On Frozen Blog

A great night of playoff hockey, with two physical, intense games decided (for all intents and purposes) by one goal.

• All four goalies played well. Brodeur was . . . Brodeur, with several highlight-reel saves, and it’s pretty safe to say that Mike Fisher’s “run-in” with Brodeur may have had something to do with Ottawa’s goal. We can call that even, karma-wise, as Brodeur earlier had tripped Mike Comrie, who was all alone in front of the net with the puck.
• Observers with an eye toward Scott Gomez’s impending free agency had to have been impressed with what they saw from him last night. He is a skating force, with astounding agility, from which he deftly distributes scoring chances for his linemates.
• The power play has long been the bane of the New Jersey Devils. It was 0-for-5 last night, but it showcased the limitations of the Devils’ personnel in a system that’s designed to stalemate the opponent at even strength and strike in its precious few offensive opportunities and then rely on Brodeur to eek out a W.
• At one point on a power play, the Sharks had three guys in front of the net. Be still my beating heart.
• You could feel the Sharks’ first goal coming on, and it showcased what’s so great about the playoffs: Nicklas Lidstrom and Joe Thornton behind the Detroit net, battling it out.
• Ryan Clowe drew the eye last night. Involved in the rough stuff, and involved with offensive chances, a nice, and drew a penalty (though we should probably credit Bertuzzi’s poor judgment). Nice all-around game.
• Lidstrom’s goal was a long slapper, and fellow Detroit blueliner Mattheiu Schneider also rang two posts from near the offensive blueline — the result of the normal flow of the game, or something the Wings are focusing on? Something to keep an eye out for the next game.
• Bonus Knee-jerk from WCSN’s coverage of the IIHF 2007 World Cup: Nicklas Backstrom’s goal from yesterday, 29 seconds in — He was playing right wing, and was first guy sent in on the forecheck. Later in the shift, with the puck behind the net, he camped on the left side of the goal, about 8 feet out, and converted a centering feed between the left pad and glove of the goalie, it appears. Not a jaw-dropper, but he got the puck in a scoring area and converted, which is never bad.

Definitely a reason to stay up last night, and now all four series are tight at 2 games to 1. We can all hope for a continuation of last night’s high level of play, and maybe somebody will talk to Brian Engblom about maybe going with a high & tight.