DETROIT — It sounded like a throwaway line from Jimmy Howard when asked about the predicament his Detroit Red Wings were in a week ago after falling behind the San Jose Sharks 3-0 in their Western Conference semifinal.
“Why not us?” offered Howard about duplicating the feat of the 1942 Leafs, the 1975 Islanders and the 2010 Flyers.
Indeed, now it hardly seems a preposterous thought as the teams prepare for Thursday’s Game 7 in San Jose.
“The thing is, we weren’t kidding ourselves, we really felt we could do this,” Detroit forward Dan Cleary said. “We focused on one game, not thinking we had to win four. Just win one, win one, win one and now we’re going to Game 7.
“It’s going to be a fun game.’’
A relaxed group of players gathered at Detroit’s Metro Airport for their flight to San Jose Wednesday morning eager to engage in one more battle for the ages.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen guys that excited to get on a plane for seven hours,” forward Todd Bertuzzi joked. “This is what we wanted, to push it to Game 7. I like where our heads are at.”
It’s been a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Wings and the Sharks in a span of week.
While Detroit feels it has created a whole new world of opportunity, the Sharks are on the verge of seeing their hopes shattered in a crushing fashion.
“We’ve had three Game 7s already,” forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “We want to keep playing.
“I don’t think anyone feels that we’re done yet. Looking forward and going to enjoy it.”
It hardly seems possible for the Sharks to claim they’ll enjoy Game 7. For San Jose, the pressure in this game goes beyond merely surviving to play the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Final.
They’d worked so hard to shake their reputation as playoff chokers and now they sit on the precipice of their largest post-season pratfall ever.
“This isn’t about any team other than us,” Sharks forward Dany Heatley said. “Those are past teams.
“This is our team. It’s about us. We’re not worried about any other teams.
“We know what we have to do.”
Certainly, the Sharks know what to say.
A defiant Joe Thornton bristled over whether being pushed to a Game 7 had any impact on the Sharks’ confidence.
“Just ask Detroit,” Thornton said. “They lost three in a row and their confidence wasn’t frayed.
“We’re a confident group, still. You work 82 games to get home ice in these Game 7’s.
“Now, we just have to make it work.”
Of course, the difference for the Sharks is they’ve failed to kill off Detroit in three straight games, the last two contests seeing them blow third-period leads. Furthermore, the Sharks response to their Game 5 collapse, in which they held a 3-1 lead with 16 1/2 minutes to play, was to not even show up to contest Tuesday’s Game 6 in Detroit.
Now, they’ll face elimination for the first time this spring.
“Doesn’t matter how we got here,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “It really doesn’t.
“What matters is how it ends and that’s how we’ll approach it.”
How it ends will be determined by which team can handle the occasion better.
The Wings have 22 players that have played in at least one Game 7 while the Sharks have 11.
The last Game 7 involving the Sharks came in April, 2008 when they ousted Calgary.
You have to go back to 2002 for their next seven-game series (Colorado won the series).
The lone holdover for San Jose from that team is Patrick Marleau while Brad Stuart is now in Detroit.
“Controlling the emotions, just stay calm out there,” Detroit defenceman Niklas Kronwall said of the keys to a Game 7. “That’s where the veteran leadership comes into play, so far that has worked out pretty well for us.”
Though he backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup last season, San Jose goalie Antti Niemi has never played in an NHL game in which his team could’ve been eliminated let alone a Game 7.
Detroit’s Jimmy Howard has won the lone Game 7 that he’s played in. That was last year versus Phoenix.
“I like to think I’m calm,” Howard said. “It’s (Game 7s) just a lot of fun. It’s competing.
“It’s what you dream about growing up. It was a lot of fun last year and it’ll be again.”
Or as Pavel Datsyuk, who has been the single force most responsible for Detroit’s revival, has been preaching, it’s just a matter of believing in yourself.
“Might be more confidence, maybe little bit, but we know it will be hard game and a tough game,” Datsyuk said. “But it’s for sure more confidence for us (than) 3-0 at 3-3 now.
“We never give up. I think this is why we come back.”
Windsor Star
“Why not us?” offered Howard about duplicating the feat of the 1942 Leafs, the 1975 Islanders and the 2010 Flyers.
Indeed, now it hardly seems a preposterous thought as the teams prepare for Thursday’s Game 7 in San Jose.
“The thing is, we weren’t kidding ourselves, we really felt we could do this,” Detroit forward Dan Cleary said. “We focused on one game, not thinking we had to win four. Just win one, win one, win one and now we’re going to Game 7.
“It’s going to be a fun game.’’
A relaxed group of players gathered at Detroit’s Metro Airport for their flight to San Jose Wednesday morning eager to engage in one more battle for the ages.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen guys that excited to get on a plane for seven hours,” forward Todd Bertuzzi joked. “This is what we wanted, to push it to Game 7. I like where our heads are at.”
It’s been a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Wings and the Sharks in a span of week.
While Detroit feels it has created a whole new world of opportunity, the Sharks are on the verge of seeing their hopes shattered in a crushing fashion.
“We’ve had three Game 7s already,” forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “We want to keep playing.
“I don’t think anyone feels that we’re done yet. Looking forward and going to enjoy it.”
It hardly seems possible for the Sharks to claim they’ll enjoy Game 7. For San Jose, the pressure in this game goes beyond merely surviving to play the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Final.
They’d worked so hard to shake their reputation as playoff chokers and now they sit on the precipice of their largest post-season pratfall ever.
“This isn’t about any team other than us,” Sharks forward Dany Heatley said. “Those are past teams.
“This is our team. It’s about us. We’re not worried about any other teams.
“We know what we have to do.”
Certainly, the Sharks know what to say.
A defiant Joe Thornton bristled over whether being pushed to a Game 7 had any impact on the Sharks’ confidence.
“Just ask Detroit,” Thornton said. “They lost three in a row and their confidence wasn’t frayed.
“We’re a confident group, still. You work 82 games to get home ice in these Game 7’s.
“Now, we just have to make it work.”
Of course, the difference for the Sharks is they’ve failed to kill off Detroit in three straight games, the last two contests seeing them blow third-period leads. Furthermore, the Sharks response to their Game 5 collapse, in which they held a 3-1 lead with 16 1/2 minutes to play, was to not even show up to contest Tuesday’s Game 6 in Detroit.
Now, they’ll face elimination for the first time this spring.
“Doesn’t matter how we got here,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “It really doesn’t.
“What matters is how it ends and that’s how we’ll approach it.”
How it ends will be determined by which team can handle the occasion better.
The Wings have 22 players that have played in at least one Game 7 while the Sharks have 11.
The last Game 7 involving the Sharks came in April, 2008 when they ousted Calgary.
You have to go back to 2002 for their next seven-game series (Colorado won the series).
The lone holdover for San Jose from that team is Patrick Marleau while Brad Stuart is now in Detroit.
“Controlling the emotions, just stay calm out there,” Detroit defenceman Niklas Kronwall said of the keys to a Game 7. “That’s where the veteran leadership comes into play, so far that has worked out pretty well for us.”
Though he backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup last season, San Jose goalie Antti Niemi has never played in an NHL game in which his team could’ve been eliminated let alone a Game 7.
Detroit’s Jimmy Howard has won the lone Game 7 that he’s played in. That was last year versus Phoenix.
“I like to think I’m calm,” Howard said. “It’s (Game 7s) just a lot of fun. It’s competing.
“It’s what you dream about growing up. It was a lot of fun last year and it’ll be again.”
Or as Pavel Datsyuk, who has been the single force most responsible for Detroit’s revival, has been preaching, it’s just a matter of believing in yourself.
“Might be more confidence, maybe little bit, but we know it will be hard game and a tough game,” Datsyuk said. “But it’s for sure more confidence for us (than) 3-0 at 3-3 now.
“We never give up. I think this is why we come back.”
Windsor Star
© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar