First Period... I think the Red Wings came out the way they wanted to but were still a bit tentative. The offense definitely wasn't clicking but despite the one Phoenix goal the defense was pretty strong.
As I mentioned at the time, I felt like the Wings were losing a lot of faceoffs (no matter what the stats actually showed) and getting beat along the boards.
Second Period... Detroit cranked the offense up to eleven but did it at the cost of the defense. You don't want to see so many defensive mistakes but they're overshadowed by the offense coming to life. It was a pretty neutral period, with Phoenix losing control of the game but the Red Wings not yet gaining it.
Third Period... After Justin Abdelkader's goal, I finally felt like the Wings were going to win this one. Even when Shane Doan tied it up, Detroit had control. Zata and Fil and the ENG seemed inevitable. This was the Detroit team we want to see every night.
Overall... Obviously you'd like to see a full game more like the third period but I like the things Detroit did right in this one. There weren't a lot of moments in Game One that felt like the high points of the third period tonight.
The power play scored on two of three chances and the PK was perfect, two wrongs from the series opener righted.
The top lines provided the offense and the third and fourth lines were physical.
Todd Bertuzzi looked fantastic out there. Two assists, three shots and four hits on the night.
Abdelkader jumps in and ties Zetterberg for most hits by a Wings forward with five, adding in a Datsyuk-like goal to give Detroit its first lead. You can't ask for more than that. Jason Williams will never skate for the Wings again.
So we head back to Detroit tied up, with the Wings not in control of the series but sitting where they want. Not bad.
I still believe the lilja erricsson pair is our weak spot and will continue to hamper the team. They are slow to recover pucks when shot in deep behind the net, its all downhill from there on most occasions. lilja/lebda pair PLEASE its way better combination of speed and grit. puck moving d-man in lebda... Must put lebda in.
I wanna see Doan Kronwalled!
I wanna see Doan Kronwalled!
sh*t, I'd settle for Kronwall hitting anyone. No hits in G1?
Get off our f*cking goalie!
f*cking sweet. Ugh.
Not an awful period. I was shocked that the Wings had won 7 of 10 defensive zone faceoffs, it didn't feel like they were doing that well. I only remember them winning one battle along the boards in their own end. Gotta be better than that.
Thank gog for Zetterberg.
I'm with Mickey, "You've gotta be kidding me."
*blink*
Holy...
Jimmy. Either you're the number one goalie or not.
Hey Jovo, how's that hit look now?
This game is going nuts.
What in the hell is going on with this game? Hahaha. The back and forth goals thing is crazy.
Someone explain to me how you can throw people down in front of the net and it's legal.
Given how fantastic the Wings' offense was going in that period, I don't think it's unreasonable to say it's disappointing to not be in the lead right now.
WTF is up with our D-men pinching so much. Way too much pinching especially when slow pair lilja/erricsson out there. Leading to breakouts the other way. Insane second period by the way
Justin!
Massive kill.
godmotherf*ckingdammit
WHY MUST THEY CONTINUE TO PINCH
leads to 2 on 1, goal>>. FFS
blowing game
Yeah, definitely the wrong time to pinch there.
Another big kill.
For the record, the Wings haven't had a power play since their first goal.
Zata. There's a reason he gets the supermodels.
Fil!
Curly fries!
Huge. Now it's a five-game series with the Wings having home ice.
yotes were pinching as were wings allowing for more open ice. A gameplay style in which wings can dominate in. Bad move for coyotes to be overly aggressive. Wings were at times too but after the 5th goal they realized they didn't have to pinch up with the lead.
What a game! I was riding the emotional supercoaster in the second period. I called the curly fries by zata! Take it back to HockeyTown boys!
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