RED WINGS SHELL BLACKHAWKS IN GAME ONE WIN

The Detroit Red Wings used a three goal third period to blow open a game that had been close for two periods, eventually beating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Joe Louis Arena.   The Wings now enjoy a 1-0 lead in the NHL Western Conference finals, with game two back in Detroit on Tuesday.  The Red Wings have become something of an series opening game ‘lock’ during recent years, with Sunday’s victory representing the eighth straight time they’ve prevailed in game one of a playoff set.

Detroit’s bettors cashed their tickets with the win after laying a hefty -210 home price on the Red Wings.  The 7 goals scored also put the game OVER the 5’ goal total representing the third straight time that the Blackhawks have gone OVER in the playoffs.  The Hawks have also exceeded the total in 5 of 7 and 7 of their past ten playoff contests.  It was also the 7^th OVER in the last ten matchups between the two teams on Detroit’s home ice.

The two teams traded unassisted goals in the first period, with Adam Burish lighting the lamp for Chicago at 5:25 and Detroit’s Daniel Clearly answering less than three minutes later.  Yet another unassisted goal—this by Johan Franzen late in the second period—gave the Red Wings a 2-1 advantage heading into the final twenty minutes of play.  The Blackhawks quickly tied the game on the power play at 3:12 of the third period when Kris Versteeg scored assisted by Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Seabrook.  From that point, however, it was all Detroit--Mikael Samuelsson scored what would prove to be the game winning goal at 7:31 set up by Brett Lebda and Valtteri Filppula.  Daniel Cleary would quickly double his team’s advantage, scoring at 8:58 assisted by Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg.  Zetterberg would then punctuate the victory with his empty net goal in the final minute of play assisted by Franzen and Brad Stuart to produce the final 5-2 result.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn’t mince words in his postgame assessment of his team’s performance:

"We got a lesson. We've got to be better."

In the winning dressing room, the Red Wings were keeping their opening game triumph in perspective.  Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom summarized his team’s mindset:

"It's a race to four wins, but it's good to get the first one."

The Red Wings have once again been priced as a -210 home favorite for game two, with the total set at 5’ OV -125.  The Blackhawks have now lost four straight games against Detroit, and are 3-9 in their last twelve visits to ‘The Motor City’.