Archive for the '2006-2007' CategoryPage 4 of 17

Game 1: Wings 0, Sharks 2

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 27, 2007
in 2006-2007, Game Reports, Playoffs and Sharks
. 0 Comments

I don’t have a lot to add to my initial reaction to the games, so this’ll be relatively short.

… The opening minutes weren’t all that bad for the Wings. They had a couple pretty solid chances, but couldn’t finish if they connected on the passes. The Sharks had a strong chance or two as well, but either the Detroit defense or Domink Hasek turned them aside. The Sharks overall had more sustained pressure, while the Wings’ offense came from isolated forays into the zone. Their stick defense was good, though, so the puck was bouncing all around the zone as they kept knocking it away from San Jose players. During a more sustained and dangerous Sharks’ cycle shift, Henrik Zetterberg lost his stick and Nick Lidstrom took a “hooking” penalty, though it looked a lot more like tripping to me.

… The penalty kill started off well, as the Wings had the Sharks skating the lenth of the ice a couple times. Then, San Jose set up. They caught the Wings all on the right side of the zone, looking at Thornton in the corner. Only Henrik Zetterberg got his sights on Carle creeping up and was trying to get there just as the pass came out front and it was one-timed into the net. Carle was Lilja’s responsibility, but he had his back turned.

… Wilson sent out the checking line right after that and a strong forecheck by Mike Grier caused Mathieu Schneider to throw the puck out front, where it was intercepted by Curtis Brown. It pinballed out front to Grier, who was tied up with Schneider, but not enough to prevent a hard, turning shot that beat Hasek. 2-0, with goals scored 24 seconds apart.

… Babcock called a timeout and got the team settled down. The Sharks controled things a little more and then settled back into a efficient defensive mode. The Wings had a few scoring chances and were starting to warm up pretty well by the end of the period.

… The second and third periods consisted of the Wings putting forth a somewhat leisurely attempt at a comeback. It was as though they had forgotten the situation they were in, as I didn’t see a sense of urgency from them down to the final minutes. Individual players played well and put forth good efforts, but there weren’t many dominating shifts by the lines and, in general, even their best scoring chances were pretty low grade. They rarely were able to follow up on a shot and basically did little but give Nabokov confidence with their low-percentage shots.

… It sounds like I’m disparaging the team, but I’m not, really. They were flat, but only relative to their first round performances, which have become the standard by which this postseason iteration of the Wing will be judged. I think they could have won last night had they not made the two mistakes that led to San Jose goals. That said, they were fortunate the Sharks did not take further advantage from the number of turnovers the Wings had (27 to San Jose’s 5). They have got to be better with the puck. Even accounting for the fact that giveaways are a subjective, that kind of discrepancy is unacceptable.

… Still, the Sharks simply did not play all that impressively. They have size, but they don’t use it for much beyond walling off opponents (they don’t hit). The Wings were less physical than they were in the first round, but they still were more physical than San Jose. The Sharks are nowhere near the chippy team Calgary was, which was nice because it didn’t become a whistle-fest or a blown-call bonanza.

… It was definitely interesting to see their meek response to the Wings’ crowding of the net. I remember one instance where Todd Bertuzzi was in Nabokov’s face after a whistle and the two large San Jose defensemen went up to him and just kind of lightly bumped him, perhaps saying, “Sir, we humbly request that you remove yourself from the periphery of the crease for your presence here causes our goaltender undue stress and consternation.” Okay, maybe it was a little more obscene than that, but the point is they didn’t try to take Todd’s head off. This lack of physical anger extended to other post-whistle interactions: the most heated things got was a post-whistle scrum that lasted about 3 seconds.

… As far as individual performances went, I thought Todd Bertuzzi had a good game. He shrugged off even the larger San Jose players like they were nothing and demonstrated the hands that make him so valuable. Still, it’d be great if he could just get the puck in the net. Also, Todd, seriously, you really, really need to be more selfish. Enough with this I-must-pass-at-all-costs mindset. Shoot the puck! We know you want to contribute to your teammates’ success, but you can do that by scoring goals too.

Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk were solid. Their speed and puckhandling abilities exposed the inexperience of the Sharks’ defense at times, and we can only hope they find a way to finish their plays in Game 2.

No one else really stood out as playing particularly well, except maybe Jiri Hudler. He was underutilized, as usual, however, so he did not have much of an impact.

… Overall, like I wrote last night, I’m not worried. Yet. This series is far from over and I think we’ll see a better game from both teams on Saturday. What that means for the Wings’ chances, we’ll have to wait and see.

An unfortunate start

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 26, 2007
in 2006-2007, GameDay, Playoffs and Sharks
. 3 Comments

Well. I don’t really know what to say about that game except that it was decided in a span of just under two minutes in the first period: the time between Nick Lidstrom’s ill-advised and strange hooking penalty at 8:17 and the Sharks’ second goal at 10:09. That penalty should have set off alarm bells in our minds, in spite of the fact that the Wings started off the kill well. One set up by the Sharks, though, and it was a slam dunk as Andreas Lilja forgot to be aware of his surroundings. A bad pass seconds later by a hurried Mathieu Schneider resulted in another goal.

Other than that, both teams were pretty much dead even the whole game and not in a good way. After an exciting first round series, this one has opened with a bit of a snorer. Neither team was all that impressive and had the Wings not collapsed for about two minutes, it could have gone on forever. Nabokov will get a lot of credit, but I think it’s mostly undeserved because the Wings didn’t mount a very concerted offensive attack. Hasek will get criticism, but, again, I don’t think it’ll be deserved because the Sharks were given exactly two gift-wrapped-goal scoring chances.

It was a bit of tentative game for both teams, I thought, so I hope things open up a bit more in Game 2. The Wings have to start stronger than they did, or else the Sharks will pounce on their mistakes and make them pay, that much is obvious. Oddly enough, I’m not at all concerned, despite the fact that they were shut out. I really think this game could have gone either way, if not for that brief period of sloppy play in the first.

Anyway, I’ll have a more complete game reaction posted tomorrow.

Game 1: vs. San Jose, 7:30 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 26, 2007
in 2006-2007, GameDay, Playoffs and Sharks
. 8 Comments

Update (5:31 PM): IwoCPO has posted his version of a series preview, from 30,000 feet. If you read nothing else tonight, read that. Nobody does it like Iwo. - Matt

Update (5:30 PM): More from The Hat: it looks like tonight’s game will not be a sellout. You’d think that the Wings would have brought some people back into the fold with their first round performance. Guess not. - Matt

Update (3:41 PM): Helene St. James has some bad news: Tomas Holmstrom has apparently told a Swedish newspaper that he will not return until Game 4 at the earliest.

It looks like Craig Conroy’s inability to properly control his stick could have long-lasting effects on Homer, if he’s not careful. The Swedish report indicated he was told that if his eye starts bleeding again, it could permanently damage his eyesight. Needless to say, Holmstrom is taking it very easy until this is fully healed and the team is not going to be rushing him back. This is a little more serious than the light-hearted “it depends on his healing process” banter being reported in the Detroit papers indicated it was.

St. James says he’s scheduled to see a specialist tomorrow and Monday, so we’ll know more then. A Game 4 return sounds like a rough, and probably optimisic, estimate, especially considering he’ll have to be involved in a couple practices before he’d be ready to play after days of inactivity.

Let’s hope nothing further happens with his eye and that it heals like it should. Apart from the fact that his career would likely be over if his eyesight is badly affected, it would be a bad situation all around for Homer to have to deal with long-term.

The Wings are going to need to find a way to score on the power play without Homer, because it looks like they may not have him much at all during this series. - Matt

Update (3:29 PM): The Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek has a good injury update/series preview posted. We already know about the Wings’ injuries, but The Hat points out that San Jose will be without Mark Bell, which is something I’d somehow missed.

The 6′4″, 220lb Bell, who has a groin injury, posted 21 points over the course of the regular season, and was held pointless in the two games he played against the Predators before going down with the injury. He was minus-1 in the first round.

A comment on Duhatschek: he’s one of the best in the business, that’s for sure. His analysis is always worth reading and his writing is high quality. What other hockey writer can work the phrase “vis a vis” into a hockey article without sounding like a condescending esthete? - Matt

Update (2:30 PM): Sharks Page’s PJ Swenson has posted his series preview. - Matt

Update (2:00 PM): Ansar Khan has chimed in. He doesn’t have anything to add to the discussion except this: “Holmstrom’s status for Game 2 Saturday is up in the air. But, it sounds like Brett Lebda (sprained ankle) might be out longer.” That’s not good news for the Wings, who could really use Lebda’s speed as soon as possible. - Matt

Update (12:41 PM): Looks like Paul Devorski and and Dennis LaRue will be the referees tonight, while Greg Devorski and Brad Lazarowich will man the lines (via NHL Media). - Matt

Update (12:31 PM): From Helene St. James, we have the first official (or, at least the first sourced) input to the discussion on the other winger for the top line tonight: “… Babcock said that it would most likely either be Kyle Calder or Mikael Samuelsson who would play in Holmstrom’s spot on a line with Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.”

St. James goes on to opine, like I’ve been saying since Bruce MacLeod gave us the practice lines yesterday, that Kyle Calder seems to be the most likely of the two. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if there is some interchange between the first and the fourth lines, as I think there’s a good chance Valtteri Filppula could see some time with Hank and Pave. - Matt

Update (11:52 AM): Bruce MacLeod confirms that Henrik Zetterberg is slated to play tonight, citing Mike Babcock as the source. Apparently, Hank rode a stationary bike today rather than practice.

MacLeod says Zetterberg will be the center of the top line today, with Pavel Datsyuk on one wing and an as-yet-unnamed player (likely Calder) on the other. That’s a departure from the team’s usual practice, which has been to have Pavel in the middle the majority of the time. - Matt

Update (11:43 AM): John Niyo reports on the Detroit News Wings blog that Mikael Samuelsson and Kyle Calder “laughed off” yesterday’s report out of Toronto that said they are playing hurt, while Ken Holland also told Niyo that the story was not true. So, while most people seem convinced that there is some injury there, the point is they’re both playing, otherwise the Wings would be at least a little more forthright.

Niyo also reports that the story from the Wings on Hank is that he had the flu over the past couple days. Um, I’m not sure I believe that one, but they are saying he’s ready to play tonight, so that’s something to ease our fears. - Matt

Update (11:30 AM): Dave at Gorilla Crouch has a great post up in which he takes a “quick tour” through a number of articles relating to Game 1. Be sure to check it out. - Matt

Update (11:20 AM): Bruce MacLeod reports that Henrik Zetterberg did not participate in the morning skate. Yesterday I wrote that I wouldn’t be worried unless he didn’t skate today, so now that he hasn’t, I’m a bit worried. MacLeod doesn’t know what Hank’s status for tonight is, but promises to update when he does. It could just be more rest, like he says, but it also could be a more serious issue. This could be bad news for the Wings, or it might just be normal operating procedure for Hank now. We’ll find out soon enough. - Matt

Tonight is Game 1 of the Wings’ Western Conference Semifinal series with the San Jose Sharks. It is the Wings’ first second round game since May 3rd, 2004, the date of a 1-0 loss to Calgary in Game 6. If you’re a Wings fan like me, you’re hoping their first round series win over the last team they faced in the second round is a good omen for this series, a first step in the exorcism their postseason demons.

As is well known by now, the Sharks won the season series with the Wings, 3-1. Their wins came on October 19th (5-1), December 2nd (3-2) January 4th (9-4), while the Wings won the October 25th game (2-1). As you can see, we only have reactions to two of those games, so I can only provide a partial picture of the Sharks based on the Wings’ regular season meetings with them.

The December 2nd recap is more of a rant against the calling back of a Wings goal than anything else, but I do notice a few interesting things that have some bearing on the discussion surrounding this series: 1) the Wings did not play well, 2) Joey MacDonald was in net, 3) he nearly won the game for the Wings. Of course, two of those three are just my opinion, so you can discount them if you like, but you can’t deny that the Wings’ #3 goalie was in net for a game the Sharks only won 3-2. Also of note is the fact that the Wings had played in Minnesota the night before and had returned to Detroit early in the morning on the 2nd.

The January 2nd recap looks at the infamous 9-4 drubbing of the Wings by the Sharks. It was a game Wings fans look back on now as some kind of bad dream, where they saw the Wings blow a three-goal lead on the way to allowing nine straight from San Jose. The Sharks were a whopping 6-for-9 on the power play in that game and chased Dominik Hasek on the ninth goal after Dom decided enough was enough (he wouldn’t let Babcock pull him earlier than that).

A few points about the game I think are relevant: 1) it was a meltdown of epic proportions, but the Wings started off well and jumped to a big lead, 2) Chris Chelios was not playing, or even with the team, as he was dealing with the fallout from the murder at his restaurant, 3) Pavel Datsyuk also did not play, as he was out with a groin injury. To the first point, you may say, “So what? They fell apart!” That’s right and it is disturbing, even now, but keep in mind that the Wings outplayed the Sharks until the meltdown. As for the second point, the Chelios haters out there may discount his importance to the team, but Wings fans don’t. That was a hit to the blueline, for sure. And the third point speaks for itself.

Okay, so maybe the Wings’ 1-3 record against the Wings during the regular season isn’t as bad as it has become in the minds of us Wings fans, but the fact is these teams haven’t played each other for over four months. They are very different teams now and may stack up a completely different way after so long.

So, I propose a more recent, but indirect and rough, comparison: their performances against the Nashville Predators. Since January, the Wings played the Preds six times, while the Sharks faced them seven times (twice in the regular season and five times in the first round). San Jose went 0-1-1 in the two regular season games, but handled them easily in the postseason, posting a 4-1 record. The Wings were 5-1 in their six games against Nashville, with wins January 17th (5-3), March 6th (4-3 SO), March 13th (5-2), March 14th (4-2), and March 29th (2-1). The loss came on February 24th (4-3 OT). Granted, the Predators were dealing with injuries in March, but so were the Wings, so the wins are still useful for comparison’s sake. I know, of course, that the regular season is very different from the playoffs (Sharks fans would do well to remember that, as well), but this at least demonstrates that they are in some way capable of handling the Preds easily, much like San Jose did.

Now for some statistics from the Sharks/Preds series. Because I did not watch the series, I cannot speak for the story behind the Sharks stats, so I present them merely as they are, with the qualification that they may be misleading and that the comparisons may be unfair:

  • Three of the Sharks’ wins over Nashville were one goal contests (both of the Wings’ losses were by one goal and only the Game 6 win was)
  • San Jose was 2-for-30 on the power play. That’s 6.7% (The Wings were 5-for-38: 13.2%)
  • The Sharks were 86.4% on the penalty-kill, allowing five three goals on 22 times shorthanded (The Wings were 82.4%, with six on 34).
  • Joe Thornton did not score a goal in the first round, but he did have six assists to lead the team (Lidstrom also had six assists, but added two goals)
  • The Sharks allowed 134 shots and took 163 in the first round. (Wings: 255 to 129)
  • When the Sharks were outshot, they won twice. (Compare to the Wings: they outshot the Flames in every game, but lost twice)
  • Evgeni Nabokov had a 2.39 GAA and a .902 save-percentage (Dominik Hasek had 1.57 GAA and a .922 save-percentage)

Another qualification: the Sharks were playing a higher-seeded team, while the Wings were facing #8. Still, most people figured the Flames were the better team, so the seeding difference may not mean much.

Anyway, the little I know about the Sharks makes it an easy call: they’ll be a tougher team to play than the Flames were. The presence of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Jonathan Cheechoo alone makes them more formidable. Their top five forwards, Thornton (114 pts), Marleau (78), Cheechoo (69), Milan Michalek (66), and Bill Guerin (56)*, in fact, outscored the Wings’ top five scorers, forward or defenseman. This is a deep group, folks, and it goes beyond the top two lines. They had 12 players with double-digits in goals, 10 of whom are forwards, while the Wings had 13, 11 of whom were forwards. So, like the Wings, they can roll four lines and get scoring from each of them.

The team as a whole only scored 256 goals, which was just one more than the Flames’ totals and four more than the Wings, so any claim that their offense is astronomically better than either Detroit’s or Calgary’s is not borne out. The Wings did average more shots per game than the Sharks, though, with 33.8 to their 28.6.

The Sharks’ top three are on par with any top three in the league, but overall, I think the Wings have the advantage here, if only slightly, because I know the quality of their depth better than I know that of the Sharks. You know the Wings are deep when there is such a debate over which of their forwards has to sit when all are healthy. As it stands, the forward corps is down a man, Tomas Holmstrom, so Jiri Hudler will be filling in.

San Jose is also deep defensively, though they lack the name recognition the Wings’ defensemen have. Their big four, Scott Hannan, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Craig Rivet, and Kyle McLaren average over 21 minutes a game, while the Wings have only three defensemen who got comparable ice-time over the course of the regular season, Nicklas Lidstrom, Mathieu Schneider, and Niklas Kronwall (who is out with a broken pelvis now). Those guys are also big in another sense: they’re all near or above 200 pounds and over six feet all.

The Sharks’ defensemen do not figure as much into the team’s offense as the Wings’ top blueliners do, as their top two scoring defensemen, Matthew Carle and Christian Ehrhoff, had 42 and 33 points respectively. Compare that to Nick Lidstrom and Mathieu Schneider’s 62 and 52. Carle and Ehrhoff do threaten on the power play, however, with the former getting 8 goals on the power play and the latter notching 6. for the Wings, Nick Lidstrom had 10 and Mathieu Schneider had 2 PPGs.

As far as team defense goes, the Sharks allowed 197 goals over the course of the season, which was sixth, while the Wings’ 191 was second. Also, they allowed an average of 26.2 shots per game while the Wings allowed 24.6.

I have no doubt that the Sharks’ defensemen are good. Their size is definitely intimidating and they obviously are good in their own end. However, their youth is not intimidating and neither is their lesser offensive prowess. I stand by the assertion that I’ve often made: the Wings have one of the best defensive corps in the NHL, if not the best, and the loss of Niklas Kronwall to injury did not change my opinion. After its performance in the first round, I have complete faith in it as a whole, including its old weak spot, Andreas Lilja. Nicklas Lidstrom alone tilts the table in the Wings’ favor and after him there’s Mathieu Schneider and Chris Chelios, both of whom are as good as veterans get. My confidence extends to Kyle Quincey, who acquitted himself very well in Game 6 against Calgary and who will be filling in for Brett Lebda for at least a game.

In the goaltending department, I’ve seen it said that it’s a wash. I can’t say I agree, though their statistics are pretty close. Evgeni Nabokov had a 2.29 GAA over 50 games (25 wins), while Dominik Hasek’s GAA was 2.05 over 56 (38 wins). Nabokov has a slightly better save percentage, .914, than Hasek’s .913%, but he also faced fewer shots (1227 to 1309). Both men are very good goalies, but Dominik Hasek is Dominik Hasek and he’s not lost a series while in the Winged Wheel. I know who I’d like in there when the pressure’s on. The Sharks also have a very capable “backup” in Vesa Toskala, whose numbers, 2.35 GAA and .908 save-percentage, are comparable to Chris Osgood’s 2.38 GAA and .907 save-percentage.

Unlike the last series, I don’t think there is a clear advantage in coaching. Ron Wilson is a capable guy, having guided a team to the Stanley Cup Finals before, but so is Mike Babcock and he’s done the same. In fact, if your criteria is Finals appearances, Babcock made the better showing, as his Ducks made it to seven games, while Wilson’s Capitals were unceremoniously swept by our Wings. Still, that was nearly a decade ago (hard to believe) and Wilson has a better team now, I think, than he had then. Babcock’s coaching ability will certainly be tested as he works on getting the right matchups out there in the face of San Jose’s depth. The same goes for Wilson. Babcock, at least, has been a bit more discrete than Wilson in his discussions about the coming series, so there’s maybe an advantage there with Babs as far as attitude goes.

If you’ve been reading George Malik’s blog, Snapshots, at all over the past couple days, you know that the Sharks have been talking big in much the same way the Flames did. We all know the Wings made the Flames eat their words and we can only hope that they do the same to San Jose. I admit, I had my doubts during the first round that they could keep up the kind of game they played in Games 1 and 2, but they showed that they have the drive to do what it takes to win, and because of that, I believe they’ll come out in this series with the same style and the same attitude. If they truly do that, I’m confident they can handle the Sharks, though it will obviously be a more difficult task than they had with Calgary. The Sharks are a very good, well-coached team and the Wings cannot take them for granted.

In years past, I would be concerned about the Sharks’ size, but the Wings have bulked up this season and have some big bodies that can handle the type of contact they’re likely to see this round. This series will be huge for Johan Franzen, Robert Lang, and Todd Bertuzzi, that’s for sure, and the same goes for Dan Cleary, Kris Draper, and Kirk Maltby. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have shown that they can play with a physical game, but they may have some difficulty playing 5-on-5 with the Sharks. This will be a real test for them, especially Hank, with his back acting up, like it apparently is.

One thing we can hope for is that San Jose’s size will result in obstruction penalties, in which case the Wings must be better on the power play than they were against Calgary. The Sharks’ size will also create penalties going the other way, however, so the Wings will need to be very good on the penalty kill as well. I don’t want to see a series decided on the basis of special teams, but it has defined previous games between these two teams and there’s always a chance it could crop up again.

This will be a very hard-fought series both ways. The Wings will need to use their home-ice advantage to the max and try to eke out a win on the road in the slush at the Shark Tank. It’s going to be a real test of their resolve, as the Sharks’ size and speed will make the games especially tiring, and the travel will be a real drain. I’m glad for this, though, because it gives the team a chance to build on what it started with Calgary rather than giving them sort of a series off. This is where we’ll find out whether or not the 2006-2007 Red Wings are for real. I’m going in expecting a long series, which is why my prediction is Wings in 6, but I’m not ruling out a shocker in this one.

See also:

From Behind the Mask
Gorilla Crouch

Expect updates throughout the day.

*Only nine of those points were scored during Guerin’s time with San Jose, which began February 28th.

Second Round Officiating

Published
by
Sarah Baker
on April 24, 2007
in 2006-2007 and Playoffs
. 0 Comments

The NHL has pared down it’s officiating crew for the next round, selecting 12 referees and 12 linesmen to continue. Among those released was fan favorite Mick McGeough. Can’t say I’m too hearbroken about that one, though I thought he actually did a decent job in game 1 vs Calgary. Meanwhile, somehow Bill Mcreary (you may remember him from game 3) managed to slip through. How did that happen? Maybe the NHL just decided not to take the Wings-Calgary series into account for the decision… Anyway, here’s the list in case you want to check if your favorite refs will be on hand for the coming games. (via TSN)

Referees (12):

Paul Devorski
Dave Jackson
Marc Joannette
Don Koharski
Dennis LaRue
Bill McCreary
Dan O’Halloran
Kevin Pollock
Rob Schick
Kelly Sutherland
Don Van Massenhoven
Brad Watson

Linsemen (12):

Derek Amell
Mike Cvik
Greg Devorski
Scott Driscoll
Shane Heyer
Brad Kovachik
Brad Lazarowich
Steve Miller
Jean Morin
Brian Murphy
Pierre Racicot
Jay Sharrers

Game 6: Wings 2, Flames 1 (2OT)

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 23, 2007
in 2006-2007, Flames, Game Reports and Playoffs
. 5 Comments

The Wings wrapped up their Western Conference Quarterfinal series with the Flames after posting a 2-1 double overtime win in Calgary last night. The game was a fitting end to a series that went on longer than it should have due to the goaltending of Miikka Kiprusoff as Kipper once again kept the Flames in a game in which they were outplayed. The Wings outshot Calgary 55-21 in Game 6, bringing the series totals to 255-129 Detroit.

I’m not doing a blow-by-blow recap on this one, so I’ll leave it at some thoughts on things that stood out.

… Dominik Hasek was amazing last night. While the Wings outplayed the Flames overall, Calgary had a number of Grade A chances that could have put the game out of reach, but Dom stood on his head and made some huge saves. His save on a Dion Phaneuf shot from the slot at 12:20 of the third period was definitely the stop of the game in my mind and it was emblematic of Dom’s overall performance last night. He more than lived up to the pressure placed on him and the acquisition I was so against at the time has already paid off in a big way.

As far as talk about the series goaltending goes, Kiprusoff is obviously getting a lot, and deservedly so. However, I believe Hasek deserves plenty of press for his performance as well. You can say his goals against is padded by his defense, but his save percentage is a more-than-respectable .922, which demonstrates he was strong despite only facing 129 shots. He’s done his job very capably and held the Flames off when they were looking for a boost.

… Robert Lang finally broke out of his shell and had a strong game. His goal came out of nowhere and his play on the game-winner was stellar as he drew away the Flames defenders and left Franzen a good shooting lane. Lang demonstrated solid effort most of the time last night and was involved in the offense in ways we’ve been hoping for all series. In that way, he reminds me of Brett Hull in 2002, as Brett also took most of the series to get going. Hopefully Robert will contribute from this point on in ways similar to Hull’s performance in those playoffs.

… Johan Franzen had a whale of a game. As for his goal in the second overtime, Dave said it best in the comments to the gameday post: “Franzen! Poetic justice!” That was one heck of a shot by the second-year player. Not many people can beat Kipper over his glove hand like that. I expected Johan to be a big factor in the series and, while he didn’t perform quite as I had expected, you don’t get much bigger than being the scorer of the series-clinching goal.

… Tomas Holmstrom was the victim of a wild high stick by Craig Conroy in the first overtime. I’m not sure what Conroy was doing with his stick, but it had no business near Homer’s face. Pretty stupid of him, as it put the Wings on a 4:00 power play. Unfortunately, they did little more than give us all heart attacks as they had chance after chance after chance to put the game away. As for Holmstrom, he was taken to the hospital as a precaution, with a bandage over his eye. No word as of yet about the extent of the injury, but obviously the hope is that his eye is okay. The Wings definitely missed him on that long power play and will miss him as the playoffs go on, if he cannot play.

… Dan Cleary continued his stellar series with another fit-causing performance last night. He broke in behind the Calgary defense late in the second period, but didn’t have time to do anything but shoot the puck, or else we may have had a result similar to his penalty shot goal. As it was, Kiprusoff made a tough save look easy. Late in the third period, Dan sent the puck off the right post on a rocket shot from high in the zone. That would have been the nail in the Flames’ coffin. Aside from his offensive contributions, Cleary continued his physical play and finished with 4 hits, which was second on the team.

… Andreas Lilja wrapped up his own great series with an 8-hit night, leading all skaters, and a well-earned 29:35 on the ice. I don’t know what happened the Regular Season Lilja (a great explanation is that an alien has taken over his body), but, believe me, I’m thankful for how well he played against the Flames. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself surprised at saying, “Nice play, Lilja” “Who’s back? Good, it’s Andreas,” or “Wow, Lils.” If the Wings handed out an award for Most Improved Player, the recipient would definitely be Lilja. Keep it up!

… Despite some disturbing lapses, Nick Lidstrom finished the series as an early Conn Smythe candidate. His 8 points led all skaters and on the defensive side, he shut down Jarome Iginla, who had only four points. Overall, Nick was rock solid, as usual.

… I was impressed with Todd Bertuzzi’s outing last night. I still think he’s trying too hard to be cute and a team player (you can be more selfish at times, Todd), but he’s been a physical force and frequently wows as he demonstrates his disproportionately soft hands on offensive forays. He had a nice assist on Lang’s goal and is becoming more involved in the offense every game.

… Kyle Quincey acquitted himself very well last night, I thought. He earned an assist on Lang’s goal, and was out on the ice for at least two defensive zone faceoffs following Detroit icings, without blowing it either time. I didn’t notice him make any big mistakes at all; rather, he looked solid and confident with the puck and with playing the body. A good debut, to be sure.

… Henrik Zetterberg had what I thought was a stellar game on defense. He really warmed up over the length of the series, which was definitely one of the good things about it going to six games.

… I really thought Pavel Datsyuk solidified himself as one of the game’s underrated defensive forwards last night. Yes, you read that right: defensive forward.

… Mike Babcock predictably won the coaching battle. Playfair is obviously a bit of a joke as far as his NHL coaching abilities go, so it’s not that much of a feat for Babcock to have beaten him. Still, this is a big deal for Babs, who really needed this in order to ensure his job security.

… For those of us who were upset that there were no further suspensions after Saturday’s end-of-game debacle, we can find solace in the fact that Iginla and Langkow played very little part in the game. Jarome did have a goal, but for all his bluster about getting his team fired up, his final performance of the season was more of a wimper than a bang. I’m with Dave in saying,

“Beating Calgary on their home ice with both Daymond Langkow and Jarome Iginla in the lineup and then having those players take part in the handshake at the end of the series was the best form of justice you could ask for.”

… For the team as a whole, it was an impressive series. The Wings demonstrated that they aren’t going to back down from physical contact, whereas in previous years, they were manhandled; that they can overcome adversity, whereas in previous years they would have collapsed; and that they can beat a hot goalie, when previously they’ve been unable to do so.

… We’ll know who the Wings’ second-round opponent is after tonight’s Canucks/Stars Game 7. It’ll be either Dallas or San Jose. If you’ve read this blog much, you know who I’d prefer: the Stars. I don’t want them because the Wings whomped on them during the regular season, or because they “own” Marty Turco. To me, the primary consideration is travel. Flying to Dallas, a mere one timezone away, is much preferable to flying out to San Jose. That’s a no-brainer. The Wings will have to go to California at some point in the postseason, if they keep going, but for now, the best thing for them, I think, is to face a team closer to home.

… Be sure to check out Dave’s recap of the game, as well as Christy and IwoCPO’s roundups.

Whew!

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 23, 2007
in 2006-2007, Flames and Playoffs
. 9 Comments

What a game and what a finish. Wow. I hate overtime in the postseason, but there aren’t many things more exciting in the end. Nothing like having your heart overclocking while you watch, waiting to explode into cheers when your team sinks the game-winner. Thank you, Johan!

Congratulations to Calgary on a hard-fought series. And a special nod goes out to Miikka Kiprusoff for his otherwordly performances at key points in the series. While not quite as good as his 2004 show, Kipper was pretty much the sole reason the series was not shorter. You have a gem, Calgary.

My condolences to Flames fans. Believe me when I say that I know what it’s like to get your hopes up about a team only to have them dashed in a kind of betrayal of trust. And to the Flames bloggers, it was a pleasure reading you guys over the past couple weeks. For whatever reason, I’d not had exposure to the Calgary blogosphere before and it was good to learn about the high quality of it.

And Wings fans, revel in this. But only until the Canucks and Stars decide their series tomorrow night. After that, it’s time to get serious again and to measure our chances in the second round. There is still a long haul ahead.

I’ll have a more complete reaction posted Monday as soon as I can.

Game 6: @ Calgary, 9:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 22, 2007
in 2006-2007, Flames, GameDay and Playoffs
. 16 Comments

Update (6:35 PM): Oh yeah. Dominik Hasek is starting a back-to-back game tonight. For the first time this season. I somehow managed to forget that. All the more reason to hope that the Flames demonstrate a modicum of self-control. - Matt

Update (2:57 PM): Ansar Khan reports that Brett Lebda skated briefly today, but, “left the ice limping noticeably.” I’d be shocked if he plays tonight. Kyle Quincey will be joining the team from Winnipeg. - Matt

Tonight is the sixth game of the Wings’ Western Conference Quarterfinal series with the Calgary Flames. They took a 3-2 lead in the series yesterday with a 5-1 win and will go into Calgary tonight looking for their first road win of the postseason.

For the Flames, this game is obviously of enormous importance. They’re facing elimination, but they have the advantage of playing at home. They will be looking to take control of the series back after losing it yesterday. For them, the keys to the game are:

  • Discipline. The Wings proved yesterday that they’re going to make the Flames pay for penalties, so staying out of the box is key for Calgary tonight.
  • Composure. The Flames can talk about wanting to stir up emotions as much as they want, but if they lose it tonight like they did yesterday, they might as well start scheduling their tee-times.
  • Kiprusoff. Kipper did not have such a good game yesterday and is going to need to come up big tonight for the Flames.

As for the Wings, this game is a big mental obstacle for them to get over. They have had very little luck in Calgary thus far this series and need to work out a win tonight. Returning to Detroit with the series tied 3-3 is not an ideal situation, even given their success at home. They need to avoid that. Some keys to their game:

  • Special teams. They made the Flames pay on both the power play and the penalty kill yesterday and they need to continue that tonight whenever they are given the chance.
  • Even strength. They can’t count on getting many power plays tonight, so they need to continue controlling play 5-on-5.
  • Stay safe. If things go badly for the Flames, the Wings need to avoid confrontation as much as possible because Calgary will be gunning for them late in the game. If they’re coming out on top as things wind down, their first concern needs to be getting out of town healthy.

The Wings haven’t had a team on the brink of elimination since 2004, but let’s hope they haven’t forgotten how to finish the job. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyle Calder is back in the lineup tonight, since his benching seemed to be more for his own motivation than to use Jiri Hudler. It looks like Kyle Quincey will be playing in his first NHL playoff game, so expect the Flames to try to exploit his inexperience.

Word has just come down that Jamie McLennan has been suspended for five games. Big whoop. He obviously deserves it, but it doesn’t change anything for him, since he wasn’t going to play in any of the Flames’ next five anyway. The League ought to have mandated he start tonight instead (as Ansar Khan suggested yesterday). I’m disgusted that Langkow is not getting a game, but I’m not surprised they’re not doing anything with Iginla. As for the fines, they’re just slaps on the wrist.

The Wings need to win tonight. Let’s just hope things don’t get ugly again. I don’t want to see retribution from any of the Wings, because I have a feeling that the Flames could out-do them in that department. I just want a clean, business-like game. Don’t stoop to their level.

NHL Hands Out Fines, Suspension For Game 5 Antics

Published
by
Sarah Baker
on April 22, 2007
in 2006-2007, Flames, Playoffs and Suspensions
. 6 Comments

Update (3:02 PM): Here’s the NHL Press release. -Sarah

TSN reports that Jamie McLennan has been suspended for 5 games for his meltdown yesterday. The announcers on NBC have just announced that Calgary’s coach Jim Playfair will be fined $25,000 and the organization will be fined $100,000. The NHL said that the team must be held accountable for the player’s actions. Personally I don’t think that 5 games is enough, but I’m just glad they didn’t let him get away with it completely. Good to see Playfair and the organization being held accountable.

Game 5: Wings 5, Flames 1

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 22, 2007
in 2006-2007, Flames, Game Reports and Playoffs
. 1 Comment

Alright, by now you know all about the Flames’ meltdown in the third period yesterday. If not, you can read about it here, here, and here, among other places. We’re still waiting to see the full extent of fallout from the incidents yesterday, but we do know that the Wings have probably been forced to make a lineup change, as they’ve called up Kyle Quincey, who will likely replace Brett Lebda in tonight’s game. Lebda got a combination of a leg injury and a concussion from an altercation with Daymond Langkow in the third period yesterday.

One of the most interesting things to come out of this whole thing is the story of Ken Holland’s angry confrontation of NHL VP Frank Brown after the game yesterday, as related by Bruce MacLeod. Basically, Holland demanded suspensions be handed out and implied that if the NHL doesn’t do it out of a sense of justice, they should at least do it out of debt to the Wings as a “good soldier” for the NHL. If the Wings need to cash in some brownie points with the League in order for us all to see the Flames punished, there is something seriously wrong here. The NHL should hand out suspensions because yesterday’s fiasco was a smear on the name of hockey and punishments would go some way in erasing that smear.

Also, is anyone surprised by Don Cherry’s comments defending the Flames’ actions? I’m not. I used to look forward to watching Coach’s Corner on HNIC, but no more.

Anyway, I don’t want to focus here on the nastiness at the end of the game. I would like to relate how the Wings played, which is an aspect of Game 5 that I think is being lost in all the hue and cry about the end of the third period. Of course, I’ll get to those things at the end of this report, but I don’t want to dwell on them.

Babcock started the team’s most consistently dangerous line, Dan Cleary, Kris Draper, and Kirk Maltby. They didn’t do a whole lot in that first shift, however. The second line to come over the boards was Pavel Datsyuk’s, with Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom.

During that shift, Hank broke into the Calgary end and continued at the net, deking some to get through the crowd. He lost the puck, however, and then was held from getting it and the chance fizzled out.

Not long after that, the puck rolled off the end of Todd Bertuzzi’s stick in the Detroit end, leading to a great chance for Alex Tanguay, but he sent it wide as Hasek came out to cut down the angle.

A half minute or so after Tanguay’s blown chance, Valtteri Filppula missed a great opportunity of his own. He had Kiprusoff down and out on a flurry around the net, but shanked the shot a little and didn’t get it high enough.

A minute after that, Danny Markov stepped up and it led to a 2-on-1 break for the Flames, with Mathieu Schneider back to handle Jeff Friesen and Marcus Nilson. Nilson dished the puck across to Friesen and Hasek made the save.

After that, the play was pretty much up and down, with no one holding a clear advantage. There was good pace to the game. Gradually, the Flames took over a bit and got a few good chances, but Hasek was up to the task and made the necessary saves.

At 8:29, the Flames took their first penalty of the game, a Primeau hook on Brett Lebda, who was heading to the net on a set up. After Calgary touched, a scrum ensued and the result was a Dan Cleary slashing penalty. With the teams skating four a side, the Wings controlled the majority of the play. Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk had a couple shots and Valtteri Filppula, Mathieu Schneider, and Todd Bertuzzi combined for a nice shift. At the tail-end of this stretch, Matthew Lombardi got behind the Wings’ defense and broke in on Hasek with Schneider trailing. Dom stoned him.

With four seconds remaining on the 4-on-4, Roman Hamrlik took a holding penalty as Mikael Samuelsson carried the puck into the Calgary end. The subsequent Detroit power play wasn’t bad, with Mathieu Schneider getting off a couple shots and Robert Lang getting a nice chance off a steal, but they couldn’t score.

Half a minute after the power play ended, there was an interesting sequence of events that led to a Kirk Maltby goaltender interference penalty and a waived-off Detroit goal. It all started when Maltby stepped out from behind the net with the puck and stuffed it into Kiprusoff’s pads. He kept coming out front, away from Kipper, but obviously looking for the rebound. Kiprusoff’s defensemen, understandably, did not like this plan and tried to do something about it. What I don’t understand is the tact they took. Mark Giordano, with the help of his defensive partner decided that it’d be better to knock Maltby down on top of Kiprusoff than to allow him to get to the puck. So, Maltby went flying backward on to Kipper, while a Red Wing knocked the puck into the net. Rather than call Giordano for cross-checking or something, the official deemed Maltby’s action to be purposeful and gave him a penalty for it and denied the Wings the goal. It was just the latest in a long series of incidents involving Calgary defensemen knocking Wings over onto their own goalie.

On the penalty kill, there was a tense moment where Chris Chelios blew a tire and the ice was suddenly very open for a Flames chance. Cheli got up, however, and was able to get the puck and clear it. The rest of the kill was great, with Andreas Lilja closing off Jarome Iginla, Dan Cleary throwing the body around, and Kris Draper and Henrik Zetterberg creating shorthanded pressure.

An interesting sequence for those of us who have lost faith in Robert Lang: around the 15:30 mark, he had a glorious chance and came very close to scoring. The puck was then iced by the Wings and Lang had to take the ensuing faceoff. He won it. It was shocking.

Around 17:00, give or take 20 seconds, the Flames held the puck in the Detroit end, cycling it. At 17:47, Mathieu Schneider closed off David Moss along the left wing boards and was whistled for hooking. It was a play similar to what the Flames had been doing all day as well as the whole series. The Flames put on a good power play, with Tony Amonte getting two chances out front, Dion Phaneuf and Roman Hamrlik both getting booming shots off, as well as a couple other good scoring chances by players whose numbers I didn’t catch. Dominik Hasek was rock-solid, however, and Calgary did not score.

After the period ended, there was a scrum in the Detroit end. Chris Chelios was incensed with Jarome Iginla after the later threw an elbow at Henrik Zetterberg. It was a nice preview for later events.

Todd Bertuzzi made his presence known early in the second period as he cruised around the Calgary end, deflecting bodies off him like a snowplow. Andrei Zyuzin vainly held his jersey and was lucky he wasn’t called. The Wings took their first penalty of the period at 2:01 after a Chelios shot was blocked by Alex Tanguay at the blueline. Another Flame picked it up and the two took off for a fast break. Chelios turned to cover the puck carrier and brought his stick up and around, catching Tanguay in the face quite accidentally. An obvious high sticking call, even if it was accidental. Have to keep control of your stick, you see.

The Flames had some trouble setting up on the power play and it wasn’t long before Dan Cleary picked up the puck and streaked down the left wing with speed you rarely see from him. He was hauled down by Hamrlik, but still managed to get a shot off, which was stopped by Kiprusoff. Because of that, I figured it’d only be a tripping penalty on Hamrlik, which is what I started writing down. Then I looked up and noticed that Dan was at center and I realized he was getting a penalty shot. He took it in, deked forehand to backhand around Kiprusoff’s pokecheck and sliced it over the a prone Kipper to put the Wings ahead 1-0 at 3:32. I love it when Cleary demonstrates the hands that got him drafted so high. The reaction from the bench was priceless, particularly Pavel Datsyuk’s face. It was a look that said either, “I told him to do that!” or “I would have done that, too!”

Not long after the goal, there was another interesting sequence involving Robert Lang. He had a nice carry-in and dropped the puck off the Bertuzzi. He headed down low and then Bertuzzi sent it on ahead of him, but Robert just skated by the puck like it wasn’t there. Not sure what he was doing.

Miikka Kiprusoff made what may have been the save of the game at 5:59 when Henrik Zetterberg walked out from behind the net and took a shot from 9 feet out. Kipper somehow managed to stop it with his bicep in a save that should have been just about impossible to make. On that same play, Holmstrom took a roughing penalty and the Wings returned to the penalty kill. There was little worth reporting, as the Wings kept the Flames from setting up and killed off the penalty with little trouble.

At 8:10, Alex Tanguay took a hooking penalty and the Wings went back on the power play. It took them 40 seconds to score. Not long after a borderline boarding hit on Brad Stuart by Tomas Holmstrom, Lidstrom dished Zetterberg the puck just as the latter had stepped up to the top of the right circle. He one-timed the puck through the legs of Holmstrom, who was standing out front screening Kiprusoff and it went in 5-hole. Stuart probably should have been less concerned with the hit by Holmstrom and more with doing his job of defending. 2-0 Wings at 8:50.

Immediately after the goal, there was a scary moment as play was stopped due to an injury to a Wing at center ice. It was Dan Cleary and he was crumpled next to the board by the benches, and my thoughts immediately turned to images of Claude Lemieux boarding Kris Draper over a decade ago. I knew Cleary had been giving the Flames fits and I feared one of them had snapped. Very quickly, though, that thought was nixed by Pierre McGuire, who informed us that Cleary had hit a rut in the ice and had wiped out on his own. He had made a “loud noise” when he hit the boards and as he wasn’t moving, things looked bleak, especially when a stretcher was called out. The fans at the Joe, apparently unaware of what had happened, despite the fact that replays were probably showing on the screen, began chanting, “Ref you suck!” in reference to the fact that no penalty had been called on the play. Obviously, there wasn’t anything to penalize, so they just came off sounding pretty stupid. With Cleary’s status still in doubt, NBC of course chose that time to cut to a series of lengthy commercials. When they returned, Dan was being helped off the ice without the need of the stretcher.

After that, the Wings put on some good pressure in the Calgary end. Todd Bertuzzi had a glorious chance all alone in front of Kiprusoff and chose to shoot the puck into the “C” crest on Kipper’s jersey rather than make a move that may have resulted in a goal.

At the other end of the ice, the Flames had a good scoring chance, and after the play was whistled, there was a bit of a violent scrum around the net. Mathieu Schneider railed David Moss and was called for cross-checking on the play at 10:25. Unfortunately for the Flames, it would be the Wings who would come out on top on the ensuing man-advantage. The Flames turned the puck over at the Detroit blueline and Johan Franzen carried it down the ice on the left side. Chris Chelios, trailing, called for the puck and was given it. He one-timed a shot and beat Kiprusoff in the slot to give the Wings a shorthanded goal at 10:54. It was Cheli’s first goal of the year.

While still on the penalty kill, Pavel Datsyuk had a nice chance of his own and forced Kiprusoff to make a good save. At the other end, Iginla charged in down the right wing, but Hasek stopped the shot. Penalty killed off.

It didn’t take long for the Wings to take another penalty, however. At 14:37, they were called for having too many men on the ice. The Flames had trouble setting up and when they did, both refs called Chris Chelios for slashing, which gave the Calgary about a minute and a half of 5-on-3. Alex Tanguay sent a shot wide, Iginla was stopped by Hasek in close, and Phaneuf was stopped by Dom on a long slapshot. Finally the zone was cleared by Zetterberg. The Wings killed off both penalties.

Dan Cleary returned to the ice around 17:40 and immediately got into the thick of things. Dion Phaneuf wasted little time going after him, welcoming him back to the game with a friendly elbow to the head. Not long after that, Pavel Datsyuk had a nice chance in Kipper as he got behind the Calgary defense, but he was stopped. Franzen tried to take advantage of a giveway by dishing the puck off to Bertuzzi, but a nice defensive play by Hamrlik kept anything from happening. On his next time out, Cleary was railed by Giordano. And the period ended.

The Wings had a great first shift in the third, with the top line and top defensive pairing creating pressure and getting some chances as a result. They weren’t about to step off the gas.

The Flames weren’t going to give up, however, and they had a couple good pressure shifts of their own. Craig Conroy and Alex Tanguay, in particular, were dangerous early on.

At 4:48, Dan Cleary drew a penatly on Rhett Warrener, who was dumb enough to hold Cleary to the boards when he could have just let go. It didn’t take the Wings long to score again and put themselves p 4-0. The Wings ground the puck out at the blueline and, after a nice keep-in by Lidstrom, it ended up on the stick of Pavel Datsyuk. Pavel dished it off to Hank, who took the pass on the backhand, switched to the forehand, and beat Kipper high at 5:12 from right in front of the net. A great goal.

At this point, the JLA crowd started taunting Kiprusoff. Not long after the goal, Cleary took a hard shot from a bad angle and it looked like it hurt Kipper, but he continued playing.

Iginla took a tripping penatly at 9:01 when he corkscrewed Nick Lidstrom. He still found grounds to argue the call, however, despite the fact that it was a clear trip. Unfortunately for the Wings, they wouldn’t be the ones controlling the play with the man-advantage. The Flames got a 2-on-1 break with Conroy carrying the puck and Lombardi flying wingman. A nice pass from Conroy led to a great chance for Lombardi, but Hasek made the save. The puck remained in play, however, and soon ended up on Lombardi’s stick after a nice turnover by Lang. He took a shot that deflected off a Wing and it was then knocked down by Zyuzin out front before it went into the net. The play was reviewed to make sure it hadn’t been knocked down with a high stick and it ended up being ruled a goal. Flames within three at 10:03.

Not long after the goal, play was whistled dead because two players were down in the Detroit end. Replays showed that Brett Lebda had hit Langkow lower than he should have and it looked like Langkow’s knee had bent at a bad angle. I was cringing at that while watching the replay continue and what I saw next just pissed me off. Both players went into the boards hard, with Lebda going in feet-first, but Langkow was the first to move. He rolled over, grabbed Lebda, hauled back his right arm, and threw a sucker punch and just held him there. Then, he laid back down like he had been hurt. Lebda got a concussion from the punch on top of a hurt knee/ankle and a clipping penalty, while Langkow was able to get up, skate way, and finish the game. Obviously, the NHL is reviewing the incident and we’ll hopefully hear news about a suspension soon.

With Todd Bertuzzi serving Brett’s penalty, the Wings killed it off. The Flames started showing that it wasn’t just Langkow that had lost it, as they began running the net with impunity. Valtteri Filppula, playing with Datsyuk and Zetterberg, had a great chance around the 15:00 mark and then Pavel shrugged off a big hit attempt by Phaneuf. Then the game entered the stage so many people are talking about.

At 15:18, Lilja drew a tripping call from Langkow and then Bertuzzi went after Phaneuf. They both threw off their gloves, but it wasn’t so much a fight as a hugging contest, which ended when Todd body-slammed the Flames defenseman. The were both given fighting majors.

On the ensuing power play, Nick Lidstrom sent a shot off the backboards. It bounced out front again and Pavel Datsyuk knocked it into the net for an easy goal. 5-1 Wings at 15:42.

A minute after the goal, Primeau took a slashing penalty and Playfair chose that time to take Kiprusoff out of the game. While the Wings were on the power play, the backup, Jamie McLennan slashed Franzen twice and was called for it. After he touched the puck behind the net, the play was whistled dead and he then took a baseball swing at Franzen’s midsection. As Franzen fell to the ice, the officials swarmed McLennan and he was thrown out of the game.

While on the 5-on-3 power play, Jiri Hudler was called for goaltender interference and we went to 4-on-3 hockey. Not long after Primeau stepped out of the box, Jarome Iginla committed about three penalties, but was only called for two of them. Back to 4-on-3 hockey. At this point, Marcus Nilson started trying to provoke a fight and he was called for cross-checking at 19:50. Finally, the period and the game ended with the Wings winning 5-1 and taking a 3-2 series lead.

For the Wings, overall it was a powerful performance. They finally got their special teams going and did it without much cost to their even strength play. An impressive win, for sure. Not so much by the Flames, obviously.

TSN has it right

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 21, 2007
in 2006-2007, Flames and Playoffs
. 7 Comments

Update (22. Apr, 1:03 AM): Christy has a reaction to the game posted, with a special perspective: she was there.

Also, check out this video of Dan Cleary’s penalty shot goal:


- Matt

Update (8:47 PM): Be sure to check out Dave’s game recap over at Gorilla Crouch.

Also, a comment on the McLennan meltdown: the guy was on the ice for 18 seconds and managed to get seven minutes of penalties plus a game misconduct. That has to be the highest penalty-minute-to-ice-time ratio ever.

When Playfair pulled Kiprusoff, I thought it was a smart thing. Now I’m not so sure. Ansar Khan wrote in his post-game blog post that McLennan’s action may have been premeditated, in which case Playfair ought to be fined like a coach who sends out the goons in the final minutes of a game. McLennan should get a hefty suspension for the incident, in any case. I do like Ansar’s suggestion, however: “If the league really wanted to punish McLennan it would force him to start Game 6.”

And I find the idea that the Flames pulled Kipper because the Wings were running him hilarious. If that’s what Calgary is saying, they’re not taking proper responsibility for their own actions. The Wings are not running Kiprusoff at all; rather, the Flames are knocking them over onto their own goalie. - Matt

No body does hockey coverage better, so I’ll refer you to the image below:

iginlalidstromzetterberg.jpg

I can’t think of a much better snap-description of the game and that picture pretty much defines things, as well.

Wow. After the first period, I thought it was going to be a nailbiter, but the Wings started taking control in the second period and never looked back. And in the third, the Flames came unglued like no team I’ve ever seen. Truly disgusting. Two, probably three, Flames (Langkow and McLennan, plus Iginla) committed suspendable offenses as they shamed the game by venting their frustrations at being outplayed by the Wings. It was embarrassing.

As for the Wings, they played real well. They outhit Calgary and finally got their special teams going. Dominik Hasek was rock-solid and would have had a shutout had coverage not broken down while the Wings were defending a shorthanded push by the Flames.

Also, anyone agree with my nomination for Dan Cleary as Series MVP?

Game 6 is tomorrow at 9:00 ET. Let’s hope the Wings pick up tomorrow where they left off today. Let’s just hope the Flames find a way to maintain their composure if things go badly for them, or else it could get real ugly.

I’ll have a more complete summary/reaction posted either later tonight or sometime late morning/early afternoon tomorrow.