Despite their two 4-3 losses in San Jose on Thursday and Sunday, the Red Wings have not lost their proverbial “pair,” as the title suggests. Even with two full days of rest between games 1 and 2, the Wings were unable to capitalize on an opportunity to take this series by the balls last night.
Pic via Detroit News
Game 1: Sharks 4, Red Wings 3
The Sharks scored three times within a 1:19 span in the first period to go up 3-0 and the Wings were never able to fully catch up. Joe Pavelski scored twice on the powerplay (more on that later) while Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi scored the other two San Jose goals. Dan Cleary, Johan Franzen, and Brian Rafalski scored for the Wings.
Game 2: Sharks 4, Red Wings 3
Last night’s game started off much better when Pavel Datsyuk scored first on a wrist shot over Evgeni Nabokov’s glove-side shoulder. Unfortunately, Pavelski and Ryane Clowe scored for the Sharks to make it 2-1. Tomas Holmstrom evened the score with a power play goal to make it a 2-2 game going into the second period. Nick Lidstrom scored the only goal of the middle period, but Pavelski and Joe Thornton scored in the third period to give the Sharks the win and 2-0 series lead before heading to Detroit.
PAVELSKI THE ASSASSIN
If it seems like I’ve mentioned Joe Pavelski’s name a lot already, it’s because I have. He has 4 goals in two games in this series, and 9 in the 2010 playoffs. He’s been white hot as of late, especially at clutch times. He scored the game winner in Game 1, and tied the game at 3 last night before Thornton scored the game-winner. Getting the last change before faceoffs will be a big factor in shutting down Pavelski’s line in Games 3 and 4.
HE’S STILL A ROOKIE EVERYONE
I’ve defended Jimmy Howard quite a bit lately, expecting him to bounce back from rough games with strong efforts. Until last night, he’s done that throughout the season and first round. I think Howard, while not directly at fault on any of the goals last night, needs to be better. He got beat five-hole on Pavelski’s goal in the first (always a no-no, I don’t care) and his rebound control on Thornton’s game winner was downright awful, regardless of whether Lidstrom’s stick broke or not. He needs to have stronger games, especially in San Jose, if the Wings expect to climb out of this hole to win the series.
NOT THE END OF THE WORLD
Despite the 0-2 hole, there isn’t a ton of panic going around Red Wings Nation right now. As much as I expected the Wings to hold serve at home against Phoenix, I expect it even more in this series. While San Jose is more talented than the Coyotes, they don’t have the same energy and drive that Phoenix did. I’ll be surprised if they take Game 4, and downright shocked if they win tomorrow night. Sharks coach Todd McLellan has benefitted a ton from having his choice of which line to put out against the Wings’ lineup, and I don’t think they’ll be as successful without that edge. The key to the series is the Wings getting these next two games before heading back to San Jose.
More analysis (and Red Wing Reactions) after the jump…
I’M NOT SAYING, BUT I’M SAYING…
I don’t want to come out and say that the Wings have been getting hosed, but the numbers speak for themselves. Not only have the Wings been penalized at a faster clip (36 PIM for Detroit compared to 22 for San Jose), but the timing of the penalties has been pretty suspect as well. San Jose has capitalized twice on extended 5-on-3 power play opportunities. Regardless of these discrepancies, the Wings’ penalty kill needs to be better. The Sharks have scored two power play goals in 5-on-4 situations and have had boatloads of chances otherwise. The officiating has been questionable at best, with both sides getting called for cheap penalties while more serious offenses have been overlooked.
…STILL, IT’S NOT A CONSPIRACY
The idea that Gary Bettman somehow screwed the Wings by making them play less than 48 hours after Game 7 ended is utterly retarded. First of all, the fine the Wings got for flying into San Jose late (a) has nothing to do with the NHL, and (b) is the equivalent of what Mike Illitch makes every time he farts. I honestly don’t think Illitch cared (or noticed) whether or not the league paid the fine. The city of San Jose has a dumb law. Get over it.
As for the schedule, I highly doubt Gary Bettman scheduled the Eagles concert at HP Pavilion for Friday and Saturday nights. Ideally, the series would have started on Friday, but asking the NHL to wait until Sunday to start the series wouldn’t have helped the Wings very much, in my opinion. The Wings weren’t able to capitalize on Sunday anyway, so it’s a moot point now.
RED WING REACTIONS
A D4L fistbump goes to anyone who can find the theme.
Bingo Bango:
Seriously, since when did it become such a challenge to win a fucking faceoff? Clearly I have been far too spoiled in the past because it was never something I thought of. But 38%, even on the road, is an appalling number.
On The Wings:
I’m not going to cite the numbers because this is a family-friendly blog and I don’t want to traumatize any young readers, but the Wings’ faceoff percentage in this series is horrifying.
Nightmare on Helm Street:
We have been the better team in these two games. We haven’t been the luckier team. The good thing about luck is that it helps a team in a series, but a team never wins a seven game series based on luck alone.
Chris McCosky, Detroit News:
Now please, don’t get me wrong. The Sharks earned their victory in Game 2. Joe Pavelski is suddenly Mario Lemieux. He’s winning every faceoff, firing 11 shots on goal — he’s the best player in the series by far right now.
AROUND THE NHL
Jaroslav Halak continues to stay hot, leading the Canadiens to a split in Pittsburgh. The series is tied at 1.
Boston won Game 1 of their series against Philadelphia in overtime on Saturday. Game 2 is tonight.
Also playing tonight are Chicago and Vancouver. The Canucks spanked Chicago in Game 1. If the Blackhawks don’t rebound, this could be a quick series.
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