WOW!! This is it, must win, do or die game for the Detroit Red Wings tonight in Anaheim. This is the first game 7 tonight for Detroit but the Wings have been playing game 7 type hockey over the last few weeks of the season. With 4 games to go in the last week of the season, Detroit had their backs against the wall and had played 4 must win games and won all 4 of them! With veteran leadership and the young guys stepping up, we made it into the playoffs as a 7th seed. Wings had to win Friday night in Detroit to force a game 7 and we showed our grit and determination while winning another overtime thriller.
Their have been 4 OT games in this best of 7 series with all of Detroit's 3 wins coming in dramatic OT fashion. Goals by Nyquist in game 2, Brunner in game 4 and most recently our captain Zetterberg's winner in game 6. The last time Detroit and Anaheim met for game 7 was on May 14th 2009, Detroit won 4-3 on goals from Jiri Hudler, Darren Helm, Mikael Samuelsson and Daniel Cleary.
Detroit's series against Anaheim has been the best series by far! Besides Montreal/Ottawa's physical series that seemed like their was a fight every 5 minutes, our series has packed a physical punch. We represent the first and only game 7 matchup so far in these playoffs and are the last remaining series in the Western Conference. Play from Jonas Hiller and Jimmy Howard has been superb keeping these games real tight and fairly stressful. No team has won back to back games but this is game 7 and anything can happen!
“We have played them six times,” Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “Both teams know each other in and out. It’s tight. There are a lot of emotions. You don’t do it often and that’s why it’s special.”
“It’s two teams that match up really well,” Kronwall said. “It’s really tight out there. It’s going to be a battle. It’s probably going to be a one-goal game again.”
The veterans have been great as of late with Zetterberg and Datsyuk stepping up in game 6 combining for 3 goals, more importantly the game 6 clincher by Zetty! They (Z and Pavs) will always play well, its our young studs that must continue growing and playing with a sense of purpose. The wings used to be the team with a roster full of old vets, the wings are different today and are younger than they've been in years. Our young guns are have matured and have played through tough games with everything on the line and they need to be GREAT tonight!!
“You have to keep control of your emotions,” Kronwall said. “Don’t think too much. Just play like you have all season long. We have some great talent. Everyone has been more mature. Sure we have made mistakes, but on average, the mistakes we make now are not the same mistakes that we did earlier this season.”
Two things that we need to focus on today, our Mother's and the Red Wings winning this GI-NORMOUS game tonight to advance to the second round (which means the Blackhawks, YES!!). Not getting ahead of myself though because we still have the Ducks standing in our way, on their home ice. But tonight, every Red Wing will be playing hard, smart, and to show the world how well we (Detroit) responds to adversity. The Honda Center will be going nuts and like game 6 we need to get that first goal, taking the crowd of it.
It's another late one on the west coast, so get your coffee brewing, beer mugs ice cold, wearing your Sundays best (wings gear), because we are in for a treat tonight and most of us will be calling in sick come Monday morning!
LETS GO RED WINGS!!
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