The Detroit Red Wings cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday evening at Joe Louis Arena to take a 2-0 series lead.
Columbus had 34 penalty minutes in the loss, giving Detroit plenty of opportunities on the power play. And the Wings took advantage of the changes they were given, going 3-for-11 on the power play.
Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger said: "It's frustrating. A 4-0 game, that's not the type of game we wanted to be in. It's the playoffs, you lose two games, nobody is happy about it. You have to play aggressive, but you have to play smart."
Brian Rafalski opened the scoring at 13:33 in the first period on the man advantage. Captain and defensive partner Nicklas Lidstrom fed Rafalski the puck and he took a hard shot from above the left faceoff circle. Rafalski's shot went off Fedor Tyutin and into the goal. Tomas Holmstrom played a key role on the goal even though you wouldn't be able to tell in the game summary. Homer screened Columbus netminder Steve Mason, preventing him from really seeing Rafalski's shot until it was too late.
Homer did it again with the Wings' next marker at 7:18 in the second period, also on the power play. Marian Hossa made a nice pass to Datsyuk, who beat Mason before he could get over to the right side of the net.
Henrik Zetterberg scored the only even-strength tally of the night at 15:30 in the middle frame. He sent the puck flying above Mason's glove into the upper left corner of the net, giving Detroit a three-goal lead.
Jiri Hudler topped it off with a power-play marker at 3:38 in the final stanza of play. In all, the Wings recorded 39 shots on goal in the win.
Chris Osgood made 25 saves in the win, earning his 14th career shutout in the playoffs. For a second straight game, he has been awarded the first star for his solid goaltending.
Christy's Red Wing of the Game: Chris Osgood
The Wings will travel to Columbus on Monday in preparation for Game 3 on Tuesday evening. Go Wings!