With 2-0 lead, Detroit now bounces with joy
At this rate, the Nashville Predators will soon be mumbling about bad bounces and officiating on a golf course.
Detroit's Kris Draper scored the tiebreaker off an opponent, Nick Lidstrom had a goal when one of his teammates could've been called for a penalty, and Nashville had a goal waved off.
Regardless, the Red Wings beat the visiting Predators, 4-2, yesterday to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.
The Red Wings took advantage of what appeared to be good fortune in Game 1 when offsides wasn't called just before they scored the winning goal.
Nashville general manager David Poile was critical of the officiating in both games while talking yesterday between the second and third periods.
"Just make the right call," Poile said. "Between officials and supervisors, we can't get the right call."
The Predators can only hope the calls and bounces go their way tomorrow in Nashville against the NHL's top-seeded team.
Detroit's Dominik Hasek made 25 saves, including all 15 shots he faced in the first period.
Darren McCarty's story is pretty good, too. McCarty added to his comeback from drinking, divorce, and bankruptcy by putting the Red Wings ahead, 1-0, early in the game by scoring off a rebound.
He flashed his gap-tooth grin, jumped off the ice like a little kid, and his adoring fans at Joe Louis Arena created a buzz unlike any in recent years. "You can't help but cheer for people that are trying to get their life back on track," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.
Lidstrom gave Detroit a two-goal lead in the opening minute of the second period when Tomas Holmstrom could've been called for goaltender interference.
"When I really watched it in review, his feet were in the blue," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "According to the rules, you can't be in the blue."
Trotz was also seething that Nashville wasn't credited with an early goal because the net was knocked out of place. "The puck was clearly in the net and the net was on its moorings," he said. "The explanation was that they were about to blow the whistle. I think that's a bailout."
Detroit defenseman Chris Chelios, 46, played in his 248th playoff game, breaking the NHL record set by goaltender Patrick Roy.
Stars 5, Ducks 2 - Mike Modano and Brad Richards scored 55 seconds apart in the third period to lift visiting Dallas over Anaheim and give the Stars a 2-0 series lead over the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Modano scored on a slap shot from the blue line during a power play at 5:47. Shortly afterward, Richards wristed a shot from the right circle between Jean-Sebastien Giguere's pads.
Mike Ribeiro had a goal and two assists for the Stars, who regained control after the Ducks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie it in the second period. Loui Eriksson capped the scoring with 5:24 left to play after assisting on Richards's goal.
