Red Wings 3, Sharks 4 (OT) (0-3): Post Game Snipes...

• I went down to the #tinfoilflashmob with every intention of dancing with the crowd and then heading back to Hockeytown to watch the game with the Commune. Instead, an incredibly generous and as yet anonymous member of the flash mob provided me with an extra ticket for free. I started out in the second to last row of the upper bowl, right in front of the press box. By the first intermission, Sara had located a seat near her in the second row of the lower bowl and I headed down there. Halfway through the third period, the people in the seats next to her and TPL Mom left, so I scooted down into the front row. It was quite an upgrade. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful Red Wings fans.
• Why was Brett Lebda in the lineup? Even better question: why was he ever out on the ice with Jonathan Ericsson?
• You know why I love Detroit fans? From the back of the upper bowl, we saw San Jose commit a hand pass in the offensive zone and all started screaming in unison. I challenge you to find that kind of detailed hockey smarts in Phoenix or Nashville.
• I literally spent most of the game hunched forward, clutching my rally rag like a security blanket. I occasionally put on the tin foil hat that was smuggled into the Joe for me. Why do I even bother going out in public?
• If I’m not mistaken, I have now witnessed five goal reviews in the last four games I’ve attended at the Joe. Zetterberg’s was the first that’s gone against the Wings.
• I made it on the big screen at least three times. This has been a lifelong goal of mine that I finally realized last night.
• How was Pavel Datsyuk’s line that bad defensively last night? Pav should never be -2.
• Oh Jimmy, you broke my heart last night. The Wings needed more from him. I understand that he’s a rookie, but he should want some of those goals back.
• Zetterberg scored his goal right in front of me. If there hadn’t been glass in between us, I could’ve reached out and touched him. I even caught it on film (in pixels?):
  

GP Review:
12. STAY OUT OF THE BOX!!! Even if it means playing no-contact girly hockey.
Six penalties is still way too many for this team to take. It wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as it has been, but the really killer things were the non-calls that should’ve gone the Wings’ way. I don’t know how much of it was on camera on the broadcast, but missed trips, high sticks, cross-checks, and holdings had us reaching for our smuggled in tin foil hats more than once.

11. The Wings need to start better. The beginning of Game Two was a disaster wrapped in a blanket of nightmares.
The first period was actually pretty good. The Wings were all set to head to intermission with a two-goal lead until San Jose got on the board with literally two seconds left in the period.

10. I want to see more production from the second line. If I’m not mistaken, the Zetterberg unit hasn’t tallied a point yet this series.
Early on, I had Z tagged for a goal. It was one of those things where you could just tell by the way he was skating. I was more than a little excited that he was standing within an arm’s reach of me when he scored his goal (that counted).

9. Somebody needs to shut down Pavelski. He’s scored half of San Jose’s goals so far this series.
He still picked up an assist, but the Wings did managed to prevent him from putting the puck in the net himself.

8. On the off chance that the Wings get any powerplays, they need to make them count. Special teams have been make or break all playoffs.
One of their powerplays only lasted seven seconds. The other was unsuccessful. If you look me in the eye and tell me that the Sharks only committed two penalties all night (plus the one that led to the penalty shot), I’ll call you a liar. Go ahead. Try it.

7. San Jose has had too much success at getting traffic to the front of the net. The Wings need to adjust their game and keep them to the perimeter.
No, no, no, no, no. This needs to happen.

6. Home sweet home: They’re back at the Joe where the Hockeytown faithful will be out en masse. Take advantage of the love from the crowd.
They did start strongly, but faded toward the end. By the beginning of overtime, you could feel a sense of dread in the building. People were still chanting and cheering, but I don’t think there was a lot of optimism.

5. What ridiculousness will have you reaching for your tin foil hat tonight?
The tin foil hats themselves were banned, which is awesome for fans of irony. The goal reviews in and of themselves were enough to be diving for the safety of a tin foil hat.

4. Would it kill somebody to win a faceoff here and there?
Abdelkader was actually the only one who lost more faceoffs than he won for the Wings. Somehow, it still seemed like they never won one. Maybe they just kept losing the really important ones.

3. The Wings haven’t done a particularly good job entering the Sharks’ zone. They’re losing too many rushes at the blue line.
Case in point: the overtime winner.

2. Jason Williams (Who?) is in the lineup again in place of Patrick Eaves. What are the chances that he does something useful this time around?
Do not get me started. I’ve gone from general indifference and honestly forgetting about him at several points this season to a strong dislike.

1. The Wings have made a habit of playing best when their backs are against the wall. I know they’re not facing elimination tonight, but they absolutely can’t afford to go down by three games. They can still pull this out if they play like the Wings team we saw in Game Seven. Make it happen, boys.
Well, so much for my pep talk...

Hero: Henrik Zetterberg
He was the best player on the ice for the Wings. That was most definitely Playoff Zetterberg last night.

Villain: Jason Williams (Who?)
During the final two periods, he shot no less than two pucks directly at my face. I’m convinced that he stumbled across SSDD and saw my gentle mocking and wanted to put another puck through the glass and my head. Oh, and his 49-foot wide slapshot in overtime led to San Jose’s break the other way and their goal. We miss you, Patrick Eaves.

Final Thought:
I’m trying to cling to optimism, but it’s not working very well. I really did have a great time at the pre-game festivities and during the game though.

Red Wings vs. Sharks Game Three GP...

12. STAY OUT OF THE BOX!!! Even if it means playing no-contact girly hockey.
11. The Wings need to start better. The beginning of Game Two was a disaster wrapped in a blanket of nightmares.
10. I want to see more production from the second line. If I’m not mistaken, the Zetterberg unit hasn’t tallied a point yet this series.
9. Somebody needs to shut down Pavelski. He’s scored half of San Jose’s goals so far this series.
8. On the off chance that the Wings get any powerplays, they need to make them count. Special teams have been make or break all playoffs.
7. San Jose has had too much success at getting traffic to the front of the net. The Wings need to adjust their game and keep them to the perimeter.
6. Home sweet home: They’re back at the Joe where the Hockeytown faithful will be out en masse. Take advantage of the love from the crowd.
5. What ridiculousness will have you reaching for your tin foil hat tonight?
4. Would it kill somebody to win a faceoff here and there?
3. The Wings haven’t done a particularly good job entering the Sharks’ zone. They’re losing too many rushes at the blue line.
2. Jason Williams (Who?) is in the lineup again in place of Patrick Eaves. What are the chances that he does something useful this time around?
1. The Wings have made a habit of playing best when their backs are against the wall. I know they’re not facing elimination tonight, but they absolutely can’t afford to go down by three games. They can still pull this out if they play like the Wings team we saw in Game Seven. Make it happen, boys.

Red Wings 3, Sharks 4 (0-2): Post Game Snipes...

• This game was a joke. There’s nothing more to it. There are days when I can’t stand the NHL. This is most certainly one of them. And yet, for some reason, I keep coming back time and time again.
• That first shift was horrifying. We were absolutely shocked that the Sharks didn’t score there.
• For the last, you know, decade or so, haven’t the Wings been pretty good at winning faceoffs? Because I’m really curious about what happened to their ability to do so all of a sudden. I’ve never had to worry about this before.
• There were several occasions when we were screaming at the TV because Versus was zoomed in too close. We were inches away from missing one of the Wings’ goals because the net wasn’t in the frame, even though they were cycling in the zone. Honestly, the kids in the video production class who used to run the school announcements when I was in high school could put together a better broadcast. ZOOM OUT. We wanted to start a Twitter campaign to that effect. Thank goodness we get FSD back on Tuesday.
• As soon as Nick Lidstrom’s stick broke in the third period, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that San Jose was about to score. It was just one of those moments that was too perfect. You could see it coming, but there was nothing you could do about it. Ditto on the goal on the 5-on-3.
• The third period was one of the most frustrating periods of hockey I’ve ever watched. It began with anger, and ended up with just quiet resignation as I accepted the fact that the Wings were not going to come back to tie the game. The worst part is that the Wings looked just as frustrated and disheartened as I did. By the time it came down to that too many men on the ice call, I wasn’t even annoyed. Normally, I would be all over them for giving up and surrendering, but honestly, how long can you put up a fight against absurdities like the officiating in that game before you give up? It’s hard to blame them for being discouraged when so much as looking at a Shark the wrong way seemed to be enough to earn a trip to the penalty box. I know it’s not something you ever want to see, but it’s understandable.
  

GP Review:
12. Keep testing Nabokov. He looked very beatable on Thursday.
At one point, I’m told that his save percentage was only .667. That’s not even respectable.

11. For the love of god, cover Joe Pavelski. Please.
That man is on fire. He scored two goals again. Where is the Zetterberg-shaped blanket that’s supposed to be draped over him?

10. Can the Wings’ special teams beat San Jose’s? This has been a huge factor so far.
I’m just…I'm going to leave this one alone

9. Franzen finally broke through with a goal in Game One. Here’s hoping that gets him on a roll.
No seriously, earth to Franzen. Earth to Franzen. (Am I the only one whose parents used to say that all the time? Because my dad used to wander around stores looking for my mom while yelling, “Earth to Vic!” It’s unclear whether or not his difficulty in locating her was due to the fact that she was hiding. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone else say that before though.)

8. The Wings need to come out strongly in the first few minutes of the game. They’ve got a chance to catch the Sharks off guard after an extra day of rest at home. This is also contingent on the hope that the Wings aren’t the ones sleep-walking through the opening of the game.
How about that first shift, eh? Multiple heart attack-inducing scoring chances for San Jose, plus a penalty? Let’s just say that’s not exactly what I had in mind.

7. This probably goes without saying, but 90-second mental lapses like the one we saw in the first period Thursday can be killer. Avoiding incidents like that one will go a long way toward assuring that the Wings win the game.
Wouldn’t it be nice if that was the only thing we had to complain about today?

6. A win tonight negates San Jose’s home ice advantage. Make it happen, please.
They’re now down 2-0 in the series. It’s not impossible to come back from that, but my hopes aren’t high.

5. Don’t forget your tin foil hats.
Boy did we ever need them last night. This is the perfect opportunity to announce that we are coordinating a flash mob that will meet on the steps at the Gordie Howe entrance to the Joe at 6:45 on Tuesday before Game Three. We’ll be dancing with our tin foil hats. All info can be found here. Please do join us, and bring a friend (or 7).

4. Jimmy probably wants a couple of those goals back from Thursday, even though I really can’t fault him for much. Hopefully he’ll come out with a point to prove.
Again, not Jimmy’s fault. He even survived getting run by Brad Stuart twice (I count the time he checked Day Heatley into Jimmy as one.)

3. The Wings need to find a way to get traffic through the center of the ice when in the attacking zone. The Sharks were way too good at keeping them to the perimeter in Game One.
They spent way too much time defending and not nearly enough time attacking. Part of that is because of the excessive amount of penalties they had to kill, and part of that is lack of puck control. Both of those things need to get better.

2. The fourth line looked great on Thursday. Can they keep it up?
Did they even make it out on the ice? The Wings spent so much time on the PK, I'm not sure they even got to play last night.

1. Patrick Eaves is day-to-day with an arm injury. How effective is he going to be if he’s in the lineup?
He wasn’t able to go, and instead we got treated to Jason Williams (Who?). I think the Wings missed Eaves on the PK, and they sure could’ve used another penalty killer in the lineup to spread the minutes around. Please, please be okay for Game Three.

Hero: Pavel Datsyuk
His goal was magnificent. When he scored, I really had a good feeling about the evening. I though things were going to be okay. I had no idea what was about to transpire.

Villain: The referees
I know Brad Watson was one of them, but I’m not willing to put in the effort to look up the other guy’s name. This game was an embarrassment. It was worse than Game One, which is actually kind of an accomplishment. It’s like the refs are caught in some kind of sick game of one-upsmanship (Yes, I just invented that word.) to see who can call a more miserable game. I really don’t think it’s too much to ask to let the players decide the outcome of the game. And yes, I realize that the Heatley goalie interference call was a joke, but as others have said, one bad call doesn’t even out a handful against the Wings.

Final Thought:
I truly, honestly hate the NHL. And Versus. It’s a testament to the extent to which we are all addicted to hockey that we keep coming back night in and night out.

Red Wings vs. Sharks Game Two GP...

12. Keep testing Nabokov. He looked very beatable on Thursday.
11. For the love of god, cover Joe Pavelski. Please.
10. Can the Wings’ special teams beat San Jose’s? This has been a huge factor so far.
9. Franzen finally broke through with a goal in Game One. Here’s hoping that gets him on a roll.
8. The Wings need to come out strongly in the first few minutes of the game. They’ve got a chance to catch the Sharks off guard after an extra day of rest at home. This is also contingent on the hope that the Wings aren’t the ones sleep-walking through the opening of the game.
7. This probably goes without saying, but 90-second mental lapses like the one we saw in the first period Thursday can be killer. Avoiding incidents like that one will go a long way toward assuring that the Wings win the game.
6. A win tonight negates San Jose’s home ice advantage. Make it happen, please.
5. Don’t forget your tin foil hats.
4. Jimmy probably wants a couple of those goals back from Thursday, even though I really can’t fault him for much. Hopefully he’ll come out with a point to prove.
3. The Wings need to find a way to get traffic through the center of the ice when in the attacking zone. The Sharks were way too good at keeping them to the perimeter in Game One.
2. The fourth line looked great on Thursday. Can they keep it up?
1. Patrick Eaves is day-to-day with an arm injury. How effective is he going to be if he’s in the lineup?

Red Wings 3, Sharks 4 (0-1): Post Game Snipes...

• The general sentiment around Red Wings nation has been quiet optimism. This loss wasn’t nearly as devastating as any of the three in the first round. Sure, I left Hockeytown angry, but my bad mood had more to do with that 5-on-3 than anything else. The Wings are by no means out of this series.
• The back-to-back joke calls were bad enough on their own, but the fact that they led to the game-winning goal makes it that much worse.
• Franzen apparently went to the box for the rarely called “two minutes for being high-sticked” penalty. We did, however, have a good laugh when he was shown on the bench during the third with dried blood still on his face. My brother, who was attending his first ever #redwingscommune meeting, said, “I didn’t think it was possible for Franzen to get any sexier.”
• If I were one of the referees, I would be legitimately angry at that dive Setoguchi took. I mean really, have some self-respect.
• The frustrating thing is that we have to spend the two-day break banging our heads against the wall, haunted by the series of blown calls (which at this point should really just be a regularly scheduled part of your routine). The good new is that except for that minute and a half in the first period, this was not a bad game at all. San Jose did a better job capitalizing on mistakes, but by no means dominated.
• I had a blast with the Commune again. You guys make my life. Even getting evicted from our H2H nostalgia fest was better with you crazies around. Ugly sweaters, sitting IN the TV, collecting free stuff, and hating our waitress together made the night fun despite the loss. And I left with this, thanks to another trivia victory assisted by Commune members with some backup from Twitter. We never did find out if 99 was the right answer to the unofficially retired numbers question, since they didn’t give us the answers.
  

GP Review:
12. The most important thing for Game One is to keep up the momentum from the last round. The Wings played one of the best games we’ve seen them play in a long time, and they need to keep it up.
They didn’t exactly get off to a blazing start. It goes without saying that the first period left a lot to be desired. That being said, they carried the play for most of the game. That’s encouraging.

11. Coming out strong and aggressive is going to be really important. They can’t afford to be tentative and passive at the start of the game.
I should probably just copy/paste the last answer.

10. The Wings’ stars led the team in a big way during Game Seven. They’ll need to keep shining to take the team past the more threatening Sharks.
They really weren’t bad, aside from those breakdowns. This wasn’t one of those games that was lost because the stars disappeared.

9. This is going to be Zetterberg’s first chance at a real shut-down assignment. Watching him frustrate opposing stars is a thing of beauty. Who is Babcock going to assign him to? My money’s on Pavelski.
I’ll admit that I was a little distracted with #redwingscommune festivities so I wasn’t really watching matchups. I do know that Pavelski had way too much room last night.

8. Make no mistake: special teams won Game Seven. The powerplay and PK need to keep clicking and avoid any Game-Six-like disasters.
Yeah, about that…

7. The Wings need to solve Nabokov early and keep him from getting into a groove.
He made some good saves, but he looked beatable.

6. This is a battle between the fresh-from-the-first-round Wings and the well-rested Sharks. Who is going to look better?
The Sharks definitely got off to a better start, although I’m skeptical as to the extent which fatigue impacted the Wings’ play. We’ve seen those kind of starts consistently all season regardless of how much time they had off between games.

5. Now that Jimmy’s got a whole round of playoff experience under his belt, he just needs to settle down and do his thing.
You can’t pin this one on him, but I’m sure there were a couple of goals he’d like back.

4. Here’s hoping that Franzen’s been stockpiling all of his goals for the later rounds. Assists are nice, but he makes the big bucks to score goals.
He ripped a nice shot past Nabokov. Here’s hoping that goal plus anger over the missed high stick are enough to wake him up for real.

3. Don’t let the Sharks carry the physical play.
This didn’t seem like an issue to me.

2. The second defensive pairing needs to get things under control. I want to see fewer turnovers and at least one Kronwalling.
Alas, there were no Kronwallings.

1. Start Round Two off on the right foot, boys. We’re all counting on you.
Well that didn’t happen.

Hero: Pavel Datsyuk
Best player on the ice again. He does things with the puck that just shouldn’t be done every single night.

Villain: Devin Setoguchi
That was just embarrassing. Seriously. Even for a guy whose wikipedia page lists one of his nicknames as Dive-O-Guchi. (Not sure if that's a recent addition or well-established.)

Final Thought:
It should not be this frustrating to love hockey. Thanks, NHL.

Red Wings vs. Sharks Game One GP...

You know what I love about these? They keep getting shorter and shorter. Best idea ever.

12. The most important thing for Game One is to keep up the momentum from the last round. The Wings played one of the best games we’ve seen them play in a long time, and they need to keep it up.
11. Coming out strong and aggressive is going to be really important. They can’t afford to be tentative and passive at the start of the game.
10. The Wings’ stars led the team in a big way during Game Seven. They’ll need to keep shining to take the team past the more threatening Sharks.
9. This is going to be Zetterberg’s first chance at a real shut-down assignment. Watching him frustrate opposing stars is a thing of beauty. Who is Babcock going to assign him to? My money’s on Pavelski.
8. Special teams were key in Game Seven. The powerplay and PK need to keep clicking and avoid any Game-Six-like disasters.
7. The Wings need to solve Nabokov early and keep him from getting into a groove.
6. This is a battle between the fresh-from-the-first-round Wings and the well-rested Sharks. Who is going to look better?
5. Now that Jimmy’s got a whole round of playoff experience under his belt, he just needs to settle down and do his thing.
4. Here’s hoping that Franzen’s been stockpiling all of his goals for the later rounds. Assists are nice, but he makes the big bucks to score goals.
3. Don’t let the Sharks carry the physical play.
2. The second defensive pairing needs to get things under control. I want to see fewer turnovers and at least one Kronwalling.
1. Start Round Two off on the right foot, boys. We’re all counting on you.

I’ll be taking in the game at the official viewing party at Hockeytown Café with several members of the #redwingscommune. So far, commune fieldtrips are 2-0, so hopefully we can keep up the good luck. We also watched Game Five from Hockeytown, and I ended up coming home with a bag full of free goodies that included a Datsyuk signed puck. If you’re looking for proof of how much fun we had, check out this video that the Wings put together:

Sharks Series Preview...

That was quite the series. I never expected it to go to seven games. I learned a lot during that series. I had always had a healthy respect for Shane Doan right up until he started running guys left and right. I also learned a bit about karma. The Wings hopefully learned a lesson or two about full game efforts. We all learned that life’s a little better when you have a commune support group to fall back on.

But that’s all in the past now.

The Wings are off to fine San Jose, where they’re already being welcomed with open arms. This is quite the quick turnaround, much to the relief of my poor puppy. Last season, during the long layoff between the first and second rounds, I was so bored that I decided to give her a haircut. Let’s just say that there’s a reason I’m not a professional dog groomer. I really believe that if I had had the proper tools at my disposal, it would’ve looked a lot better.

Everyone knows San Jose as the perennial playoff chokers and the team with no heart. You know what I’d like? I’d like to see the Wings cement that reputation for the Sharks. Let them have their fancy Western Conference championship banner. Good luck drinking champaign out of that.

There’s no doubt that San Jose is more talented all around than the Coyotes were, but Phoenix played with drive and grit that we’re not used to seeing from the Sharks in the post-season. They cranked things up toward the end of their series against Colorado, and really seemed to be clicking. A Sharks team in full-stride should make anyone nervous.

None of that matters, though. The Wings are going to determine who wins this series. I will maintain that this Wings team, when playing in full flight (see: Game Seven), cannot be beaten by any team in the NHL in a best of seven series until the day that I die. It’s up to them whether they make a fourth straight trip to the Conference Finals or get some extra time off this summer. With any luck, we'll get treated to an encore of this performance at the end of the series.

Guy to Grudgingly Respect: Evgeni Nabokov
I almost put Dany Heatley here just for laughs. I decided that it probably wouldn’t seem as funny in the morning, though. Instead, I went with Nabokov because a) Goalies always terrify me and b) He has the ability to steal a game when he gets in a groove.

Guy to Fear: Joe Pavelski
He’s been the one getting stuff done for San Jose so far during the playoffs. He looks like a prime candidate to have a Henrik-Zetterberg-shaped blanket draped all over him this series.

Guy I’m Probably Going to Laugh at a Lot: Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Vlasic pickles. It gets me every time.