They're still in the driver's seat, but the Detroit Red Wings have let the other team get their hands on the wheel. And the Dallas Stars are steering them down a dangerous path because of it.
That's not to suggest it's time for panic in Detroit, at least not yet, although that moment seems to be getting closer for the Red Wings. They did have a stranglehold on the Western Conference finals after winning the first three games in dominant fashion, but by dropping the past two, they've now allowed it to turn into a series.
|
|
| The Stars have grabbed the momentum after falling behind 0-3. (Getty Images) |
"We don't look at the big picture yet," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow, whose team is trying to become only the NHL's third team to win a series after being down 0-3. "They're still in a better position because they've got to win one and we've got to win two. But from when we were down 3-0, it was just win one hockey game and we're not going to change that now."
Why would they? The Stars have managed to turn things around thanks to some timely scoring, tight defense and mainly a major rebound by goalie Marty Turco. The veteran netminder has struggled throughout his career against the Red Wings, but he found his game against them suddenly in Game 4 and has been playing with the kind of confidence that clearly has a trickle-down effect on the rest of his team.
"I think we definitely key off him," said Stars forward Joel Lunqvist, who scored the winner in Game 5. "When he's on his game, I think it makes it better for everyone."
Even so, Dallas hasn't exactly run the Red Wings out of the building in either of their wins, but their skaters have been much more effective in all three zones and have helped Turco shut down the high-powered Detroit attack with some smart and patient defensive work. The Stars have been particularly successful in the past two games, neutralizing Detroit's top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom, which has been critical because the Red Wings have had little secondary scoring since Johan Franzen, their goals leader, went out before Game 2 with concussion-like symptoms.
"They've played real well defensively in their own end, trying to push us on the outside, but they're not really taking any chances offensively," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "If they get a chance, they'll jump and go for it but when we're coming up through their neutral zone with speed, they usually have four players back."
To counteract that, Detroit will have to find a way to make better use of its speed, but if the Stars continue to stand them up, the Red Wings will have to get back to basics like getting pucks in deep and chasing them down and getting more traffic in front of Turco. Hitting the net more often wouldn't hurt either because Detroit blew several good chances in Game 5 by missing the cage 19 times in Game 5.
"We had guys home-free, clear-cut opportunities that didn't hit the net," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "That's being too fine. Pound it off the goalie and shoot the rebound in the net."
Sounds simple, but the veteran-laden Red Wings understand that nothing will be easy from here on in. They've allowed the Stars to dictate the tone in the past two games when their play has been anything but crisp.
More troubling though is that they are playing a team that has essentially risen from the dead and is still in desperation mode. In other words, it would not be a surprise if the Finals return to Detroit for a Game 7, which would put the series up for grabs only a week after it appeared to be all sewn up.
"We're in a dogfight here with a great hockey club," Red Wings forward Kris Draper said. "At this time of year you don't expect things to be easy. That's what makes the Stanley Cup playoffs so rewarding when you can find ways to win hockey games, when you can dig down deep and find a way to win that game when you need to do it.
"Everyone is playing for the same thing right now."
