Despite the fact that they outplayed the Ducks by a wide margin yesterday, the Wings lost 2-1 in overtime and are now down 3-2 in the series, facing elimination Tuesday in Anaheim. It was a game the Ducks were fortunate to win, because the Wings blew 5 or 6 very good scoring chances that could have made the score 5 or 6 to 0 going into that final minute. JS Giguere will get a lot of credit, but I think it was more a case of the Detroit shooters putting it in the crest of his jersey than him actually making a spectacular save. I guess you can give him credit for being in position, but the Wings made his job easier.

The Wings played a strong game, but they need to find a way to finish. They were less than a minute away from being up 3-2 in the series and had to find a way to kill off a BS penalty. Another six inches and they probably would have. One of their biggest problems in this series has been their inability, at times, to clear the zone and it really came back to bite them in Game 5. Even given the tying goal, however, they had a chance to win it, but they came out fairly flat in OT and let the Ducks take over. Andreas Lilja was pressured by two forecheckers and ended up coughing up the puck. Teemu Selanne made no mistake on the play and roofed it over a down-and-out Hasek.

And now the Ducks have a series lead after winning two games they had little business winning. It’s not over, though. I believe this Wings team is tougher than that. I’m confident there will be a Game 7 Thursday night.

I’ll have more tonight after work.