Ann 22008 NHL Playoffs - Western Conference Finals: Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars Game 4 REVIEW
May 16th 2008 02:19
Stars come alive as they defeat flat Red Wings 3-1.
I'm not going to say that the Stars stole that one. They deserved the win. They intense, strong on the puck, and fast, really fast. However, the poor performance of the referees surely didn't hurt. But let's start at the beginning.
Honestly, I think the Wings were surprised by the Stars' effort. Dallas' speed and relentless forechek forced Detroit to take three penalties in the first period. The Wings managed to kill all three as both teams went to the first intermission tied at 0-0. The were two ways to analyze the first period. Either the Wings' flawless PK would give them the confidence to start the second period strong or the Stars' first period dominance would convince Dallas that their chance was coming, it's only a matter of time.
Well, both teams came out strong in the second period and that was playoffs/conference finals hockey. End-to-end rushes, endless battles on the boards, and players crashing the opposition's net. In this period, it was the Stars who took three penalties and the Wings' first man-advantage was the crux of the game. Here's what happened. On a Detroit rush, seconds before their first powerplay, they crashed Marty Turco's net with one player clearly making some goalie interference. There was no call. When you're a ref and you make a mistake, you file and forget, right? At least, that's what I did when I was reffing. Well, that doesn't seem to be the case in the NHL. While Detroit were on the powerplay, Tomas Holmstrom did his job and parked himself right in front of Turco, screening the goaltender from any incoming shot. As expected, Pavel Datsyuk fired a shot that went straight in the net, Turco hadn't seen a thing – perfect shot. The goal was waved off. Why? Goalie interference. The replay clearly showed that Holstrom's skates were both outside the goalie's crease, and his butt wasn't touching the netminder. It was perfect screening and yet the goal was waved off. Unbelievable.
Of course, there's no telling if the game's final outcome would have been different had the goal been allowed. But there's a real difference between leading a game that you have no business leading 1-0 and having the score stuck at 0-0. That goal could have broken the Stars' spirit since they had never led a game in this series. Instead, their efforts were being rewarded and they finally broke the deadlock with less than a minute to go in the second period. At the second intermission, the score was 1-0 Stars and, once again, two different mentalities heading in the locker rooms. Detroit was flattened by the bad call and the Stars' goal while Dallas started to believe that they could do it. The Wings were mortal after all.
Not one minute had passed in the third period before the Wings tied the game to 1-1 thanks to the dynamic duo of Zetterberg and Datsyuk. There was a bit of doubt in the arena after that goal, but the Stars veterans stepped up. Mike Modano made it 2-1 on the powerplay with a wrist shot and Brendan Morrow finalized the scoring at 14:34.
This was the kind of game everyone expected in this series. The intensity has been cranked up as it's do or die for the Dallas Stars. Game 5 should be exciting to watch and I think I just wrote my longest review in a while.
I'm not going to say that the Stars stole that one. They deserved the win. They intense, strong on the puck, and fast, really fast. However, the poor performance of the referees surely didn't hurt. But let's start at the beginning.
Honestly, I think the Wings were surprised by the Stars' effort. Dallas' speed and relentless forechek forced Detroit to take three penalties in the first period. The Wings managed to kill all three as both teams went to the first intermission tied at 0-0. The were two ways to analyze the first period. Either the Wings' flawless PK would give them the confidence to start the second period strong or the Stars' first period dominance would convince Dallas that their chance was coming, it's only a matter of time.
Well, both teams came out strong in the second period and that was playoffs/conference finals hockey. End-to-end rushes, endless battles on the boards, and players crashing the opposition's net. In this period, it was the Stars who took three penalties and the Wings' first man-advantage was the crux of the game. Here's what happened. On a Detroit rush, seconds before their first powerplay, they crashed Marty Turco's net with one player clearly making some goalie interference. There was no call. When you're a ref and you make a mistake, you file and forget, right? At least, that's what I did when I was reffing. Well, that doesn't seem to be the case in the NHL. While Detroit were on the powerplay, Tomas Holmstrom did his job and parked himself right in front of Turco, screening the goaltender from any incoming shot. As expected, Pavel Datsyuk fired a shot that went straight in the net, Turco hadn't seen a thing – perfect shot. The goal was waved off. Why? Goalie interference. The replay clearly showed that Holstrom's skates were both outside the goalie's crease, and his butt wasn't touching the netminder. It was perfect screening and yet the goal was waved off. Unbelievable.
Of course, there's no telling if the game's final outcome would have been different had the goal been allowed. But there's a real difference between leading a game that you have no business leading 1-0 and having the score stuck at 0-0. That goal could have broken the Stars' spirit since they had never led a game in this series. Instead, their efforts were being rewarded and they finally broke the deadlock with less than a minute to go in the second period. At the second intermission, the score was 1-0 Stars and, once again, two different mentalities heading in the locker rooms. Detroit was flattened by the bad call and the Stars' goal while Dallas started to believe that they could do it. The Wings were mortal after all.
Not one minute had passed in the third period before the Wings tied the game to 1-1 thanks to the dynamic duo of Zetterberg and Datsyuk. There was a bit of doubt in the arena after that goal, but the Stars veterans stepped up. Mike Modano made it 2-1 on the powerplay with a wrist shot and Brendan Morrow finalized the scoring at 14:34.
This was the kind of game everyone expected in this series. The intensity has been cranked up as it's do or die for the Dallas Stars. Game 5 should be exciting to watch and I think I just wrote my longest review in a while.
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