Go Big or Go Home: Wings/Ducks Series Ends Tonight

There have been highlight reel moments, controversies, and everything in between during the six games that have made up the Detroit/Anaheim first round playoff series, but one thing is certain: One team is advancing to the second round after this evening's tilt.

The Red Wings found a way to stave off the Ducks' roaring last stand which was enough to surmount a 2-goal lead late in the 3rd period, but fell short when Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg blasted the puck past Anaheim goalie Jonas Hiller to close out Game 6 and push the series to its final game.  It was not the first time Detroit had blown a significant lead in the series, but a win is a win and it is now up to the Wings to learn from their near-fatal mistakes and come out hard if they hope to knock off the resilient Ducks.

Playing hard will indeed be the key, this Wings club has been way too damn soft on the Anaheim skaters.  If Detroit wants to close this out and move on, the Wings need to grind out the Ducks forwards and kill their forecheck.  Far too many times have we allowed the Ducks to move the puck along the boards with little resistance and come out into the middle of the ice for scoring chances.  The less scoring chances we allow, the better.

Despite what some would say, Jimmy Howard has been a beast in this series. Besides the blowout in Game 3, every game of this series has been close, and that is in LARGE part thanks to Howard. He has made critical saves at critical points, and has continually kept the Red Wings in their matches.  Has he let in a softie or two? Sure, but hasn't Hiller?  The fact remains that Jimmy Howard has played lights out when he's had to, and has helped give Detroit this chance to end the series in their favor.

Play hard, but play smart. If the Wings can do that, they are wholly capable of defeating the Ducks in their own barn...or pond, or whatever the hell they wanna call it.  If things go my way, they can call it 'Closed until October.'

This is the one that counts, guys! Let's Go Red Wings!!

Late Night Thoughts on a Successful Game Six

The Wings are leaving Detroit and on a plane back to Anaheim as happy as can be. Why might you ask? Well, if you haven't heard the Detroit Red Wings were able to pull of an overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks to yet again tie the series at 3-3.

 Detroit was able to pull off the first goal with a little over a minute left in the first period at the Joe Louis Arena. Pavel Datsyuk backhanded the puck past Jonas Hiller and took the lead. Wings dominated the period with 11 shots on goal compared to Anaheim's 7, but did look a little sloppy.

The sloppiness carried into the second period, where Anaheim controlled the next twenty minutes. Anaheim had 14 shots on goal, but were not able to capitalize on one of those shots without Detroit's help. Yes, you read that correctly: Detroit had to help Anaheim make a goal. Brendan Smith ingeniously attempted to grab the puck from going past Howard and instead the puck bounced off of his body, allowing Anaheim to tie up the score at 1-1 before the second period was finished.

As this series as proved in the past, the third period was the most active. Henrik Zetterberg was able to capitalize on the power play six minutes into the third period and scored his first goal in the playoffs. Dan Cleary tipped the puck into the net next, giving Detroit a comfortable 3-1 lead. The comfort did not last long, though. Valtteri Filppula had a bad pass behind the net to Emmerson Etem, who scored the next goal for the Ducks. Less than a minute later, Bobby Ryan tied the scored up at 3-3. Detroit had a couple of chances before the end of the third, but were unable to capitalize and moved to overtime for the forth time in the
series.

A little over the minute into overtime, Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg scored the game winning goal. The Joe Louis Arena went nuts as the Wings had stayed alive in the playoffs winning 4-3 versing the Ducks.

Some obvious mistakes was the bad bounces/passes from Detroit players that assisted Anaheim in two of their three goals. As previously discussed, Detroit always seems to allow for more goals in the third period. It seems as if they just get tired and give up, allowing for poor turnovers or bad passes that result in Anaheim catching up. The shots on goal support that as well, showing Anaheim leading 16 to 9 in the third period. It would be nice to see Detroit pull through all 60 minutes of game play and prevent Anaheim from stealing their thunder in the third period. We need a hungrier, more consistent team for game seven in order to pull off a win.

A couple victories would obviously begin with Henrik Zetterberg finally capitalizing on his shots. Zetterberg's two goals were nothing short of exciting and helpful to winning this game. Also, Justin Abdelkader being back in the line up was helpful for the Wings. His presence was known with a couple of shots on net, an assist and a stronger top line. Howard also outplayed Hiller, having a 91 save percentage compared to Hiller's 86 save percentage. Despite being outshot, Detroit battled hard

and thankfully won. The Wings are on to game seven. If Detroit wins game seven, the Red Wings will advance to the next round in the playoffs. However if Detroit falls short, the Red Wings will be the ones packing their bags and heading home until October when next year's season will begin.

Game seven will be played at the Duck's home ice, the Honda Center, on Sunday, May 12th at 10PM. What do you think the Wings need to do to win game seven? Will Anaheim win, continuing the pattern of winning every other game this series, or do you think Detroit will be able to win back to back and take the series? Follow our Facebook and Twitter for more places to share your opinion and for great Wings coverage!

Wings In Sudden Death For Game 6

The Detroit Red Wings are pinched in a tough spot tonight after losing in overtime for game five against Anaheim. The Anaheim Ducks currently lead the series 3-2. If the Ducks win tonight, that would mean a bye-bye playoff time for the Wings. Don't get too down though. If the Wings are able to fight for it and win, we will move to a game seven on Sunday.

Game Five was a nothing short of a fight from both teams. Detroit had only fallen short 31 shots on goal compared to Anaheim's 34. Detroit's Franzen and Samuelsson were able to land goals in regulation. Ducks

Captain Ryan Getzlaf and Kyle Palmieri put two up for Anaheim. After 60 minutes of game play, each team had one power play goal and one full strength goal, tying them at two. A little under two minutes into overtime, we saw a game winning goal from Nick Bonino.

People complained of a poor power play for Detroit when Daniel Winnik was given a five minute major for boarding Dan Cleary. Cleary, who managed to come back in the third after being injured in the second, is still complaining about soreness to his left side but will be in the lineup tonight. Another common complaint was the ice conditions in the Honda Center. What I think it comes down to is Anaheim skating harder and faster than Detroit. If Detroit can play how they did in the second period (minus the five minute major), we could be looking at a win tonight. Regardless, there is nothing that should be enough to hold this team back from working again in game six.

Speaking of working, Henrik Zetterberg has been hurting for a goal all series. The new captain has zero goals in the playoffs thus so far. Offensively, Z has been able to produce about 20 shots on goal alone through five games. But, the Wings captain isn't worried, stating all he could do was "continue to work hard, keep putting pucks at the net, and hopefully one or two will sneak by the goalie."  Hopefully, we will see Zetterberg be able to bank one of those shots tonight.

Justin Abdelkader will be hot tonight. The forward is coming back to the ice after a two game suspension for hit on Tony Lydman, who is still out due to headaches and concussion-like symptoms since game two. Abby
will join the top line with Captain Z and Pavel Datsyuk to hopefully give the Wings the added pressure they are looking for. After patiently and painfully watching the last two games, especially a loss in game five, Abdelkader is ready to go. Will he be changing his playing style due to the suspension? Doubt it.

Look for line changes tonight with Justin Abdelkader, who will take the first line as previously mentioned and force Patrick Eaves to a scratch. Also, Carlo Colaiacovo will make his playoff debut and replace Brian Lashoff for the lineup tonight.

Make sure to be cheering for the Detroit Red Wings at 8:00pm tonight, Friday, May 10th for game six against the Anaheim Ducks. Follow our Facebook and Twitter for more great Wings conversation and coverage!

Wings Watch Game 5 Slip Away, Play Themselves to the Brink

Was last night's game an entertaining game? Certainly. Was last night's game a well-played game? For the most part, yes.  Was last night's game an inspired performance by the Detroit Red Wings? Absolutely not.

Detroit reverted back to their inconsistent ways and played some very roller-coaster-y hockey in Game 5 at Anaheim yesterday, and crucial lapses of communication and energy led to Detroit blowing two leads and allowing the Ducks to steal the game away in overtime with a 3-2 final score, similarly dropping the Wings to a 3-2 series deficit.  The Red Wings were haunted by the squandering of a 5-minute major penalty to Anaheim on which Detroit did absolutely nothing, barely even generating scoring chances.  Up 2-1 in the 2nd at the time, it was the golden opportunity they needed to put the game out of reach.

What did they do? Well first, Brendan Smith took a holding call to end the PP slightly early.  Second, they then proceed to let Ryan Getzlaf (Yes, you know...the guy that is kind of the captain of their team and one of their best scorers...? Yeah, him.) waltz in practically undeterred and rip a vicious shot past Jimmy Howard to tie the game.  I said when the penalty to Smith was called that wasting those 5 minutes would haunt us, and how right I turned out to be.

Detroit lost a lot of steam after that, still generating a little offense here and there, ringing 3 posts by the end of the game and coming close a few other times, but the one thing I still see that has been killing us is that there is still no one going to that open space in the high slot in the middle of the offensive zone.  Everything comes from the perimeter, and skaters will wait until the shot goes in to make a move for the middle on a rebound opportunity.  We need guys in that space from the get-go, wreaking havoc in the middle and becoming a problem for Jonas Hiller.

The 3rd period would solve nothing, and off to overtime we went...or at least the Ducks and the fans went, because the Wings did NOT show up.  Nick Bonino swept the puck past Jimmy not even 2 minutes into the overtime frame after Detroit basically just watched the Ducks skating around them, providing no resistance whatsoever.  No one playing the puck hard, no one grinding guys on the boards to try to take possession, just...nothing.  Honestly, this was Detroit's game to lose, and they managed to find a way to do it.

We now sit at the edge of the cliff, needing to run the table from here on out if we want to survive to see another playoff series this year.  We will need efforts like those that got us into the playoffs to begin with from the last week of the regular season.  We have that ability, it's now up to the boys in red and white to deliver.

This series is not over, so long as the Wings don't PLAY like it's over.