/ / The Detroit News
Don't let them kid you ? the Red Wings understand and appreciate the historical ramifications of the opportunity that awaits them in San Jose on Thursday night.
"You'd be lying if you didn't think about the history," forward Danny Cleary said. "We believed that we could do this and that's really the one key thing. If you believe you really, really can ? and you're just not kidding yourself ? then you've got a chance."
The Red Wings, trailing 3-0 to the Sharks eight days ago, can add another remarkable feat to a 20-year playoff run that has included four Stanley Cups. They can become the fourth team in NHL history to escape that deficit and win a series.
But, as coach Mike Babcock said repeatedly after Game 6, they still have to do it, and that final hurdle is often the hardest. Ask the Blackhawks, whose Cup defense ended in Game 7 to the Canucks after they fought back from the 3-0 deficit.
"We haven't accomplished anything yet," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said.
1. Matchup maneuverings
Many factors have helped the Red Wings scratch and claw their way out of a 3-0 hole, but none more pivotal than the ability of Henrik Zetterberg 's line to neutralize, if not outplay, Joe Thornton 's line. Zetterberg has seven points and is a plus-6 while Thornton has not scored and is a minus-3.
Sharks coach Todd McLellan has been content to stay with that matchup, but Thornton's frustration was palpable in Game 6.
Having the last change in Game 7, McLellan could avoid the matchup ? and he probably will. The onus might fall on Pavel Datsyuk or Valtteri Filppula to finish what Zetterberg has started.
2. Attack first
The Red Wings cannot afford to change their approach. They can't buy into the media chatter about the Sharks' soft-mindedness and they can't assume they have any momentum. As Sharks coach Todd McLellan said, momentum is re-established every game.
Common wisdom suggests the Red Wings will need to weather the early storm from the home team. That's a bad strategy. Better to hit first and see how much fight the Sharks have left.
The Red Wings have won three straight by sticking to a strict plan ? making safe, simple plays and being relentless in all three zones. It would be folly to start swinging for the fences now.
3. Finish, finish, finish
Take nothing away from the brilliance of Sharks G Antti Niemi , but the Red Wings were his biggest asset in Game 6. Drew Miller fired a rebound wide of an open net. Darren Helm , on a two-on-one break, whiffed. Danny Cleary pulled Niemi completely out of position but knocked it off the post.
The Red Wings won't be able to survive in Game 7 if those types of chances are squandered. Typically, there won't be as many, so there will be a premium on each scoring opportunity.
It's not an easy thing to relax and let your skill take over in such a high-stakes game, but the Red Wings are the team with all the rings. They should be able to respond.
4. As the Clowe flies
Make no mistake, the Sharks were severely hamstrung without rugged forward Ryane Clowe in Game 6. He is to San Jose what Ryan Kesler is to Vancouver.
Red Wings radio analyst Paul Woods said he had Clowe among his choices for the Conn Smythe Trophy; he's been that good. He completely changes the flow of the game with his size, speed and nastiness. His absence weakened two lines.
He is expected to be back for Game 7, but who knows how effective he will be. The Red Wings would do well to hit him early and often and keep him on his heels.
5. Abort Mission Modano
With all due respect to the future Hall of Famer and arguably the best American-born player in history, Mike Modano can't help the Red Wings this series. He's sat for too long, and the pace of these games is too furious. It's just too risky to try to wait for him to catch up.
Modano played only nine minutes in Game 6 and spent a lot of time picking himself off the ice after getting whacked. It's painful to watch such a great player struggle like that, but nobody outskates father time.
If Johan Franzen can play, this is not an issue. But if he still can't go, the Red Wings would be better served with Kris Draper .
6. Stay out of the box
The best part of any Game 7, typically, is that the NHL will have its best and most experienced officials on the ice. And that means, typically, they will let the players decide the outcome.
Hopefully we won't see many of those ticky-tack penalties that have at times plagued this series. Hopefully there won't be any situations like in Game 6 where a bad call (boarding on Patrick Marleau ) gets washed out by another bad call (goaltender interference against Tomas Holmstrom ).
That said, the Red Wings have to maintain their aggressiveness. They have to keep pounding away at both ends of the rink. But ? Justin Abdelkader ? they have to keep their elbows and sticks down. They have stopped the last six Sharks power plays, but you don't want to go to that well too many times.
7. Looking for a hero
If this were a movie, one of the A-list players would steal the show. Pavel Datsyuk , who has to be among anybody's top three for the Conn Smythe, or Henrik Zetterberg would lead the Red Wings to victory.
For the Sharks, it would be Joe Thornton or perhaps a redemption song for the much-maligned Patrick Marleau .
But real life usually isn't that predictable. The two most likely heroes for the Sharks, the players who have done the most damage to the Red Wings the last two seasons, would be Devin Setoguchi and Joe Pavelski .
For the Red Wings, it's been a different hero almost every game, but the Sharks would be wise not to sleep on Todd Bertuzzi , Jiri Hudler (he has a penchant for scoring in big games) or the captain, Nicklas Lidstrom .
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com
Don't let them kid you ? the Red Wings understand and appreciate the historical ramifications of the opportunity that awaits them in San Jose on Thursday night.
"You'd be lying if you didn't think about the history," forward Danny Cleary said. "We believed that we could do this and that's really the one key thing. If you believe you really, really can ? and you're just not kidding yourself ? then you've got a chance."
The Red Wings, trailing 3-0 to the Sharks eight days ago, can add another remarkable feat to a 20-year playoff run that has included four Stanley Cups. They can become the fourth team in NHL history to escape that deficit and win a series.
But, as coach Mike Babcock said repeatedly after Game 6, they still have to do it, and that final hurdle is often the hardest. Ask the Blackhawks, whose Cup defense ended in Game 7 to the Canucks after they fought back from the 3-0 deficit.
"We haven't accomplished anything yet," defenseman Niklas Kronwall said.
1. Matchup maneuverings
Many factors have helped the Red Wings scratch and claw their way out of a 3-0 hole, but none more pivotal than the ability of Henrik Zetterberg 's line to neutralize, if not outplay, Joe Thornton 's line. Zetterberg has seven points and is a plus-6 while Thornton has not scored and is a minus-3.
Sharks coach Todd McLellan has been content to stay with that matchup, but Thornton's frustration was palpable in Game 6.
Having the last change in Game 7, McLellan could avoid the matchup ? and he probably will. The onus might fall on Pavel Datsyuk or Valtteri Filppula to finish what Zetterberg has started.
2. Attack first
The Red Wings cannot afford to change their approach. They can't buy into the media chatter about the Sharks' soft-mindedness and they can't assume they have any momentum. As Sharks coach Todd McLellan said, momentum is re-established every game.
Common wisdom suggests the Red Wings will need to weather the early storm from the home team. That's a bad strategy. Better to hit first and see how much fight the Sharks have left.
The Red Wings have won three straight by sticking to a strict plan ? making safe, simple plays and being relentless in all three zones. It would be folly to start swinging for the fences now.
3. Finish, finish, finish
Take nothing away from the brilliance of Sharks G Antti Niemi , but the Red Wings were his biggest asset in Game 6. Drew Miller fired a rebound wide of an open net. Darren Helm , on a two-on-one break, whiffed. Danny Cleary pulled Niemi completely out of position but knocked it off the post.
The Red Wings won't be able to survive in Game 7 if those types of chances are squandered. Typically, there won't be as many, so there will be a premium on each scoring opportunity.
It's not an easy thing to relax and let your skill take over in such a high-stakes game, but the Red Wings are the team with all the rings. They should be able to respond.
4. As the Clowe flies
Make no mistake, the Sharks were severely hamstrung without rugged forward Ryane Clowe in Game 6. He is to San Jose what Ryan Kesler is to Vancouver.
Red Wings radio analyst Paul Woods said he had Clowe among his choices for the Conn Smythe Trophy; he's been that good. He completely changes the flow of the game with his size, speed and nastiness. His absence weakened two lines.
He is expected to be back for Game 7, but who knows how effective he will be. The Red Wings would do well to hit him early and often and keep him on his heels.
5. Abort Mission Modano
With all due respect to the future Hall of Famer and arguably the best American-born player in history, Mike Modano can't help the Red Wings this series. He's sat for too long, and the pace of these games is too furious. It's just too risky to try to wait for him to catch up.
Modano played only nine minutes in Game 6 and spent a lot of time picking himself off the ice after getting whacked. It's painful to watch such a great player struggle like that, but nobody outskates father time.
If Johan Franzen can play, this is not an issue. But if he still can't go, the Red Wings would be better served with Kris Draper .
6. Stay out of the box
The best part of any Game 7, typically, is that the NHL will have its best and most experienced officials on the ice. And that means, typically, they will let the players decide the outcome.
Hopefully we won't see many of those ticky-tack penalties that have at times plagued this series. Hopefully there won't be any situations like in Game 6 where a bad call (boarding on Patrick Marleau ) gets washed out by another bad call (goaltender interference against Tomas Holmstrom ).
That said, the Red Wings have to maintain their aggressiveness. They have to keep pounding away at both ends of the rink. But ? Justin Abdelkader ? they have to keep their elbows and sticks down. They have stopped the last six Sharks power plays, but you don't want to go to that well too many times.
7. Looking for a hero
If this were a movie, one of the A-list players would steal the show. Pavel Datsyuk , who has to be among anybody's top three for the Conn Smythe, or Henrik Zetterberg would lead the Red Wings to victory.
For the Sharks, it would be Joe Thornton or perhaps a redemption song for the much-maligned Patrick Marleau .
But real life usually isn't that predictable. The two most likely heroes for the Sharks, the players who have done the most damage to the Red Wings the last two seasons, would be Devin Setoguchi and Joe Pavelski .
For the Red Wings, it's been a different hero almost every game, but the Sharks would be wise not to sleep on Todd Bertuzzi , Jiri Hudler (he has a penchant for scoring in big games) or the captain, Nicklas Lidstrom .
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com
