Thoughts on Game #1
Before I get to my thoughts on Game #1, you can check out my statistical look at the game at WIM. For a more thorough look at what exactly went on in the game, be sure to read the live blog on BTJ last night courtesy of Joe.
It was a great game. Admittedly I saw only about half of it, but I did catch most of the first period. In that period, the Penguins appeared to grab control as the Wings kept heading to the penalty box resulting in almost four consecutive penalty kills. As a result, Chris Osgood had to make some key saves to keep Detroit in the game. For his play in the first combined with a shutout, Osgood was named the second star of the game.
With Johan Franzen not returning until Game #2 at the earliest, the Wings needed scoring from the likes of Zetterberg and Datsyuk as well as from their secondary scoring. Well, they got just that on top of great goaltending. Mikael Samuelsson scored twice including a wraparound beauty. Dan Cleary earned one and Zetterberg finished it up. Both Sammy and Cleary had not scored since the Colorado series so it was great to see someone else step up.
It’s exciting to see the Wings win the first game of the Finals and it’s so important that they keep home ice advantage. I particularly like that we had a solid game and won in a dominating fashion. While close wins can be quite thrilling, I prefer the big win. Makes me less stressed during the game.
On Friday during Media Day at Cobo Center, I had the pleasure to meet Paul Kukla of Kukla’s Korner and have run into him a few times since then as well. Yesterday before the game, I ran up to the concourse to briefly talk to Bill of Kukla’s Korner. It was nice to finally put some faces to names of bloggers, especially since their blogs are daily reads.
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