Ten years ago, Chris Osgood was between the pipes for Detroit as the Red Wings ousted the Dallas Stars in six games, en route to their second straight Stanley Cup. Ten years later, the game and some of the names have changed, but the result remains the same: Chris Osgood and the Detroit Red Wings are going to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Deep in the heart of Texas, the Red Wings stood tall and the Stars fell. After squandering two chances in Games 4 and 5 to send Dallas packing, the third time proved to be the charm for the Wings, who eliminated the Stars in Game 6, 4-1. The Wings will make their 23rd trip to the Stanley Cup Finals where they’ll square off against the Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Game 1 will be in Detroit on Saturday night at 8 p.m.
Detroit put their lapses and missed opportunities the last two games firmly in their rear view mirror. From the outset, the Wings were swarming, forcing the Stars’ players back on their heels and their fans back in their seats. The Wings used a little bit of everything, including three first-period goals on Monday night to finally put away the Stars.
It was a by-any-means-necessary effort, highlighted by Kris Draper’s opening goal 3:45 into the game that went in off Draper’s chin and past Turco, requiring Draper to head to the locker room and get stitches to close the gash. Pavel Datsyuk went top shelf on Turco on the power play to make it 2-0, and then Dallas Drake took a few chops at loose puck in front of Turco before finally finding the back of the net.
What a thrill for Drake, who scored a goal and assisted on Draper’s goal, to be heading to his first finals in his 15th NHL season. The Wings’ needed secondary scoring to eleviate the pressure of their top line and got it. Gritty, tough goals by Draper and Drake were just what the Wings had been misssing since Game 3. The Wings’ Euro Twins didn’t disappoint either. Datsyuk and Zetterberg excelled on special teams, with Datsyuk netting the power play goal, and Zetterberg notching his second short-handed goal in the series, putting the Wings up 4-0. Detroit’s stars were stars. Dallas’s were not. End of story, end of series.
There will be no Game 7, none of this “it happens once every 33 years” nonsense of a team going up 3-0 in a series only to lose the series, 4-3. The Wings don’t have to worry about that now. Chris Osgood wasn’t active for much of the first or second periods, but in the third period when he had to be, Osgood was pretty good. He stopped 12 shots he faced, with only Stephane Robidas’ power play goal beating him. In his 100th career playoff game, Osgood recorded his 55th career playoff win. 48 of those wins coming in a winged wheel uniform, passing hall of fame goalie Terry Sawchuck for the franchise record for wins.
Perhaps it was a combination of things that did in the Stars in this series. Maybe it was their previous series against Pacific foes Anaheim and San Jose going six games apiece. It might have been the Stars just ran out of gas, especially after their grueling four-overtime clincher to eliminate San Jose in Game 6. Or it could have been they used up all their energy in Game 4 and Game 5 trying to make history.
By the time Draper put the Wings up 1-0, the Stars hadn’t even taken a shot yet. The Stars dug themselves a gigantic hole, falling behind 3-0 after 20 minutes, but they didn’t help themselves on the power play. The Wings made a terrible habit of parading to the penalty box, but in their seven trips to the sin bin, the Stars couldn’t capitalize. Several of the Stars’ power plays resulted in Dallas not even getting a shot off on the two-man advantage.
Detroit dropped another hammer in another series clinching performance, something Nashville and Colorado learned first hand. In their three series clinching efforts, Detroit has outscored their opponents 15-3 (Nashville 3-0, Colorado 8-2, and Dallas 4-1). So now the Wings head back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2002, in search of their 11 title in the history of the franchise.
The Wings are back where they belong, and boy does it feel damn good to be back!
