The Wings lost for the first time this postseason last night, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Calgary Flames in Game 3 of their Western Conference Quarterfinal series. Overall, they were outplayed by the Flames in both ends of the ice and didn’t look much like the team that stormed to a 2-0 lead in the series at home. Calgary finally showed up and had something resembling the game they’ve been wanting to play, though I’m not sure they have demonstrated all they can do yet.

I don’t have time for a full recap today, so I’ll just hit a few points.

… First of all, that ten minute slam that the Flames and their fans were talking about did not materialize. Play was mostly even in the first ten and the crowd didn’t seem as loud after the first few minutes. That was encouraging as a Wings, though only because I’d expected to see them have to weather a storm. On looking back, a better first period would have been a good thing, but at the time I was relieved.

… On that note, the loudness, or the lack thereof, of the arena was a letdown. Last year, Rexall Place was rocking for the majority of the game. Last night, the Saddledome was only loud for short stretches, it seemed to me. Not long fter the Flames’ second goal, a fire alarm started going off inside the arena and continued for a while loudly enough to be annoying through the TV. I don’t know why it happened, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some yahoo pulled it to celebrate the goal.

… The Wings power play was still bad last night and it’s really becoming an issue. They had a four-minute man-advantage after Wayne Primeau chopped Dan Cleary in the nose. They did nothing with it. That said, they didn’t exactly have a plethora of chances and that they went 0-4 (0-3, really) isn’t all that surprising.

… Which leads me to my next point: the officiating. I hate being one of those whiny fans that complains about officiating, but I really think it had too much of a role in last night’s game. You can disagree, but that’s my honest opinion. It’s a matter of missed calls and bad calls combined that really hampered the Wings’ chances last night. I believe the Flames probably would have won anyway, given how Detroit played, but they got help from the officials they did not need, and unfairly limited the Wings’ chances at eking out a win in spite of being generally outplayed.

Missed call case-in-point #1:

At 9:15 or so of the third period, the Wings were moving the puck around the Flames zone and it ended up coming around the back of the net and up the right wing on a shootaround. Henrik Zetterberg went after it, but Wayne Primeau (I believe) stepped over and held him back with his arm. Interference, holding, something. No call. The puck goes the other way and Jarome Iginla found a way to beat both Nick Lidstrom and Dominik Hasek to give the Flames a 3-2 lead at 9:21.

Watch the replay, you’ll see what I’m talking about at the start. Flames fans, you can be as excited as you want about Jarome’s finally breaking into this series, but the fact is that rush never should have happened. It’s disgusting. That blown call was just one of many missed interference calls on the Flames last night.

Missed call case-in-point #2:

At 11:07 of the third, Kyle Calder was called for goaltender interference on Miika Kiprusoff. He skated through the crease and lightly bumped Kiprusoff’s head, which was sticking out, as he tried to squeeze in between the goalie and the defenseman. Goaltender interference? Okay, I can see that, I suppose.

What I can’t see is why the official did not have enough self-respect to call Kiprusoff for diving. The guy threw his head back like he’d taken a shot from Ivan Drago and dropped like someone had taken an ax to his legs. Why don’t officials take that kind of crap more personally? You’d think officials would see diving as an insult to their professional integrity. It wasn’t even subtle. The teams should have been skating four a side.

Bad call case-in-point #1:

At 3:16 of the third, Mathieu Schneider was called for interference because he skated backwards into a Flame while his attention was on the puck. It was completely accidental and was a pretty weak call. The Flames scored on the subsequent power play and tied the game at two.

Bad call case-in-point #2:

The Wings were getting some pressure in the Flames’ zone and it culminated with a pass back to the point to Danny Markov. The puck was bouncing like crazy (as it was all night) and Danny fanned on it. It skidded to a stop behind him and was sitting there ripe for the picking of any Flames player that could get to it. Well, Jeff Friesen wanted it and decided the best path was through Markov, who had just finished the follow-through on his shot and was planted in the same spot he’d been in for 5-6 seconds. Friesen, of course, bounced off Markov and didn’t make it to the puck, so, of course, the official whistled Markov for interference instead of sending Friesen to the box for being an idiot.

I’ll dumb it down for you, Jeff: people are hard, you can’t go through them. If you want something on the other side of someone, you have to step around them. Anyway, the Flames didn’t score on that one, but it was still pretty galling.

I’m not upset that the Wings didn’t get more power plays, because they’ve been pretty awful in that capacity all series. It’s that the Flames were getting away with so much, while the Wings were slapped with phantom calls, that pisses me off.

… Todd Bertuzzi: I thought he looked okay, but he definitely didn’t provide the spark the Wings were hoping for. He had some hits after he started throwing his body around later in the game, but overall, he was pretty underwhelming. When you look at how Jiri Hudler brings it on every shift, you have to wonder if sitting him in favor of Todd or Samuelsson wasn’t a mistake. Bertuzzi had little or no chemistry with Franzen and Filppula, which meant those two didn’t have the games they should have.

… Hasek looked steady, for the most part, but he allowed a goal on Iginla that he never should have. I don’t care if Lidstrom let him down. Lilja had covered the pass and it was up to Dom to handle Iginla, but he just whiffed on it. Nice shot by Jarome, but Hasek should have had it.

… Not sure what Babcock was thinking at the end of the game. He put the #1 line out there, when they’d been fairely ineffective all night, when #3 probably would have been a better choice, given how they’d been creating chances throughout the game. The decision to put Lang out there on the final faceoff was especially bad. Robert has been awful in the faceoff circle this series and his presence out there in the final seconds basically meant the Wings acceded the game.

… Aside from the great third line, which was dangerous all night, a bright spot in the game was, surprisingly enough, Andreas Lilja. He’s been great in this series thus far and continued to play well last night. He had a couple bad plays, but they were overshadowed by a lot more stellar ones. I want to know where he was in the regular season, because now he’s becoming a force.

… As for the third line, Dan Cleary, Kirk Maltby, and Kris Draper were all great. Cleary assisted on Draper’s two goals and knocked Dion Phaneuf on his can just before dishing the puck off to Drapes on the goal that put the Wings up 2-1 at the start of the third. He took a high stick to the mouth, got some stitches, came back, and got involved right away. He was causing the Flames defenders fits all night and was on the receiving end of some nasty post-play scrums. A great night for Cleary and his linemates, for sure. Hopefully the Wings will feed off that on Thursday.

… Overall, I don’t think the Wings played that badly. They definitely didn’t play as well as they did in Games 1 and 2, though, and that, coupled with the Flames decision to actually show up, probably would have meant a loss regardless of the officiating, like I said above. They weren’t as physical or as energetic, though they did have their moments, and it really hurt them. They flat out have to be better and more consistent in Game 4. Frankly, I’m confident they will be. I suspect we’ll see the ornery Wings of Game 1 again.

Other reactions:
Gorilla Crouch
Behind the Jersey
Quo Vadimus
The Real Deal