Red Wings Grab 1st Playoff Spot

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Pavel Datsyuk and the red hot Detroit Red Wings clinched the first playoff spot today by defeating Marty Turco and the Dallas Stars at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The win gives the Red Wings 100 points on the season, and gives them the win in their Division, and a guaranteed playoff spot.

The Dallas Stars looked good early on, pushing the lead out to 3-1 at one stage with goals from Jere Lehtinen and Brenden Morrow.  Datsyuk scored with just under 4 minutes left in the 2nd period taking the Red Wings to the 2nd intermission only 1 goal down and boosted with confidence.

Datsyuk took just 34 seconds into the third period to score again bringing the score to 3-3.  Mikael Samuelsson deflated the Stars hopes just 25 seconds later when he also found the back of the net.  The Stars never recovered, and in the closing minutes Valtteri Filppula scored an empty netter to seal the victory.

“The first goal was a bad goal and the second, we didn’t check very well,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said. “Once you give up two quick goals to start a period, it’s hard to get the momentum back.”
- Yahoo! Sports

The challenge for the Detroit Red Wings now will be to maintain momentum through the final10 or so games of the season.

Tags: back, Brenden, Challenge, check, closing, coach, confidence, Dallas, Dave Tippett, Detroit, didn, Division, Filppula, goal, Grab, hockey, intermission, Jere, Joe Louis Arena, lead, Lehtinen, marty turco, Mikael Samuelsson, momentum, Morrow, Net, netter, pavel datsyuk, period, playoff, Red, score, season, spot, stage, Stars, today, Valtteri, victory, win, Wings, yahoo

Crosby Returns, Pens Shutout Bolts

The long awaited return of Sidney Crosby came today, and with it a 2 goal shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But don’t think this was an easy game for Crosby and the Penguins.  It took til the 17th minute of the third period before a puck finally reached the back of the net, a Maxim Talbot goal that was setup by none other than Crosby himself.

“It’s good to get it over with and get that feel and get that timing back, but it’s still not there,” Crosby said. “I had some great chances that I would have loved to put in. It didn’t happen. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. I’m a little rusty.”
- Yahoo! Sports

Evgeni Malkin also scored, putting the puck in an empty net to ensure victory, and a shutout for goalie Marc-Andre Fleury

Tags: back, Bolts, didn, Evgeni, Game, goal, Goalie, hockey, lightning, marc, marc andre fleury, Maxim Talbot, minute, Net, Penguins, Pens, period, puck, setup, shutout, sidney crosby, Tampa Bay, til, timing, today, victory, way, yahoo