Back in the good old days (last Wednesday morning, to be exact), with the Red Wings leading the Western Conference Finals, 2 games to 1, it was pointed out by the never-miss-a-trick writers that Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne had yet to get on the scoresheet.
What's wrong with Selanne, they wondered.
So here was Selanne, sitting in front of the media, trying to conceal the happy grin that comes with scoring an overtime game-winning goal -- the goal that put the Ducks up, 3-2 in the series. Selanne scored in Game 4, too -- perhaps awakened by the forces that say whenever a player is called out by the writers, he'll no doubt score in the next game.
"I was surprised to get the puck that open," Selanne said, describing his good fortune when Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja -- whose first playoff goal had given the Wings a 1-0 lead -- coughed up the puck deep in his own zone, leaving goalie Dominik Hasek helpless at the hands of an experienced scorer such as Selanne. Hasek went down, trying to deny Selanne as much net as possible, but the forward lifted a backhand over the sprawling netminder.
I asked him if it was a goal scorer's touch that enabled him to exhibit the patience that was needed to wait for Hasek to commit first.
"Everything happened so quickly," Selanne said. "You don't really have time to plan anything. But obviously over the years I have practiced that move so many times that it just came into my mind. I knew I had to get (the puck) upstairs because he (Hasek) goes down all the time and he covers all the bottom (of the net).
"It was great to see that go in."
Says him.
Earlier, Hasek had given me his version of the game-winner.
"I was waiting, waiting, for the shot or something, and he made a nice move. I think my glove was there but he put it up high over me. He's a skilled player, and he made a good move and a great backhand shot."
I had a sinking feeling that the Red Wings' inability to build on their 1-0 lead when they had power play after power play in the second period (and a couple more in the third) was going to haunt them. And I was right, although it took a fluke shot by Scott Niedermayer -- the puck went off Nick Lidstrom's stick and fluttered over Hasek's shoulder -- with just 48 seconds remaining in regulation to validate my fears.
Speaking of Lidstrom, the captain disagreed with me when I suggested that it was the second period -- post-Lilja goal -- with all of its PP time for Detroit but no goals, that may have been a key to the game's final outcome.
"No, we were still up 1-0. We were still leading the game," he said. "Even though you didn't score on the power play, you just have to take that momentum with you and continue to play strong. I thought we did that, too, even though we didn't score. We had some good chances on the five-on-five after."
Well, that may be so, but the Wings played six of the next ten minutes after Lilja's goal on the power play, including 36 seconds of a 5-on-3. They came up empty. And the way the Wings dominated, at least in terms of shots on goal, a 2-0 lead might have been insurmountable.
So what's it all about, Alfie? The Red Wings may have deserved a better fate in Game 5, but I thought the Ducks kinda did after Game 1. So those two games cancel each other out. The Red Wings dominated Game 3, and played well in Game 4. But so what? They are looking at a 3-2 series deficit, and all that matters is Game 6.
You'll hear it often -- the drum beat of "remember 2002". That's when the Colorado Avalanche won an OT game at the Joe in Game 5 of the conference finals, only to see Hasek stone them the rest of the way as Detroit won the series in seven. It's a typical case of holding on to history when it's to your benefit. Selective memory, let's call it. For the Wings lost Game 5s at home in 2004 and 2006, and went out in six games on both occasions.
But here's some not-so-selective memory: the Wings, as I wrote here last week, once again dropped a playoff OT game at home. For whatever reason, the Red Wings are awful in this department, and I have no explanation why. But the facts don't lie. This loss makes them unofficially something like 4-15 in their last 19 home OT playoff games. Unreal.
In case you happen to care, I'm still picking the Red Wings to win this series. There's just something about this group that makes me think losing this series isn't their destiny. But if they do lose, there'll be plenty of talk about the ineffectiveness of Robert Lang and Kyle Calder, the health of Todd Bertuzzi (and even Henrik Zetterberg), and the loss of Mathieu Schneider.
But I just think all that talk will be put on hold. Or rather, the talk will be there, but just not in the context of trying to explain away a Detroit playoff exit.
I think I may have found something that even Lidstrom would agree with me on.
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