Game 5 Live Blog: Wings/Stars
Joe here. It was awfully sweet for the NHL to allow the Wings to clinch the conference title at home.
I promise absolutely no mention of Rule 69.
Follow along after the jump.
(p.s.: when I went to the NHL site to look up that rule reference, one of the Google ads encouraged me to check out the NBA playoffs on ESPN and ABC. Nice work, guys!)
The officials today: Bill McCreary and Kevin Pollock with the arm bands. Steve Miller and Brian Murphy on the lines.
Obviously Franzen remains out. The word is he’s started working out this week, and it takes about a week to ensure that things are all cleared up before he skates again. So that should make him good for the Stanley Cup finals.
Stu Hackel over at the New York Times makes an excellent observation: “If you have a chance to close out a team on home ice and fail, you’re in trouble.”
It’s going to be interesting to see how the officials treat Tomas and Turco today.
A heads up for those of you who are outside of the Detroit area: NHL.com says NBC will cut away after the first overtime (if needed). Versus will pick up the remainder of the game.
Mickey Redmond’s Keys Of The Game: The Wings need to stay urgent, they need to wake up their power play (1/15 in the last three games), and they need to stay disciplined.
The scratches have been announced: no changes from Game 4 for either team.
The starters: Drake, Maltby, Stuart, Draper, Kronwall, Osgood; Robidas, Norstrom, Petersen, Eriksson, Lundqvist, Turco.
And the octopus has hit the ice. Make that 3 octopi.
We’re gonna have a slight delay. One of the octopi left a lot of stuff on the ice.
20:00 - Start of Period 1: Let’s play hockey!
19:55 - Lines: Datsuyk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom; Cleary/Filppula/Samuelsson; Hudler/Draper/Maltby; Drake/Helm/McCarty; Lidstrom/Rafalski; Stuart/Kronwall; Lebda/Chelios.
19:28 - The Let’s Go Red Wings chant starts.
19:05 - Modano with a soft backhand that Osgood holds for a stoppage.
18:55 - Filppula with a set up to Cleary, and Turco makes a great save!
18:19 - Norstrom, after that shot, did a lousy job of clearing it and almost passed it right back to Filppula.
17:44 - Babcock’s taking advantage of the last line change; done it twice on two stoppages.
17:16 - Niskanen with a blue line slapshot that Osgood handles it.
17:07 - The CBC announcers are still drooling over the Turco save. It was good, but let’s not make it into a series changer here. Remember, the team that’s scored first has won every game of the series.
16:30 - Penalties: Dallas Winchester (Tripping), Detroit McCarty (Roughing), Stuart (Tripping). Ribiero was in alone, Stuart swung his stick. Oh, and on the replay, it’s obvious that Stuart got puck first, so that shouldn’t have been a penalty. But it’s a bang-bang call. McCarty and Stuart got feisty after the whistle.
15:22 - Modano skates right in and Osgood has to make a fast save.
14:56 - Dallas is 17/79 (21.5%) on the power play. Detroit is 52/60 (86.7%) on the penalty kill.
14:24 - Penalty’s over. Stars had a couple chances, but we’re back to 5-on-5.
14:05 - Icing Dallas, and they’re stuck with the fourth line on the ice. McCarty and Stuart leave the box.
13:24 - The play is leaning a lot towards the Dallas end. Shots are 4-2 Dallas.
12:53 - Hagland goes in with Modano on a 2-on-1, and takes the shot with a great save as we hit the first TV timeout.
12:44 - The face offs are 5-3 Detroit, but the CBC announcers are raving on how the Stars are winning the faceoffs.
12:18 - Three big hits! Dallas Drake has made three in a row, and the fans are on their feet. He nailed Toby Petersen just off the boards.
12:02 - Zetterberg is taken down by Ott, but no call. Fans disagree.
11:35 - Datsuyk with a 45-footer that Turco has to push away.
10:39 - GOAL DALLAS: Daley (1) from Richards and Hagman. A lousy line change lets Richards sets up Daley, and it’s 1-0 Dallas. The Wings do not look on today.
10:00 - Joel Lundqvist falls on Osgood, and there’s no call. Play continues.
9:34 - We hit the second TV timeout. This is not a good first period, in more ways that one. They give up a lousy goal. The play has been consistently on the Stars end.
Shots are 8-3 Dallas.
9:32 - Penalty Dallas: Modano (Interference). He had his are drapes on Holmstrom right after the face off, and we get the first Wings power play.
8:44 - Zetterberg with a backhander that Turco has to make the save on.
7:50 - The Wings are keeping the puck in their end, but they look tentative. Not nearly as aggressive as you’d like.
7:28 - Cleary, in front of Turco, tries to get a shot, but Turco covers up for the face off.
7:18 - Penalty’s over.
6:43 - Helm gets held up by Daley, and we’re gonna have a penalty.
6:26 - Dallas Penalty: Daley (Interference). And some strange officiating: McCarty drove Niskanen into Turco. The Wings still had the puck, but Pollock blew the whistle. I have no idea what the heck is going on. Wings 0/1 on the power play with no shots.
5:55 - Holmstrom with a great chance, Turco makes the save with his foot as he lost his stick! A wild 15 seconds.
5:31 - Rafalski witha 50 footer that goes up like a pop up, and the Stars move it out of danger.
5:23 - Zetterberg is on the doorstep with a chance, but can’t put it in.
4:30 - GOAL DETROIT: Hudler (4) from Kronwall and Filppula(PP). Kronwall with a beautiful set up, Hudler takes one shot that Turco saves, but it goes right back to Hudler who banks it off the post. We’re tied at 1! That was a great power play!
3:51 - We finally get the last TV time out. The Wings have gotten the last eight shots, and they’re 11-8 on the shot board.
They just shared two great pieces of info: no one from Newfoundland has their name on the Cup, and Dan Cleary’s dad flew in last night for the Conference final, and told his son, “I’m not leaving until it’s over.” That’s another reason I love hockey!
3:23 - Helm with a fast wraparound that Turco has to quickly cover for the face off.
2:51 - Lidstrom all alone had a 15-footer that Turco made the save off, then Kronwall almost had an empty net. The Wings have awoken.
2:15 - Stuart lines up Robidas and checks him into the boards. The fans approve.
1:41 - Kronwall open ice hits Miettinen. Then Osgood reels in the shot by Morrow. This building is suddenly alive.
1:00 - Penalties: Dallas Daley (Roughing), Detroit Maltby (Roughing). Lidstrom with a shot that Turco saves and holds, and sticks are up after the whistle. 4-on-4 for two minutes.
:14 - Lidstrom with a shot that bounces off the board and Zetterberg had a great chance that he couldn’t get off.
:00 - End of Period 1: Shots are 14-10 Detroit. Hits are 12-8 Detroit. Faceoffs are 11-8 Detroit. And the game is all Detroit in the last 11 minutes.
Penalties: Detroit 3-6, Dallas 4-8. Time on ice: Lidstrom 10:17/12, Rafalski 9:43/9, Zetterberg 8:16/9; Zubov 8:36/12, Robidas 8:03/12, Morrow 7:33/10.
That power play goal was the first for the Wings since Zetterberg scored at the 15:13 mark of Game 2.
They just showed a goal from Bob Baun in the 1964 Cup Finals. The thing that jumped out at me: the clean, white dasher boards. The decision by Olympia this year to go to the mandatory white backgrounds on the ads is one of the best things they’ve done, and I give them huge props for it. I think it looks cleaner, brighter, just plain better.
Oh, and I’d just like to announce here that I am not interested in the GM job for the Leafs next year.
20:00 - Start of Period 2: We continue 4-on-4 for one more minute.
18:52 - Penalty Dallas: Norstrom (Interference). As Maltby comes out of the box, he jumps on the puck, and Norstrom swings his stick and knocks Maltby’s stick out. The Wings are 1/2 with 6 shots.
18:11 - Filppula with a shot from 50-feet that went into the mesh, so the face off comes out of the zone.
17:40 - Datsuyk had Grossman draped over him and can’t get the shot off.
17:24 - Tomas, please do not take out Pavel at the blue line, especially on the power play.
16:51 - Penalty’s over.
16:28 - The Stars, for the first time this period, gets the puck in their own zone, but only for a moment. It’s been all Wings.
15:38 - You have to feel if the Wings score again, this thing’s over. They’re on their game now, and if they get a lead, they’re not gonna give it up.
14:40 - Zupov took his sweet time to get it out of the Wings zone, and proceed to turn the puck over as soon as he crossed into the middle of the ice.
13:57 - GOAL DALLAS: Lundqvist (2) from Turco. He took the puck from the opposite blue line, had a two-on-one, he puts it past Osgood, and it’s 2-1 Dallas.
13:28 - Hagman with the shot that Osgood falls on. We hit the TV time out. That was disconcerting.
Shots are 17-11 Detroit. Faceoffs are 15-9 Detroit. Hits are 12-12.
13:17 - Penalty Detroit: Holmstrom (Cross-checking). Holmstrom has a wonderful shot, Turco makes a great save, and Holmstrom proceeds to make Norstrom pay. Stars are 0/1 on the power play with 1 shot.
12:04 - Modano takes a shot that goes wide.
11:32 - Wings with a couple of good clears on this penalty kill. Stars trying to keep it in.
11:02 - Penalty’s over.
10:55 - An interesting stat from the CBC: Osgood’s career Game 5 record is 3-10.
9:48 - A Turco deflection of a Samuelsson shot brings us to the second TV time out.
Shots are 19-13 Detroit, hits are 14-13 Dallas, faceoffs are 18-9. Speaking of: Draper is 8/8 on faceoffs today.
9:32 - Datsuyk with a wraparound and Turco makes a save right against the post.
8:34 - Niskanen with a quick shot from the blue line that Osgood handles.
7:02 - Lots of back-and-forth action again. No one’s really putting a lot of pressure.
6:40 - Stuart makes a quick shot and Turco makes the save and holds.
5:37 - Penalty Detroit: Hudler (Slashing). Lundqvist was skating in, and Hudler got his stick up high. The Stars are 0/2 with 2 shots on the power play as we hit the final TV time out.
They replay the drive, and it was a weak penalty, but a penalty nevertheless.
4:55 - Ribiero and Morrow each with hard backhands, and Osgood is a wall. The OZ-ZIE chant comes up from the crowd.
4:35 - A very good power play for Dallas, putting a lot of pressure on the Wings.
3:45 - They just showed a replay that showed Fillpula taking a puck to the face off a faceoff, and he’s reportedly in the hallway.
3:35 - Penalty’s over
3:30 - Lidstrom with a blue liner that hits Turco, and he didn’t see it. He turned around and looked behind him.
2:21 - There’s more back-and-forth. No one’s pressing much.
1:10 - Drake with a shot that just misses the net.
1:05 - Marty Turco, with a lovely attempt at selling a penalty after getting hit with a stick. But he makes the save.
:32 - Zetterberg was skating toward the net, and they tried to set him up, but the puck went passed him.
:23 - Filpuula back on the ice.
:00 - End of Period 2: The Wings do not look consistent. They outshot the Stars 13-6 in that period, but the Stars get the only goal.
Shots for the game are 27-16 Detroit. Hits are 15-14 Detroit. Faceoffs are 23-15 Detroit.
Time on ice: Lidstrom 18:36/21, Rafalski 17:22/17, Zetterberg 15:02/18; Zubov 17:27/22, Morrow 14:50/16, Robidas 14:25/21.
Let me throw out something here: I’d say it’s less important to see the Wings win this game than to see them play a solid 20 minutes here. Obviously, I want the Wings to score two and end this thing, but let’s at least see them play a consistent period.
20:00 - Start of Period 3: Let’s see what happens.
18:46 - The Wings look strong in the first minute, and they’re pressuring again.
18:13 - Morrow fires a 55-footer that Osgood holds for a face off.
17:54 - Morrow skates in; Osgood makes a nice save.
17:15 - The Stars now are applying a bit of pressure. Osgood has had to make a couple of quick saves.
16:30 - The Wings aren’t firing on all cylinders.
15:41 - Lidstrom was too cute: he skated in behind Turco, tried to make a soft pass, and the Stars swipe it out of the zone.
14:09 - The first line for Detroit (Pavel, Henrik, Tomas): 8 shots, no goals.
13:45 - The Wings ice the puck for the first TV time out. They are just not doing well. Shots 2-2 this period, 29-18 Detroit in the game.
13:35 - The crowd sounds tensive once the scoreboard stops telling them to play music.
13:13 - Datsuyk takes a shot from the right of Turco that hits Holmstrom.
11-48 - The Wings are keeping the puck pretty consistently in their end, but they aren’t doing anything with it.
10:57 - Chelios takes a shot from the blue line that Turco saves, rebounds to Helm, who (again) gets cute and rather than forcing the wrap around decides to hold it and doesn’t get the shot off.
9:59 - Suddenly it’s the Stars who are putting pressure. They get a couple chances as Osgood finally stops it and we hit the second TV time out. Shots are 4-3 Wings in the period, 31-19 in the game. Hits are 18-18. Faceoffs are 31-17 Detroit.
The Wings have 10 minutes to avoid having every one of their fans hit the panic button.
9:16 - Maltby is camping out 8 feet in front of the net, and the Wings are trying to get it to him.
8:43 - Datsuyk with a shot that Turco makes the save on.
8:04 - Kronwall with a blue liner that Turco saves.
7:49 - Penalty Detroit: Holmstrom (Roughing). One of the dumbest penalties you will ever see. Holmstrom struck a player on the Dallas bench, Steve Ott. Dallas 0/3 on the power play with 4 shots.
7:00 - Maltby goes in one-on-one, but his shot is easily taken care of by Turco.
6:11 - Morrow skated in alone on Osgood, and he got Osgood to move out of position, but hits the top bar and it goes into the mesh. The Wings are in big trouble.
5:40 - Penalty’s over.
5:05 - Holmstrom with a shot that goes wide, and the Stars clear it. No second chances for the Wings.
4:38 - Final TV time out. Shots are 8-4 Detroit in the period, 35-21 Detroit in the game. Hits are 20-18 Detroit. Faceoffs are 36-18 Detroit (Draper: 17/18).
4:23 - Another Dallas icing call.
3:50 - The Stars are doing an excellent job of holding the puck away from the center of the ice.
3:31 - Datsyuk shot is saved by Turco, and Holmstrom knocks the rebound wide.
3:00 - Turco covers up a Wings shot with Holmstrom near the net.
2:30 - The Wings are applying the pressure…
2:06 - Detroit ices the puck, and they’ll have to leave the line out there: Datsuyk and Holmstrom among others.
1:56 - Another Wings icing. Dear heavens, they’re shooting themselves in the foot.
1:45 - Datsuyk shot that Turco has to pad save.
1:04 - Osgood wsa headed for the bench, but he has to skate back
:57 - Dallas ices the puck. Osgood’s going to be bench. Wings call time out. They showed the replay: it wasn’t icing. Wasn’t even close.
:39 - The puck clears: couldn’t get the shot off.
:10 - The Wings iced the puck!
:00 - End of Period 3. A mediocre game by the Red Wings.
They looked like a team that couldn’t put together an effort for more than 10 minutes at a time. The Wings will have to go back to Dallas for Game 6.
Shots in the 3rd were 12-5 Detroit. For the game: 39-21 Detroit. Hits were 21-20 Dallas. Faceoffs were 41-20 Detroit.
The front line for the Wings: 14 shots, 5 missed shots, no goals. They need to wake up.
You can’t blame Osgood: he played well today. You can absolutely blame the defense, who fell asleep at the wheel today.
That third period was an example of how the Wings had a chance; heck, multiple chances, and squandered them.
I’m going to head off. Thanks to Christy for the space. Thanks to you for reading. One of us will be back Monday, either from Detroit or Little Rock. Be good; if you can’t, be safe.
And just in case you need it…
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9 Responses to “Game 5 Live Blog: Wings/Stars”
Leave a Reply
May 17th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
[…] Joe Hass’ liveblog […]
May 17th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Looks like I’ll have to hang out here for a while. Dallas scored when I was over at Able to Yzerman, and Hudler scored right after I came over here.
So much for being a rational human being.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Of course, I mean Abel. Fingers twitchey this pm.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Modano is gonna get one today! GO Stars… Fuck Detroit
May 17th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
no more powerplays for detroit and dallas will win… penalties will be the big issue the next two periods….
May 17th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Barqoue: Rationality goes out the window in May.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Yeah, I know.
Yesterday on A2Y I quoted a bit from a book I just picked up, “Your Brain on Cubs: Inside the Heads of Players and Fans” about the abnormal feelings of connections between random events being a well-recognized symptom of schziophrenia.
Scientific proof that being a sports fan really IS akin to insanity!
May 17th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
And, as a Cubs fan, I am all too well aware of this insanity.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Me too - inherited it from my mother.