Stanley Cup playoffs 2008: Red Wings win away from winning this series, advancing to next round
Stanley Cup playoffs 2008: Red Wings win away from winning this series, advancing to next round
Wings are a win away from taking this series and advancing to the next round - Ted Kulfan drops the puck on Game 6
DETROIT Sports News - One win away from winning this series and advancing to the next round, the Red Wings have control of this series, right?
The Predators simply can’t recover from a crushing loss as Friday’s, when Johan Franzen scored off a turnover in overtime, can they?
Logic says no, but the Wings know better.
Winning the deciding game could be the toughest task of all against these pesky Predators.
“It’s a little easier going to Nashville with in the lead,” said Valtteri Filppula, who scored a goal Friday and caused the turnover leading to Franzen’s goal. “But you need four wins.”
“They’re going to be tough in their place,” Franzen said. “The crowd is behind them. We know we have a tough game ahead of us. We just have to keep playing (the way they did Friday).”
Being in a dire predicament is nothing new for Nashville.
The Predators have played their best hockey this season when the pressure is the most intense. They’ll likely get back Jason Arnott (flu) and David Legwand (bruised left foot), who both were unavailable Friday, and expect to force a Game 7 in this series.
“It’s March Madness,” Predators coach Barry Trotz said. “One minute you’re on top of the world, the next minute you feel real low. We’ve got to go back and win one in Nashville, so we can come back here. Plain and simple.”
Underrated star Dan Ellis
Dan Ellis was superb for the Predators in Game 5 with 52 saves, so it was easy to overlook Chris Osgood. But the Wings goalie did a pretty fair job himself.
Osgood stopped 20 shots, including several good chances in the third period, and faced a unique problem himself.
“(Osgood) was good. It’s a tough game when the other guy is standing on his head and you’re not getting any opportunities to make saves,” coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s tough to be the hero, it’s easy to be the goat. He did a real good job, showed his experience and gave us an opportunity to win.”
Osgood is used to the occasional lack of action around his net because of the Wings style of play. He understands there will be evenings when the play is concentrated at the other end of the rink.
“Some guys always say they need 35 shots, but I can play good getting 16 shots or 40 shots, I don’t care,” Osgood said. “I do whatever I’m supposed to do. If the puck’s in there they can’t score, so it doesn’t matter to me as long as you win.”
Wasted effort
Speaking of Ellis, though, what a performance.
He single-handedly kept the Predators in the game, but now needs to play just as well, possibly, to extend this series to a seventh game.
“The way Ellie played, there’s no words to describe it,” Predators forward J.P. Dumont said. “He was on top of his game and we didn’t play our best game. We scored a big goal to get it to overtime, but the game’s not over then. It would have been nice if we’d found a way to win for Ellie. The way he played, he deserved to win.”
Ellis and the rest of the Predators would like to see the amount of turnovers dwindle in Game 6.
More information
NHL playoffs
Predators vs. Red Wings
* Game 1: Detroit 3, Nashville 1
* Game 2: Detroit 4, Nashville 2
* Game 3: Nashville 5, Detroit 3
* Game 4: Nashville 3, Detroit 2
* Game 5: Detroit 2, Nashville 1 (OT)
* Game 6: 3 p.m. Sunday at Nashville, NBC
* Game 7*: TBA Tuesday at Detroit, FSN
All games on WXYT 1270; *if necessary
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“We had a ton of turnovers. They expose that and exploit it,” Ellis said. “They feast on turnovers (with) their transition. They drove wide, they kept pucks in, they battled and they worked hard.”
Coming alive
One of the reasons Babcock was optimistic after Friday’s victory was the improved play of forwards such as Filppula, Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson.
All had injuries late in the regular season and missed significant playing time. None really had a chance to get back into playing shape, instead going directly into the playoff lineup.
Babcock saw signs of each skating better, showing speed, and thinks that’s a very good sign for the Wings in Game 6 and, possibly, beyond.
“We’re just going to get better from this point on,” Babcock said.
Filppula, who was bothered by groin/knee injuries late in the regular season, believes he’s been getting offensive opportunities in this series but wasn’t converting until Friday.
He perfectly placed a shot over Ellis in the first period to get the Wings on the scoreboard.
“It was nice to see it go in,” Filppula said. “Our line had been getting chances. It just a matter of time.”
Was there pressure to contribute?
“Not really pressure. Obviously it’s playoff time and you want to help the team as much as you can,” Filppula said. “I felt I had some chances. I should have scored earlier. I don’t know if frustrated is the right word, but anxious to try to help the team.”
Numbers game
The Wings’ all-time record in Game 6 is 25-20. In the last 10 series, the Wings are 4-3 in Game 6.
The Predators are 0-1, losing to the Wings in 2004.
Stanley Cup playoffs 2008: Red Wings win away from winning this series, advancing to next round. Editing by Jessica Clinton
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[...] Iflove Sports Events wrote an interesting post today on Stanley Cup playoffs 2008: Red Wings win away from winning this …Here’s a quick excerptIt’sa tough game when the other guy is standing on his head and you’re not getting any opportunities to make saves,” coach Mike Babcock said. “It’s tough to be the hero, it’s easy to be the goat. He did a real good job, … [...]