My initial reaction is here.

… The first period was a good start for the Wings, but I thought the first few minutes of the second were Game 2 in a nutshell: Mason had to make a big save (on Cleary) in the first minute, then again on a flurry not long after (on Hossa), then Torres laid out a Red Wing but left another (Lebda) open for a big scoring chance. Not long after that, Umberger had a near breakaway that was closed off by a nice defensive play by Stuart. The Jackets followed up with a big Chimera chance that led to a flurry where  it looked like the puck might have gone in.

That was the game: Red Wings dominance interspersed with dumb Columbus decisions and the occassional Jacket scoring chance.

… To their credit, the Jackets haven’t fully descended to Calgary-like depths when it comes to acting out frustration. There have been plenty of post-play scrums, but nothing too nasty.

Of course, there is one exception: Antoine Vermette’s bush league assault on Pavel Datsyuk in the third period. Vermette drove Datsyuk head-first into the ice and the climbed on top of him in a play that was only lacking a sucker punch to put it fully at the far end of the scale of dirty plays. The play came immediately following a major Datsyuk chance, and likely was a response to an earlier incident in which Datsyuk decked Vermette around the Detroit net. Very dangerous.

… Speaking of Datsyuk decking Vermette, that was just example of his physicality. After last year’s run especially, I no longer find it surprising when Datsyuk deals out the hits, but it does seem like he’s going out of his way to be physical in this series.

… Marian Hossa continues to impress and show the kind of drive you’d expect from a guy who went all the way to the Finals only to miss out on the Cup last year. You get the feeling that he’s nearing a major offensive output one of these nights.

… The third line was also impressive again, possibly performing the best of the Wings’ lines on a shift-to-shift basis.

… The Wings’ top guns made appearances on the scoresheet with a power play and full-strength goal from Datsyuk and Zetterberg, respectively. Datsyuk’s goal was the product of a great heads-up pass from Hossa, while Zetterberg’s was just a great shot over Mason’s catching-arm elbow.

… The Wings’ power play absorbed a bit of a black mark in the third period with a fruitless near-five minute power play (including over a minute and a half of 5-on-3), but the important thing to remember is that Babcock was by that point looking to limit the ice time of his big guns, leading to a power play unit involving Filppula, Cleary, Kopecky, Stuart, and Kronwall.

… Columbus fell victim to a couple bad bounces again, the worst being the multi-deflection involved in the Hudler goal. Even without those plays, however, they were far outclassed in this one.

… Chris Osgood wasn’t tested quite as much by serious scoring chances, but stood tall when called upon, and definitely earned the shutout. The fans at the Joe chanted his name again as they left the arena, but the loudest “Ozzie! Ozzie!” chants came in the second period when he stacked the pads on a net-crashing Columbus flurry that had the Joe rocking.

… Rick Nash has been blanketed by Red Wings in both games, but his play has to be a major disppointment. He’s really going to need to step it up in Game 3 if the Jackets are even going to have a chance.

… We can expect a tough game Tuesday night as the Jackets aren’t going to give up. The Wings will need to continue to keep their game at a high level, and will need to keep their mental game strong as they face down the overwhelming support their opponent is going to get in Columbus. I can’t wait.