I don't have many. Sorry. The 10:30pm start is a killer, and I only watched the first period. When I saw the final score, I was not surprised, as the wings were clearly dominated in the 1st. From what I read, the wings turned it around in the 2nd and 3rd, peppering Hiller with shots.
The Ducks are winning with exactly what we expected - superior defense. They've got the best 6-man defensive core in the league, and they've effectively neutralized the Datsyuk line. The onus is now on Babcock to reassess his strategy. I doubt Detroit will be able to play better defensively (especially with Rafalski and Draper out), but they've got to find a way to score. This wings team is at its best scoring 4 or 5 per night. The Ducks are good but not invincible.
The Ref
Obviously, the big story in Detriot this morning is the Hossa goal that was waved off. Not surprisingly, the NHL says the ref made the right decision blowing the play dead. This is one reason why I believe it's entirely okay to bitch about the refs. It's usually seen as sour grapes to complain about a blown call. The popular logic is that players ultimately decide games, and the refs impact, albeit negative, should be overcome by good teams. I find this logic faulty.
In an evenly matched game, a referee can be the deciding factor. A foul call in the waning seconds of an NBA game can determine the outcome. A pass interference in the endzone gives the offense the ball at the 1 yard line. These are huge human decisions that happen all the time and greatly impact the games. And it happened again last night. It's hard to find to more evenly matched teams than the Ducks and Wings. When the ref blows a call, like the Hossa goal, it's perfectly okay to bitch. It was a bad call.
It was a bad call, but I chalk that up to the same fate as lucky breaks. The Stuart "goal" in game 2 was lucky. The bad call was unlucky. The Wings did dominate after they went down 2-0, but why did it take that long?
ReplyDeleteHossa and Pavs looked like they were pressing, but I didn't get to see as much of the regular season, so maybe that's just the way they've been playing. That said, the Ducks are obviously in the Wings' heads. The melee with Pronger at the end of the game showed just how frustrated the Wings are. If they can come out and dominate on Thursday, we'll have a series. I think one team will dominate that game, and the winner of game 4 will win the series, but I have no idea which team that will be.
In the regular season, Pavel ran pretty wild. He had much more space, and teams were too afraid to clutch-and-grab. The Ducks, however, are talented and strong enough to shadow him all over the ice. He has no room to maneuver, but Hossa, with his great speed, has burned the defense a few times. He just hasn't finished.
ReplyDeleteTheir backs are against the wall. We'll see how they react. I've got a good feeling.