Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, you have to respect the Detroit Red Wings.
Down 3-0 to San Jose in a best-of-seven, I figured the Red Wings were already on the embalming table.
How wrong I was.
Detroit has responded by winning the last three over the Sharks, the most recent being Tuesday's 3-1 victory, to set up a Game 7 Thursday at the Shark Tank.
The Red Wings were trailing 1-0 in the third period before Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula scored two goals 1:54 apart to take a 2-1 lead. An empty netter sealed the win for Detroit.
Jimmy Howard made 24 saves, with only one being spectacular. Take nothing away from Howard, but I think any goalie could play in front of that defense.
The Red Wings' comeback shows their character, and is the complete opposite of the Capitals, who basically gave up after Tampa Bay won the first three.
The "experts" have said in the past the Red Wings are too old, but they don't seem to show it.
A great exampe would be when Detroit played Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals. It defenitely wasn't too old the first time around, and even when the Penguins beat them in seven, it took everything Pittsburgh had.
I will go with the Red Wings in Game 7 with a 2-1 victory.
Showing posts with label Jimmy Howard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jimmy Howard. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Semifinal update
The conference semifinals are in full force after two nights of action Thursday and Friday.
Vancouver opened up the second round Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Nashville. Roberto Luongo stymied the Predators' offense, and the Canucks are off to a decent start. I would like to see them score more, although this series doesn't have track-meet potential.
In Friday's action, Tampa Bay stunned Washington, 3-2, and San Jose edge Detroit, 2-1, in overtime.
Both of these results surprised me. I don't think either will be a sweep, but I see the Capitals and the Red Wings winning both series rather easily.
The Lightning came to play. They turned the game on Washington. It has always been a question of whether the Capitals can win these types of games. I still believe they will win the series in six. This served as a wake-up call.
I have been singing the praises of Detroit since the playoffs started. I still pick the Red Wings to go to the Cup. How they respond from this loss will tell the story.
Jimmy Howard was great. I question whether he can do it come playoff time, and he was fabulous Friday. Detroit gave up some uncharacteristic chances. Howard also took a dumb penalty after getting a snow shower from Joe Pavalski.
Jimmy, why do that? Let your teammates stick up for you.
Philadelphia and Boston open today in Philly, while Vancouver and Nashville will play Game 2. I'm going with the Flyers and the Canucks.
Enjoy.
Vancouver opened up the second round Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Nashville. Roberto Luongo stymied the Predators' offense, and the Canucks are off to a decent start. I would like to see them score more, although this series doesn't have track-meet potential.
In Friday's action, Tampa Bay stunned Washington, 3-2, and San Jose edge Detroit, 2-1, in overtime.
Both of these results surprised me. I don't think either will be a sweep, but I see the Capitals and the Red Wings winning both series rather easily.
The Lightning came to play. They turned the game on Washington. It has always been a question of whether the Capitals can win these types of games. I still believe they will win the series in six. This served as a wake-up call.
I have been singing the praises of Detroit since the playoffs started. I still pick the Red Wings to go to the Cup. How they respond from this loss will tell the story.
Jimmy Howard was great. I question whether he can do it come playoff time, and he was fabulous Friday. Detroit gave up some uncharacteristic chances. Howard also took a dumb penalty after getting a snow shower from Joe Pavalski.
Jimmy, why do that? Let your teammates stick up for you.
Philadelphia and Boston open today in Philly, while Vancouver and Nashville will play Game 2. I'm going with the Flyers and the Canucks.
Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Great response by Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins rebounded from two tough losses, one being a game, the other being Matt Cooke, to pick up a 5-4 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.
The Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period, scored two more, chased Jimmy Howard, allowed the Red Wings to tie the game in the third before James Neal won it in the shootout.
I was very impressed with how Pittsburgh responded after losing to the New York Rangers Sunday. Also, Cooke's suspension, although warranted after another cheap shot by the LW, gave the Pens a "us against the world" approach.
Cooke was suspended by the NHL Monday for the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs for his elbow to the head of the Rangers' Ryan McDonagh Sunday.
Cooke got what he deserved, Mario Lemieux and Ray Shero had to support it, but the players will go that extra mile for their teammate, even if they're upset.
Chris Kunitz had another great game. Kunitz and Jordan Staal have elavated their game. Brent Johnson was strong, and didn't really let in any bad goals. The Red Wings started to take control in the third. I believe that can be attributed to the Penguins playing back-to-back games against two quality opponents, but take nothing away from Detroit. That team is loaded with talent and Mike Babcock is one of the best coaches around.
Pittsburgh has big games coming up against New Jersey and Philadelphia. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the game with the Flyers is important. (Understatement of the year). I don't think the Penguins will win the division, but who knows. I doubt Philadelphia will struggle going into the playoffs.
We shall see.
Keep your head up!
The Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period, scored two more, chased Jimmy Howard, allowed the Red Wings to tie the game in the third before James Neal won it in the shootout.
I was very impressed with how Pittsburgh responded after losing to the New York Rangers Sunday. Also, Cooke's suspension, although warranted after another cheap shot by the LW, gave the Pens a "us against the world" approach.
Cooke was suspended by the NHL Monday for the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs for his elbow to the head of the Rangers' Ryan McDonagh Sunday.
Cooke got what he deserved, Mario Lemieux and Ray Shero had to support it, but the players will go that extra mile for their teammate, even if they're upset.
Chris Kunitz had another great game. Kunitz and Jordan Staal have elavated their game. Brent Johnson was strong, and didn't really let in any bad goals. The Red Wings started to take control in the third. I believe that can be attributed to the Penguins playing back-to-back games against two quality opponents, but take nothing away from Detroit. That team is loaded with talent and Mike Babcock is one of the best coaches around.
Pittsburgh has big games coming up against New Jersey and Philadelphia. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the game with the Flyers is important. (Understatement of the year). I don't think the Penguins will win the division, but who knows. I doubt Philadelphia will struggle going into the playoffs.
We shall see.
Keep your head up!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)