Game 1 Live Blog: Wings/Avs
Joe here. Join me at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight from my exclusive remote location for tonight’s Wings/Avs game. Why an exclusive remote location? Because I’m one of those people who won’t pay $20 for the digital tier, so I have to work from someplace that does have it.
How many times will we see the 11-year-old footage of Lemieux turtling? (I’ll pause here while you do the math and discover how old that makes you that night.) A little-known fact: Poor Mickey Redmond was in an elevator down to ice level for the intermission interviews and missed the whole thing.
Join me in the conference room after the jump.
Your officials tonight: Bill McCreary and Kevin Pollock as the officials.
If you had 6 minutes 53 seconds in the Turtle pool, you win!
Late news: Forsberg is a scratch with a groin injury. That’s a bit of a surprise. The two gents on the Versus pregame show are split: one’s going for the Wings, the other for the Avs.
The Versus pregame show is spending time going through all four series, which is just swell except for the fact that we’re here to watch the freaking Wings/Avs!
The consensus is roughly split down the middle between the two teams as far as series predictions go.
A heads up: because I don’t have my trusty TiVo tonight, it may be a bit rougher around the edges tonight. Forgive in advance.
In case you didn’t see this, Brad Stuart is out for this game due to the birth of his son. Kirk Maltby, who we thought would be back for this round, is closer but not quite there. Mike Babcock told Bob Duff of the Windsor Star that “He looks good, but I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
When they drop the puck tonight, the Wings will become the second place team in postseason games: they’ll pass Toronto, 525-524.
The Turtle count: 2 (during the opening graphics of the graphics).
Your starters: Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Rafalski, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, and Osgood. For Colorado: Wolski, Brunette, Sakic, Hannan, Foote, Theodore.
An interesting-but-irrelevant statistic: Detroit has played in one more playoff series than Colorado since 1996, but Colorado has played five more games.
Someone has thrown another octopus on the ice. You now have one official with a hoe, and another with a shovel, trying to pick it up. You know, I’ll be interested to see if they put a penalty on the board if it happens again. Remember: it is a delay-of-game penalty if the fans throw something on the ice.
20:00 - Start of Period 1: Let’s play hockey!
19:32 - Holmstrom tries to set up Lidstrom, but it gets past him. A quick chance early for the Wings.
19:12 - Theodore goes wide right to make a play on the puck.
18:21 - Drake takes a hard shot from the blue line corner, and Theodore has to make a save.
17:28 - Laperriere witha fast shot that Osgood has to knock away. He was screened.
16:08 - Fronzen and Kronwall each get a quick shot
15:52 - Lilja with a hard hit against an Avs player.
15:05 - Cleary tries to set up someone behind the net, but couldn’t put it on anyone’s stick.
14:54 - Kronwall with another big hit on Jones right near the boards! Keep your head up, kids.
14:34 - Penalty Detroit: 3 Lilja (Roughing). There was some mixing up behind the net, and they dinged Andreas.
13:53 - The Avs are 6/30 in the playoffs on the power play. Wings are 2/23 on the PK.
13:15 - Wings have done a very good job of not allowing much of anything for the Avs on this power play.
13:03 - Datsuyk and Cleary have a great short-handed chance, but can’t keep the puck on their stick.
12:34 - Penalty ends. Back to 5-on-5.
11:45 - Franzen takes a blast that went to the left of Theodore, but the rebound is so hard that it nearly gets on the stick of another Wings player.
11:07 - GOAL COLORADO: 26 Stastny (2) from Smith and Hejudk. Ryan Smith is behind the net, he puts it right on Stastny’s stick, who puts it past Osgood. 1-0 Colorado, and the crowd is quiet.
10:14 - GOAL DETROIT: 40 Zetterberg (3) from Rafalski and Datsyuk. Pavel from the blue line passes it to Zetterberg, who is skating right towards the net and puts it in. We’re tied at 1.
9:19 - Shots are 7-3 Detroit. We’re really overdue as we get the first TV timeout.
9:12 - Chelios and McCarty with two quick shots.
8:58 - Penalty Colorado: 28 Guite (Holding). He grabs a hold of Hudler right against the board. Let’s see if the Wings can get something going with the man advantage.
8:10 - Lidstrom tries to get a shot on there, but it goes to the right of Theodore. Now Rafalski with a shot. Lidstrom hits post! It’s been solid in the Wings zone.
6:56 - The penalty expires, but the Wings with a great series of chances (though no shots).
6:12 - GOAL DETROIT: 11 Cleary (1) from Franzen. Cleary with a shot that deflects of Theodore into the air, and Theodore lost track of it, and it goes in! Theodore had no freaking clue! 2-1 Wings!
5:29 - We’re two TV timeouts behind. The play has been constant.
5:15 - Well, we get the second TV timeout. The shots are 9-3 10-4 Detroit. It’s been a bit insane so far, to put it mildly.
4:50 - Leopold and Guite with a pair of shots that Osgood handles nicely.
4:07 - It’s catch-up time: final TV timeout.
Dan Cleary already has three shots: the entire Avs team has four.
3:47- Lilja and Smith tangle up to the right of Osgood, and Smith lost his stick.
3:07 - They mention the previous name of this franchise, and I say: “Bring back the Nordiques!”
2:52 - Penalty Colorado: 55 McLeod (Hooking). He pulls up on Zetterberg’s tummy. The second Wings power play of the night.
2:37 - GOAL DETROIT: 93 Franzen (3) from Kronwell and Hudler. More craziness! Kronwall takes the shot from the blueline, Franzen makes a grea deflection, off Theodore’s leg, and it goes in. 3-1 Detroit.
1:12 - Penalty Colorado: 24 Salei (Cross Checking). 1/2 on the power play for Detroit. He cross checks Zetterberg to the right of Theodore.
:20 - The Wings continue to pressure. The Avs seem out of sync.
:00 - End of Period 1: And the crowd is loud and happy! A dream first period for Detroit. They put 15 shots on Theodore. And the Avs don’t seem to have a lot of answers. Shots are 15-6 Detroit.
Nick leads everyone with 8:11 TOI. For the Wings, Rafalski has 7:42, Holmstrom has 6:46. For Colorado, Foote has 7:46, Liles has 7:26, Smyth with 6:40.
None of the Avs have more than one shot. Cleary has 3, Datsyuk and Franzen and Holmstrom each with 2.
The faceoffs are 9-7 Detroit. Hits are 14-4 Detroit, which is a change from Round 1, when it was Nashville who was taking it to the Wings.
A totally selfish and biased statement: if you can, find the new University of Michigan Health System TV spot. They did a great job with it. (My bias: I work for the agency that does the advertising for UMHS)
There’s still 48 seconds left in the power play for the Wings as we get ready to start period 2.
20:00 - Start of Period 2: The announcers are ripping the Avs defensively as we start the second.
19:12 - The puck goes out of play as the penalty expires. A couple decent chances in the 48 seconds.
18:47 - GOAL DETROIT: 93 Franzen 2 (4) from Fillpula and Samuelsson. Another turnover by Colorado leads to Franzen with a blast from fifty feet that handcuffs Theodore! It’s 4-1.
Colorado Goalie Change: 31 Budaj. Theodore’s gone with four goals on 16 shots.
18:02 - The Avs have a magnificent chance within Arnason in alone, and Osgood does a great job knocking it away.
16;33 - The Wings have another chance, but Budaj knocks it up into the stands. They’re pouring it on the Avs.
15:44 - Holmstrom gets pulled down behind Budaj, but with no call.
14:43 - GOAL COLORADO: 4 Liles (1) from McLeod and Hannan. Liles comes in from the left side and takes a fast shot that goes in five-hole and just inside the right side of the post. It’s now 4-2, and the crowd is a bit quieted
13:45 - Penalty Colorado: 23 Hejudk (High Sticking). We get the first TV time out. Not sure where it happened, but we’ll take it.
Shots are now 17-10 Detroit. The Wings are 1/3 with 4 shots on the power play tonight.
13:12 - The puck lay right in front of Budaj, but none of the Wings could get a stick on it.
12:15 - For some reason Emrick just called Joe Louis Arena “The Big House.” If Christy was in ear shot, she’d have corrected him quick!
11:24 - The penalty expires as Rafalski takes a shot that goes off the post. The red light turned on for a moment, but it wasn’t a goal. And having been a goal judge in a past life, it happens.
10:22 - Lilja with a shot that rebounds high, but the Avs are able to clear this one.
9:05 - Stastny tries to set up another Av, but misses the mark. The Wings are able to take the rebound back quickly, but can’t get the shot on Budaj.
8:34 - TV timeout 2. The shots are 19-10 Wings.
It’s worth nothing: no Av player has more than one shot. Faceoffs are 15-9 Detroit.
7:43 - Arnason passes the puck cross-ice to the invisible man, and the Wings get the puck back.
7:02 - When Colorado does bring the puck into their zone, they’re lucky to get a shot. They’re really tentative, unable to keep the puck driving.
6:25 - Osgood is on his back, but he’s able to swat away an Avalanche scoring chance to the chants of “Oz-zie, Oz-zie!”
5:47 - Stasny has two cross-checks into Zetterberg, but no call.
5:12 - Budaj has the puck, but rather than wait for a whistle, he drops it in front of him with two Wings in scoring distance. Not quite sure what he was thinking.
3:54 - The final TV timeout on an offsides as the Avs try to bring it into their zone.
We finally have an Avs player record his second shot of the game: Stastny. Shots are 21-11 Detroit.
Franzen is on fire tonight: 2 G, 1 A, 3 shots plus a missed shot.
3:31 - GOAL COLORADO: 23 Hejudk (3) from Stastny and Smyth. Stastny with a pretty pass to a streaking Hejduk. Osgood didn’t have a chance. And it’s 4-3, and the goalie change looks smarter and smarter.
2:43 - Chris Osgood grabs a shot from Guite and holds on for dear life as they swat away. The Avalanche are back, kids.
2:21- Kronwall with a vicious hit against Jones!
2:10 - Penalty Detroit: 3 Lilja (Holding). He ties up an Av, and he’ll go feel shame. Second power play for Colorado: they had one shot.
1:05 - Sakic with a point-blank shot, and Osgood make a great save.
:52 - Another great save by Osgood! It should be 4-4.
:24 - The puck goes into the meshing, and Chris Osgood gets a moment to breathe. A blistering power play for Colorado.
:10 - Penalty’s over.
:00 - End of Period 2. And there are murmurs with the stands and the fans go to the concession stand. Shots are 11-9 Colorado in that period, 26-15 Detroit through two periods.
The Wings have let the Avs back into this game, and the Avs have taken advantage of it. Penalties in that period: one penalty for two minutes for each team.
Budaj stopped all 10 shots he faced in the period (Theodore let in the goal on his one shot). And Chris Osgood has again helped keep the Wings in this game.
An interesting item: According to Versus, Jose Theodore is in street clothes, so he’s not coming back.
Time on ice stats through two periods: Lidstrom at 16:56 on 20 shifts. Zetterberg with 15:46, Rafalski with 14:43. For Nashville, 15:24 for Stasny, Leopold with 13:37, Smyth with 13:10.
Faceoffs are 21-11 Detroit. Hits are 23-11 Detroit.
20:00 - Start of Period 3: Let’s see if the Wings can hold on to this.
19:23 - Theodore has left the building. So the third goaltender is Tyler Weiman (who’s not even in the game notes) if something happens to Budaj.
18:33 - Kronwall does a dump and chase, which isn’t a good sign for a team that doesn’t usually do dump and chase.
17:53 - Hudler fires a 35-footer from outside the faceoff circle and Budaj makes the smart save.
17:05 - Mike Emrick is ragging on Wings fans who get on goaltenders who don’t meet their high standards: see Chevelde, Tim and Joseph, Curtis. Who, us?
16:00 Draper gets a hit on McCormick in the corner to the left of Budaj. McCormick gets his skates up high when he falls.
15:00 - Franzen takes a shot that goes off the post and so high into the stands that no one can find it.
14:35 - Holmstrom with two shots and Budaj stones him twice!
14:20 - Penalty Colorado: 34 Sauer (Interference). Wings are 1/4 with five shots.
13:43 - Scott Hannan took a shot to the foot and fell to the ice. He had to skate off with the help of referee Stewart. He’s in the tunnel and in pain.
13:23 - Penalty Detroit: 40 Zetterberg (Intereference). We go to four-on-four as Zetterberg gets his stick up and the Avs player sells it very well.
12:20 - The Colorado penalty ends, and we’ll have 56 seconds of Colorado power play: 0/2 tonight.
11:47 - Liles with a shot that goes off a Wings stick.
11:14 - We go back to five-on-five. Zetterberg had a one-on-one from Datsyuk and Budaj stops him! He’s keeping them in this thing.
10:38 - Our first TV timeout of the period comes a touch late. Shots are 34-17 Detroit. Faceoffs are 24-10 Detroit.
Franzen and Zetterberg each have five shots tonight for the Wings. Four players on the Avalance have 2.
10:10 - Rafalski tries to set up a Wings player, but it instead goes through the crease.
9:23 - Leopold plows Filppula into the boards right behind Budaj.
8:39 - McLeod with a backhand that Osgood stops and we get the second TV timeout. More pushing and talking in the crease. Shots are 35-18. Faceoffs are 24-17. Hits are 26-14.
7:35 - Lots of end-to-end action. Not a lot of shots.
7:04 - McCormick drills Datsuyk into the boards.
6:45 - The Avs are really pressuring now, with a couple of chances. They finally clear it out to get a line change.
5:30 - Osgood tries to cover up a puck that wasn’t there: the puck went out right of him.
4:48 - Heyduk with a shot that rings off the post! They get lucky!
4:25 - We’re well overdue for a TV timeout, but it’s end to end.
4:12 - Finally a TV timeout on an Avs icing, but they still wind up hitting Lilja after the whistle, which brings the sticks up.
I don’t think we had a stoppage from the previous TV timeout: over four minutes.
Shots are 35-20 Detroit.
3:46 - Icing Detroit, so they can’t change. As the shifts get shorter, an icing call can be murder. FYI: both teams still have their timeouts.
3:20 - Lilja finally clears the zone for the line change.
2:49 - Zetterberg gets tied up at open ice by Liles and can’t get the shot off.
1:55 - The Avs can’t keep the puck in their attacking zone. The Wings doing a great job of clearing it.
1:17 - Another line change, Budaj goes to the bench!
:56 - Puck clears the zone for the Avs.
:33 - Clear again…great job by the Wings!
:08 - INCREDIBLE SAVE BY OSGOOD! HOLY CRAP! Liles came in the backdoor and had him dead to rights, and he holds it! Colorado takes the timeout. That should’ve gone in!
Faceoff to the right, Draper v Sakic. Drapes is 8/12.
:00 - End of Period 3: That’s your ballgame! They got one chance off after the final faceoff, but it was blocked. Shots 10-6 Detroit in the third, finishes up 36-21 Detroit.
Time-on-ice stats:Lidstrom finishes up with 26:08, Zetterberg with 23:45, Rafalski with 23:18; Stastny at 22:33, Leopold at 21:35, Liles with 21:38.
Cleary, Zetterberg, and Franzen with 5 shots each. For the Avs, Joe Sakic had three shots. Hits ended up 27-19 Detroit, with three hits apiece for Holmstrom, Kronvall, and Draper. Jody McCormick had 4 hits to lead the Avs.
Faceoffs finish up 27-18 Detroit.
Your three stars: 1. Franzen (2G, 1A, +2, 5 shots),2. Stastny (1G, 1A, +2), 3. Zetterberg (1G, 5 shots).
I’s time for me to wrap it up. Thanks as usual to Christy for the space. Thank you for reading. I’ll be back Saturday for Game 2: 3:00 ET is the start time. Thanks again, and good night.
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5 Responses to “Game 1 Live Blog: Wings/Avs”
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April 24th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
[…] (2:10 PM): With Christy Hammond working the game for the Wings, Joe Hass will liveblog the game at Behind the Jersey again. - […]
April 24th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
r u “broadcasting” on the blog? is that it?
April 24th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Fun game tonight. The Wings were on their heels a bit near the end, but Ozzie came through when it counted. I don’t think the Avs trust Budaj enough to leave him in, so there’ll probably be a slightly rattled Theodore back for game two.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
[…] BtJ liveblog here. […]
April 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am
[…] the first 10:00 or so of the third because I had to run an errand, but from what I can tell from the BtJ liveblog, the Wings looked […]