My latest at the FanHouse is on Johan Franzen, who will not return to the lineup for Game 5.
Update (4:00 PM): Tom Benjamin reacts to the no-goal call and to the comparison being made between that play and the missed interference call in Game 1:
On the other hand, last night’s mistake was inexcusable. Kelly did make something up. He did not see Holmstrom interfere with Turco because there was no interference. The referee called something he did not see. We know he did not see it because he called something that did not happen.
Another difference: The goal in Game 1 was the Wings’ third in a game that finished 4-1 Detroit. It was not the game-winner and had little bearing on a game the Wings would have won anyway. Last night’s blown call came on the first goal of the game. Had it been allowed, the face of the game would have been changed. - Matt
Update (12:28 PM): Typo in title corrected. - Matt
Embarrassing. That’s the most polite way to describe Game 4. The waived off goal was easily in the top three worst calls I have ever seen.
If, as I believe, Kelly Sutherland was the center ice official, he had no business making that call when Dan O’Halloran was right there. I absolutely hate it when the center ice official makes a call that directly contradicts the referee who was right there. Am I wrong to remember that the play was initially ruled a goal? If it was, how could it just be overturned by the word of a man fifty feet away from the event?
Because the play did not occur in overtime, we cannot say with certainty that the blown call cost the Wings the win, but there can be no doubt that that goal would have changed the face of the game. Dallas has shown a mental weakness thus far in this series in that they crumble when scored on first. I have little doubt that the same thing would have happened again had the goal not been waived off in a fit of unadulterated idiocy by Sutherland. As it was, the blown call acted as a security blanket for the weak-minded Dallas team and gave them the mental fortitude to play actual hockey for one of the few times in this series.
Marty Turco, for whom I now have zero respect, is mouthing off about how that was a makeup call for the “missed” goaltender interference penalty on Holmstrom in Game 1. If so, I call that BS. This is a professional sports league, not some weak collection of pickup games. There should be no makeup calls. Makeup calls are bush league. In the National Hockey League, teams should be doing the making up, not the officials. It’s bad enough when it’s in the regular season and it’s a bad hooking call to make up for a bad tripping call. It’s a thousand times worse to do it in the Stanley Cup playoffs when the games mean everything.
If I were completely rational about this and didn’t have an irrational love for the game, the team, and the players, I would quit the NHL today. Why would I want to waste my time on a League that cannot ensure the quality of officiating that should be an inherent part of a top-tier professional sports league? Why would I want to waste my time on a League that disallows legitimate scoring? If I was rational about this, I wouldn’t. As it is, however, I’ll foolishly hold to this game, something I love and hate so much at the same time.
Gary Bettman should be embarrassed. He was at the game. I wonder what he thought when he saw that. Does he enjoy leading a League that is a joke to sports fans around the world? Waiving off legitimate goals is an embarrassment to the game. It really is.
It’s days like these that conspiracy theories almost start to make sense. Almost. I’m sure the NHL loves the fact that Game 5 is happening and that NBC will have the opportunity to broadcast it. But I don’t buy the idea that this was a Bettman-ordered result. That’s giving Kelly Sutherland too much credit.
If the goal was waived off an Holmstrom really was in the crease, I would be disappointed, but honest enough to admit the right call was made. But he wasn’t in the crease and the right call was not made.
The League has got to institute some kind of safeguard against that kind of thing. Why on earth is there no replay for that? Why can’t the replay booth look at the goal in the moments immediately following it being waived off (or allowed) and notify the on-ice officials before the puck is dropped? It wouldn’t even have to be a formal review period just so long as the review booth officials have the power to stop on-ice proceedings, a la NFL review booth officials in the final two minutes.
After that call was made, I was so angry I kept wishing Holmstrom would just run Turco over. If he’s going to get called for it, he might as well get his money’s worth. Thankfully, the Wings kept their emotions in check better than I did.
Kudos to the Stars for actually showing up to play last night. It’s good to know you’ve finally realized you’re in the Western Conference Finals. It’s just too bad you can’t have a win not sullied by a monumentally blown call. You outplayed the Wings in most phases of the game. Good for you. It won’t happen again.
Not only did Sutherland look stupid on the blown goal call, he and O’Halloran were oblivious to the Stars’ shenanigans all night. The officiating was terrible. Almost as bad as the waived off goal was the fact that Steve Ott got away with assault in the final seconds of the game. Of course, it was almost a moot point, but it’s the principle of the thing. He was brutalizing Tomas Holmstrom and got away scot free. To call Ott a donkey is an insult to good donkeys everywhere.
Aside from that, how many other times were Red Wings crosschecked or tripped in the process of taking a shot? Or blatantly interfered with? Also, how was Eriksson’s goal not waived off? The guy’s entire body was in the crease. I’m sure Osgood would have loved to have that space to move across, but it was occupied by a Dallas Star. Textbook goaltender interference.
All that said, the Wings had ample opportunity to overcome those difficulties, including the waived off goal. They allowed themselves to be outplayed last night and did not put forth the effort necessary to win. They will have to play better on Saturday and I have no doubt that they will. The Stars have gotten their win, but the Wings will have their series in Game 5.
Tonight is the fourth game of the 2008 Western Conference Finals. Detroit leads the series 3-0 with wins Thursday (4-1), Saturday (2-1), and Monday (5-2).
Dallas is on the brink of elimination and must win this game to prolong their season. To do that, they will need to elevate their play beyond any level they’ve reached thus far in this series. Some keys to the game for the Stars:
Maintain composure. If the Wings do happen to score first, the Stars need to be composed. If they lose their heads, they lose the game for sure.
Marty Turco. I’ve listed Turco as a key in every game since Game 2 and thus far, his impact on this series has largely been negative. He has not played his best in this round, but the Stars will need him to be stellar tonight. No goals scored while he’s poorly positioned.
Play like the season is on the line. Because it is. The Stars have lacked urgency in this series and if they don’t show any tonight, they’ll be embarrassed.
It’s probable that Jere Lehtinen (knee) will not play tonight. Philippe Boucher and Stu Barnes remain out.
Detroit would prefer this series be over as quickly as possible so that they can rest up for the Finals. To wrap things up tonight, they’ll likely have to play their best game of the series as Dallas is not going to lay down. Some keys to the game for Detroit:
Score first. The Stars are fragile at the moment, as IwoCPO has pointed out. An early lead could take them out of the game.
Stay out of the box. The last thing they need is to give the Stars anything that could lead to momentum.
Hold on to the puck. If they play their puck possession game to the best of their ability tonight, Dallas has no chance.
The Wings will be without Johan Franzen once again. It looks like he won’t be back until the Finals no matter what happen in this series.
With Dallas against the wall, I expect them to put on the kind of effort required in the Conference Finals. If the Wings show up to play as well, however, I don’t think it will be enough.
I’m short on time today, so I’ll have to refer you to my Icesheet at the FanHouse rather than do a separate post. Sorry about that.
My first post at the NHL FanHouse is on the Wings’ new European signing, Ville Leino.
Tonight is Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Detroit leads the series 2-0 (4-1, 2-1).
For Dallas, this is essentially a must-win game. They cannot afford to go down 3-0 to Detroit. Some keys to the game for the Stars:
Score first. Dallas has not had a lead this series and they have not played very good catch-up hockey. If they score first tonight, they’ll give themselves a chance.
Marty Turco. Turco needs to be perfect tonight, something he has not been yet this series.
Elevated game. The Stars have been underwhelming thus far. They will need to bring their “A” game tonight to stand a chance.
The Wings will be looking to exact the best revenge for Mike Ribeiro’s idiocy at the end of Game 2: a win. My hope is that they focus on that rather than physical retribution. There’s no need to go after Ribeiro when a Detroit win will hurt him much more. Some keys for the Wings:
Overcome the crappy ice. This will mean a slight adjustment in game plan (i.e. shorter passes), but it’s something the Wings must do early on.
Big first period. If the Wings can put up a few goals in the first, they can take the crowd out of it and go a long way in cutting the Stars off at the knees.
Chris Osgood. Osgood’s calm and confidence need to continue tonight. The Stars will be buzzing him as much as they can, trying to take him off his game.
The lineup should remain the same as it was in Game 2. Johan Franzen (concussion-like symptoms) is out at least another game. Dan Cleary bears the responsibility of filling in for the big Swede on the second line. I expect him to break out soon.
This should be a tightly-contested game. Of course, we thought this series would be tightly-contested, but the Stars haven’t shown up yet. Maybe they will tonight.
Admin note: I’m sorry for the minimal coverage over the past couple days. My access to a computer has been a bit more limited and will probably remain so for at least a couple more days.
The Wings took a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals last night with a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars.
Some quick thoughts on the game:
… Despite the fact that they statistically dominated the Stars, i don’t think the Wings have fully hit their stride in this round. They looked a bit sloppy offensively and never really got going. Even Pavel Datsyuk, who is usually very smooth with the puck, looked a little off his game.
… Defensively, though, I thought they were real solid. Chris Osgood had another strong game.
… Darren Helm looked great on his goal. A nice shot, but one Turco probably should have had. He took Helm too lightly.
… On the Wings’ second goal, the Stars took Holmstrom too seriously. They were so concerned with him that Henrik Zetterberg had an easy time of it putting it back in the net.
… The Stars seem to be on the edge of a meltdown. Their frustration is obvious, from Marty Turco’s sneaky cheapshots on Holmstrom and Filppula, to Steve Ott’s antics.
The ultimate example was Mike Ribeiro’s absolutely uncalled for two-hander to Chris Osgood’s chest at the end of the game. Just prior to that, Osgood have moved his stick slightly as Ribeiro went by, catching the Stars forward with the butt end. That was unecessary on Osgood’s part, but certainly did not warrant a chop like Ribeiro gave him. If Ribeiro was that upset, he should have confronted Osgood face-to-face.
Personally, I do think Ribeiro should be suspended. You simply cannot use your stick like that. Osgood looks pretty foolish to have rolled around like that, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ribeiro two-handed him in the chest after the buzzer. The League has to take action, even if it’s only a game or two.
… Game 2 seemed to be another indication that perhaps the Stars have run out of steam. They’ll no doubt look better in Game 3 as they play in front of their home crowd, but it will have to be a major improvement if they want to make this a competitive series.
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Well that was a nasty surprise at the beginning of the game there, wasn’t it? Just sitting there with my Wings gear, all excited for some Playoff hockey, and the announcer goes and rips my heart out. “By the way, your top scorer/Conn Smythe candidate with hands 10,000 degrees hotter than the sun is not playing tonight. Have fun!” Yeah those weren’t his exact words but they may as well have been. Anyway, looks like the Mule is going to be out at least another game. This gem of a quote from Holland (via Bruce McLeod) explains everything :
He got hit in the Colorado series and he’s been having headaches. Nothing significant, but he’s been having headaches. And finally after Game 1 (Friday) morning, he mentioned to the trainers that he’s having headaches.
In case you didn’t catch that, it appears that Franzen is experiencing headaches. Apparently he’ll undergo tests on Monday to ensure that he’s not concussed from a hit early in the Colorado series. Anyway, here’s hoping he’s back for game 4.
Update (2:26 PM): I’m finishing up with post-graduation and moving out stuff so I’ll just refer you to Bruce MacLeod, who has an update on the Wings here and the Stars here. Also, IwoCPO has some keys to the game here. - Matt
Tonight is the second game of the Western Conference Finals. Detroit took a 1-0 lead with a 4-1 win Thursday night.
The Stars could really use a win here. Going back to Dallas down 2-0 isn’t the end of the world, but that’s not a position they want to be in with the Wings on a roll. Some keys to the game for Dallas:
Stay out of the box. That means playing a clean game and figuring out the officiating standard early. The Wings’ power play will make them pay if they don’t.
Score first. Scoring first doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s certainly better than playing catch-up all night.
Marty Turco. For Turco, he has to view this game as the night to overcome his issues with winning at the Joe. He may have to steal this one for the Stars.
The Stars could see the return of Stu Barnes (concussion-like symptoms) tonight. That would help their PK.
For the Wings, they’d obviously like to keep the Stars from splitting the first two games. Some keys to the game for Detroit:
Weather/end the storm. The Stars are bound to come out hard and the Wings will have to be ready for that. Either they’ll need to weather the storm or they’ll need to end it by an opportunistic goal.
Marty Turco. Get in his head and in his space. Get him off his game and keep him there.
Minimal penalties. If I had to guess, I’d say the officiating will go against the Wings tonight, so they’ll have to keep their feet moving as much as possible to avoid chintzy calls, at least.
Kirk Maltby is likely to remain in because of the speed he provides over Darren McCarty.
I think we can count on the Stars playing a much better game tonight. That just means the Wings will have to step it up that much more. I’d like to see them keep on the attack for the majority of the game this time around.
Tonight’s the night we really find out how this series is going to go.
The Detroit Red Wings took a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals by defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1 at home last night.
I didn’t take notes and I’m a little short on time so this will be brief:
… I missed the first couple minutes of the game, but it looked like the Stars were in control early on. Things started to unravel for them as they got into penalty trouble before the game was four minutes old. After that, the Wings took over and held the high ground for most of the rest of the game.
… The roughing on Mark Fistric was pretty stupid. If anyone deserved a call there, it was Steve Ott. Fistric did very little, but I thought Ott went a little overboard in his encounter with Holmstrom.
… I thought Brian Rafalski had a strong night for the most part. He made absolutely the right decision on his goal, chosing to take advantage of the chaos following Lidstrom’s shot going off the post. Turco had no idea what was going on.
… Franzen continues to play like an MVP. His goal will get the press, but his play in the defensive end was exemplary. If he’d played like that all season, the Wings could have had three Selke finalists.
… Valtteri Filppula looked strong all night. He was particularly impressive in his strength on the puck, which led to a Stars penalty in one instance. He made no mistake about it when he found himself open in the middle just before his goal. Turco doesn’t deserve much criticism on that one. It was just a great shot.
… Turco, by the way, was not the stellar goalie we were led to believe he’d be. I have no doubt that we’ll see the better side of him this series, but he’d better bring it quick or the Stars will be in trouble.
… I thought Chris Osgood looked stellar. He made a few huge saves at various points in the game and definitely was the goalie his teammates need him to be.
… Of course, Osgood was helped by a tight team defense. The Wings were very good about regaining possession in their zone and closing off the Stars’ attack.
… I was surprised to see Kirk Maltby in the lineup. I didn’t notice him much, to be honest.
… Darren Helm was great last night. He took an elbow shot to the face from Turco, though. Not sure how the officials missed that one.
… Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk looked like themselves with seven shots each.
… If the Wings’ power play clicks like that all series, Dallas will be very hardpressed to win a game, let alone four. The Stars are going to have to cut down on the penalties, for sure.
… The Wings held the Stars down for a good half of the game and then let off the gas. That’s not going to work if Dallas gets its act together. They’re better off staying on the attack all night.
… You could see the Stars’ frustration late in the game. My guess is Game 2 will be a different animal as they come out looking to make up for their poor performance last night.
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