DETROIT, MICH – So much for the old men being tired.
Coming off a grueling series against the Anaheim Ducks, the Detroit Red Wings rode a two-goal game by winger Dan Cleary, a three-point performance by Johan Franzen and solid goaltending from Chris Osgood to a 5-2 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at Joe Louis Arena Sunday afternoon. The win gives the Red Wings the early lead in the best-of-seven series with Game 2 set for Tuesday in Detroit.
The Blackhawks’ strategy was to push the tempo on the older Red Wings. From the opening puck drop, that is exactly what Chicago did and it almost paid off early when Kris Versteeg used Detroit defenseman Brett Lebda as a screen and ripped off a shot that hit the post behind Osgood.
Not too long after that, the Blackhawks’ pressure forced a Detroit turnover that did result in a goal. Chicago dumped the puck into the Red Wings end. Osgood came out to play it and sent a pass to Jonathan Ericsson. Feeling Blackhawks winger Ben Eager breathing down on him, Ericsson mishandled the disc. It slid right to Adam Burish who slid a backhander between the legs of a very surprised Osgood to put the visitors ahead 1-0 at the 5:25 mark.
Three minutes later, Detroit pulled even by talking a page from the Chicago book. On a draw in the Red Wings end, Cleary rushed the point just as he is supposed to. When the puck took a funny hop on Blackhawks’ defenseman Brent Seabrook, Cleary grabbed it and was off to the races. He drove to the Chicago zone and just before Duncan Keith cut him off, Cleary lasered a shot from the left circle over the glove of Blackhawks’ net minder Nikolai Khabibulin to tie the score at 8:23.
The goal sparked the Red Wings who spent most of the next few shifts buzzing around the Chicago net. Khabibulin held his ground, thanks in part to his defense that blocked eight shots in the stanza. The last half of the period was a classic up-and-down battle as the teams took turns pushing the tempo. A late Detroit power play yielded nothing and almost resulted in a goal the other way as Seabrook, just out of the penalty box, was sent in on a partial break by Toews only to fire a backhander wide. At the end of the period, Detroit had a 15-9 shot advantage but the score was tied.
You know, obviously he’s (Cleary) playing with real good players, playing on a good line,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. “They’re playing against important people in the game. I thought we were in trouble really off the start of the game, whether it was engagement, whether it was coming off a big series, whether it was not as much time, whatever, we weren’t very good, and they were taking it to us. They were up 1-0. He (Cleary) made a real good shot. Then I thought we settled in and got playing real well after that point. Any time you’re driving into the net, get your stick on a puck, that’s just a good hockey goal, a good playoff goal.”
A penalty to Chicago’s Andrew Ladd 3:15 into the second period was a big opportunity for Detroit to take its first lead. Khabibulin was having none of that as he almost single-handedly killed the penalty. He made four outstanding saves, including going post-to-post to deny Franzen and seconds later stoning Henrik Zetterberg.
Chicago had maybe its best sequence of the period near the midway point when a four-on-two break materialized but Osgood was able to get his glove on a shot by Dustin Byfuglien. The pressure extended into the next shift as the line combination of Eager, Burish and Patrick Sharp crashed the net but Osgood held the fort.
Late in the period, Detroit once again took advantage of the Chicago defense to score. With Zetterberg and Franzen digging in deep, Keith got control of the puck and headed behind his own net. As he went to pass the puck to Seabrook, the puck slid off the toe of Seabrook’s stick. Franzen swooped in, got control of the puck and tucked a wrap-around past Khabibulin to give the Red Wings the lead they took into the second intermission.
Detroit’s Ericsson took an interference penalty 1:28 into the third, giving Chicago’s top rated playoff power play its first chance. It proved to be just what the doctor ordered as the Blackhawks made the Red Wings pay. Seabrook made a great play keeping the puck in the Detroit zone on his backhand and quickly turned it to his forehand for a shot toward the net. The drive hit a Detroit forward before Byfuglien got his stick on it, sending it away from Osgood toward the side of the net where Versteeg was standing. Versteeg tucked the puck into the wide open net at 3:12 to knot the score at two.
“Well, we had to keep the streak alive,” said Babcock. “We’ve given up a goal I think in every game in the playoffs on penalty killing. It was unbelievable. They didn’t have a sniff the whole power play. Then they happened to get it past our guy and out to the point and hit 15 people and bounced out front and he (Versteeg) shot it into the net. Keep the streak alive. Then, you know, we just bounced back and kept playing.”
Once again, the teams went back and forth, each attempting to find the other’s breaking point. The frenetic pace led to some helter-skelter play and opportunities at each end. Then, in a span of 1:27, the Red Wings took control of the game with two goals.
The first, coming at the 7:31 mark, came about with hard work and persistence. Valtteri Filppula drove into the Chicago zone along the boards and circled the net. He fed a perfect pass to the opposite point to Lebda. Lebda’s shot hit teammate Mikael Samuelsson in the leg and dropped down in the high slot. Samuelsson stayed with it, grabbing the puck and circling across to the far circle when he let go with a wrist shot that went over Khabibulin’s glove shoulder into the top corner.
Moments later, the Red Wings went end-to-end for the backbreaker. As both teams were in the middle a line change, Detroit found itself with an odd-man rush. Zetterberg laid a pass over to Franzen who was charging down the far boards. Cleary drove for the front of the net just as Franzen fired. Uncovered in front, Cleary got his stick on the mid-air shot and deflected over Khabibulin’s stick-side shoulder at 8:58 to put the home team up by two.
“(I am) playing on a good line,” said Cleary about his playoff success this year. “Z’s (Zetterberg’s) ability to find players, create offensively, we always believe good defense leads to offense. We try to back-check hard and create turnovers…he made great plays tonight, along with Franzen. Really our game plan doesn’t deviate with who we’re playing. We try to have good speed, just be smart with the puck.”
With the final period nearly half over, Chicago knew it was in trouble and started an all-out blitz at Osgood and the Detroit net. The veteran net minder was at his best, stopping back-to-back shots from in close on several occasions as the Blackhawks desperately tried to get back into the game. Cleary had a shot at his hat trick in the late going, taking advantage of his speed to get in all alone on Khabibulin but missed the net as the Chicago goalie sprawled to cover the net.
In the final minute with Khabibulin on the bench for an extra skater, the Red Wings ended the issue when Brad Stuart flipped the puck to center ice. Franzen chased it down but was dumped by Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell. Franzen calmly kept control and fed Zetterberg who fired the puck into the empty net at 19:17 to seal the win.
“We were very respectful of what they’re able to do,” said Joel Quenneville. “They’re dangerous in all areas. You know, we’ve been off for a little bit. I think the pace of this game and the series is going to be ratcheted up from our first two. You know, I think every shift’s critical and vital to sustaining our team game. And, you know, you can’t take shifts off. You can’t have loose plays or critical turnovers. Like I think we lost a lot of our momentum in that second period losing the puck in the middle of the ice.”
Game notes…Chicago’s two big stars, Toews and Patrick Kane, were held in check by Detroit’s defense, combining for just three shots on net with all three coming off of Toews’ stick. The pair were also each minus three on the afternoon.
“I thought we had some good backside pressure where the defensemen can stand up at the blueline or right inside our blueline,” said Lidstrom. “When the forwards are coming back and back-checking hard, that makes our job a little easier. Trying to deflect them and push them on the outside. They’re (Kane and Toews) good hockey players. They’re good at hanging on to the puck, waiting for teammates to come late.”
Detroit was unusually bad with the puck, logging eleven turnovers in the game to one by Chicago. Ten of the Red Wings’ errors came in the first two periods…Chicago defenders blocked an astounding 20 shots in the game. In comparison, Detroit was credited with just seven…Chicago went 1-for-1 on the power play while Detroit was 0-for-3…The game got rough after Zetterberg’s goal as Burish drew a double minor for cross-checking Kris Draper not once but twice, which started a scrum with plenty of pushing and shoving…Khabibulin was outstanding in the loss, stopping 38 of the 42 shots he faced. Osgood was just as good, stopping 30 of 32 shots to earn the victory.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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