#2 Detroit Red Wings (3-2) over the #8 Anaheim Ducks (2-3) 4-1
Jiri Hudler puts one past Jonas Hiller for the eventual game winner
(Photo Credit: AP)
A second straight dominating performance has the Detroit Red Wings one win away from their third consecutive trip to the Western Conference finals. Four different shooters beat Jonas Hiller late Sunday afternoon in Motown, while the Detroit defense limited the Anaheim attack to just 17 shots on goal. The Red Wings put 38 pucks on Hiller, outhit the Ducks, 35-18, and won 55% of faceoffs.
Johan Franzen opened the scoring at 3:23 of the second period with a wristshot as he moved off the right wing boards. It was his seventh goal this postseason and his 20th in 25 playoff games over the last two springs. Jiri Hudler deflected a puck out of mid-air past Hiller 39 seconds later for a 2-0 lead.
Ryan Whitney scored for the first time as a Duck before the second period ended, and Hiller was sharp for most of the third, but there was no Anaheim comeback because of Detroit’s puck control. Darren Helm erased any doubt with his first goal of the playoffs with 3:08 to go. Henrik Zetterberg’s empty-netter provided Detroit’s fourth and final goal.
“When we keep the speed up and put the pucks behind their D, it’s going to be hard for them to create something,” Franzen said. “If we keep doing that the next game, I think we have a good chance to win.”
Game 6 is Tuesday night, and the Ducks have a lot of regrouping to do in the next 48 hours. They were in control of this series, leading two-games-to-one with Game 4 in southern California, but the Red Wings have taken flight over the last two games. Their scorers have solved Hiller, while Anaheim’s offense has lost its stride.
“We just have to get emotionally involved in the game right from the drop of the puck,” said Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle. Another game in Detroit in this series seems unlikely at the moment.
Odds & Ends…Anaheim has lost back-to-back games for the first time since early March…Defenseman James Wisniewski returned to the Anaheim lineup after suffering a bruised lung in Game 3…Ryan Getzlaf did not register a goal or an assist, ending his eight-game point-scoring streak…The Red Wings scratched Chris Chelios and replaced him with Derek Meech…Justin Abdelkader played for the first time this postseason as well in place of the injured Tomas Kopecky.
A second straight dominating performance has the Detroit Red Wings one win away from their third consecutive trip to the Western Conference finals. Four different shooters beat Jonas Hiller late Sunday afternoon in Motown, while the Detroit defense limited the Anaheim attack to just 17 shots on goal. The Red Wings put 38 pucks on Hiller, outhit the Ducks, 35-18, and won 55% of faceoffs.
Johan Franzen opened the scoring at 3:23 of the second period with a wristshot as he moved off the right wing boards. It was his seventh goal this postseason and his 20th in 25 playoff games over the last two springs. Jiri Hudler deflected a puck out of mid-air past Hiller 39 seconds later for a 2-0 lead.
Ryan Whitney scored for the first time as a Duck before the second period ended, and Hiller was sharp for most of the third, but there was no Anaheim comeback because of Detroit’s puck control. Darren Helm erased any doubt with his first goal of the playoffs with 3:08 to go. Henrik Zetterberg’s empty-netter provided Detroit’s fourth and final goal.
“When we keep the speed up and put the pucks behind their D, it’s going to be hard for them to create something,” Franzen said. “If we keep doing that the next game, I think we have a good chance to win.”
Game 6 is Tuesday night, and the Ducks have a lot of regrouping to do in the next 48 hours. They were in control of this series, leading two-games-to-one with Game 4 in southern California, but the Red Wings have taken flight over the last two games. Their scorers have solved Hiller, while Anaheim’s offense has lost its stride.
“We just have to get emotionally involved in the game right from the drop of the puck,” said Anaheim head coach Randy Carlyle. Another game in Detroit in this series seems unlikely at the moment.
Odds & Ends…Anaheim has lost back-to-back games for the first time since early March…Defenseman James Wisniewski returned to the Anaheim lineup after suffering a bruised lung in Game 3…Ryan Getzlaf did not register a goal or an assist, ending his eight-game point-scoring streak…The Red Wings scratched Chris Chelios and replaced him with Derek Meech…Justin Abdelkader played for the first time this postseason as well in place of the injured Tomas Kopecky.
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