Game 1 Live Blog: Red Wings/Predators
Good evening! My name’s Joe Hass, and I’m pinch-hitting for Christy tonight for the live blog on Game 1 of the Red Wings/Predators, as Miss Hammond has decided she’d rather go work at the game itself.
Meanwhile, I’ve already put in my request for a running clock after 9:00 p.m. ET, since I have another hockey game I’m following tonight. It’s very weird to hear Gary Thorne call hockey again.
FSN Detroit has just said that Darren McCarty will play tonight. It caps quite the comeback for McCarty, but also gives more fuel to the people who whisper the E-word (”European”) when saying the Wings will struggle in the playoffs. Combine that with Draper and Samuelsson coming back, and you’ve got a significantly healthy Wings team.
Meanwhile, Dan Ellis will make his playoff debut for the Predators in net. The consensuses only doubt is whether it’ll take five or six games for the Wings. Of course, it’s worth noting that the Wings are the only team to twice lose a first-round playoff series as the number one seed.
Follow the game after the jump.
Well, I’d hang around, but Michigan/ND is 10 minutes in, so I need to go run. Thanks again to Christy for letting me hang around. Game 2 Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ET on the NBC Television Network. Be good, be safe, and good night!
:00 - FINAL: DETROIT 3, NASHVILLE 1. Shots end up 40-20 for Detroit. They were good enough to win, but rusty enough to give Babcock some points to hammer into them.
:19 - GOAL DETROIT: Zetterberg 2 (2) from Draper. And that decision backfires, and they hit the faceoff and put it right in. 3-1 and that’s gonna do it.
:21 - But they pull him again.
:21 - The Wings had a chance to ice it, but they’re offsides. They’ll bring the goalie back out because of the puck-drop.
:34 - Dumont had a point-blank shot, but the Wings ice it again!
:47 - They’ve announced a 9:00 p.m. ET start for Game 4 in Nashville. ::shaking head::
:47 - Ugh! The Wings inadvertently ice it, so no line change for an exhausted team. But the Predators call timeout, so they’ll figure out what they’ll do.
1:25 - Empty net, Nashville. Here we go!
2:06 - Dallas Drake clears it, and the Wings change, and the Preds can’t keep it in the zone.
2:33 - Well, I was crossed up. They had one more TV timeout to take. And a bad icing call will bring the puck near Dominic.
3:18 - I have to admit the lower bowl has filled up nicely. Hard to say on the upper, but the fans did show up.
3:52 - Holmstrom had a nice chance, but couldn’t get a handle on the puck.
4:45 - The Wings kills the penalty, we hit our final TV timeout, and it’s nerve-wrecking time. 39 shots for the Wings.
5:58 - Dan Cleary gets pulled down, tries to sell it, but it’s no sale. Play continues.
6:13 - Lidstrom with a 180-footer that Ellis has to suddenly make a play on!
6:55 - Nashville power play starts.
7:06 - Penalty Detroit: 55 Kronwall Elbowing. So you’re a man up, up a goal, the other team’s on their heels, and what do you do? Of course: go after Peverley with an elbow to the head! 11 seconds of 4-on-4, and Kronwall would be wise to avoid Babcock after his two minutes of shame are up.
7:50 - Zetterberg gets a shot wide. They’re peppering Ellis.
8:22 - Zetterberg passes to Holmstrom, who’s standing at point blank range but can’t get the shot off!
8:40 - The Wings are 0/3 with 6 shots on the power play tonight.
8:55 - Penalty Nashville: 10 Erat Hooking, and another odd call. After two replays, I can’t tell what the heck was a penalty, but the Wings will gladly take it. Shots are 35-19 at the TV timeout.
9:00 - I don’t want to underestimate the Preds effort, but they’re doing a lot of dumping in since that goal. Dump and chase.
9:48 - Zidlicky and Draper are to the left of Hasek exchanging dinner plans and elbows.
10:30 - The Preds are trying to apply pressure, but the Wings are getting it out quickly. Nashville seems to be sluggish.
11:20 - Filppula comes in strong on the right side and puts it wide. The spring is in the Wings step.
11:30 - And the building shows some life! That was a screwy play. At first it looked like it went off the stansion, but they’ll take it.
13:06 - GOAL DETROIT: 40 Zetterberg (1) from Datsyuk and Lidstrom. A strange play: the Predators were trying to clear the puck, but it hit the linesman, cane back to Zetterberg to keep it in, who passed it to Datsyuk cross-ice to Zetterberg from 30 feet out! 2-1 Wings!
13:22 - The crowd is finally coming alive and making some noise.
14:05 - Ellis is earning his playoff stripes tonight. So much for the rookie yips.
14:51 - Fidler goes in, but puts the puck off the post.
15:34 - We’ve seen a lot of back and forth, minute-plus streaks, which helps the flow, but keeps players out a lot longer than I’d think the coaches would want (especially in a 1-1 game).
15:53 - Okay…I’ve set the bedroom TiVo for Michigan/Notre Dame (which is actually a 9:30 ET start). This is the same thing that happened last time Michigan made the Frozen Four: I watched one game, then watched the other on DVR delay.
17:10 - A shot onto Hasek by Bochenski.
18:27 - Zetterberg has 6 shots tonight out of the 29. He’s baking the biscuit, but not putting the biscuit in the basket.
19:11 - Holmstrom was just crushed against the far glass by Tootoo, and no call. Mickey noted that he doesn’t understand why that’s not a charge, and I have to agree: He left his feet.
20:00 - Start of Period 3. Mike Babcock just said it’s a 60-minute plan. I gotta get my hand on this coach’s quote book.
:00 - End of Period 2. Well, that was one of those periods that give Wings fans headaches during April and May: they play decently, get a ton of shots, but they can’t convert on any of them. Meanwhile, they give up a deflection goal to tie the game. The shots were 16-6 Wings in that period, 26-17 for the game. So much for my flipping back and forth for the Michigan game.
:22 - This time it’s the Wings that should’ve been called with too many men, but they get away with it.
1:25 - Not that there seemed to be any energy in the building before, but there’s not a lot of noise come from the crowds after that 65-footer.
2:13 - GOAL NASHVILLE: 22 Tootoo (1) from Zanon and Weber. He shot it from the blue line. It redirects off Lilja and gets past Hasek. 1-1.
2:33 - It’s a quiet back and forth. I knew I should’ve grabbed a caffeine Diet Coke.
3:36 - Another missed penalty: Erat had a hold, Hasek had his hand up, but they get nothing and like it.
4:25 - Draper tries to set up Hudler, but Ellis steps in between and gloves it.
5:09 - Datsuk has Ellis point blank again and shoots it right into his pads! If the Wings actually could convert a few of these, they’d be in business.
5:40 - The shots this period are 11-4 Wings. And they get another one.
5:51 - Franzen’s shot is out of play as we go to our final TV timeout. The shots are 23-16 Wings, but this is not exactly an excitement filled contest so far.
6:39 - Hasek, having been plowed into by Chelios and Drake, takes his time getting up. He seems okay.
6:58 - Mr. Redmond is not happy with Scott Driscoll, the linesman who is taking his sweet time in dropping the puck tonight on faceoffs. “It ain’t brain surgery, dropping a puck between two guys who’ve got sticks on the ice.” Ahhh, truer words were never spoken!
7:10 - Kris Draper is accosted after being pinned in the crease by a couple Predators. They’re not happy that he was in the crease, conveniently neglecting that they were holding him down. Nelson Muntz is saying “Stop being in our crease! Stop being in our crease!”
7:38 - Nashville gets a couple shots in, but nothing that great.
8:43 - Again, McCarty and Tootoo are talking as we go to the second TV timeout. 21-14 are the shots.
9:09 - Both teams are making line changes on the fly as we’re again going back and forth with little shooting.
10:16 - There’s nothing better than watching the delay after a puck goes up in the netting, and no one’s quite sure if it did or it didn’t.
11:15 - Back to 5-on-5. We’re seeing a lot of Chelios tonight. I’ll have to look up the on ice stats at the intermission.
12:07 - Dan Cleary was in the net for a full 10 seconds while play continued. Ellis had the puck behind him, but no one could get it in. They’re putting a lot of pressure on Ellis.
12:20 - Scott Nichol of the Preds is out with the always mysterious “left arm injury” and will not return (according to Ken Daniels).
12:33 - Zetterberg had a clear shot at Ellis but couldn’t convert it, then Datsyuk had an open net but couldn’t convert.
13:26 - Penalty Nashville: 5 Zanon Holding. He had Franzen so tied up that they could see that penalty in Row 28. Powerplay #3 for Detroit.
13:58 - We have icing and our first TV timeout. A lot of skating, but not much action. Shots are 15-12 Detroit.
15:25 - FYI: The lower bowl looks about 2/3rd full. They’re not showing many low angles that’d show the upper deck.
16:31 - Draper takes a shot from the top of the circle that goes over the net, hits the board, and rebounds all the way past the opposite blue line.
17:00 - It’s end-to-end now…no shots, just a lot of skating. But at least no dump ins.
18:10 - Radulov just hooked Samuelsson, put his hands up in the air in the international symbol of “It wasn’t me, even though it was!” and got away with it.
18:35 - The Nashville penalty expires. There was a lot of time in the Detroit end on that power play.
18:57 - Ken Daniels: “Hard to believe Lidstrom wouldn’t be a unanimous vote (for the Norris trophy)” This is followed by he and Mickey rattling off four other people who will probably get votes. So, um, I guess it probably won’t be unanimous, eh, Ken?
19;27 - Nashville turns the puck over in the defensive end, and Lidstrom takes a 55-footer that Ellis has to make a quick save on. The Preds are doing a lousy job of puck control tonight.
20:00 - Start Period 2: Nashville continues on the power play. And the get a shot from Hlavac 16 seconds in that’s saved by Hasek.
:00 - End Of Period 1: Detroit 1-0. The Wings really picked up the pace after the first five minutes. Shots are 11-10 Nashville. 1:19 power play carries over to the second. Ellis is doing a very good job, which is exactly what Wings fans get nervous: a good goaltender becoming a great one. Still, Franzen’s goal is good enough to get the Wings on the board.
:40 - Penalty Detroit: 28 Rafalski Cross-checking. I didn’t see it. Nashville will go on the power play.
:40 - There’s a bunch a arguing in the corner, and I think we’re going four-on-four. Smithson hit Draper.
1:20 - Again, I don’t know where they found this linesman, but he need to learn that it really is okay to just drop the puck! Really!
1:20 - Now it’s Zetterberg in on Ellis from point blank, but he can’t get a great shot off, and Ellis makes that save. Quickly back to the Hasek save: it was a beaut, and Bonk should’ve been able to put that in.
1:39 - Nashville tries to drive in, but is called offsides.
1:53 - Bonk is six inches from Hasek, has the puck, but Hasek with a great save, and it clears the zone! Deep cleansing breath time.
2:14 - Bonk fires point blank, but wide, and it goes back to Ellis.
2:39 - Final TV Timeout. As we go to break, McCarty and Tootoo have a frank and earnest discussion in the corner.
3:04 - Hartigan and McCarthy play pass the puck, but neither decide to play shoot the puck, and it floats harmlessly out of the zone.
3:40 - Back to 5-on-5.
4:04 - The Wings penalty ends, and the Wings get two good shots off at Ellis (Franzen and Datsyuk), but nothing.
4:22 - The Preds have seven skaters on the ice, but get no call, and the referees in the stands are unhappy.
4:51 - Erat with a snapshot that goes just wide, sending Hasek sprawling.
5:29 - Cleary was setting up to the left of Ellis, but couldn’t put it in.
5:42 - Penalty Nashville: 6 Weber Holding. He pulls down Dallas Drake, and just like that, we go back to four-on-four. Not a good penalty, especially when you’re already on the power play.
6:06 - As we like to yell at Yost, “DROP THE PUCK!”
6:06 - Penalty Detroit: 93 Franzen Hooking. He takes down Suter, and we’ll have another Nashville Powerplay.
6:44 - Draper’s shot is saved by Ellis with a stoppage. Ellis is keeping really busy tonight. FSN is reminding us that there are plenty of tickets available for the remaining games. What a shock!
7:13 - Hasek was sans stick for a good 20 seconds while the play was deep in his zone, aging Wings fans another 8 months in that time.
7:55 - Dumont and Datsyuk are trading pushes in the corner to the left of Hasek.
8:38 - Dan Cleary had a shot from the blueline that Ellis got a piece of.
9:09 - TV timeout. Shots are 6-3 Wings. Hits are 7-6 Wings. Faceoffs won are 7-2 Wings. After playing tenative in the first 7 minutes, they’re coming alive.
9:52 - The Wings have been mixing and matching their lines all night. Ken Daniels noted that it looks like Scotty Bowman’s spirit is in the building.
10:29 - Now it’s Samuelson on the left side with the shot that Ellis is unsure about until he looks behind him to find no puck in the net. It’s underneath him. The Wings have a 5-1 edge in scoring chances, despite not having the puck in their end much.
10:43 - Zetterberg had a 2-on-1 with Hudler, but posts it!
11:52 - Nashville is keeping it in their end for more than 90 seconds before Lilja finally dumps it out, allowing both teams to change lines.
12:45 - Tootoo had a head of steam against Chelios, but at the last minute Chelios gets out of the way and avoids him.
13:31 - We hit the first TV timeout with a shot from Hlavac which takes an odd turn, but Hasek manages to find it. The shots are 5-3 Detroit
14:02 - GOAL DETROIT: 93 Franzen (1) from Hudler and Kronwall. He gets the putback and beats Ellis left side! 1-0 Wings.
14:22 - Back to even strength, but the Wings are pressing.
15:07 - Zetterberg with a good shot, but a nice save by Ellis. No one has had a really good chance yet.
15:44 - Lidstrom comes out of the box, and it’s power play Wings.
16:22 - Penalty Nashville: 14 Bonk Hooking. And it was a phantom call: he didn’t even touch the Wings player. But we’re 4-on-4.
16:48 - Nashville can’t keep the puck in the zone. Draper’s doing a fine job of keeping the puck out of the zone.
17:49 - Penalty Detroit: 5 Lidstrom Holding. Nashville is 26th in the league on the power play.
18:30 - End to end play, though the Predators are keeping it in their end. Linstrom and Datsyuk are trying to get it out for the line change.
19:32 - Nashville gets a quick shot off, sending Hasek to the ice, who immediately looks at the official as if he’s been mugged.
20:00 - As usual, a reminder to those who actually goes to the games: when you scream in the middle of the anthem, all you’re doing is calling attention to what a goofball you are.
It’s Devorski and Leggo as the red bands tonight.
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