- I went down to the #tinfoilflashmob with every intention of dancing with the crowd and then heading back to Hockeytown to watch the game with the Commune. Instead, an incredibly generous and as yet anonymous member of the flash mob provided me with an extra ticket for free. I started out in the second to last row of the upper bowl, right in front of the press box. By the first intermission, Sara had located a seat near her in the second row of the lower bowl and I headed down there. Halfway through the third period, the people in the seats next to her and TPL Mom left, so I scooted down into the front row. It was quite an upgrade. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful Red Wings fans.
- Why was Brett Lebda in the lineup? Even better question: why was he ever out on the ice with Jonathan Ericsson?
- You know why I love Detroit fans? From the back of the upper bowl, we saw San Jose commit a hand pass in the offensive zone and all started screaming in unison. I challenge you to find that kind of detailed hockey smarts in Phoenix or Nashville.
- I literally spent most of the game hunched forward, clutching my rally rag like a security blanket. I occasionally put on the tin foil hat that was smuggled into the Joe for me. Why do I even bother going out in public?
- If I’m not mistaken, I have now witnessed five goal reviews in the last four games I’ve attended at the Joe. Zetterberg’s was the first that’s gone against the Wings.
- I made it on the big screen at least three times. This has been a lifelong goal of mine that I finally realized last night.
- How was Pavel Datsyuk’s line that bad defensively last night? Pav should never be -2.
- Oh Jimmy, you broke my heart last night. The Wings needed more from him. I understand that he’s a rookie, but he should want some of those goals back.
- Zetterberg scored his goal right in front of me. If there hadn’t been glass in between us, I could’ve reached out and touched him. I even caught it on film (in pixels?):
12. STAY OUT OF THE BOX!!! Even if it means playing no-contact girly hockey.
Six penalties is still way too many for this team to take. It wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as it has been, but the really killer things were the non-calls that should’ve gone the Wings’ way. I don’t know how much of it was on camera on the broadcast, but missed trips, high sticks, cross-checks, and holdings had us reaching for our smuggled in tin foil hats more than once.
11. The Wings need to start better. The beginning of Game Two was a disaster wrapped in a blanket of nightmares.
The first period was actually pretty good. The Wings were all set to head to intermission with a two-goal lead until San Jose got on the board with literally two seconds left in the period.
10. I want to see more production from the second line. If I’m not mistaken, the Zetterberg unit hasn’t tallied a point yet this series.
Early on, I had Z tagged for a goal. It was one of those things where you could just tell by the way he was skating. I was more than a little excited that he was standing within an arm’s reach of me when he scored his goal (that counted).
9. Somebody needs to shut down Pavelski. He’s scored half of San Jose’s goals so far this series.
He still picked up an assist, but the Wings did managed to prevent him from putting the puck in the net himself.
8. On the off chance that the Wings get any powerplays, they need to make them count. Special teams have been make or break all playoffs.
One of their powerplays only lasted seven seconds. The other was unsuccessful. If you look me in the eye and tell me that the Sharks only committed two penalties all night (plus the one that led to the penalty shot), I’ll call you a liar. Go ahead. Try it.
7. San Jose has had too much success at getting traffic to the front of the net. The Wings need to adjust their game and keep them to the perimeter.
No, no, no, no, no. This needs to happen.
6. Home sweet home: They’re back at the Joe where the Hockeytown faithful will be out en masse. Take advantage of the love from the crowd.
They did start strongly, but faded toward the end. By the beginning of overtime, you could feel a sense of dread in the building. People were still chanting and cheering, but I don’t think there was a lot of optimism.
5. What ridiculousness will have you reaching for your tin foil hat tonight?
The tin foil hats themselves were banned, which is awesome for fans of irony. The goal reviews in and of themselves were enough to be diving for the safety of a tin foil hat.
4. Would it kill somebody to win a faceoff here and there?
Abdelkader was actually the only one who lost more faceoffs than he won for the Wings. Somehow, it still seemed like they never won one. Maybe they just kept losing the really important ones.
3. The Wings haven’t done a particularly good job entering the Sharks’ zone. They’re losing too many rushes at the blue line.
Case in point: the overtime winner.
2. Jason Williams (Who?) is in the lineup again in place of Patrick Eaves. What are the chances that he does something useful this time around?
Do not get me started. I’ve gone from general indifference and honestly forgetting about him at several points this season to a strong dislike.
1. The Wings have made a habit of playing best when their backs are against the wall. I know they’re not facing elimination tonight, but they absolutely can’t afford to go down by three games. They can still pull this out if they play like the Wings team we saw in Game Seven. Make it happen, boys.
Well, so much for my pep talk...
Hero: Henrik Zetterberg
He was the best player on the ice for the Wings. That was most definitely Playoff Zetterberg last night.
Villain: Jason Williams (Who?)
During the final two periods, he shot no less than two pucks directly at my face. I’m convinced that he stumbled across SSDD and saw my gentle mocking and wanted to put another puck through the glass and my head. Oh, and his 49-foot wide slapshot in overtime led to San Jose’s break the other way and their goal. We miss you, Patrick Eaves.
Final Thought:
I’m trying to cling to optimism, but it’s not working very well. I really did have a great time at the pre-game festivities and during the game though.
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