After spending a rowdy May long weekend here in Canada celebrating my 30th birthday with friends and family, I was given an extra present as the Detroit Red Wings opened their Western Conference Final series against the Chicago Blackhawks with a decisive 5-2 win. I watched the game while entertaining guests at my place, so the game review is somewhat light.
Many analysts questioned how much the veteran Red Wing squad would have left in the gas tank after a physical series with Anaheim, but it seems the had enough to teach the young Blackhawks a thing about playoff hockey. After 10 minutes of play, the tempo of the game was controlled by Chicago until Dan Cleary scored the Wings first goal on a well placed wrist shot that Khabibulin probably should have been able to handle. After that, this game was all Detroit and they never looked back.
The Red Wings managed to shut down the potent Hawk's offence, with Captain Nick Lidstrom eliminating Chicago superstar Patrick Kane who finished the game without recording a shot on net. With the exception of the Mule, and Zetterberg's empty netters, Detroit has been relying on secondary scoring of late, and this game's leader was Dan Cleary. With his most complete performance of the post season, Cleary started to look like the player drafted 13th overall in 1997. Ironically enough, he was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks.
This Chicago team might have rolled over in game 1, but I've seen enough of this team to know that a win in game 2 won't be as easy.
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