DETROIT, Mich – It wasn’t the only goal scored by Detroit in the first game of the series, but it typified the struggles the Blue Jackets had in their first ever playoff game. After Detroit’s first goal Columbus’ Manny Malhotra made an error that would change the game. Instead of catching the puck on Jonathan Ericsson’s shot and sending it in the opposite direction, Malhotra deflected the puck and helped it into the net, past his team’s goalie, Steve Mason. The goal gave the Red Wings the game-winning goal. Columbus, discouraged by this event, was not able to recover after the misdirected shot late in the second period. Detroit goalie Chris Osgood had a great game, stopping 20 out of 21 shots, most of which were in the first period. Detroit’s defensive lines were at the top of their game with such a low number of shots on goal allowed. “Ozzy”, along with the Wings defense, killed off four penalties in the first period and one additional penalty later in the game. Osgood was named the game’s number one star for his outstanding performance in net. Jiri Hudler, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson each scored a goal in the game which was clearly dominated by the 2008 Stanley Cup defending champions. Franzen was red-hot in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs and should be expected to perform just as well this year. Ericsson and Kronwall had even more reason to celebrate, as each defenseman netted his first NHL playoff goal. R.J. Umberger scored the Blue Jackets’ lone goal of the game in the second period, with Jakub Voracet credited with the assist. Even though Detroit was a clear winner in game one, the Blue Jackets should not yet be written off. Mason has risen as a talented goalie, despite his young age (20), and there are a number of Columbus players who have the potential of breaking through Detroit’s somewhat inconsistent defense that last night appeared to be impenetrable.
Contact jennifer.sleeper@prohockeynews.com
Catch all the playoffs at Intotheboards.net
You must be logged in to post a comment.