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| Franzen's OT goal gives Red Wings series lead DETROIT 2, NASHVILLE 1 (OT) |
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DETROIT (Ticker) -- Dan Ellis did everything he could to help the Nashville Predators escape Joe Louis Arena with a victory. Unfortunately for his team, he could not overcome a turnover. Johan Franzen scored on a breakaway 1:48 into overtime as the Detroit Red Wings posted a 2-1 victory over the Predators in Game Five of their Western Conference quarterfinal series Friday. Valtteri Filppula also tallied and Chris Osgood turned aside 20 shots as the Red Wings grabbed a three-games-to-two lead in the series. "If I'm not getting a lot of shots, it means we've got a really good chance to win," Osgood said. "Some guys always say they need 35 shots, but I can play good getting 15 shots or 40 shots, I don't care. I do whatever I'm supposed to do." Despite the win, Detroit coach Mike Babcock was not pleased with his team's offensive performance. "We weren't as sharp around their net as we normally are," Babcock said. "Ellis played well, but we need to be better when we have the opportunities like we did tonight." "We definitely did get a lot of shots on net," Osgood added. "A lot of it had to do with (Ellis), a lot had to do with not getting any breaks. He did have a great game, obviously. Maybe that's a game we might have lost in the past. Today, we figured out a way to win it, so that's good." Radek Bonk netted the lone goal for the Predators, who host Game Six on Sunday. "I just say, 'Hey, we've got to win one game in Nashville so we can come back here.' Plain and simple," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "We had a chance. The biggest disappointment is, we wasted that goaltending effort. But we forced it to overtime when we probably didn't deserve it." After Filppula opened the scoring 4:20 into the game with a slapper from the left faceoff circle that sailed over Ellis' left shoulder and into the top right corner of the net on Detroit's fourth shot of the game, the inexperienced netminder was sensational, turning aside the next 49 shots he faced - including 36 over the second and third periods. However, after J.P. Dumont turned over the puck in the neutral zone early in overtime, Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall completed a pass to Franzen at the Predators' blue line. The 28-year-old Swede skated in alone and deked before putting a backhander just inside the right goalpost for his second goal of the series. "I made up my mind right away," said Franzen, who led Detroit with nine shots. "I was going to try to deke him and go backhand. Shots, they didn't seem to work for me this night. How many did I have? That didn't work, so I had to try something else." "The puck was behind me and in my skate," Dumont said of his turnover. "I just tried to throw it to the outside, not really knowing who was there. That's how it goes. (Kronwall) made a good play." Ellis finished with 52 saves, a franchise playoff record. The previous mark of 41 was set by Tomas Vokoun in Game Three of the 2004 conference quarterfinals against Detroit and equaled by the Czech in the following game of that series against the Red Wings. "Ellis might have had the best game of any goalie in the playoffs," Dumont said. "There's no words to describe it. He was on top of his game. ... The way he played tonight, he deserved to win." "We did everything we could to put ourselves in a position to get a win," said Ellis, who entered the season with one NHL appearance under his belt. "We put some pressure on at the very end there, but we have to do more than that. We can't get 20 shots in a game and give up 50. You have to make an even effort the entire game and put them back on their heels. We didn't play physical enough and we weren't mentally sharp enough." With Nashville seeking the first postseason road win in club history, Bonk kept alive the hopes by scoring with just 44 seconds remaining in the third period. After the Predators were outshot, 20-3, in the second period and 15-8 entering the final minute of the third, Dumont made a pass from behind the net to Bonk, who beat Osgood to the glove side with a shot from the slot for his 12th career playoff goal and a 1-1 tie. "He pretty much teed it up," Osgood said. "It was a bang-bang play. They've got some guys that can make plays on that team and they've got a good team. We allowed that to happen." But Franzen's goal sent Nashville to its 10th loss in as many playoff road games. The Predators also are one defeat away from being eliminated in the conference quarterfinals for the fourth time in as many all-time postseason appearances. Osgood received the start over Dominik Hasek after the six-time Vezina Trophy winner allowed three goals on 14 shots in Game Four before being replaced. Babcock believed he made the right decision. "I thought (Osgood) was good," he said. "It's a tough game when you're the goalie and the other guy is standing on his head and you're not getting any opportunities to make saves. It's tough to be the hero, it's easy to be the goat. I thought he did a real good job, showed his experience and gave us an opportunity to win." The Predators were without captain Jason Arnott and David Legwand. Arnott missed the game with an illness, while Legwand was sidelined with a foot injury. "Jason took the morning skate and was feeling fine. When we got on the bus, he wasn't feeling too well," Trotz said. "It seems like the flu or food poisoning. Hopefully, he'll be fine and ready to go (on Sunday). Leggy tried to skate before the game. I expect him Sunday. "It matches our year. Nothing has come easy." Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom appeared in his 197th career playoff game with the team, passing Steve Yzerman for first place on the franchise list. "It's something I'm very, very proud of," Lidstrom said. "I never envisioned that was going to happen when I first came into the league, but it's something I'm very proud of." |
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