Game 4 Live Blog: Wings/Avs
Joe here. Join me at 10:00 ET for my live blog for Game 4. Brooms are optional.
Follow along with what will hopefully be a dead silent Pepsi Center after the jump.
So here’s the deal. I was supposed to be in the comfort of my own house tonight. Alas, Northwest Airlines intervened (and I didn’t exactly complain when it happened). So I’m still in another town. Further, the hotel I’m at has Versus, which I don’t have at my house. So it’s win-win (with the exception of my dog, who wants to know where the boy is toot sweet).
The officials tonight: Mike Hasenfratz and Don VanMassenhoven your referees, with Lonnie Cameron and Brian Murphy on the lines.
For the Avs, the question becomes whom, exactly, they can turn to. Theodore has done exactly nothing to instill any confidence in him, Forsberg came back only to put two penalties on the board in game 3, and at this point they’re going to play score-o before the game with the winner dressing for the Avs tonight on their third line.
Meanwhile, Mike Babcock had to be pretty happy with the Wings performance in Game 3. Not quite as good as game 2, but still showed a lot.
Meanwhile, the Mule just keeps kicking. Franzen with 8 goals is tied for the NHL playoff lead with Daniel Brierre. The Avs will have to do something they haven’t done in three games: figure out how to keep him off the score sheet.
The scratches are announced: Forsberg is out. For your starters: Cleary, Drake, Stuart, Draper, Kronvall, and Osgood; the Avs start Liles, McCormick, Laperriere, Hannan, Guite, and Theodore.
20:00 - Start of Period 1: Let’s play hockey!
A couple other scratches: Stastny for Colorado, and Chelios for the Wings (Lilja replaces him; uh-oh).
18:25 - Back and forth we go. No pressure from either team early.
17:35 - A neutral zone turnover leads to a quick shot for the Avs, but Osgood handles it easily.
16:10 - Datsyk takes a shot that Theodore juggled, and while he was juggling, Holmstrom went towards Theodore. There are words afterwards, but no penalties.
15:27 - GOAL DETROIT: Samuelsson (1) from Lilja. Samuelsson takes a shot from 30 feet, Theodore thinks he stops it, but it trickles in behind him and he stares at it as it crosses the line. An easy goal surrendered by Theodore, and it’s 1-0.
14:15 - Penalty Detroit: Holmstrom (Tripping) Holmstrom was right in front of Theodore, had a great shot, but he gets cross checked. That doesn’t get called, Tomas did something wrong. so it’s a Colorado power play.
13:09 - GOAL COLORADO: Arnason (2) from Brunette and Sakic (PP). Brunette is behind the net, who passes it up to Arnason for an easy shot. We’re tied at one, and I don’t think Osgood had a chance at it.
12:43 - Our first TV time out. The shots are 5-1 Wings.
And guess who was covering Arnason? Lilja! Double ugh.
11:43 - Sakic is all over Samuelsson like a cheap suit.
11:02 - Dallas Drake has a one on two, but Liles and McCormick cause enough of a disruption to prevent a good chance and Theodore gets to make the save.
9:31 - Lilja blows coverage again and gives up a great chance to the Avs. He may want to stock up on cardboard boxes after this post season.
8:47 - Holmstrom with a great chance that Theodore has to make a desperate save on as we hit the second TV time out.
The shots are 8-1 Detroit. Hits are 7-5 Detroit. Faceoffs are also 7-5 Detroit.
7:48 - Datsyuk stole the puck on the right of Theodore, but he can’t connect with anyone.
6:55 - Rafalski with a three footer that Osgood has to make a fast save on.
5:30 - Guite with a blind shto that Osgood makes a fast save on.
5:17 - We hit the final TV timeout. McCarty needs to be careful. He could’ve gotten a penalty for a high stick a few moments ago. It’s bad enough to have Lilja out there.
The shots are 9-4 Detroit.
4:43 - Stuart skates in and puts a shot on Theodore, then runs into him. Fortunately no call.
3:44 - The Wings are definitely playing more physically than I’ve seen them in the playoffs. If the stripes aren’t gonna call this stuff, bully for them.
2:55 - Jones is camped out in the front of the net, tries to pull off the shot, but a Wings player makes him pay for his real estate choice.
1:55 - The Wings are definitely pressuring now: two decent chances until Lilja fires a shot that goes up in the mesh, so it comes out of the zone.
1:26 - GOAL DETROIT: Holmstrom (2) from Zetterberg and Datsuyk. A beauty of a set up by Zetterberg on a two on one, Jones commits, and Theodore can’t do much on this. It’s 2-1, and you have to wonder if Theodore’s gonna come out for the second.
:38 - GOAL DETROIT: Franzen (9) from Filppula and Stewart. Franzen on the give and go from Filppula after a turnover by Colorado in the neutral zone. Now it’s 3-1, and the building is dead silent. They had the Wings for 18 minutes, but two fast goal.
:00 - End of Period 1. Oy! The shots are 15-4 Detroit. And any hope the Avs had to take control are gone.
Penalty Colorado: Sauer (Slashing). To make matters worse, they’re gonna be a man down for the start of the second.
Both teams took one penalty for 2 minutes each in that period. Hits are even at 7. Faceoffs are 15-9 Detroit.
Time on ice: Kronvall leads the Wings with 7:58 in 10 shifts. Stuart with 7:40 in 10 shifts. Lidstrom with 7:35 in 10 shifts. For the Avs, it’s Jeff Finger with 8:16 in 12 shifts.
20:00 - Start of Period 2: Wings are on the power play.
19:10 - And there has been a goalie change: Budaj is in there now.
18:42 - Franzen was driving, and Finger tripped him up but didn’t get a call.
18:14 - Penalty Colorado: Guite (Delay of Game). He knocked the puck up in the stands, and we’ll go 5-3 for 14 seconds.
17:50 - Back to 5 on-4
17:45 - GOAL DETROIT: Zetterberg (6) from Lidstrom and Datsyuk (PP). This is gonna get ugly. On the power play, Lidstrom sets up Zetterberg with Holmstrom screening Budaj beautiful. 4-1 Wings.
15:30 - Guite with a ripped shot from 40 feet that Osgood saves.
15:08 - Guite nails Helm with a nice open-ice shot.
14:15 - GOAL DETROIT: Zetterberg 2 (7) from Datsyuk. A highlight-reel goal by Zetterberg! Datsyuk sets him up, he tries to shoot, spins around, then finally puts it up top! 5-1 Wings! Any time the Avs want to avoid humiliation, they can show up.
13:40 - We hit the TV time out.
Shots are 24-6 Detroit. 9-1 Detroit this period alone.
You must see that goal. Find it over at nhl.com after the game’s over.
13:11 - Zetterberg had a chance at the hat trick, fires a quick shot wide of Budaj.
12:24 - Helm with a shot that ties up Budaj. The Avs simply cannot get anything going.
11:51 - They’re saying that Chelios has the legendary lower body injury, so he’s off tonight. Because they won’t say, I’m assuming he has leprosy.
11:05 - Jones has Draper on him, rips a shot at Osgood, who makes a good save. Then Brunette with another shot that Ozzie covers.
10:03 - Hejduk with a chance that Lidstrom helps break up.
9:30 - Penalty Detroit: Samuelsson (Hooking). If you’re gonna hook someone, try to do it more than four feet away from the official. We’re going to have an Avs power play after the TV time out.
The shots are 26-9 Detroit. And you’ve gotta feel for the Avs fans: I mean, this is brutal.
Colorado: 1/1 on the power play tonight.
8:23 - GOAL DETROIT: Franzen 2 (10) from Zetterberg (SH). A beautiful give-and-go on a two-on-one, Franzen and Zetterberg, and Franzen lights the lamp for the second time tonight. 6-1.
7:00 - The penalty is over.
6:40 - Penalties: Holmstrom (Slashing), McCormick (Holding). Holmstrom is thrown violently to the ice and loses his helmet by McCormick.I have no ides when Holmstrom slashed anyone. We’ll go four-on-four, and Babcock is incensed at the Holmstrom penalty.
5:52 - We have the final TV time out of the period. Shots are 30-11 Detroit.
And we all know the last time that the Colorado Avalance gave up six-or-more goals in a playoff game.
4:21 - Holmstrom and Hejduk into the boards.
4:05 - Penalty Colorado: Guite (Slashing). Oh, goodness.
3:12 - Cleary with a shot off the post.
2:45 - GOAL DETROIT: Franzen 3 (11) from Lidstrom and Hudler. Lidstrom’s shot gets redirected by Franzen, who gets his 8th goal of the series. The looks on the Avs fans faces is legitimately painful.
1:39 - Penalty Detroit: Lidstrom (hooking). He did it. Colorado on the power play.
:35 - Colorado can’t do much on the power play again.
:19 - They try to set up Brunette, but he can’t put his stick on it.
:00 - End of Period 2: There are a few chants of Oz-zie, Oz-zie. The power play will continue into the third. The shots are 35-17 Detroit. They were 20-11 Detroit in that period.
What can be said at this point? If you’re Babcock, you just want those 20 minutes to run off the clock as fast as is possible.
Franzen breaks the Wings record for most goals in a single series, held by Mr. Hockey.
20:00 - Start of Period 3: Franzen has set an NHL record for most goals in a four-game series.
18:33 - Penalty Colorado: Liles (Holding the stick).
17:53 - The Wings are pressuring again. A chance that’s held by Budaj.
16:05 - The penalty expires. It’s end-to-end…obviously no one is pushing.
15:40 - A quick tip to the kids in the truck at Versus: you don’t need to run the “Game 6 (if necessary)” graphic for the Avs/Wings series anymore.
14:39 - Jones puts a hip check into Helm.
14:04 - Lebda takes a shot that goes off the post.
13:07 - LaPerrier streaks towards the net and Osgood makes the save as we hit the first TV time out. Shots are 37-18 Detroit.
Now I know this is sacreligious, but what I’d like to see now is T.J. Hensick score his first playoff goal. Always like to see the Michigan kids do well!
11:58 - GOAL DETROIT: Samuelsson 2 (2) from Hudler and Filppula. Hudler puts the puck towards Samuelsson, who hits it into the net from the air.
11:05 - Penalty Detroit: Lilja (High sticking). I’d have called it a trip, but it was a penalty, no doubt about it.
10:46 - Penalty Detroit: Drake (Delay of game). He was pushed into the net, but as he did it, he swung his arm around and drew a penalty. We have 1:39 of 5-on-3 play.
10:00 - He won’t get one of the three stars, but Osgood’s had a great game tonight, and he’s standing on his head during these penalties.
9:34 - GOAL COLORADO: Liles (2) from Salei and Sakic (PP). Liles with a one-timer from 50-feet out. Osgood was frozen; it looked like it was tipped.
8:30 - Our second TV time out. Sorry to jinx you, Chris.
6:10 - This sums up the entire series for Colorado: Osgood goes way out of the net, leaving it wide open, and Colorado not only can’t get a shot off, they can’t even get the puck on someone’s stick to try to get a shot off.
4:57 - The final TV time out. Shots are 39-27 Detroit. Shots attempted (SOG + blocked shots + missed net shots) are 58-46.
3:37 - A couple of attempts by the Avs, but they can’t get an actual shot.
3:02 - Foote with a shot that Osgood knocks away.
2:25 - I think Miss Hammond can go ahead and make those lunch plans on Saturday.
1:20 - The last four minutes have featured more effort from the Avs than we’ve seen since the first 18 minutes.
:00 - End of Period 3. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a 60-minute effort. And this ought to clear up any doubt that they are the team to beat.
The shots finish up 40-31 Detroit.
So we wait for San Jose and Dallas to finish up, possibly as early as tomorrow night. For the Wings and Mike Babcock, they just have to remember how well they did.
Franzen is the first player with two hat tricks in a single series since Jari Kurri in 1985.
That’s going to wrap it up for me. Thanks to Christy for the space (and for giving me something to do tonight). Thanks to you for reading. I’ll be back for Game 1 of Round 3, when to be determined. Be good, be safe, and good night.
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24 Responses to “Game 4 Live Blog: Wings/Avs”
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May 1st, 2008 at 10:23 pm
That was a complete crap call on Holmstrom and the Avs score on that power play (of course when Lilja is on the ice). I hope the refs don’t gift wrap this game to the Avs.
May 1st, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I don’t think the refs can gift wrap this game if the Wings are going to keep shooting the way they are.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:23 pm
I feel bad for Budaj, thrown in like that with seemingly no help from the rest of the team. It’s not as though he’s going to get pulled if things get worse, so he just has to take it and play the best he can to give his team a chance to be competitive.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Yeah, I definitely agree Baroque. I’m completely enjoying this game as a Wings fan. But if you’re an Avs fan, this has to kill you to see your team play like this in an elimination game…
May 1st, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Ok boys, six is enough. Just play it out and don’t embarrass them so bad they take their frustrations out physically and we lose somebody for next round.
I am Versus-less. It sure sounds like there’s a lot of Wings fans there. Do you see a lot of RW jerseys in the stands?
May 1st, 2008 at 11:34 pm
This is just brutal. And the last goal looked so easy, it was bordering on obscene. At least no one’s gonna go at Quenville about the goaltender decision tonight.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Never commented here before but I had to find a Wings blog to say… Holy Hockey!
Franzen - 8 goals in 4 games, that’s ridiculous.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:44 pm
It’s like watching a pitcher get hammered to death to save the bullpen, and you just know he’s going to have an ERA of 81.00 before his arm falls off. Poor goalie.
The effort is there for Colorado, but they are completely overmatched.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:45 pm
This definitely reminds me of the “Au Rev Roy” game back in 2002, except it’s only Game 4 and this series hasn’t had an ounce of competition.
Nine goals in four games. Sheesh.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:46 pm
There are several Wings jerseys, but the Colorado fans are quiet as a tomb. Makes the Detroit fans sound louder by contrast.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:50 pm
If I was an Avs fan at the game, I’d leave during this intermission even if I paid a lot of money for the game. It’s just not worth it to suffer like that…
May 1st, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I’m enjoying the display of skills, but at the same time I do have a soul and a conscience which provides me with enough compassion to want to speed up the third.
Go Wings.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I agree, Christy. And I’m one of those “never leave early” types.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 am
…maybe I don’t have a soul. I should be watching 30 Rock right about now, but I can’t change the channel (8? 9?).
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:20 am
Ekuajey, you got 8. Let’s see if we can find 9 around here somewhere.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:21 am
You guys hearing Ozzie smack the goal posts. Everytime the play is going up ice you can hear a ping! I am sure that is what it is.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
Well they got #2 and it seemed to spark a tiny bit of life into the game. For the most part, Colorado seems to be accepting their fate and taking it with “class”, instead of trying to hurt our players (let’s hope it stays that way).
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:54 am
Whatdya think, should we hope for the other series to finish up ASAP so we can get going on the conf finals while we’re still smokin’, or should we hope for Sharks to push the Stars and give our guys some time off? We’re pretty healthy right now, do we really need the time off?
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:59 am
[…] in the morning. For now, Joe Hass’ liveblog at Behind the Jersey. « MacLeod on […]
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:28 am
I say an extra day two would be good.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:29 am
Day or two that is.
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:27 am
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RIDE THE MULE TO THE CUP THAT IS!
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May 2nd, 2008 at 7:18 am
I must say I am so incredibly thankful that I don’t have to be at the Joe at 7am on Saturday. Go Wings!
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 am
[…] The Wings sweep the Avs in a dominating fashion concluding with an 8-2 victory. The goal by Henrik Zetterberg, as shown below, was good enough to be the top play on Sportscenter […]