Wings 2, Ducks 1
The Detroit Red Wings won last night off of two fluke goals basically “scored” by Ducks’ defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who obviously did not have a good night. Here are my notes from the game followed by reaction from around the blogosphere. I’ve included a few screenshots of the Versus broadcast in my post.
First Period
Brett Lebda will be playing on the blue line tonight so AHL call up, Derek Meech, will not see any action. Todd Marchant is playing in his first game of the postseason after suffering a groin injury.
The Wings scored first when Henrik Zetterberg went to pass and the puck deflected off of Beauchemin instead and into the net. Hank was credited the goal.
With 14:32 to go in the first, Kris Draper and Johan Franzen were both in the box for holding giving Anaheim a good opportunity for a goal with a 5-on-3 for over a minute. One hard shot rang off of the goalpost.
Have I mentioned how much I dislike Chris Pronger?
There have been some big hits already in this game by both teams. I like it!
Broadcasters: “It’s an adventure when Hasek leaves the net.” and “I think he gets bored sometimes.”
The first line of Pavel Datsyuk, Tomas Holmstrom, and Henrik Zetterberg are looking strong in the first.
JS Giguere certainly does not give up the big juicy rebounds that SJ’s Evgeni Nabakov did.
1:39 left in the first, players pile up in the Wings’ net and Hasek gets a couple of shots in the face of his mask. Mikael Samuelsson was given a penalty for cross checking.
The Anaheim Ducks have 13 players who are 6′2″ or taller, which is even more than San Jose. Wow.
Broadcaster: “Dominik Hasek must feel like it’s open season.”
End of First: Wings 1, Ducks 0
Shots on Goal: Wings 5, Ducks 10
2nd Period
The Ducks only had four shots in their first four power play opportunities.
Ducks’ LW Corey Perry was wearing a microphone during the game and listen to what they picked up while he was talking to Datsyuk before a face off.
Perry: “Tell Samuelsson he’s going to get it. You better tell him. Hey Pavel, you better tell him. You’re going to get it too.”
I had to a laugh after hearing Perry say that.
With 11:13 to go in the second, the Ducks have outhit Detroit, 14-7.
Todd Marchant literally threw the puck of the Ducks’ zone. What’s up with that?
I’ve noticed Big Bert (Bertuzzi) more today than I did in a lot of the games during the last series. I like it.
Huge save by Giguere on Hank in the Wings’ second PP of the game with 7 minutes or so to go in the second. Another good chance on a Hank shot! He had numerous chances last night.
Danny Markov and Shawn Thornton get into a fight with 2:53 left in the second and are each given five minutes for fighting. In the regular season, the Ducks had the most fighting majors in the regular season with 71. How many did the Wings have? 10.
Perry and Chris Chelios collide into each other and Cheli definitely did not see that hit coming with 1:49 left. Perry had just taken a stick to the face from Hasek - ouch! Both players were able to return to the game.
Dan Cleary in an interview during intermission: “It’s been a fun and exciting year…I really thought we didn’t get enough pressure on Giguere.”
Interestingly enough, no one from Newfoundland has their name on the Stanley Cup.
End of Second: Wings 1, Ducks 0
Shots on Goal: Wings 6, Ducks 8
3rd Period
LW Chris Kunitz ties the game up on a wristshot. It was his fourth playoff goal of his career on a nice shot less than two minutes into the third period.
Broadcaster: “This is not Buffalo. It’s quiet here in a 1-1 tie.”
Vladdie was at the game and apparently goes down to the locker room before every home playoff game with a message (”Win the game.”) He uses a walker to get around.
With 11 minutes to go in the game, the Ducks had barely outhit the Wings, 20-18.
Between the 13 and 15 minute marks of the game, the Ducks had put on a lot of pressure. Hasek had to make some huge saves including grabbing a puck out of midair while he was lying on his side on the ice.
The Wings score a PPG with 4:54 left. The puck went off Tomas Holmstrom, trickled down behind Giguere, and then Beauchemin tried to prevent the puck from going in, but it went off his stick instead. This goal wasn’t as flukey as the first one, in my mind. The puck would’ve gone in even if Beauchemin hadn’t touched it so you can’t really blame the defenseman for just speeding up the process. Versus showed the Wings’ bench reaction and all the players were very excited and then there’s head coach Mike Babcock. He didn’t even flinch after the goal. Crazy.
Then I started getting nervous just watching even though I already knew the final score of the game.
With 3:19 left, Robert Lang gets called for hooking. That is when I find out that my laptop had stopped recording the game at that point. Apparently, I missed the most intense part of the game. Man.
End of Third: Wings 2, Ducks 1
Shots on Goal: Wings 8, Ducks 14
The Ducks outshot Detroit, 32-19. For Game #2, the Wings need to put more pucks on Giguere.
The Wings went 2/4 on the power play while successfully killing off all seven of their penalties. Niice.
Wings’ fans have to be pleased that their team was able to withstand the Ducks’ attack and get lucky on a pair of goals. Ducks’ fans have to be pleased with their team’s physical play and realize Detroit only scored on two “weak” goals.
Reaction from the Blogosphere
Dave @ Gorilla Crouch:
The Ducks played the way they wanted to play and they are likely to stick with their gameplan as it gave them a chance to win the game. Chris Pronger rang a bomb off the crossbar on a power play and Ryan Getzlaf also had a great scoring chance. Dominik Hasek absolutely robbed a Duck player when he was sprawled out on the ice but lifted his glove to deny a great scoring chance late in the 3rd period. He was recognized as the second star of the game. Detroit’s top line registered two goals and one assist, while Nick Lidstrom tallied two helpers. The hits were even, with both teams being credited with 22 hits.
Earl Sleek @ Battle of California:
Losing G1 2-1 is not the worst possible outcome for the Ducks, but it certainly is not the best. There are some things to take solace in: the Ducks outshot the Wings 32-19 and carried a lot of the play–Detroit at home this postseason was averaging a +17 shot differential and hadn’t been outshot yet. Plus I can’t really fault Giguere for either goal that went in.
The Ducks not only played a really good road game (they had a tie game with 5 minutes to go), but it was also a really good set-the-tone G1. Positives abound.
But damn, I’d rather have the win.
Steph @ No Pun Intended:
It would have been nice to see a bit more done with the offensive opportunities - we certainly got a few favorable lucky bounces to help us out in the scoring department, and we’re going to have to work on that if we mean to keep pace in a tough, low-scoring series like this. And I certainly don’t mean to get ahead of myself - as excellent as it was, this game alone in no way defines the series. But let’s not kid ourselves - what a gorgeous way to start the ball rolling.
Karen @ On the Pond:
The Ducks had to wait for a week to get back into playoff action, but there seemed to be little rust in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Ducks certainly had their chances and outshot the Detroit Red Wings 32 - 19. However, they were unable to take advantage of numerous power play opportunities, including a 5 on 3 and a 4 on 3. The Red Wings, on the other hand, were able to do something no other team has been able to do in the past 20 games - score two power play goals on the Ducks. Because of that the score ended up 2-1 with Anaheim on the losing end of a well fought game by both sides.
Matt @ On the Wings:
Dominik Hasek was stellar last night. The goal he did allow was similar to the extremely weak goal he gave up to Marcel Goc in the second round, but I just thought it was a good shot by Kunitz. With the Ducks controlling the majority of play in the game, Dom’s steadiness kept the Wings in a game that may have gotten somewhat out of hand, in spite of the defense’s best efforts. He had a lot of help from the skaters, but when the shot did get through, Dom made the save, often in spectacular fashion. It’s for games like last night’s that Dom is in Detroit and he did not disappoint. Plus, he did it while being on the business end of a concerted effort by Anaheim to crash the net. He was run over and fallen on a number of times, and even took a shot to the face by Andy McDonald. There was a scary moment where Kirk Maltby clipped him accidentally and Dom lay face first on the ice briefly before popping up. I guess he’s still pretty tough.
What the Ducks need to do in the next game:
1. Stay out of the box.
2. Get more offense on the PP
3. Bring back the PK from the last two rounds.
4. Stay confident, cause you’re still playing hella good.
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2 Responses to “Wings 2, Ducks 1”
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May 13th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
I was watching the Sabres and the Sens on CBC the other day and Cherry had a lot to say about Perry making those “threats” while mic’d up and how it would affect his culpability if he really had injured someone (case in point being that Chelios hit), seeing as how they could claim it premeditated. I’m not sure what I think about it, but it was an interesting point…
May 14th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Definitely an interesting point! Hmm…