Wings 4, Sharks 1
The Detriot Red Wings defeated the San Jose Sharks on Saturday afternoon, 4-1.
Source: David Guralnick / The Detroit News
After the Sharks seemed to control the first period including a goal by Goc (that Hasek should have made that save), the tide turnd in the Wings’ favor. When Hasek makes a poor goaltending decision, he gets mad at himself and tends to close the door.
The Wings owned the last two periods.
Great special teams. The Wings went 2/6 on the power play and killed off all six of San Jose’s power plays.
The number one line of Zetterberg, Holmstrom, and Datsyuk was fantastic with all four goals. Each member of that line had a goal. Zetterberg and Datsyuk each had two assists (both on Holmstrom and Samuelsson’s goals). Homer had one assist.
San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov made 29 of 33 saves while the Dominator stopped all but one of SJ’s 24 shots. Nabokov did not have a great game. 16:13 into the second period, Nabokov left his crease to try to poke away the puck from Pavel Datsyuk who culd’ve potentially been on a breakaway. Unfortunately for San Jose, he didn’t clear it away from Datsyuk and with Datsyuk’s stick skills, he was able to score on a wide open net.
The bad news? Our blue line just got more depleted. Defenseman Mathieu Schneider left the game early in the first period due to a broken left wrist. This is awful news. Schneider and Nicklas Lidstrom are our two defenseman who can consistently shoot the puck from the point plus he had plenty of minutes. We’re now down to one defenseman who can do this. Crap.
Plus, Niklas Kronwall is still out with a broken sacrum and Brett Lebda is still out with a sprained ankle. However, Lebda did finally skate on his ankle and said it felt better than he expected. Personally, I don’t think Lebda would’ve played on Monday, but I think there is a chance now that Schneider is out. I also thought we might not see Kronwall return once he recovered from his injury, but with Schneider out that thought goes out the window.
Mike Babcock said in the press conference following the game that it’d take a miracle to have Schneider back by the end of the playoffs. Crap.
Wings coach Mike Babcock said after Game 5 that defenseman Mathieu Schneider is done for the playoffs with a broken left wrist. He was hurt in a collision with Patrick Marleau early in the first period. Needless to say, a huge blow for the Wings. Brett Lebda (sprained left ankle) might be able to return for Game 6 Monday. If not, rookie Derek Meech, part of the call-ups from Grand Rapids, is next in line to step in.
Helene St. James at the Detroit Free Press wrote very similar comments:
Defenseman Mathieu Schneider suffered a broken left wrist early in the first period of the Wings’ 4-1 victory over San Jose Saturday and is “done” for the playoffs, Mike Babcock said.
Schneider was hurt when he was hit by Sharks captain Patrick Marleau.
Schneider is a key player for the Wings, especially on the power play. This is the second-top four defenseman the Wings will be without - Niklas Kronwall is still out with a fractured sacrum suffered March 30.
Derek Meech is most likely to be called upon to play now, joining fellow Griffin call-up Kyle Quincey.
Bruce MacLeod at the Macomb Daily:
Mike Babcock: “(Lebda) When he’s ready, he’ll play. We have Meech and Ericsson here now. There’s nothing you can do. I kind of expected to have Kronwall, Lebda and Schneider, but that’s just life.”
Reactions
IwoCPO at Abel to Yzerman:
Another Game 5 in Detroit. Another blowout. Another favorite completely flustered and, eventually, outclassed. Welcome to your 2007 Red Wings. Good news is obviously a victory as convincing as any we’ve seen in Detroit since a Game 7 in 2002. Bad news is, equally obviously, an injury to Mathieu Schneider that no one knows the extent of. Choose your source and you’ll hear anything from forearm to shoulder, broken to separated. More to follow.
For now?
Yes, for now..and Don Cherry can suck it. He must be thrilled to see the Wing Swedes’ performance today. Lilja drilling Grier to end the second, Zetterberg and Holmstrom battling after the horn. Samuelsson on a one-timer, Holmstrom making a difference so profound that their power play actually looks invincible. And Zetterberg having his best game of the playoffs. 3 points…yes. But a physical presence that has to raise eyebrows on the set of HNIC.
Dave @ Gorilla Crouch:
So the Red Wings head back to San Jose in an ideal situation other than the fact they are likely short another d-man. They have turned the tide with a dominating 4-1 victory this afternoon; they have completely turned what appeared to be a weakness in the Specialty Teams matchup into a decisive advantage; and they have been effective playing a solid, physical game against a larger opponent. As a result they will have a chance to end another series on the road in Game 6.
Chuqui @ Two For Elbowing:
Monday, there’s a very good chance the Sharks will play their last game of the season — Detroit is simply outworking the Sharks, and deserves to win this series. In a series that’s gone 3-2, the team with 3 wins moves on 80% of the time, and to be onest, I’m surprised that statistic isn’t higher.
If the Sharks do go out Monday, or even if they make it to Wednesday, fans will consider this a disappointing end to the season. It will be, too; this team has the capability to go further, but they’ve also shown some weaknesses that fans and team both will be able to spend a lot of time and energy analyzing….
But frankly? I think what we’re seeing has more to do with what Detroit IS doing, and less to do with what San Jose is NOT. That will get lost in the post-series griping, but I wanted to call that out and give the Red Wings some deserved props.
PeterboroughPete From Behind the Mask:
What would be fantastic and some would say honest, would be we lost last year to the Oilers and then we went out and made some adjustments and added some quality people and parts that we felt we needed and with the changes we made we just couldn’t get it done against the Wings. The Wings are a very good hockey team and it was very close and but we got beat by a team that executed at the key and critical times in the series. We will make some additional tweaks and be right back out there next year ready to win the cup.
I’m surprised that it sounds like the Sharks’ fans have given up a little. SJ is a very talented team especially if they show up for an extended length of time in a game. While I’d love to see the Wings close out the series Monday night, the Sharks could just as easily tie it up and send the game back to Detroit. I certainly wouldn’t count SJ out of this series yet!
PJ @ Sharkspage has in depth coverage from around the media:
Victor Chi of the San Jose Mercury News calls the Sharks 4-1 loss an implosion. On the phone with a blogger from Anaheim after the game I tried to find a few excuses for the mishandled puck, but there were none. Nabokov was hung out to try by Carle and Rivet, but there is no excuse for not getting the puck past Datsyuk. David Pollak of the Merc notes that Tomas Holmstrom has been an impact player in front of the net for Detroit.
Mike @ Shaved Ice:
After the opening goal, the Sharks looked like they were looking for an excuse to lose this game, and they found it in Nabby’s gaffe in the second period. The lost composure, they lost organization and they lost the game. Now they just need to leave it all on the ice at home in front of the home crowd on Monday. And we will be there, trying with 17,000 others to will a Game 7.
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4 Responses to “Wings 4, Sharks 1”
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May 6th, 2007 at 5:49 am
Hasek has the memory of one with Alzheimer’s with is AMAZING!!!! This is why we had to dispose of Legace immediatly after last years fiasco…Don’t you remember Legace moping around after every goal - This is the difference between a champion and a chump. Legace thought he could be a starter because he had a few good back-up game (much appreciated) but these guys {osgood/legace} dont even compare to the caliber of an elite NHL goalie. I had my doubts about Hasek when we signed him last year, but it is apparent that age is not a factor and he can last as long as CHELLI
May 6th, 2007 at 5:58 am
Its amazing to watch the difference in this year’s playoffs compared to last year’s. The fact that Manny Legace thought he was an elite goaltender is ludacris. Just because he had a few great back-up games (totally appreciated) he has no resume to back it up. Even Osgood was bitching about being a back-up this year. The fact is Hasek is an amazing goaltender who has an amazing resume. I was a bit skeptical when we signed him last year but now I realize that it isn’t about age. As far as I am concerned Hasek can play as long as Chelli! Hasek has the memory of an Alzheimer; which is impeccable, considering last years collapse by Legace, he was completely moping around whenever Edmonton scored a goal (which contributed to our demise). I am surprised that this hasnt been brought up by the media this year, but it is clear that Hasek has absolutely no memory when a goal is scored and the Wings just capitalize on this as a whole.
May 6th, 2007 at 9:14 am
“The fact that Manny Legace thought he was an elite goaltender is ludacris.”
How do you think you know what Manny thought of himself? You don’t. I love when people talk like this.
He had more than “a few good games as backup”. He put up better numbers than Osgood in the season they split, and showed his extreme talent level. What he didn’t have was playoff experience and sadly either nobody else on the team helped him through it…or they tried and failed.
May 6th, 2007 at 11:34 am
[…] Christy from Behind the Jersey has her game recap up and comments on the likelihood that Brett Lebda will play tomorrow night: Lebda did finally skate on his ankle and said it felt better than he expected. Personally, I don’t think Lebda would’ve played on Monday, but I think there is a chance now that Schneider is out. […]