Sharks 2, Red Wings 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. (WWJ/AP) - The Red Wings lose in overtime to the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series Friday night.
The Wings struck first, scoring in the first period and it stayed that way until San Jose scored in the third period to tie the game and send it into overtime.
Penalties put Detroit in a tough position, in overtime the Wings battled back from a four-minute penalty only to see San Jose score seconds later on a puck deflected by a Detroit player.
As heard on 97.1 The Ticket post-game: "I thought they were better than us… they were quicker than us..I thought that the first period would be the worst for us and that didn't happen....they had 14 power play shots and I thought that was a huge factor," Head Coach Mike Babcock says.
When asked if the layoff hurt Detroit's play Friday, Babcock says: "We needed the layoff,…with the injuries we had in our lineup..we needed the layoff."
Little-used Benn Ferriero scored 7:03 into overtime of his playoff debut on a deflected goal that gave the Sharks the go ahead win.
Ferriero's shot hit off Detroit defent.seman Brad Stuart's stick and got past Jimmy Howard for the game-winner just seconds after the Red Wings had killed off a four-minute penalty. Stuart slammed his stick to the ice in disgust after the goal, as the Red Wings again fell behind in their series to the Sharks.
Joe Pavelski scored the tying goal on the power play in the third period for San Jose. Antti Niemi made 24 saves as the Sharks won their fourth overtime game of this postseason.
Howard made 44 saves, and Nicklas Lidstrom scored the only Detroit goal the day after his 41st birthday.
After being stymied for two-plus periods by Howard, the Sharks finally broke through midway through the third on their third power play of the night with Todd Bertuzzi out for boarding Pavelski.
Joe Thornton took a big shot from just inside the blue line that Howard stopped, but Pavelski batted the rebound down out of midair with his stick and into the net to tie it with 9:38 to go with San Jose's first power-play goal in four games this postseason.
Pavelski played a big part in San Jose's series win over Detroit a year ago, scoring four goals in the first two games, including the tying tally in the third period of Game 2. That was one of two third-period comebacks in that series for the Sharks, who did it again in the opener this year.
The Red Wings killed another power play later in the third and withstood a late flurry from San Jose, with Howard making a tough pad save on a deflection by Dany Heatley to send the game to overtime.
Led by an energetic shift by the line of Logan Couture, Ryane Clowe and Dany Heatley, the Sharks dominated the play in the first half of the second period but were unable to score. Howard made a tough stop on Pavelski and helped kill a power play as Detroit maintained the lead despite being outshot 16-2 in the first 10 minutes of the second period.
Detroit allowed two shots the rest of the period and had chances to extend the lead but one shot rolled along the goal line and away from the net, and Niemi stopped Jiri Hudler on a wrist shot in the closing minute.
This marked the third time in five seasons that these teams met in the second round of the playoffs, with each team winning once.
The Red Wings were well-rested, with eight full days off since their sweep of Phoenix in the first round. That's in stark contrast to their one day off a year ago after a seven-game series against the Coyotes, which was a factor in them falling behind 3-0 in the series.
The time off also allowed two of Detroit's most potent players heal from injuries that kept them out of action for at least part of the first round. Johan Franzen, who led the team with 28 goals in the regular season, has recovered from an injured left ankle that forced him to miss Game 4 against the Coyotes. Leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg is also back after missing the entire first round with an injured left knee.
There was a feeling-out process early, with both teams seemingly wary of making an early mistake. San Jose killed off an early power play before the Red Wings broke through midway through the period when Pavel Datsyuk got the puck on the boards and fed Lidstrom in the slot for a slap shot that beat Niemi to the glove side.
Stay with 97.1 The Ticket the home of Red Wings Playoff Hockey as they take on The Sharks in Game 2 - Sunday in San Jose.
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