Well, that sucked. Two comebacks, a Pronger-less Ducks, and two long 5-on-3′s and the Wings still couldn’t find a way to win. I thought they looked bad all night. They were outhustled by the Ducks, out hit, out everythinged, except outshot. It all began with Todd Bertuzzi’s awful, awful, awful turnover to Corey Perry that led directly to the first Anaheim goal. I guess the shock of seeing Bertuzzi turn the puck over so badly was too much for Dominik Hasek to handle, as he then blew a chance to make one of those spectacular saves he’s been making. After that, what had been a promising start to the game turned into a continual disappointment.
Some guys who did have a good night for the Wings: Todd Bertuzzi, in spite of his assist on the Corey Perry goal; Valtteri Filppula, who seems to own Scott Niedermeyer, but needs to find a way to finish his spectacular plays; Dan Cleary, who keeps doing what he’s been doing. Other players had their moments, in patches here and there.
The Wings came back to tie it at 1 and at 3 and outshot the Ducks 39-22, but I never really thought they were in this game. Credit goes to the Ducks for playing their hearts out in the absence of argubly their most important player, but had the Wings played like they had in Game 3, the result still might have been different than it was. It was a golden opportunity for the Wings to take a stranglehold on this series, and they blew it. And the Ducks have momentum, though it may not mean much in this series, if its history is any indication. It’s now best two-of-three, with the Wings having home ice advantage. It’s not all bleak, not by a long shot, but it’s going to be a heck of a battle. I know this team can do it, it’s just that games like last night’s aren’t exactly encouraging.
I should have more tonight, when I get home from work.
I didn’t think the wings played all that bad, third period as always they looked great except for that 5-3 they blew. Zetterberg really turned it on in the last 10 minutes but couldn’t get anything for it, Fil had another great game, Lang even started to look like he wanted to be there for once. Dom had a soft game, sure he made some nice stops but in the end he was not his usual self. Good news is like u said in previous posts Dom always comes back from a sub par performance with a stellar one; That and the wings have not lost an afternoon game yet in these playoffs.
Anaheim had an ok game getting lots of people who were cold finally getting some points, as well as the PP going for the first time in this series. My prediction for game 5 is wings 4 ducks 1, they put to much trust on pronger and I think with the goon back in the line up they’ll play like they usually do, too bad for them the wings will play better
Matt,
I don’t really think the Wings played all that bad. They had a couple turnovers that the Ducks were able to convert, but all in all, I think the Ducks were just getting a lot of bounces. Selane’s goal was a Pinball game that found his stick. I thought that the Wings did a good job of continuing to push and skate… just not a good enough job of putting the puck in the back of the net.
Actually, overall, the Wings played pretty well. though the difference in the game really came down to lucky bounces. Hasek can’t stop what he can’t see, and the game winner he never saw. Likewise, Val hit the post on one of his shots — could have scored. If anything, their downfall was not scoring 5 on 3. They should have been peppering Giggy with shots, but seemed to want to go for perfection once again. Traffic and throw the damn rubber at the net — that’ll work. But not those long soft shots from the blue line.
Pluses — the Wings have to lose 2 out of the next 3 games. I just don’t see that happening. Bertuzzi, Cleary, and Lang seemed to really click. I thought Markov and Cheli played hard. Lilja’s game has improved a lot over the playoffs, too.
Minuses – The Swedes were not as effective this game. Who knows why. Puck turnovers once again hurt the team. Special Teams were not as effective. Hasek wasn’t superhuman. But then again, he’ll be back next game.
This Wings team is a lot different than the ones on the ice in previous years. I expect them to finish hard, and most of the time they do it and win. Overall, they show a lot of poise and steer clear of stupid stuff. Go Wings!