sweet goal by zetty tonight......cup champs once again rise to the challenge when the NHL elite come to the joe.......

Dishonorable mention: officiating crew for the Sharks v. Wings game... the calls seemed to be going against the Sharks most of the time
also dishonorable mention to the Sharks for not bringing their A game and once again losing at the Joe, where they've won 4 times but lost 26 times (in regulation).
dishonorable mention: nabokov gave up 4 goals after limiting opposing teams to 5 goals (total) over the previous 4 game winning streak...
really hoping the Sharks play better against he Wings (if necessary) during the playoffs. as a fan, i was thoroughly disappointed by the effort tonight.. or lack thereof. if the sharks are just mentally strong, then they can beat the wings, even at the Joe.
Go Sharks!

oh honorable mention: wysh doing the 3 stars for once :D (but why no "did you know?" section...)

@NR: There were several calls that went against the Wings too. Ultimately, the PPs evened out, so I don't think it's fair to say the refs hosed the Sharks.
I can think of three calls / non-calls against the Wings in particular that really bothered me. Period 1: Vlasic gave Datsyuk "the business" under a pileup in front of the SJ goal. Ripped his helmet and glove off, no call. Period 2: Michalek was not called for an obvious trip of Lidstrom. Also in Period 2: Datsyuk was given a penalty for tripping that even the SJ announcers said was not a penalty.

ha tippyturtle said PP

Facts:
The PPs were even for both teams.
Both teams were rested, not having played the night before.
Detroit's leading goal scorer only played half the game.
The Wings still won 4-1. Really don't have any valid excuses if you're a Sharks fan.
Another fact: It's only one game.
Nice job by the Wings tonight. I still don't think they are going to catch the Sharks for the #1 seed, but that won't matter until the conference finals anyway, and I also doubt both teams will buck the trends and make it there. (Really, how often does #1 vs. #2 happen anymore?)

Dishonorable mention to some (not all) Wings fans, who were cheering that Joe Thornton was laying on the ice in pain after he got boarded by Cleary in the first. Real classy.

any body who calls themselves a fan of hockey should be appalled at the way the joe thornton hit was called...charging, boarding, intent to injure.... and 2 minutes? a goal isnt a goal.. ? critical to the game to go into intermission 2 - 1.. thankz leauge.. just hand the cup to detroit again right now when the ice is so slanted , it MAKES ME THINK ABOUT GIVING UP MY SEASON TIX ..!!!...

Isn't it funny how the officiating is always the first thing people complain about when their team loses? The Wings simply outplayed the Sharks and I think all the talk about Conklin should go away now. He's more than proven himself this year and did so once again tonight. Wings...back to back baby!

@NR-if you take out the comment about the officiating, I would say way to accept a tough loss, and see you in the playoffs. Your comment as it is...whine, whine. The calls were even (look at the number of power plays for both teams.) And after the fiasco with the netting earlier in the year (no longer @ you NR but @ all SJ fans) no one had better bring up the whole puck going off the netting thing. If you want that call give us back the game earlier in the year that got robbed from us.

First and foemost i'm a wings fan. All the bickering needs to be toned down. People are obviously still upset at Claude. He was brought in for one purpose, veteran stanley cup experience. It's clear that it hasn't set it yet, so give him another few weeks to see what he's still got/don't got. And at that time, all the seeds should be set. It was an awesome game by the way, and for all you whiners out there about Thorton's ownage by Cleary..............just remember what he did in Boston. Joe had it coming to him for a long time.
Go Wings!!!

Honorable mention to Diehard for predicting a 4-2 Wings victory; missed it by THAT much!

so the only thing that we have learned from four games with the sharks and red wings. home ice is essential. i don't know if i can handle a playoff series with these teams. but go sharks!

great game!! looking forward to an open roster myself. i feel confident that if osgood stumbles ala hasek conks will pick it up! go wings deepest team in the nhl!! how did you like that 4th line leino-draper-maltby oh yeah! its good to be a red wings fan!
WINGS TIL DEATH!!

I'll be the first to admit, if ANY Wings fans were cheering while Joe was on the ice, that is just piss poor personality and class. I'm just hoping they were cheering about something else. But lets be honest here, majority of people who attend ANY hockey game (whatever NHL team it is) really don't have very much hockey knowledge in the first place. Local radio station was talking about who was the biggest idiots for a fan base and I'll be the first to say its every NHL organization.
With that said, do I really think that Dan Cleary meant to HARM Thornton in any way? Absolutely NOT! He is just not that type of player. I think even Thornton would admit he kind of turned into the hit even after he say Cleary coming after him. Regardless, it's still a penalty and it was called. So whatever guy said it should have been worse is crazy.
Overall it was a great game for the Wings, the Sharks just did NOT show up. It really wasn't that close of a game. Conklin did make some amazing saves though (Nabby had one of two but definitely didn't help his teams cause). For once, I really hope the 1 and 2 seeds meet in the conference Finals.
As far as seeding goes... I dont think either team cares THAT much. You almost could assume (IF they met in the CF) that they'd split games 1 & 2. Therefore it's almost gonna favor the lower seed.
Oh and how 'bout some redemption for the whole 'net' fiasco from a year ago? What a great shortie from Z tonight though. Especially in the midst of that so called "amazing" goal from Ovie (I don't think it was all that great. Only the beginning pass to himself)

Oh, and is it me or did it look like the Wings REALLY got under Thornton's skin today and threw him off his game? Just like Zetterberg, Dats or maybe even Hossa for the Wings, the Sharks need Thornton to show up and be a presence to be the team that they are right now (in the standings and everything). It definitely makes you appreciate Dats and Z much more night in and night out to see that a team just can NOT get under their skin. Don't know what it is but there's no throwing those 2 off their game.

@Cup: Dude, were you not the one who was wanting Fabian Brunnstrom big over Leino last Summer? Just askin'

Too bad you can't edit posts... 3 quick things and I'm done:
I didn't realize each team won at home to tie the series at 2-2. Maybe home advantage will be THAT important (IF they meet)
Also, how about some love for Leino (what an amazing player who NO ONE DRAFTED!) for his 'out of mid-air' goal?
And lastly, for whoever said the Sharks got robbed of their goal... Ummm, WHAT? I'm sorry, if you have some other replay that no one has seen, please do show. But the high def feeds out of Detroit told the WHOLE story. The ref got a little excited amidst the game and made a bad call. After review there was ZERO WHITE between the puck and goal line therefore its no goal. Besides, simply admit the Wings were the better team if just for a night, my god. Is it THAT hard?

@Fox, I think anyone would've picked Brunntrom over Leino last year. Hell, look how many teams wined and dined Fabian yet no one gave Leino a look. You think some guy on Yahoo! Sports Puck Daddy Blog is gonna any smarter than a bunch of NHL GM's? (Well, than again... hahah)
Anyways, I think everyone at that time would've chosen Brunnstrom over Leino. Thank god Fabian made his decision cause it looks like Leino has what it takes to score goals in the NHL and Brunnstrom just can't get used to the different style of play.

"Finally, if Claude Lemieux wants to remain in the NHL, skating for 5:38 and failing to score in a critical game isn't going to cut it."
You do great work here Greg, but Claude looked pretty good out there tonight. His line generated some scoring chances in what was otherwise a pretty lackadaisical effort from our boys in teal.
Mymclife (#8) also hit the nail on the head with the Detroit crowd cheering Big Joe going down. Pretty classless in my opinion.

The Sharks certainly didn't show up, and I'm not about to make excuses for them, since it was clear that the Red Wings were the dominant team tonight. However, the officiating was some of the poorest I've ever seen - and yes, it did affect both teams. Datsyuk didn't deserve that tripping call, absolutely not. Setoguchi fell of his own accord, if I remember correctly. The puck in the netting - to the Detroit fan who said it happened to them "earlier in the year," it actually happened last season, and yes it went our way after we scored on it. The circumstances were rather different (last year - puck dropped down near the net before getting banged in; this year it dropped for a shorthanded rush down the ice), but even if the end result is the same, I have to ask myself - why aren't the zebras seeing this? Don't even get me started on the quick whistles.
Dave Jackson was pointing down like there was no tomorrow when Joe Pavelski's apparent goal went past Conklin - I'd love to see the tape that shows conclusive evidence overturning Jackson's read of the situation (he was right at the goal, studying the puck as it neared the line, and patiently waited before affirming what he saw), since the overhead view didn't show a definitive no goal. Not that it would have meant a Sharks victory, but there's no denying momentum in hockey, of course - the score would have been 1-2 at that point, Detroit.
As for the Detroit fans jeering Joe Thornton laying on the ice - you wonder why people say you don't deserve the amazing team you've been given. I'd give you a free pass for laying out Pepe, but cheering that an opposing player is injured - long after the check happens - is just deplorable. Yeah, you stay classy, Detroit.

isnt crosbys groin injury a "personal reason" as well?

and anyone who blames the game on the officiating wasnt watching the game. yeah they got shafted, so does every team on certain nights, and the wings got a couple no calls and missed calls too. if the game was closer you would have a case, but anyone watching and being objective knows that the wings just outplayed them all over the ice last night. they let the sharks gain no momentum and their puck possession was finally up to the way it should be. and if the sharks are going to have a chance at winning the cup they are going to have to be mentally able to get past getting crap calls and just work that much harder to turn the momentum and bounces in their favor. thats going to happen. the players arent going to whine about it because it doesnt change anything. another great game- my heart races for 2 hours every time i watch san jose and detroit play.

and im glad to see thornton lose and get overworked all game after his comments about no team in the nhl being able to play with them for 60 minutes and the ego, but if anyone was cheering when he got hit into the boards in the first period, classless. and of course cleary didnt try to injure him. its dan cleary, give me a break.