Detroit 4, San Jose 3: Resilient Red Wings win, force Game 6 – Detroit Free Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Red Wings rallied from a two-goal deficit to extend their second-round series against the Sharks to a sixth game.
Pavel Datsyuk showed why he’s arguably the best player in the game by setting up three goals to steer the Wings to a 4-3 victory over the Sharks at HP Pavilion tonight. Game 6 is 8 p.m. Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena.
The Wings are trying to become the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit. They’re halfway there after exerting their will in a game the Sharks had in control until early in the third period.
Devin Setoguchi scored late in the first period and Joe Pavelski late in the second, but Niklas Kronwall lessened the blow with a goal less than a minute later.
The Sharks needed just one minute of the third period to throw another dagger, using a thwarted rush into their own zone to start one the other way. Logan Couture got in behind Detroit’s defense and zeroed in on Jimmy Howard, beating him from just outside the crease, but Henrik Zetterberg found Jonathan Ericsson in the slot to once again make it a one-goal game. Danny Cleary evened the game with a tenacious goal less than two minutes later, picking the puck up behind the net wrapping it around the right goalpost, where he took several whacks to get it into the net.
Tomas Holmstrom scored his first goal of the series at 13:52 when he did what he’s done so often in his career: Stand in front of the goal and tip Nicklas Lidstrom’s shot. His goal was part of a superb third period from the Wings as they once again showed their resilience.
They earned the right to play Sunday after winning, 4-3, Friday. Changes were made for Game 5: Detroit coach Mike Babcock shook his lineup and lines, inserting speedy role player Drew Miller in place of Jiri Hudler, who had no points and made a key defensive mistake in Game 4. Babcock also pulled Holmstrom off the top line and put Valtteri Filppula there instead to provide more speed and relieve Datsyuk of having to take faceoffs, as he played with a sore wrist. Holmstrom played on the third line instead, with Miller and Justin Abdelkader.
HP Pavilion is a tough arena for opponents, but the Wings did what they wanted and got through the first 10 minutes unscathed, even as it included killing off a boarding call on Brad Stuart, a top minute-guy on the PK. Lidstrom ended up cooling his heels on a tripping call late in the period, but again the Wings’ penalty killers came through.
Their offensive chances were few and far between the opening 15 minutes, but Ericsson got a good chance on Antti Niemi but couldn’t get the shot high enough, and soon after, the Sharks scored. Joe Thornton won a faceoff against Filppula, and the puck got back to Dan Boyle, who fired a shot from the blue line that Setoguchi tipped between Howard’s legs. The Wings were outshot, 16-7, in the period.
The Sharks continued their puck dominance at the start of the second period, forcing 24 saves from Howard by midway through the game, three of them during a third straight power play that saw Boyle and Setoguchi fire back-to-back attempts. The Wings finally got a power play of their own midway through the second period, but could not convert.
Pavelski gave the Sharks a 2-0 lead at 15:32 when he finished an odd-man rush by firing Ryane Clowe’s pass into Detroit’s net, but the Wings quieted the roaring crowd and with a goal less than a minute later, when Kronwall snapped a shot high after being fed by Datsyuk. Kronwall followed up with a big hit on Clowe, and the Wings followed through with a bigger blow in the third.
Contact HELENE ST. JAMES: 313-222-2295 or hstjames@freepress.com.
Join Free Press special writer James V. Dowd for a live blog of Game 6 of the Red Wings-Sharks series Tuesday night at freep.com/sports.