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"To you from flailing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high."
On a night where the Anaheim Ducks solidified their defensive play, the Red Wings defensemen put their reputation to shame as their numerous infractions disrupted the team's flow at even-strength especially in the second period where they took three consecutive penalties.

This time around, it was Detroit who scored the first goal of the game on a powerplay as Brad Stuart's shot deflected off two players' skates before entering Hiller's net. Three minutes later, the Wings found themselves down 2-1 as the Ducks scored twice in the span of 45 seconds. Ryan Getzlaf first equalized the mark with a wrist shot, then Chris Pronger gave them the lead with a goal on their first powerplay. Mikael Samuelsson scored his first goal in the postseason to put both teams level at 2-2 for the first intermission.


As previously mentioned, the second period was a mess for the Wings as they picked up three penalties. However, Anaheim could only capitalize on the first of the three powerplays to take the lead once again. Still, they ended the period with a clear advantage as they outshot the Wings 10-6. It's not often that the Red Machine gets outshot in its own building so that was quite a feat.

The home side kicked it up a notch in the third period. As such, it was not a surprise to see Johan Franzen tie up the game after a little over five minutes of play. From that point on, the Red Wings had complete control of the game but they simply couldn't get past Hiller. The situation was the same during the first 40 minutes of overtime. The Ducks were so overwhelmed that they were pinned in their own zone for most of the second overtime. Then, in a weird conclusion, the Ducks scored the winning goal via Todd Marchant on their second shot in the first minute of the third overtime period. The goal went against everything that had happened in the two previous periods and came as a big surprise.


It took awhile but the Ducks achieved their primary objective which was to get a split in Detroit. They now carry the momentum going back to California and Detroit will have to play much harder and be more opportunistic to win the next games. I also hope that Marian Hossa finally decides to wake up in the next game because he has done absolutely nothing so far in this series and was completely invisible on Sunday. Datsyuk can't do it all alone, his linemates need to step their game up to bring more offense to the Wings.

My 3 Stars:
3. Johan Franzen
2. Ryan Getzlaf
1. Jonas Hiller


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Similarly to the Vancouver Canucks who had plenty of rest before facing the Chicago Blackhawks, the Detroit Red Wings were returning to playoffs action after a relatively easy sweep of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The lack of competitive play was evident in their first game against the Anaheim Ducks as their rustiness led to sloppy and often imprecise passes, slower reaction times, and a decline of their performance in the face-off circle.

The Ducks, on the other hand, had fire in their legs from the opening whistle. They even went as scoring the first goal of the game when Corey Perry's shot rifled past Chris Osgood's glove in the first period. Despite Detroit's lack of jump, their most potent weapon – the powerplay – was at full throttle providing both the equalizing goal in the first period (a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct was issued to Anaheim's Mike Brown for a nasty hit on Brad Stuart in open ice) and a slim one-goal lead in the second. The Ducks replied with a powerplay goal of their own in the final seconds of the second period to make it 2-2.

The third period was pretty uneventful as both teams tried their best to avoid making that fatal mistake that would see them fall behind. With the way things were progressing, I was just getting ready for overtime when Nicklas Lidstrom evaded Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry's marking to pick up his shot's rebound and bury the puck past Hiller in the final minute of the game. As the second were winding down, the main objective was to protect Chris Osgood and the Wings did an excellent job. Zetterberg dropping his body on the puck after a face-off was the final play of the game as Detroit won the first game of what promises to be a tight series.

My 3 Stars:
3. Corey Perry (Honorable mention to Johan Frnazen)
2. Ryan Getzlaf
1. Nicklas Lidstrom


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