DETROIT, Michigan -- Darren Helm scored with 1:27 remaining in regulation Friday night, giving the Detroit Red Wings a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks and forcing a Game Five in their Western Conference Semifinal series.
The Sharks lead the series, 3-1, and could have finished the Red Wings off in Game Four.
After a faceoff in the San Jose end, Brian Rafalski held the puck in and fired a shot on goal from the right point. Sharks goalie Antti Niemi made the stop but the rebound came out to Patrick Eaves in the right faceoff circle, who pushed it across to Helm in the left circle for a wrister past Niemi.
The tally made up for a first-period turnover by Helm, leading to San Jose's first goal and the start of a comeback after Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the first period.
With 1:44 left in the first, just 15 seconds after the Red Wings extended their early lead to 3-0, Helm turned the puck over to Ryane Clowe at the Detroit blue line. Clowe carried the puck down low along the left wing boards and threw it on net. Logan Couture got a piece of it on the way through and it trickled through Jimmy Howard's pads to make it 3-1.
Dan Boyle pulled the Sharks to within a single goal with 6:16 remaining in the second, slipping past Jiri Hudler into the right circle all alone, then taking a pass from Kyle Wellwood and snapping a shot past Howard.
Just 1:14 into the third, Dany Heatley beat Howard from the top of the crease off a pass from Clowe to complete the comeback, but the Sharks would be unable to pull ahead.
Todd Bertuzzi had opened the game's scoring at 6:22 of the first. Bertuzzi carried the puck into the San Jose zone and spun around Heatley at the top of the left circle before backhanding a shot that deflected and fluttered past Niemi.
Nicklas Lidstrom made it 2-0 with 8:51 left in the period, blasting the rebound of a Danny Cleary shot by Niemi.
Lidstrom's second of the night made it 3-0 with 1:59 left in the opening frame. In the closing seconds of a Detroit power play, Henrik Zetterberg pulled the puck out of a scramble around the front of the net and brought it to the left circle. He sent a high pass out to Lidstrom in the right circle, who knocked it down off his knee and then whacked a shot out of mid-air on Niemi. The puck bounced off the ice and skipped past the San Jose goalie.
Lidstrom's second was the lone power play goal of the night. Detroit had four tries with the extra attacker while San Jose had two.
Niemi made 36 saves on 40 shots on the night. Howard stopped 25 of 28 shots.
The two teams will meet in San Jose for Game Five on Sunday.
Notes: Mike Modano, Drew Miller and Jakub Kindl were the healthy scratches for the Red Wings.
Along with most of my (small) family, I'm going to the game. I expect to see both teams play their best, so it should be a good one.
Bert with the spinorama to get in, then the fluttering backhander. Wow. Wings have life early.
Great shot by Nick. Important early goals coming here.
God. Damn. Nick is amazing. Out of mid-air.
Howard should've stopped that.
Helm with a horrible turnover, and I'm not even sure how that got through. Awful all around.
Hate that last SJ goal but otherwise a fantastic period by the Wings. They need 11 more of those, unfortunately, but that was what I was talking about when I said I thought they could come back.
Is it me or have I seen more than a few interference penalties go uncalled against the srards?
We needed a goal on that PP and now we're paying for it.
Well, Wings already getting sloppy on defense. Not even waiting until the third this time.
Two lazy PPs in a row? Come on people.
Survived that period a bit. Wings need the next goal.
Survived that period a bit. Wings need the next goal.
Just like games 1 & 3?
Groundhog Day...
Well that's it folks...
Been a pretty pathetic series.
Maybe next year.
And there we go. Defense with their heads up their asses again. Well, the first period was nice.
Wings are starting to wake up I'm back to where I was at the start of this game. If they can't put in a 60-minute effort, they're not going to win this series. Why drag it out at this point?
Abby again...
Holy cow!
Helm! Jesus, what a push by the Wings for the last couple shifts. Where the hell has this been?
Screen by Abs, redeeming himself a bit.
And the shards end it on a cheap note....
I'll be goddammed. Not sure the Wings deserved this one but when they tried, they were fantastic.
The game did not disappoint....It always seems to me that the Wings try to "sit" on a lead, and I wonder where that comes from? Is that just hockey instinct or is that coaching or what? And San Jose continues to be allowed to score with the same plays...the defenseman coming in the back door and those in close wrap around scrums...fool me once, etc...and it would be nice to convert on power plays. The crowd was loud and raucous and "in it" for the most part, and for once you didn't see the herd leaving early. The Wings seem to have improved with each game, and since this was not a "perfect" game for them, maybe that means they haven't reached their peak yet...hope so.
Nicklas Lidstrom
Credit: Clark Rasmussen
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