the ice for a couple minutes before getting up with a towel to his face. Brendan Shanahan helped him the bench and he went on to the lockerroom from there. If the Wings looked flat before that, they were even worse afterwards. Craig Conroy opened the scoring at 16:07 when Jiri Fischer put himself 10 feet out of position in an effort to level Jarome Iginla along the boards. Iginla calmly sent the puck forward to Conroy who was then free to come in on Joseph all alone. Fischer tried to get back in time but he was too late and Conroy beat CuJo high to make it 1-0 Flames. Curtis Joseph came up big for the rest of the period and the Flames didn’t score again. Shots were 9-9.

The Wings once again played their best hockey in the third period but still couldn’t solve Miikka Kiprusoff, especially since they kept shooting long shots with no traffic in front. Far too many shots were blocked by a Flames team that was showing its determination on each play. The Wings outshot the Flames 15-4 in the third but too many of those shots were routine saves for Kiprusoff and not enough of them were followed up by going to the net.

CBC reported during the second intermission that Steve Yzerman was sitting outside the Wings’ lockerroom with a bandage on his eye, talking to the players. He then went to Henry Ford Hospital and ended up going through a four and a half hour surgery on his eye, which had a scratched cornea, and orbital bone, which had multiple fractures. He had blurry vision before the surgery but it was cleared up afterwards and he is expected to make a full recovery. He is out indefinitely, however, and we will not see him again this series for sure. Thank God it was nothing more serious that than. I wouldn’t wish such a thing to happen to any player but The Captain is the last guy I’d want to see it happen to in the entire league. It was hard to watch and I feared the worst, though now I am relieved.

I am not very confident in the Wings’ ability to win this series, however. Not after their performance yesterday, in front of their home crowd. If they cannot get themselves up to play in Joe Louis Arena, how do they expect to do so in the Saddledome? Yesterday’s game was of enormous importance and I am extremely disappointed in the Wings for losing in the way they did. I could understand being beaten after working hard but that is not what happened. They were outworked the whole game and were beaten by the better team, at least for yesterday. Even if they do get past this round, they will have to improve 1000 percent if they want to win the Conference and the Cup. They are nowhere near that level now. They have to win Game 6 and they must do it without their captain.

It is sickly ironic that the player who the puck deflected off was Rhett Warrener, the man who was high-sticked accidentally by Steve Yzerman in Game 2 and ended up with a scratched cornea of his own. He was completely inactive from last Saturday to the game yesterday but ended up with the third most ice time of any of his teammates in Game 5.

Dave Lowry played in place of Ville Nieminen yesterday after sitting for four months. He was a problem for the Wings all game long and had a couple good scoring chances.

Pavel Datsyuk needs to get on the ball. He has not scored a goal in 20 consecutive playoff games.

Here is the boxscore.

Lines-
(courtesy GWB)
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Hull
Maltby-Draper-McCarty
Shanahan-Lang-Holmstrom
Whitney-Lang-Holmstrom
Shanahan-Lang-Yzerman
Devereaux-Datysuk-Whitney
Maltby-Draper-Yzerman
Devereaux-Datysuk-Hull
Shanahan-Lang-McCarty
Maltby-Draper-Holmstrom
Lang-Datsyuk-Hull

Lidstrom-Schneider
Hatcher-Woolley
Fischer-Dandenault
Hatcher-Dandenault

4 on 4-
Datysuk-Hull

Lidstrom-Schneider

PP-
Lang-Yzerman-Holmstrom
Shanahan-Datsyuk-Hull
Shanahan-Lang-McCarty
Shanahan-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Zetterberg-Datysuk-Hull
Shanahan-Lang-Holmstrom
Maltby-Draper-Devereaux

Lidstrom-Schneider
Lidstrom-Woolley
Woolley-Schneider
Woolley-Dandenault
Whitney-Woolley

PK-
Maltby-Draper
Shanahan-Yzerman
Zetterberg-Shanahan

Lidstrom-Hatcher
Schneider-Dandenault

Net-
Curtis Joseph

Today is the fifth game in this Western Conference Semifinals series between the Wings and the Flames. The teams have traded wins. Calgary won Game 1, 2-1 in overtime, the Wings won Game 2, 5-2 , Calgary won Game 3, 3-2, and the Wings won Game 4, 4-2. The series is tied 2-2.

With the win in Game 4, the Wings earned back home-ice advantage. The series is now essentially a best-of-three series, with two of the three possible games in Joe Louis Arena. The Wings need to take advantage of home ice in Game 5, and put a stranglehold on the Flames.

History is on the Wings’ side with best-of-three’s against Calgary. In 1978, the Wings defeated the Flames (then based in Atlanta) 2-0 in the Preliminary Round of that playoff season. Read up on past playoff formats and the Atlanta Flames. Some trivia is that ESPN announcer Bill Clement was on the Flames, as was Dick Redmond, Mickey Redmond’s brother.

Injury Update

There has been serious speculation that Brett Hull is injured. The future Hall-of-Famer has skipped several recent practices, and CBC reported Thursday night that Hull is taking pain-killing injections and has been seen walking with a limp. It is unclear what the injury is, but the reports lead me to believe it’s a “lower-body” injury.

Chris Chelios, who missed Games 3 and 4, is likely a game-time decision for this afternoon’s game. Oleg Saprykin hit Cheli hard into the boards near the end of the second period of Game 2. He left the ice holding his right arm.

Forward Jason Williams has been out with a “lower-body” injury, which we now know is a groin injury. He had had problems with it during the regular season, and aggravated it during the playoffs.

As for the Flames, Rhett Warrener’s status is unknown for Game 5. He was a scratch in Games 3 and 4, after Yzerman’s stick clipped him dangerously near his eyes. He is listed as day-to-day.

Nieminen Suspended

The league has rightfully responded to Flames forward Ville Nieminen’s last second run on Cujo in Game 4 with a one game suspension. With the score 4-2 Wings and four seconds left in the game, Nieminen charged Cujo from between the circles and elbowed him in the head, throwing him into the net. He was given a 5-minute charging penalty and a 10-minute game misconduct. Fights ensued, and the refs escorted Nieminen off the ice as McCarty and other Wings attempted to exact revenge.

It was a good move by the league to suspend Nieminen for Game 5, so the focus of the game is not revenge but playoff hockey. It’s good to know that Nieminen’s Cheshire Cat smile is going to be watching the game from a press box or the Flames locker room. It also means that Darryl Sutter will have to juggle his lines a bit, as the line of Nieminen, Shean Donovan, and Marcus Nilson was effective for the Flames in Game 4.

Nieminen BSing an excuse for the incident:

“I was going behind the net and – I don’t know – my arm kind of got stuck. I didn’t hit him too bad….I was going for a loose puck behind the net, and I guess I was a little bit too close to the goalie.”

Hull’s Corner?

With the future of Don Cherry in “Coach’s Corner” uncertain, the CBC is looking for possible candidates to fill his unfillable shoes on Hockey Night in Canada. Brett Hull has been on the second-intermission “Satellite Hotstove” several times this season, and it is quite possible that he will be asked to move to the first intermission “Coach’s Corner” if Cherry is not brought back. Hull comments on the possibility:

“They asked, and I’m getting down to the end of my career. Sooner or later here, I’m going to have to do something. I’m trying to make some inroads, to maybe see if it’s something I enjoy or if I’m any good at it. I’m just sort of sticking my toes in the water.”

While I don’t think that Hull will bash French-Canadians and Europeans, and be as politically-incorrect as Cherry, I think he’d be a good fit. Hull has always been known as a second head coach on his teams, and he has a colorful personality.

With this in mind, “Coach’s Corner” would never be the same without the “Coach,” Don Cherry. The guy has a passion for the game and Canada. When Hockey Night in Canada ratings are analyzed, there’s a spike in viewers during the first intermission that far exceeds time slots for the rest of the game, and that’s for a good reason. One reason, in fact. Also, I don’t see how Brett Hull, Team USA member in the Olympics, can preach to Canadian hockey fans on CBC like Cherry.