Reactions from the blogosphere
Well, Flames’ fans have finally felt some relief knowing that their team has a chance to tie the series up tomorrow in Calgary. On the other hand, Wings’ fans have finally started to feel the stress of watching their team lose in the playoffs. Like I told my friend while watching the game, “Scary movies don’t scare me, but playoff hockey sure does.” I said that while rocking back and forth in my room during the third period. Hopefully, Thursday’s game won’t be so close.
My biggest concern is that if the Wings lose tomorrow, that means Game #6 will be played in Calgary just over 24 hours after Game #5 in Detroit. Game #5 is in the afternoon 3pm (EST) and Game #6 would be 2000 miles away (time has yet to be determined, but most likely 9-10pm Eastern time). That does not give either team a lot of rest plus a ton of travel to cover and I think it sucks that a series determing game could be played in such poor timing. Hopefully, the Wings will win tomorrow and Saturday and there will be no need for Game #6 on Sunday.
Here’s what Red Wings’ bloggers are saying…
Matt at On the Wings posted a solid game recap and talks about some of the missed calls or even wrong calls that the referees had made (but that it did not ultimately decide the game).
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.
Dave at Gorilla Crouch offers up his postgame comments:
It’s tough to complain too much with how Detroit has played thus far. One even-strength goal over three games is pretty solid work. The just have to somehow cut down on the penalties or improve their PK. The second PP goal for Calgary was just one of those things where Zetterberg couldn’t control the puck and it went right to Giordano. Along those lines I really wouldn’t complain if Bill McCreary didn’t officiate another game in this series.
IwoCPO at Abel to Yzerman commented on stress in the playoffs:
But excellence or not, another thing is certain. The free ride is over. The luxury of the 2-game lead, the fond memories of blowouts and 36-shot disparities are done. The Wings? They’re probably not too stressed because last night was ultimately decided by mistakes made by players who just don’t make them. They held a one-goal lead in the third, in Calgary. They’re optimistic.
Us? That’s downright illegal. Pessimism baby….as my pal Doomsberry would say, “let it be your guide.â€
Scott at Quo Vadimus commented on last night’s game and the importance of Game #4:
Game Four now becomes really critical. It will allow the Wings to wrap up the series in 5 games, and will avoid what would be a truly awful Game 5 and Game 6 on back-to-back nights in Detroit then Calgary (whoever scheduled that needs to either lose their job. I understand scheduling games around national television, but to force the Wings and Calgary to play back-to-back nights in cities almost 2,000 miles apart, is just cruel). Plus, it’ll stop any momentum Calgary has from tonight’s victory.
Flames’ bloggers did not seem to appreciate the Cleary hit on Dion Phaneuf (I know I certainly enjoyed it - he finally got some of his own medicine)…
After that big hit, Mickey Redmon said “Phaneuf doesn’t know if he’s in the Saddledome or the Joe.”
Hockeygirl @ Double D(ion) said:
Heart attack #2 when Dion got rocked by Cleary so hard it rattled his noggin. To me, it looked like that should have been a penalty. I’m not saying that because I love Dion (well, a little teeny tiny bit) but thanks to the joy and wonder of the PVR and it’s rewinding glory it was obvious that Cleary left his feet and had his elbow up.
Steal Thunder @ Completely Hammered had this to say about the game:
Gio played and scored a goal, Phaneuf was cheapshotted by Dan Cleary (really starting to not like that guy), Amonte played the final minutes of the game AGAIN, Iggy scored the game winner, and the Saddledome was apparently rocking…
Kyle at The Real Deal Hockey quickly discussed the atmosphere during the game:
Just overall a wierd time at the ‘Dome. The place was rocking 10 minutes before puck drop, and it was a lot more raucus then I thought it would be. I don’t know if the TV michs picked it up, but the speakers (I assume) went crazy in the third and started emitting a very low frequency pulse; it sounded like there were several helicopters circling the building. Eventually the speakers started making a ringing sound, as if it was a fire alarm. These wierd sounds lasted at least 10 minutes, and I must say, they really added to the tension in the game. To tell you the truth, I didn’t think Calgary had what it took to come back. Dion looked hurt, the Flames looked dejected. For the Red Wing readers, THAT was the good Flames that had (have?) at least a chance to win the series.
Leanne at Open Ice Hits likes the improvements she saw in the Flames last night:
Was it a perfect game? Hardly. There’s still a lot of flaws - times when we’re too tentative in Detroit’s zone, times when we still suck in the defensive zone. But we got a lead, we won back the lead, and we kept the lead till the end of the game. And right now, I’ll take it.
It’s a step in the right direction, and it’s a better game than we’ve seen from these guys for the better part of the last three weeks. I still have a little bouncy ball in my stomach. It’ll rattle around a bit less if we tie it up tomorrow.
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