Wings take 2-0 series lead over Preds
Yesterday afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings captured a 2-0 series lead with a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators at home.
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
- Thomas Jefferson
I found that quote in the comment section for this Detroit Free Press article that had said the Wings were a bit lucky to be up 2-0 over Nashville.
Yes, the Wings have certainly had some things go their way (e.g. the puck hitting the linesman in Game #1 and the Predators’ disallowed goal in Game #2). However even without those lucky breaks or bounces, the Wings still were the better team on the ice and I felt they “deserved” (as much as one team can in the playoffs) those wins so I don’t feel too bad. It’s not like Nashville was dominating us and our only goals were fluke ones. And I’m sure there will be playoff games where I’m mad because the breaks didn’t go Detroit’s way, but that’s what it’s like in the playoffs.
Since Joe Hass already did a great live blog of the game for BTJ here, I’m not going to delve into game specifics. However, I do want to comment on a few things that happened in yesterday’s game.
Dominik Hasek. I think he enjoys giving fans heart attacks. I mean every time he ventured outside of his crease, my heart starts pounding. Will he pull off a brilliant play? Or will he do something ridiculous and consequently costly? Yesterday, we saw both of those possibilities. The first Predators goal came as a result of Hasek being completely out of position, but that’s because the puck bounced off the end boards in a weird manner when he went behind the net to play it, and the second Preds goal came within eleven seconds of the first thanks to an Andreas Lilja turnover.
“I knew I made inexcusable mistake on the first one,” Hasek said. “I made completely wrong decision. Second one, it was nice shot into five-hole. It didn’t bother me — what was good about it was, game was 2-2. We just started again.”
Head coach Mike Babcock wisely called a timeout after the second goal to calm his team down and it worked. But back to Hasek, outside of the ridiculous play, he had a great game.
“Dominik is the story,” Babcock said. “In the first period we turned the puck over and gave up more chances than we would give up in five games in the first period. I’m talking quality now. Dominik was fantastic.”
The Predators outshot the Wings, 15-11, in the first period, but the Wings held a 1-0 lead because of several big Hasek stops.
“He was great. You can’t say enough about him,” Draper said.
And we all know that when Hasek is playing crazy like that, he’s at his best. And as much as it might stress me out, that’s how we want our Crazy Czech to play because that’s what works for him.
The determining factor was an imbalanced man, an insane goaltender. I told you yesterday and nothing that happened in Game 2 did anything to change my mind: Hasek’s in a groove. Bubba was buzzing in the first. Hasek kept the Wings in it. Flopping, poking, innocently leaving his stick hanging in the air as Bubba ran his throat into it. The first goal? Fluke of all flukes. I blame the end boards, like you do. Hasek? He blames himself and I dig that.
And as a longtime Wings fan who has seen the tragic rise and fall of Darren McCarty, how amazing was it to see him score the first goal of the game? It’s just such a great story and (1) it’s great to see secondary scoring yesterday, but (2) even greater because it came from McCarty.
“I had a huge smile on my face. The first thing he saw when he came to the bench to high-five everybody were all my teeth,” Draper said. “I’m certainly proud of him. This has been a great feel-good story for him — and it just keeps going.” …
“I don’t know if it really signified that I’m back, but it was a big goal obviously for me with the circumstances and everything that’s gone on,” he said. “It’s something that I’ll remember for a long time.”
And finally, Tomas Holmstrom is back. He played in Game #1, but he scored yesterday and appeared to be in top form. I like that with Johan Franzen’s newly found confidence we have two players who play a similar style to park it in front of the goaltender.
Homer was a menace yesterday, a sinister, mischievous, hand grenade of a pain in Bubba’s behind. Bubba doesn’t like Homer. At least he shouldn’t, not if he can get past the “paid off refs”, the “conspiracies”, the social injustice they’re feeling today. Once Bubba realizes it wasn’t the refs who beat them yesterday, he may come around to the way Holmstrom hit everything in sight, screened the mortal Dan Ellis on Lidstrom’s goal, then scored one of his own in his typical net-crashing fashion.
I’m looking forward to Game #3 on Monday night, where I can sit and watch the game as just a fan.
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