Final
Red Wings and Sharks meet for Game 7 in San Jose
May 12, 2011 - 2:59 PM (Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings will try to complete an incredible comeback when they visit the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion for tonight's decisive Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.The second-seeded Sharks won the first three tests in this best-of-seven set, but Detroit has evened the series at 3-3 by taking the last three encounters.
With one more win tonight, the Red Wings will become the fourth team in NHL history to win a series after falling behind three-games-to-none. Of course, the Philadelphia Flyers pulled off the feat last spring against Boston, becoming the first team to achieve the ultimate comeback since the 1975 New York Islanders.
The other time it happened was in 1942, when Toronto erased a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals.
After recording a pair of 4-3 victories in Games 4 and 5, the third-seeded Red Wings evened the series at three games apiece with Tuesday's 3-1 victory in Detroit. Valtteri Filppula notched the game-winning score in the third period as the Red Wings took their third straight contest in Game 6 at Joe Louis Arena.
Henrik Zetterberg and Darren Helm also scored for the Red Wings and Jimmy Howard made 24 saves for the victory.
Detroit is the eighth team in NHL history to even force a Game 7 after being down 3-0. The Chicago Blackhawks did the same against Vancouver in this year's opening round, but the Canucks took the decisive tilt in overtime.
"To be honest, I didn't think we should have been down 0-3, we could have won them all, but so could they," Detroit head coach Mike Babcock said. "That's how tight this has been."
The Red Wings are 3-2 as the guest in this year's playoffs after posting a phenomenal 26-11-4 road record during the regular season. San Jose is 3-3 on home ice in this postseason and was 21-14-6 at the Shark Tank during the season.
The winner of tonight's Game 7 will begin the Western Conference finals on the road, as the opener of that set is scheduled for Sunday in Vancouver. The top- seeded Canucks claimed their spot in the conference finals after eliminating Nashville on Monday.
Logan Couture tallied the lone goal for the Sharks on Tuesday, while Antti Niemi played well in defeat, stopping 42-of-44 shots.
San Jose's Patrick Marleau once again failed to reach the scoresheet in Tuesday's loss. The veteran forward has no points in this series after posting two goals and three assists in the first round against Los Angeles.
Despite blowing the 3-0 edge in this series, San Jose is still confident it can use home ice advantage to win tonight's all-important contest.
"Just ask Detroit. They lost three in a row and their confidence wasn't frayed," San Jose captain Joe Thornton said when asked if his team's confidence took a hit after failing in three straight chances to close out the series. "We're a confident group, still. You work 82 games to get home ice in these Game 7s. Now we just have to make it work."
The Sharks and Red Wings are meeting in the conference semifinals for the second straight spring. Last year, San Jose ousted Detroit in five games before getting swept in the conference finals by Chicago.
Both teams were without key forwards in Tuesday's game, as Ryane Clowe sat out for San Jose and Johan Franzen was sidelined for the Red Wings.
Clowe did not travel with his team to Detroit for Game 6 due to what is being called an upper-body injury. Clowe, who leads the Sharks with 13 points in the postseason, was replaced on Tuesday by Ben Eager and is considered to be a game-time decision tonight.
Meanwhile, Detroit was without Franzen on Tuesday after the Swede aggravated his sprained left ankle in Game 5. Franzen, who has two goals and one assist in eight playoff games this spring, was replaced by Mike Modano in the last game and is questionable for this evening's tilt.
Detroit and the Sharks have met four times in the playoffs and each club has won two series. Detroit last ousted San Jose in six games during the 2007 conference semifinals.
- Arthur Wilkie Woohoo, SHARKS WIN! Great game Red Wings, you guys gave us all something exciting to watch. I'm really proud to be a hockey fan right now. Can't wait for what's in store against the Canucks!
Red Wings 2, Sharks 3 FinalMay 12 11:48 PM - DETROIT: 2
SAN JOSE: 3
Final
May 12 11:44 PM - Arthur Wilkie 3rd period is the best so far- they're bringing it all out!
Red Wings 1, Sharks 2 3rd - 14:21May 12 11:13 PM - DETROIT: 1
SAN JOSE: 2
End of 2nd
May 12 10:49 PM - DETROIT: 0
SAN JOSE: 2
End of 1st
May 12 9:50 PM - San Jose Power-Play Goal - Devin Setoguchi (6), at 12:20.
Red Wings 0, Sharks 1 1st - 7:40May 12 9:36 PM - DETROIT: 0
SAN JOSE: 0
1st Period - 20:00
May 12 9:13 PM - Arthur Wilkie Fried Shark Thursday? Who's up for some wings... on the house! ;) Good luck to everyone, this is going to be one heck of a game.
Red Wings vs. SharksMay 12 2:23 AM
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