If not for Khaibulin, Detroit wins this game 10-2. Chicago is outmatched, and not as fast as I thought. If this series reaches six games, I’ll be shocked.

Posted by cs6687 on 05/17/09 at 04:59 PM ET

That was some nice looking hockey on both sides.  Room on the ice to skate, scoring chances, hits, and scrums around the nets but a refreshing lack of after-the-whistle-b.s.  Fun game to watch.

How about McGuire asking Osgood (about how everyone calls him the weak link) “How do you handle that?”  You could tell from his chuckle that he’s tired of the question, but too nice to tell him to buzz off and stop asking him dumb questions. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/17/09 at 05:05 PM ET

Baroque, Would have loved to see it, but locally in Detroit, the cut-out to Red Wings Game Day with Redmond about three seconds after the final horn.

I cannot understand why they can’t wait five minutes so we can see the post-game interviews.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 05/17/09 at 05:08 PM ET

Hey Paul, do u think Burrish is gonna get suspended for the cross-check on Draper. it was clearly message sending with few seconds left in the game?

Posted by Oilers Rock from Edmonton, Alberta on 05/17/09 at 05:15 PM ET

OR, if we look at recent history of these types of plays, I say no.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 05/17/09 at 05:17 PM ET

I agree with u that NHL probably wont suspend him but it was a dirty play that could have seriously injured Draper.

Posted by Oilers Rock from Edmonton, Alberta on 05/17/09 at 05:25 PM ET

Not a chance there’s a suspension.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 05/17/09 at 05:36 PM ET

Hey - gonna be in Chicago next weekend, but can’t afford to spend $250 - $400 for nosebleed seats through stubhub or anywhere else. (DAMN IT)  But what’s a good bar to go watch the Wings in Chi-town?  I’ve heard Duffy’s, cause its a Michigan bar during college football season.  Any other suggestions?

Any Wings fans in Chicago taking over any places?

Posted by CJBear71 on 05/17/09 at 05:38 PM ET

Yep Nathan, but he may get talked to.  He did the same thing in round 1 against Calgary, but the cross-check was more around the nexk area that time.

Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 05/17/09 at 05:40 PM ET

This looks like a quick (as quick as quick can be with such long delays between games) 4 games for the wings.  Looks like the ducks was the real conf. challenge.

Posted by Gretzky_to_Lemieux on 05/17/09 at 06:03 PM ET

This looks like a quick (as quick as quick can be with such long delays between games) 4 games for the wings.  Looks like the ducks was the real conf. challenge.

The Wings cannot get cocky yet. The Blackhawks have already beaten two good teams and literally made Roberto Luongo cry. The playoff experience may prove too overwhelming a difference, but the Hawks have shown great resolve in coming from behind in games, and they’re planning on doing it again, this time on a series-scale. The Hawks/Wings regular season were a see-saw affair, remember. I just hope Pavel Datsyuk starts scoring. That will make the Wings nearly unbeatable.

Posted by Muero from Ohio on 05/17/09 at 06:20 PM ET

What a great game to watch… was shocked at how slow the Hawks looked.  Wings had a superior defensive game.  ‘Boulin was stellar and sucked all at the same time, three of those goals were garbage but some of the stops should have been goals so that evened out pretty well.

You could see the Wings had a little more want when battling or racing for the puck.  Interesting to see how the Hawks respond.  Don’t think they are done, if they bring a better effort.

Posted by WingMan from Qc on 05/17/09 at 06:24 PM ET

The Blackhawks did look a little slow, but I’m wondering if that was a factor of their longish layoff.  That team has hardly had the playoff experience to know how to cope with a longer break between games and series than they are used to normally.

I think Chicago bounces back in the next game, and do not see them dropping both games in Chicago for sure.  A sweep is very unlikely - they are just too talented.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 05/17/09 at 06:32 PM ET

I don’t think the Hawks lacked any speed—I just don’t think they have the experience to channel it. Detroit got a lot of odd-man rushes because the Hawks were TOO fast—skating too far into the offensive end, over-backchecking in the defensive zone, which left a lot of space in front of Ozzie to gather and clear the puck, and a lot of space in front of Khabibulin for scoring opportunities.

The Hawks also looked caught off-guard—they’re finally playing a team with the smarts and quickness to counter-act their speed. That’s something the Flames and Canucks just don’t have.

Passers like Lidstrom, Rafalski, and Kronwall can really make even the fastest forewards and forecheck look silly. And throw in the fact that Stuart is looking as close to the first-round pick he was than he ever has, and this simply is something the Hawks haven’t run into in the playoffs until now.

That said, the Hawks have a ton of talent, and one game is just that… a single game. I expect both teams to be ready for Tuesday. I think this series is going to have a very similar feel in each game to game one—the games will start tight as can be, and as they wear on, Detroit will widen that gap, find leads, and close out games with suffocating D and puck possession.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 05/17/09 at 07:11 PM ET

Great game!  Can’t wait for the next one!

Me

Posted by 13datsyukfan13 from Mid Michigan on 05/17/09 at 07:35 PM ET

Repeating Nathan here:  it’s just one game.  I joined the game with about 5:51 left in the third and it looked remarkably slower than the previous round.  I was able to catch the Cleary breakaway attempt as well as the Zetterberg EN.  Game One is in the bag for the Wings.  I expect the ‘Hawks to play much, much better in Game Two.

Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 05/17/09 at 08:02 PM ET

Just one game, but the comments like “Can’t believe how slow the Hawks looked” remind me so much of last year.  The Pens literally breezed through the east looking awesome, then looked like Pee-Wees against the Wings the first two games in particular.  Welcome to the Big League boys.

Posted by dip from philly on 05/17/09 at 09:28 PM ET

The beauty of this series is that both teams are best at wide open offensive game. They do like tight, controlled defense, but they rely on skill and quickness, not on showing, grabbing and punching opponents. This should be entertaining hockey throughout the series.

Posted by DR on 05/18/09 at 01:30 AM ET