WOW!!!!
I'll be the first Red Wing fan to say, "I'm surprised and amazed." San Jose fans will be the first to say, "And we were part of those mocking Boston last year? Uh...."
Down 3 games to none, I pegged Detroit as done. They played San Jose pretty close, but, in my opinion, they lacked the finishing ability to make San Jose pay. Sure, on paper, they have plenty, but in reality, they'd seem to dominate and all that would happen is that Detroit would have the puck a lot. We made Niemi look absolutely incredible. To be truthful, Niemi is good and he should not feel bad about the turn of events. However, Detroit's defense has been porous and their risks exploited by San Jose up until Game 4 and, even in Game 4, we barely clawed out a win.
So, imagine my nonsurprise to see Periods 1 and 2 tonight. Detroit pretty much dominating the first 40 minutes and unable to finish. Then, to win, we score 3 goals in 20 minutes and only give up 1. Wow.
To be truthful....
The first period featured officiating that, I thought, reminded me of WCHA officiating. Dan Boyle gets a checking from behind or boarding penalty....no wait. The ref forgot to raise his arm. However, he remembers to call Boyle a few seconds later for a tickytack holding call. Total make up call. Remember, folks, you don't need make up calls if you just call the game the way the rule book says. But these are the playoffs and the rulebook somehow changes. Oh well.
And Detroit scored the 3rd goal as a gift. San Jose was right. We had too many men on the ice. Sure, the angles don't show when Filpula got off the ice and match it with when Helm touched the puck, but I counted 6 and Helm, to me, was skating up ice while Filpula was still technically on the ice. It would have made the last 40+ seconds unbelievable if the refs got it right and put San Jose up a man.
However, I stand by my previous statement: San Jose went up 3-0 and has only to win 1 of the next 4 games to move on. Detroit has just taken up all the slack and play San Jose has to make it a big game. San Jose could still very well pull it off. And they have the guy in net who knows the feeling. It took 7 games to beat Philly for Niemi to raise the cup. Howard is in untested waters. Sure, he's not played poorly throughout, but Niemi still holds the edge.
What if...
If San Jose wins Game 7, as a Red Wings fan, I'll be bummed for sure. However, I will not blast Detroit for choking or yellow trickling down the leg. I would have had they bowed out in 4 or 5 games, though.
Go Wings, beat the Sharks. Then beat the pesky Canucks!
