Johan Franzen scored four goals, including a first-period hat-trick, as the Detroit Red Wings staved off playoff elimination by thrashing the San Jose Sharks 7-1 on Thursday.
Trailing the Western conference semi-final 3-0, the desperate Red Wings scored five goals in the first period on just nine shots to send the best-of-seven series back to San Jose for Game 5 tonight.
“The bottom line is the guys were ready to play,” Wings coach Mike Babcock told reporters. “We lived to play another day which this was all about. Now we have to get prepared for our next game and see if we can’t put some pressure back on San Jose.”
If the Wings are to reach the West finals for a fourth straight year, much work still lies ahead as only two teams have ever clawed their way back from 3-0 deficits.
The last occurred 33 years ago when the New York Islanders came back to stun the Pittsburgh Penguins, and in 1942 the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to beat Detroit and lift the Cup.
But the Wings, who have qualified for the playoffs 19 straight seasons and advanced to the Stanley Cup finals the last two years, are aiming to add their name to that list of great NHL comebacks.
The Red Wings victory also shifted some pressure onto San Jose’s shoulders.
During recent playoff failures, the Sharks have not displayed the necessary killer instinct and despite knowing the Wings were most dangerous when backed into a corner they seemed completely unprepared for the challenge.
“We’re all disappointed, not so much the fact we lost, but we weren’t prepared when we knew what was coming,” said Sharks coach Todd McLellan.
“We said all the right things but didn’t go out and respond. We have some work to do. Maybe this spanking we got tonight will wake us up a little bit and make us aware we’re in a hell of a series.”
The game began with a tribute to iconic Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who passed away on Tuesday, with the capacity crowd chanting “Ernie, Ernie” but it wasn’t long until Franzen’s name was rattling the rafters of Joe Louis Arena.
After setting up Todd Bertuzzi’s opener, the player known to fans of the Red Wings as “the Mule” scored three times during an electric three minute, 26 second span that blew the roof off the aging arena and left the Sharks floundering.
“It’s different now,” said Franzen, who has six playoff goals. “We had to win this game and the next one … we have to keep winning.”
With the first three games of the series resulting in 4-3 score lines, the Red Wings ended the suspense early, Valtteri Filppula adding a fifth goal before the end of the opening period.
When the teams returned for the second, Evgeni Nabokov had been replaced in the San Jose net by Thomas Greiss, but the switch did little to slow the assault, with Brian Rafalski hammering a slap shot past the backup to welcome him into the game.
The Sharks’ Dany Heatley scored with 49 seconds remaining in the second to end Jimmy Howard’s shutout bid, but it would be the only puck to get past the goalie who faced 29 shots.
Fittingly, it was left to Franzen to complete the rout, rifling a shot past Greiss for his fourth of the game.
CANADIENS 3, PENGUINS 2
At Montreal, the Montreal Canadiens scored two third period goals to record a 3-2 comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, leveling their Eastern Conference semi-final series at two games each.
The Stanley Cup champion Penguins were bolstered by Jordan Staal’s return to the ice from foot surgery, but the presence of the young center and a 2-1 lead after two periods was not enough to hold off a relentless Canadiens’ late charge.
Montreal peppered Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with 16 shots in the third period, with Maxim Lapierre tying the game at 2:07 while Brian Gionta scored the winner less than 90 seconds later.
“We knew in that second intermission that we probably had played our worst two periods of the playoffs,” Gionta told reporters after scoring the winner on a fortuitous pass from the right circle that banked off a defender and found the net.
“So to be down one goal, we knew we had a chance to steal a game. We came out in the third period and got some lucky bounces, and it found its way in.”
Fleury made 22 saves, while Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves after allowing two goals in the first period.
Canadiens center Tom Pyatt had opened the scoring 2:34 into the game, but the Penguins grabbed the lead less than four minutes later after quick goals by Maxime Talbot and Chris Kunitz.
Both teams went scoreless in the second despite Pittsburgh controlling much of the activity.
“They hung around,” said Crosby. “I guess if you look at it, that’s probably the difference.”
For the Habs, the win maintained their unlikely push for a Stanley Cup finals place.
In the opening round, Montreal rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to overcome the top-seeded Washington Capitals.
Now the resilient Habs are looking to take down the champs as the series resumes in Pittsburgh tonight.
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