BlueMonk

It really is just run and gun hockey, not what we're accustomed to seeing in the playoffs. I can't say it's not fun to watch; it's a refreshing change of pace. But it's going to be hard for a team to win a Stanley Cup without employing tight checking defense at some point.

Maybe they're not engaged with the Hawks yet. But one thing that's been a problem since way before this series with Chicago is the PK. Eventually, this team has to go an entire game without allowing a PP goal. The overall team defense and goaltending have elevated significantly since the regular season. But the PK looks just as bad. I don't even know what it is at this point. I think the loss of Lilja has hurt them and Kronwall is brutal on the PK. But overall, the entire team CAN'T CLEAR THE FRIGGIN' PUCK OUT OF THE ZONE. It's incomprehensible to me that a team that can make such effortless, beautiful plays with the puck somehow can't just fire it up and out. Gah.

They looked tired to me, too. I think part of that was Chicago playing with complete desperation, because let's face it, this game was pretty pivotal; if they win, they take home ice advantage and have a ton of momentum. But the Wings were losing battles for pucks along the boards about 80% of the time tonight and fatigue is the only explanation that makes sense. If they could out-battle the Ducks, the Hawks aren't any tougher than that.

YEAH!!!! WOOO!!!! Man, it felt great to see that puck go in. I've come to really hate OT recently so what a pleasant surprise to see the Wings finally win one. The Hawks played a great game. I hesitate to say the Wings stole one, but I get the sense that maybe they took Chicago's best punch tonight. I still think the Hawks will be better in Chicago, but for a game at the Joe, this had to be a bit of a stomach punch loss for the Hawks. Samuelsson is a playoff warrior! Great game by Ozzie. As someone else said, now we can rest for a couple days. With a 2-0 series lead, I won't be as on edge for game 3. GO WINGS!!!

I've heard Eddie O. say that at least a half dozen times. At least. It seems like every time he's on XM 204 he comments on the Red Wings being the best franchise in the NHL. He's said it on NBC/Versus before, too.

F**K YEAH MOTHERF**KING MOTHERF**KERS!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!! YEAH!!!!! Man, what a game! What a win! Great battle against a team of warriors. I know people hate the Ducks (I kind of do, too), but man, do I respect them. They play huge in huge games and they have the heart of a champion. That's what makes this win so satisfying. Helm's goal was fantastic, Zetterberg was a force all series long, Sammy had another big goal and Pavel's assist was a beauty. Tremendous game, unbelievable series, incredible, dramatic finish. And Ozzie was very good, everything the Wings needed. GO WINGS!!!! BRING ON CHICAGO!!!

I'm hoping this was a good tonic for his ongoing frustration over not getting on the scoresheet this series. Hopefully it helps him break out and have a big game tomorrow night.

You always shake hands. It's a tradition worthy of respect and part of what makes hockey great. Warriors on ice battling with all they've got, but they show their honor by shaking hands after the battle. What Chelios did in 2007 sucked. I don't get where people are talking about the Ducks like they've been a goon squad. This is how playoff hockey looks, and the fact is it gets a whole lot rougher than this at times. I just see extreme homerism here. Nobody is complaining about Holmstrom's elbow to Wisniewski or the way Kronwall's skates leave the ice when he lays a hit. There's a give and take and both teams are hitting and playing physical and both have crossed the line at times.

Well, the Ducks flat out deserved to win this game. They took away everything the Wings wanted to do offensively. They had more jump and shut down passing lanes and offensive plays before they could even take form. Pronger had a fantastic game. The Datsyuk line has to score. The Ducks did a great job on the Franzen-Fil-Hossa line and if they're going to do that, the Wings can only make them pay if the Datsyuk line scores.

Born and raised in Detroit and have lived in Michigan my whole life.

This, folks, is why you don't spend $7,000,000 of your team's salary on the goaltender. Congrats to the Hawks! May the Wings advance and go on to destroy them in the next round

Keith Jones and Versus actually did a really good job of showing the incident Ward initiated that led to Walker's actions. Ward threw an elbow at Cullen's head, which led Walker to step in to defend his teammate. From that perspective, the idea that Walker thought he was in an altercation doesn't seem so far-fetched. While I still think what he did was worthy of a suspension, it definitely made it a lot easier to understand the league's decision.

I love the rough side of hockey, and I enjoy seeing physicality and intimidation play a role in the game. But the NHL completely sh** the bed on this. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2009/news?id=4158572 I've been a defender of the league's supplemental discipline more often than not, but I agree with The Mullet on this one; the league dropped the ball big time here.

Excellent effort by the Red Wings. That was a very complete hockey game, where they really controlled the play in all 3 zones almost all night long. They played a bit cautiously right after the Ducks scored, but they reset that quickly enough when they hit the ice for the 3rd period and never looked back. Darren Helm is made of pure WIN. That kid's energy and speed is remarkable. He shows so much composure and his work ethic is beyond reproach. Love his game, so happy to see him rewarded with a goal, and a huge one at that. The Wings played way too well for me to be that nervous throughout the game. Yikes. And big ups to Ozzie, who continues to be exactly the goaltender the Red Wings need to win in the playoffs. All the haters can SUCK IT.

This is the way I see it. The polarization between the Ovechkin/Caps and Crosby/Pens camps is unmistakable. When two groups of people can witness the exact same incident and come to completely opposite conclusions, well... that's a good thing. The bottom line is that intense rivalries like this are really good for the NHL.

I like Paul Kelly's honesty, but I don't see what the point is in talking about this. People can only infer negative things from it, IMO.

It's only my profound love for the game of hockey that makes me watch the Canucks. Ten years ago, half the teams in the league played like them; the trapping, the trying to sit on a one goal lead for as long as it takes, etc. Now, they're one of the only teams left that plays that way. It's cost them in this series, especially in game 4, when they tried to protect a 1-0 score by relying on their goaltender to stop everything. I would hate to see their brand of hockey rewarded with success.

Washington's achilles heel is having zero quality defensive defensemen. If Varlamov isn't standing on his head - and he sure hasn't the past few games - then they're dead.

The Caps are brutal defensively! Fedorov was undressed by Malkin there.

The fact Stuart is playing so well is a tremendous relief for me. He was impressive in the playoffs last year, but after watching his horrific regular season, I wondered what happened. Now, he's playing well with and without the puck again and the Wings have really needed that with the injuries to the blueline.

Neither of these teams looks very good to me, but man, I'm enjoying the games! Lots of uptempo, end to end action. Tons of offensive talent, at least.

I love watching the Hurricanes play. Nobody should confuse this team with the one who went to the Finals in 2002. Yes, Maurice was the coach then, but this team doesn't resemble that team at all. They're much more like the 2006 version, which was another exciting team. They play uptempo, end to end hockey. It's refreshing, and I'd love to see a series between them and the Red Wings.

The Caps with a shift from hell there, Pittsburgh barely hanging on. Mike Green... NOT a Norris caliber defenseman. He's been awful in these playoffs. Chara has been brutal this round, too. The idea that one of those guys is likely to win the Norris is depressing.

I have trouble believing Carlyle is really thinking about pulling Hiller. The kid leads all playoff goaltenders with a .946 save percentage. Seriously, what is the point in replacing him? They feel they need a better performance than that? They're an 8 seed tied 2-2 with the best team in the league.

Well that beats the hell out of a loss. Glad to see Hossa off the schneid, and Franzen with Hoss and Fil were a force tonight. Ozzie was good and the team defense was stifling. Good short passing game and strong battles they mostly won for loose pucks along the boards. Really solid effort, almost a full 60 minutes. The Ducks are a good team. You really only appreciate it in the playoffs, because that's the only time they really bring it. But they're well coached, big and have some really good players. What a relief this win was. If they had gone down 3-1, I still wouldn't have counted them out, but I would have been bummed.