The End of the Line?

6:45pm:  Welcome to the Joe Louis Sports Arena where it's win or go home one for the Wings and the Sharks.  If San Jose takes tonight's Game 4 of the Western Conference Semi-Final, they go home and get ready for the Conference Final--the NHL version of the Final Four.  If the Wings lose tonight, their season be over and they will go home, their season having tome to a conclusion shocking in the speed with which it occurred.  It was just 8 days ago that this series began.  Tonight it could be all over.  Back with the opening faceoff in a moment....
7:04pm:  The house lights are down, the light show is in full effect, etc. I'm nervous.  I'm always nervous in elimination games.  This time, I have good reason to be.  The Detroit Red Wings have been down 0-3 in a best-of-7 series ten times in their history.  They are 0-10 in such series.  They have been swept in 9 of those ten series, the exception being one year ago when the Wings trailed these very Sharks 0-3 and won Game 4 to force a Game 5.  They lost Game 5 and the series was over.  Game 4 last year, somewhat ironically, was one of the best playoff games the Wings have ever played.  It really was.  Detroit beat San Jose 7-1.  It was a hell of a game.  I remember that Johan Franzen scored 4 goals to tie a Wings playoff record except that he didn't.  He had for a while, but the scoring was changed late in the game and one of the Franzen goals was credited to one of his teammates.  So now the question: Can the Wings repeat that performance?  We are about to find out.
7:17pm: Kris Draper almost scored.  The key word is, of course, almost.  He had a lose puck just off the post to the right of Sharks goalie Antti Niemi but couldn't tuck it in as he was behind the icing line and reach as he might, he couldn't quite get leverage.  Moments later, Draper was in the goalmouth again, banging away, but again Niemi stopped him, sprawling this time to block and cover.  We have 15:06 left in the first.  It has been intense, so far.  I expect it will be all night.
7:19pm:  TODD BERTUZZI SCORES!  The time is 6:22 of the first and the story is the move Bertuzzi made, a 360-degree spin in the right wing circle with two Sharks on him.  It gave Bertuzzi just enough space go get a backhand off, and the 20-footer beat Niemi high glove, which is to say over his left shoulder, just under the crossbar.  The assists to Henrik Zetterberg and Danny Cleary.  Moments later, Valtteri Filppula almost made it 2-0, but his shot from in close went just wide to the left of Niemi.  FIRST PERIOD: DETROIT 1, SAN JOSE 0.
7:31pm:  2-0, DETROIT!  Nicklas Lidstrom fires in a blast from the left wing circle off a tasty Niemi rebound.  The Sharks tender made a big save on Cleary who was sent in on a nice pass from Bertuzzi, but allowed a rebound which came a good 25 feet off his pads right out in front and Lidstrom had plenty of time to wind up and blast away.  As is so often the case, (more on that  in a moment) he made no mistake.  Cleary and Bertuzzi get the assist on Lidstrom's 3rd goal of the 2011 playoffs at 11:09.  The Wings are outshooting San Jose 13-6, a number which reflects the degree to which Detroit has dominated this game so far.  FIRST PERIOD:  DETROIT 2, SAN JOSE 0.
7:43pm:  Power Play, Detroit.  Ian White goes off for Interference at 16:05.  Detroit's 3/12 (25.0%) with a man advantage in this series.
7:46pm:  LIDSTROM SCORES AGAIN!  The Wings make White and the Sharks pay the penalty.  Lidstrom collected a pass from Zettterberg by stopping it with his leg and batting at it while it was still in mid-air.  His shot actually bounced on its way towards the net and skipped high over Niemi.  Lidstrom who tied the record earlier in the period, is now the NHL's all-time leader in Playoff Power Play Goals by a Defenseman (30).  (While we were writing this, Logan Couture scored an unassisted goal to make it a 3-1 game).  The period has now ended with Detroit recording 17 shots to 12 for the Sharks.  END OF FIRST PERIOD:  DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 1.  
7:55pm:  It was one year ago today that the Wings beat the Sharks 7-1 in Game 4 of the second round.  For the record, the Wings led that game 5-0 after one.  Still, a 3-1 lead after one is nothing at which to be sneezed.  
8:08pm:  The second period begins.  An assist has been added during the intermission on the Sharks goal by Couture. Those of you scoring at home, add a helper to Ryane (I believe that's still pronounced Ryan but I can't be sure) Clowe.  
8:11pm:  There's one thing I can't/don't get.  Remember I noted that Couture had scored while I was writing my account of the Lidstrom goal.  There was no crowd reaction to the San Jose goal, none.  I never even looked up, that's how much noise the crowd didn't make.  I didn't see the goal and I still haven't.  The only way I knew they had scored was that there was a stoppage in play and that the score on the scoreboard had changed from 3-0 to 3-1.  Pretty good reporting, wouldn't you say?  For the record, since I failed to note it earlier, the San Jose goal came :15 after the Lidstrom goal gave the Wings a 3-0 lead.  Howard has had to be sharp here early in the second and I'll tell you what, if the Sharks get the next goal, this is going to be a long night for Detroit so the boys had best watch themselves.  15:32 LEFT, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 1.
8:17pm:  Another Detroit power play.  Joe Thornton for stick-holding which is a definite no-no.  The Wings are 1-2 on the PP so far.  The call at 5:47.
8:27pm: Another Detroit PP.  Torrey Mitchell is off for holding Justin Abdelkader at 10:58.
8:31pm: No joy on the power play for Detroit.  They are 1-3 in the game, now.  4-16 in the series.
8:34pm:  San Jose has just scored and we got trouble here in (Detroit) River city.  Dan Boyle--who got the game-winner in overtime here the night before last--took a great cross-ice feed in the attack zone from Kyle Wellwood and buried it high over a sprawling Howard.  There wasn't much the Wings goalie could do.  It was a perfect feed and a perfect shot at 13:44.  At 14:29, Dany Heatley gives the Wings their fourth power play of the night (the Sharks have had none) when he's whistled down for tripping.  5:31 LEFT, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
8:41pm: The Wings not only do not score on the power play, the fail to generate chances.  It appears to me that right now, the Sharks have a bit more jump.  They are getting to the loose pucks.  The Wings look a little tired to me.  2:49 left, SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2.
8:47pm:  The second period ends.  As I mentioned, I thought Detroit, especially from the mid-point of the period on, was sort of hanging on.  Sort of hanging on for dear life.  And keep this in mind as we go to the third period.  San Jose has yet to have a power play.  All 4 minors called in this game have gone in favor of Detroit.  I'll bet you a doughnut that before this game is over, San Jose will get a power play or two, at least.  The Wings outshot the Sharks 10-7 in the period and have outshot them 27-19 in the game.  San Jose as you have probably heard, has won 7 of the last 8 playoff games against Detroit with each and every one of those 7 wins coming in a 1-goal-game, 3 of them in overtime.  The only non 1-goal game was that 7-1 Wings win here one year ago tonight that we talked about earlier.  And guess what?  With 20 minutes of regulation time remaining here tonight, we have ourselves a 1-goal game.  END OF SECOND PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 2. 
9:05pm:  The third period is underway.
9:07pm:  That didn't take long.  SAN JOSE TIED THE GAME 3-3.  Just as I was noting that the Sharks were--as they had been through the latter stages of the second period--beating Detroit to loose pucks, Clowe beat Niklas Kronwall to one of those loose pucks behind the Detroit net and fed it to Heatley who was as all alone as you can reasonably expect to be at the NHL level and from between the rings, at the hashmarks, he fired high blocker side and the puck was in and the light was on and the game was tied.  You get a guy that wide open and with that much time and chances are, in the National Hockey League, he is going to score and Heatley, a sniper, did.  The goal at 1:14 of the period and now the Sharks are buzzing again. And now Bertuzzi is called and the Sharks are on the power play at 4:12 of the third.  San Jose is 4-15 ( 26.7%) on the power play in this series. 15:00 LEFT, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.  
9:22pm:  We are just past the halfway point of the period.  The Wings maintain a 10-shot edge in shots on goal but, as you know, we are tied in a game in which Detroit held a 3-0 lead.  I guarantee you for for sure that the number of 3-goal leads the Wings have blown this season can be tallied up on one hand, but this is one of them.  Welcome, once again, to nail-biting time. I myself am predicting overtime, again.  9:31 left, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
9:25pm:  San Jose goes on the power play for the second time in the game/period at 11:35 as Abdelkader is off for a cross check.  The fans didn't like it, natch, but I thought it the correct call.
8:18 left, THIRD PERIOD: DETROIT 3 SAN JOSE 3.
9:30pm:  The Wings get a kill which is huge, obviously.  5:45 left, THIRD PERIOD.  DETROIT 3, SAN JOSE 3.
9:33  DARREN HELM SCORES!  THE WINGS LEAD 4-3 WITH 1:27 LEFT. It was a beauty feed to Helm cutting into the left circle and he buried it off the setup by Brian Rafalski and it looks for all the word like we are heading back to San Jose.  Still :45 to go, though.
9:44pm;  THE WINGS WIN 4-3.  THEY ARE NOT YET BACK IN THE SERIES, BUT THEY ARE NOT YET DEAD, EITHER.  Off to the dressing rooms for the react.  Back with you soon...
FINAL SCORE: DETROIT 4, SAN JOSE 3.