Here’s a look around the internet and some of my opinions on the win.
- Ross McKeon of PuckDaddy comments on the ineptitude of the Wings PK:
- Minor penalty: The Red Wings surrendered a power-play goal for the 10th straight playoff game, a franchise record. Hey, these guys have go to do something wrong sometime
He’s right though, gotta get something done about it. It’s a good thing Detroit doesn’t take that many penalties per game, otherwise it’d be another team in the Conference Finals.
- Matt Saler of On the Wings puts in pretty well about Kane and Toews:
- Toews and Kane hardly played at all (14:45, 15:10) and while they weren’t unnoticeable, they didn’t make the impact you’d expect from them.
More on this a little later
- How good was the Mule-Z-Cleary line yesterday? Accounting for all goals but the Sammy goal. The Sammy-Fil-Hudler line played great too, good to see great production in the absence of Hossa and Datsyuk. 7 points for the Z line, 2 for the Fil line. Look for more great play as the series continues.
- Ozzie played well despite the 2 goals. The 2 goals were really not that bad in my opinion. I know the first one was one that made you go “oh. dude. weak” but in Ozzie’s defense that guy did come out of nowhere. The second goal, double deflection on the shot and the puck kicked out to the side, not much he could do after committing to the shot from the point.
- I hate the Hawks as much as the next Wings fan but I’m glad Adam Burish escaped relatively okay from this, you never want to see a player get injured like that.
- SamFels over at the rival’s Second City Hockey puts forth something interesting:
- -Datsyuk looks hurt. He had an effective game, but not a dominating one, and I’ve probably just woke him up. But he looks a step slower than normal.
He brings up a valid point that Datsyuk has looked a step slower than he did at times during the Columbus series and the regular season. If so, that could also explain his lack of scoring as he’s unable to really rip shots on net if its a lower body injury.
- Ozzie gives credit to Lidstrom for the win. Credit well due too. Big game from Kronwall too, led all players in ice time while earning a +1 rating and blocked 2 shots. He and Stuart put in solid ice time and were great defensively. Stuart had 4 hits, a blocked shot, and a takeaway in 23+ minutes. Good production out of the #2 unit that’s for sure.
- Lidstrom and Rafalski were matched up against Toews and Kane nearly all game long. Not good for the Blackhawks that the Wings matched the young guns with nearly every shift. If Lids and Rafalski weren’t enough trouble, Kane and Toews also had to deal with Z, Cleary, and Mule. Could be a factor that the Wings could try and exploit, Kane and Toews both had a -3 rating and looked vulnerable on the defensive side of the puck.
That’s it for now, check back later for some more stuff.
