Game 1 - 8th May, Carolina @ Detroit
The Carolina Hurricanes have struck first, stealing Game 1 in Detroit with a 3-2 victory in overtime.
The Svechnikov brothers would both play a big part in tonight’s game.
It started with Red Wings’ Evgeny Svechnikov scoring the tying goal to force overtime late in the 3rd period. Followed by Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov scoring the game winner with 15 minutes expired during the extra time period.
Both Viktor Chistov & Alex Nedeljkovic faced an inordinate amount of shots tonight & both should be praised for the great performance under pressure.
The Hurricanes lead the series 1-0, we’ll back here for Game 2.
3 Stars of the Game:
Game 2 - 10th May, Carolina @ Detroit
The Red Wings drop both home games with tonight’s tough 1-0 loss to the Hurricanes. Tonight’s loss is bad news for the defending champs, whose task has been made all that much tougher. After these 1st 2 games have been played, it appears the issues of the 1st round seem to be back to haunt the Red Wings, with Hurricanes players targeting Fredrik Larsson heavily.
The Hurricanes dominated play, outshooting the Wings 35 to 28 & finally with 45 seconds remaining in the 2nd period, Canes’ Center Glenn Gawdin scored, which would eventually prove to be the only goal of the game.
Chistov was brilliant early for the Wings who were letting up too much exposure to their net early on, however Chistov’s efforts aside, the Wings could not get anything past Alex Nedeljkovic who recorded a shutout victory.
The Canes find themselves in the box seat, as the series now heads to PNC Arena for games 3 & 4.
3 Stars of the Game:
Game 3 - 12th May, Detroit @ Carolina
The Red Wings have stood up under pressure & have delivered a 3-1 victory on the road in Game 3 at PNC Arena.
During the 1st period, the Wings made the best start possible with veteran D-man, Roman Josi tallying a spectacular goal early, which was then followed by Evgeny Svechnikov’s goal, his 2nd for the playoffs, late in the 2nd period.
The Red Wings tried something different with Fredrik Larsson tonight, playing him on the 1st line in Center & after some awkward plays, the move paid off with the talented forward adding his 1st for this series with 45 seconds remaining in the 2nd, giving the Red Wings a 3-0 lead.
Viktor Chistov was close to adding a shutout victory to his stats sheet until Canes top gun, Andrei Svechnikov scored late in the 3rd with just over 5 minutes remaining.
The Red Wings have answered the call tonight, winning on the road, we’ll see what they are made off in Game 4 when we return here on w night.
3 Stars of the Game:
Game 4 - 14th May, Detroit @ Carolina
The Red Wings have tied the series with a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Game 4 at PNC Arena.
Neither team has been able to make use of their home ice advantage, both taking losses at home.
The Red Wings had a great run during the 1st period, scoring 3 unanswered goals by Dach, Larsson & Josi, which ultimately set them up for the win.
The Canes were able to pull the lead back by 1 during the 2nd period when Beau Barnaby scored from a one-timer triggered from a perfect pass by Victor Rask. However that would be the Canes only goal for the game.
The Canes pulled Nedeljkovic with a minute remaining in the 3rd, however the manoeuvre backfired when Wings d-man Jaylon Legace deflected the puck off the boards from the Red Wings defensive zone that trickled into the net.
3 Stars of the Game:
Game Pics - See Inside:
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Red Wings Level Series
Red Wings win Game 4 over Hurricanes at PNC Arena to tie series 2-2
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Game 5 - 16th May, Carolina @ Detroit
The Carolina Hurricanes move 1 win away from a Stanley Cup Final berth, defeating the Detroit Red Wings at home 4-3.
It was a spirited performance from the Canes especially during the 1st period where they blew the Wings out of the water early, stepping out to a 3-1 lead by the 1st intermission.
Fredrik Larsson scored twice for the Red Wings as they tried to close the gap however Canes goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, was too good tonight, as he has been all season.
The series moves back to Carolina for Game 6, however in order for the Hurricanes to advance, they will need to win at home, something neither team has done in the series to date.
3 Stars of the Game:
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Game 6 - 18th May, Detroit @ Carolina
The Detroit Red Wings have defeated the Hurricanes 4-2 in Game 6 tonight at PNC Arena, tying the series & forcing the game 7 decider back in Detroit.
After a tough 1st 2 periods, the scores were level at 2-2 going into the final break.
With 4:38 expired from play in the 3rd, Jeff Skinner scored the go-ahead goal to push the Red Wings in front with the score at 3-2.
Skinner’s goal would prove to be enough to lift the Red Wings to victory but it before Evgeny Svechnikov added to the score with an empty net goal during the final minute.
The Red Wings have some serious trouble brewing at their blue line, after Colton Parayko left the ice tonight holding his jaw. It is suspected the Red Wings’ number 1 defenseman could have a fractured jaw.
The possible loss of Parayko next game will compound an already big enough issue with Roman Josi also missing from the lineup after an injury in game 5.
Without either team winning at home in this series, the task will be on the Red Wings to turn that trend around, whilst for the Hurricanes, they will be hoping the trend continues.
3 Stars of the Game:
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Game 7 - 20th May, Carolina @ Detroit
The Red Wings have puched their ticket to their 3rd consecutive Stanley Cup Final after cruising to a 5-0 victory over Carolina in Game 7 at Little Caesars Arena.
Viktor Chistov proved too good for the Hurricanes attack, with the young Estonian goaltender shutting every puck shot on net. It the 1st game in this series in which the home team has won.
Fredrik Larsson backed up yet another big performance in the 2nd half of this series scoring the game’s 1st goal late in the 1st period. Larsson would then go on to score another goal plus tally an assist in a 1st star effort.
Other Red Wings to perform well tonight were Filip Zadina with a goal & an assist, Claude Giroux with 2 assists as well as Callan Foote & Evgeny Svechnikov tallying a goal each.
For Carolina, tonight’s poor performance puts an end to a promising season however they can hold their heads high, matching it & nearly toppling the reigning double Stanley Cup Champs.
The Red Wings will find out who their opponent in this season’s Stanley Cup Final will be when the Avalanche host the Golden Knights in their Game 7 decider tomorrow night.
3 Stars of the Game:
Game Pics - See Inside:
Series Wrap Up:
Another series in the bag & the Red Wings were put to the test by Carolina, one of the best young teams in the league along with ours. After losing Games 1 & 2 at home, our team were able to turn the tide on the road & tie the series. They were then tested even further when we lost Game 5 at home, putting us on the verge of elimination. We finally found our groove in Game 6 pulling off another win on the road & then finally won a home game in Game 7 to advance.
We kept faith with our net-minder Viktor Chistov, who despite the early series losses has played exceptionally well, with plenty of the blame as to why we lost being almost solely pointed at our offensive aspects to the game.
We embark on our 3rd straight Stanley Cup Final Campaign which will either be against the Colorado Avalanche or the Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams have a number of highly skilled skaters that will certainly be a big test for us.
What isn’t going to be great for us is the fact we will be going into the Stanley Cup Series, missing both of our top pairing defensemen Colton Parayko (fractured jaw) & Roman Josi (Ribs) for at least games 1 & 2. I feel we still have the necessary depth required to get us through however only time will tell.
Injury Update:
16th May – Game 5 – D Roman Josi – Rib Injury – missed 2 games (return TBA)
18th May – Game 6 – D Colton Parayko – Fractured Jaw – Missed 1 game (return TBA)
04-08-2019, 01:18 PM
