Game #5: Wings 2, Preds 1 (OT)
Tomas Holmstrom takes a pounding in front of the net.
As I watched the seconds tick toward zero after Nashville scored that tying goal, dread and anxiety had overwhelmed my body. I was a mess and couldn’t sit still. I was thinking that if Detroit lost after outshooting the Predators by such a large extent at home while Nashville was missing three top forwards, we weren’t going to win this series. It would have been such a devastating blow to morale. Fortunately, the team held it together heading into overtime and got it done. When I saw Franzen break free and then deke Preds’ goalie Dan Ellis, my heart jumped with joy as the Joe Louis Arena masses rushed to their feet in celebration. A wave of relief washed over my body and I felt so calm and was at peace. It’s amazing what one goal can do to your spirits come playoff time!
Anyways, here are a couple quick thoughts mixed in with a media roundup from Game #5 reactions. Thanks again to Joe for live blogging the game last night! My dad sat in the second row next to the zamboni pit where he took some sweet photos, which are also mixed in with this post. To view the photos in a larger size or see some that I didn’t put in this post, please check out the gallery here. He enjoyed his seat so much that he bought that single seat for the rest of the playoffs so as long as the Wings are playing at home, BTJ will have professional looking game photos!
Darren Helm plays in his first NHL playoff game. He won 80% of his faceoffs last night.
Dan Ellis played a fantastic game and was the sole reason that the Predators were only down by one goal in the third period. Truly impressive effort as he stopped 53 shots in 60 minutes of action.
John Glennon / The Tennessean:
Ellis was the sole reason the Predators even reached overtime, as the inexperienced netminder turned away 52 of 53 shots in regulation before surrendering a breakaway goal to Johan Franzen.
“The way Ellie played tonight, there really aren’t words to describe it,” Predators forward J.P. Dumont said. “It would have been great if we had found a way to win for him. He deserved to win.”
Any thoughts that Ellis might suffer from jitters while playing in his first postseason had probably been eliminated after the first four games of this series. But in case there were still doubters, Ellis nearly single-handedly beat one of the most skilled teams in the league on Friday.
“The biggest disappointment,” Predators Coach Barry Trotz said, “was that we wasted that good goaltending effort.”
One of the many shots Dan Ellis stopped in Game #5
On the other end, Wings goaltender Chris Osgood only faced 20 shots in regulation. He made some key saves, but definitely didn’t get to see the puck too much last night.
Bob Wojnowski / The Detroit News:
Osgood certainly was doing his job at the other end. There just wasn’t much to do.
“Some goalies say they need to see 40 shots, but I’m just happy as long as we win,” Osgood said. “I’ve never over-exaggerated my role — I just feel I can give this team a good chance every time I play. I feel like I’ve always been a Red Wing. I was gone for three years, longer than it should have been, but I’m glad to be back.”
Chris Osgood makes a save. Numerous “Ozzie, Ozzie” chants broke out during the game.
BTJ favorite (now that Yzerman has retired) Niklas Kronwall had a big night with assists on both of Detroit’s goals last night including a nice pass to feed Johan Franzen in overtime. And I love this “please, please, please” quote from Kronner that was in a Detroit Free Press article:
“Dumont tried to put it out to their D-man and it ended up right on my blade, almost,” Kronwall said. “I just saw Mule in the corner of my eye and tried to give it to him. It wasn’t really a good pass, he was just able to handle it really well and he came in and scored.
“I was just like, please, please, please. We deserved to win. We played really well and just stuck with our game plan the whole time. There was never a time when we sat back and relaxed. We kept plugging away.”
Niklas Kronwall prepares for the impending face-off in Detroit’s end.
Game #6 is Sunday at 3pm (EST). If you live in southeast Michigan, you can tune into either the NBC or CBC broadcast of the game.
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