Ann 22008 NHL Playoffs - Western Conference Finals: Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars Game 1 REVIEW
May 9th 2008 19:15
Wings make easy pickings out of Stars with a 4-1 win.
Anti-climactic. That's the word for last night's game.
In the first five minutes, the Wings had time to kill a penalty, draw two penalties, and score on the resulting powerplay. At the end of the first period, the score was 2-0 for the Red Wings and the Stars had only four shots on goal. Detroit controlled the match from beginning to end, scoring two more goals in the second period, and stopping the Stars' desperate attacks in the third period.
Dallas couldn't win this game even if they gave their all (I'm not saying they won't win future games, just this one). First of all, they were clearly tired after all these overtime periods in the previous round. As a matter of fact, if someone added all the time the Stars spent in overtime against the Sharks, they would see that Dallas actually played a little over seven games in the semi-finals (Game 6 was two games by itself). Last night, their brains weren't into it and the bodies quickly followed. They committed countless turnovers in their own zone, they were often offside when attacking, and couldn't even control the puck as easily as they should. Detroit's speed didn't help, as the Wings flew across the rink, the Stars couldn't keep up and were penalized three times for hooking (which is what happens when you try to slow down an opponent) and twice for holding. They took seven penalties in all, adding to the fatigue already there.
The Wings were merciless, though. By winning 62.5% of faceoffs, they made sure that the Stars couldn't get any possession. When they did, it was all the way back in Dallas' D-zone. It's almost as if the Wings decided when the stars could get the puck. Dallas would take possession behind their net after Detroit dumped the puck. The defensemen exchanged the puck before passing it to the forwards, and as soon as Dallas hit Detroit's blue line, the Wings had the puck back as if saying: “All right kids, play-time's over. Give it back.” The men in red looked almost smug when they had the puck. Tape-to-tape passes, from the defense to the forwards, from the forwards back to the defense. All in all, some good stuff. Furthermore, the Wings blanked the Stars' powerplay (Dallas went 0-4) and gave the Stars a taste of their own medicine by scoring three times on the powerplay (once on a 5-on-3). Dallas became physical in the third period but I think they were trying to salvage their pride more than anything else. They were also very frustrated since the only way for them to score was to play a more open game, but the Wings crave firewagon hockey; it would've made matters even worse for Dallas.
Game 2 is on Saturday night. Let's hope that the Stars get some rest until then. They will need all their strengths to win against the hot Wings.
Anti-climactic. That's the word for last night's game.
In the first five minutes, the Wings had time to kill a penalty, draw two penalties, and score on the resulting powerplay. At the end of the first period, the score was 2-0 for the Red Wings and the Stars had only four shots on goal. Detroit controlled the match from beginning to end, scoring two more goals in the second period, and stopping the Stars' desperate attacks in the third period.
Dallas couldn't win this game even if they gave their all (I'm not saying they won't win future games, just this one). First of all, they were clearly tired after all these overtime periods in the previous round. As a matter of fact, if someone added all the time the Stars spent in overtime against the Sharks, they would see that Dallas actually played a little over seven games in the semi-finals (Game 6 was two games by itself). Last night, their brains weren't into it and the bodies quickly followed. They committed countless turnovers in their own zone, they were often offside when attacking, and couldn't even control the puck as easily as they should. Detroit's speed didn't help, as the Wings flew across the rink, the Stars couldn't keep up and were penalized three times for hooking (which is what happens when you try to slow down an opponent) and twice for holding. They took seven penalties in all, adding to the fatigue already there.
The Wings were merciless, though. By winning 62.5% of faceoffs, they made sure that the Stars couldn't get any possession. When they did, it was all the way back in Dallas' D-zone. It's almost as if the Wings decided when the stars could get the puck. Dallas would take possession behind their net after Detroit dumped the puck. The defensemen exchanged the puck before passing it to the forwards, and as soon as Dallas hit Detroit's blue line, the Wings had the puck back as if saying: “All right kids, play-time's over. Give it back.” The men in red looked almost smug when they had the puck. Tape-to-tape passes, from the defense to the forwards, from the forwards back to the defense. All in all, some good stuff. Furthermore, the Wings blanked the Stars' powerplay (Dallas went 0-4) and gave the Stars a taste of their own medicine by scoring three times on the powerplay (once on a 5-on-3). Dallas became physical in the third period but I think they were trying to salvage their pride more than anything else. They were also very frustrated since the only way for them to score was to play a more open game, but the Wings crave firewagon hockey; it would've made matters even worse for Dallas.
Game 2 is on Saturday night. Let's hope that the Stars get some rest until then. They will need all their strengths to win against the hot Wings.
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