Final, Sharks 3-2: That was awesome stuff. This whole series has been great, but Antti Niemi was unconscious in Game 7, all the way down to the final half minute. Both teams played so well, but the Sharks were definitely the better group for the majority of the decisive game. And now, Joe Thornton and the Sharks avoid a historic collapse to meet up with the Canucks in the Western Conference Finals.
Third period, 28.3, Sharks 3-2: Antti Niemi just made an amazing save on a Pavel Datsyuk slap shot that should have found a way between Niemi's shoulder and neck. What a great stop.
Third period, 1:22, Sharks 3-2: Pavel Datsyuk just punted one into Antti Niemi's glove, which forced a whistle and allowed the Wings to call a timeout. Goalie Jimmy Howard has already been communicating with the bench, so he'll probably sit with the face-off coming in San Jose's zone.
Third period, 2:35, Sharks 3-2: Detroit's power play was only slightly better than awful, and it will try its luck after an icing call. This game has been awesome.
Third period, 5:03, Sharks 3-2: The Red Wings have had an atrocious power play through three opportunities, but they'll get a fourth bid after Torrey Mitchell's slash, which was a no-doubter. This series is wild.
Third period, 6:01, Sharks 3-2: Stop it, Pavel Datsyuk. Just stop it. The sniper glided through the right circle and backhanded a high shot to the far post over Antti Niemi's blocker and off the post to cut the lead in half. That's just sick, and it shows how Detroit's skill can neutralize nearly 14 minutes of lagging play.
Third period, 7:47, Sharks 3-1: The Wings were giving up too many chances in the third period, and they finally got burned there. Devin Setoguchi's wrister trickled through Jimmy Howard's five-hole, and Patrick Marleau, who was banked at the far post, cleaned up the puck before anyone could knock it out of the crease. The Sharks have deserved this one with their play in the third period.
Third period, 11:13, Sharks 2-1: Just another play Niklas Kronwall would like to have back in this period. Kronwall ended the Wings' power play 46 seconds too early after getting whistled for slashing. That was another bad power play for Detroit.
Third period, 12:27, Sharks 2-1: Niklas Kronwall took a centering feed from Henrik Zetterberg and somehow fanned on his attempt shy of an open net. Shortly thereafter, the Sharks were busted for a blatant too-many-men penalty. Now, the Wings have their third power play of the game.
Third period, 16:47, Sharks 2-1: No idea how the Sharks didn't pot a pair of goals in their first few shifts, which were even better than their opening shifts of the second period. Logan Couture hit the pipe on an odd-man rush on the Sharks' first shift, and Danny Heatley missed on a rebound into an open net. The goal light actually lit up during that string of events. A couple shifts later, Torrey Mitchell somehow missed an open net on a wrap-around bid. San Jose has come out hot here in the third.
Third period, 19:48, Sharks 2-1: And they're off in the final 20 minutes of regulation in the series.
Second intermission, Sharks 2-1: Aside from the first four shifts and San Jose's mid-period power play, the second frame was all Detroit. If you're the Sharks, you've got to remember you're in the lead and you played with a good pace for a full period, and there can't be any doubts. If you're the Red Wings, you've got to know it's not if, but when. They've been playing way too well for the last 16 minutes or so, and they have obviously been at their best in this series when they've faced elimination.
There was a point in the third period of Game 6 when I thought, there's just no way the Sharks can keep a one-goal lead when the Red Wings are playing with this much of a purpose. And I'll continue to believe that until the Sharks prove me wrong, especially after what I just saw in the second period.
The big problem for the Wings will be fatigue. Todd Bertuzzi is done for the game, and it would be a shocker if Danny Cleary made it back after suffering a nasty head injury in the second period. The Red Wings have had to expend so much energy just to get back in this series, and you've got to think it will hurt them to some extent if they've only got 10 forwards available in the third period.
Second period, 1:23, Sharks 2-1: Torrey Mitchell, who was an awesome player as Vermont rose to legitimacy in Hockey East, just got his bell rung in a big way. He circled through the Detroit zone and then got demolished by Drew Miller after cycling the puck back to the corner.
Second period, 5:48, Sharks 2-1: Danny Cleary has been one of the Red Wings' best players in this game, but he might be done after taking an accidental shot to the head from teammate Jiri Hudler. Cleary's head jerked back after taking Hudler's elbow, and he hit his head hard on the ice and had to be helped into the locker room. That looked bad, and it's a big-picture thing for the Wings, who are now down to 10 forwards.
Second period, 6:50, Sharks 2-1: Hank Z strikes to get the Wings back in the game. After the expiration of the penalty, the Wings had a three-on-two down the ice, and Valtteri Filppula sent a pass from the right point to Henrik Zetterberg, whose backhander from the slot beat Antti Niemi high blocker side. That was quick, and it was even bigger on the heels of that power play that temporarily disrupted Detroit's momentum.
Second period, 7:39, Sharks 2-0: Jimmy Howard and Antti Niemi are having a heck of a game, and Howard has made a couple of tough saves in this period to keep the deficit at two. After his latest, the Red Wings had a two-on-one, but Darren Helm's shot hit Niemi low in the gut. The save wasn't as great as it initially looked.
Second period, 9:15, Sharks 2-0: Pavel Datsyuk broke up the Red Wings' momentum by taking an interference penalty while Detroit was moving the puck at will through San Jose's zone. The Wings have been storming the zone for at least four or five minutes, so that penalty really crushed them.
Danny Cleary had Detroit's best look, as he got the puck on the goal line and moved in alone toward Antti Niemi. But Cleary took the shot with his forehand on the near side when it looked like he could have dragged the puck across the crease and made a move through the backhand. But far be it for me to tell Danny Cleary how to score the puck.
Second period, 13:43, Sharks 2-0: Antti Niemi stayed low to keep Niklas Kronwall's one-timer from the slot out of the net. That was a great chance after Jiri Hudler took the puck from behind the net and sent a nice pass to Kronwall, but Niemi kept the Wings at bay.
Second period, 15:51, Sharks 2-0: The Red Wings announced Todd Bertuzzi will not return after suffering an upper-body injury, which came in the form of Dany Heatley's helmet to the face.
Second period, 17:40, Sharks 2-0: The Sharks have had the better of it through the period's first three or four shifts, so that's a good sign for their mental whereabouts. Also, Todd Bertuzzi has remained in the locker room since taking Dany Heatley's helmet to the jaw in the first period, so that's a big blow for Detroit's toughness and character.
Second period, 19:50, Sharks 2-0: Will the Sharks continue to pad the lead, or will the Wings score the next one and create some serious doubt in San Jose's mind?
First intermission, Sharks 2-0: What a period. The play was as fast as you'd expect from these two teams, and each squad had some quality scoring looks in the first 20 minutes. The Sharks executed better, though, as Joe Thornton's crisp pass set up their first goal and Logan Couture's steal and snipe doubled the lead.
First period, 0:59, Sharks 2-0: One of the league's most exciting rookies, Logan Couture, briefly circled back through the zone after intercepting Henrik Zetterberg's pass and whipped a hard wrister from the right dot that beat Jimmy Howard's glove on the short side. The Shark tank is flooding with noise now.
First period, 1:14, Sharks 1-0: This game has really opened up more in the last five or so minutes, and it's looking a lot like Game 6, which will be great theater. The Red Wings couldn't capitalize on their second power play, but it was much more fluid than their first attempt.
First period, 4:43, Sharks 1-0: Jimmy Howard came up big with a save to stop the Sharks' short-handed two-on-one bid. Dany Heatley's low shot nearly broke through Howard, who fell back to cover the puck before it could trickle into the net and do any more damage. Shortly after, Marc-Edouard Vlasic was whistled for tripping to give the Wings their second power play of the game.
First period, 7:30, Sharks 1-0: Just 10 seconds after taking the lead, Ryane Clowe collided with Jimmy Howard and got sent to the box to give the Red Wings their first power play of the game. The Sharks need to show some resiliency here to keep the lead with the way this series has unfolded.
First period, 7:40, Sharks 1-0: Joe Thornton sent a great pass from behind the net to the left circle, where Devin Setoguchi fired a one-timer past Jimmy Howard to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead. But San Jose has had leads in two of its losses in this series, so the next one is a little more important.
First period, 8:52, 0-0: The Sharks have the game's first power play, as Jonathan Ericsson was whistled for holding.
First period, 10:58, 0-0: Ryane Clowe had the game's first decent opportunity when he entered the left side of Detroit's zone with a lot of space, but his wrister was hardly enough to beat Jimmy Howard.
First period, 15:24, 0-0: One great way to survive the immediate surge by the home team: Hit them, hit them and hit them again. The Red Wings have out-hit the Sharks in each of the first six games of the series, and they're doing it again in Game 7. Big win by the Wings on that front so far.
First period, 19:59, 0-0: Winner gets the Canucks. Game 7 is under way.
9:03 p.m.: Pretty crazy, the Sharks and Red Wings will have played three games while the Bruins have been waiting to open their series against Tampa Bay.
8:58 p.m.: It's almost time to drop the puck, and while you wait, check out a story I just wrote about Jimmy Howard after I caught up with Tim Whitehead, who coached him for three years at Maine.
3:30 p.m.: Joe Thornton's postseason resume is hardly a thing of beauty. The last thing he needs is to be on the losing end of Thursday night's Game 7 on his home ice in San Jose.
The Sharks have blown a 3-0 series lead to the Red Wings, who have stormed back to look like the team that dominated the NHL through portions of the regular season. And the winner of Thursday's contest will advance to the Western Conference final to take on the top-seeded Canucks, who blew a 3-0 series lead against the Blackhawks in the first round but managed to avoid embarrassment in Game 7.
Thursday night's game is a double-edged sword for Bruins fans. Obviously, they'd love for the Sharks to be the more recent team to blow a 3-0 lead. But on the other side of the coin, the Red Wings figure to be a far more dangerous opponent if the two advanced to the Cup Finals.
At the end of the day, the Stanley Cup will take care of itself, but the Bruins might prefer to see the Sharks suffer a more immediate form of futility.
