Red Wings eliminated from playoffs after OT loss in Game 7
By Michael Caples –
The Red Wings were given new life in Game 7 after a strange penalty call overturned what appeared to be the game-winning goal in the third period.
Unfortunately for Detroit, the Blackhawks were the ones to find the back of the net first in overtime.
Brent Seabrook scored 3:35 into the extra period of Game 7, as the Blackhawks eliminated the Red Wings from the NHL playoffs, sent them to the third round for a match-up with the Los Angeles Kings.
Chicago thought they had scored the go-ahead goal with under two minutes to go in regulation, but in a rather strange sequence, they found out that their goal wouldn’t stand.
Niklas Hjalmarsson fired a shot past Jimmy Howard, but referee Stephen Walkom was calling penalties on Kyle Quincey and Brandon Saad for a skirmish in front of the Red Wings’ bench. The whistle blew well away from the play, and the referees were the only people in the building who knew it wasn’t a goal for a short period of time.
That meant that Henrik Zetterberg’s third-period goal – the Wings’ lone tally on the night – was enough to force overtime. The Detroit captain scored 26 seconds into the third period, burying a saucer pass from Gustav Nyquist for his fourth goal of the postseason.
But despite the no-goal call on the Hjalmarsson play late in the third, the Blackhawks were able to rally in overtime, and Seabrook scored to help them complete a series comeback after a 3-1 deficit. The Chicago defenseman grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone after a big hit by Dave Bolland on Gustav Nyquist, rushed into the Red Wings’ zone, and fired a shot past Howard from the slot. The shot hit defenseman Niklas Kronwall and changed direction on the Red Wings’ goaltender.
Howard was seen consoling Kronwall before the handshake line.
The Wings’ goaltender made 33 saves on the night, keeping the Red Wings in the game as they struggled at times through the first two periods.
The only regulation goal the Red Wings’ netminder gave up in regulation was on a tic-tac-toe passing play from an odd-man rush that ended with Patrick Sharp firing a one-timer past Howard.
Corey Crawford stopped 26 of 27 shots he faced in the winner-take-all contest.
Both squads were held scoreless in special-teams play; the Red Wings were 0-for-2, while the Blackhawks were 0-for-4.
Detroit scored only one power-play goal in 24 chances in the seven-game series.
The Wings also had to play without forward Valtteri Filppula, was knocked out of the game early in the first period, due to what was described as a “lower-body” injury.
The loss means that the season concludes for the Red Wings, and it was quite a whirlwind season for the Hockeytown faithful. After a shortened season started on Jan. 19, the Red Wings scratched and clawed their way into a 22nd consecutive playoff appearance. In the playoffs, they eliminated the No. 2 team in the West, beating the Anaheim Ducks in seven games. Then, they stretched the No. 1 team in the West to overtime of Game 7, before falling to the Blackhawks late Wednesday night.