Final score: 2 1 (OT)

Anaheim leads series 3-2.

This was about the most unlikely victory the Ducks could’ve gotten. It was highway robbery at its finest as Anaheim stole one which was within Detroit’s grasp but slipped away.

If you’re a Detroit fan, you’ve seen this act before. Game 2 anyone? How about Game 5? The Wings easily could’ve wrapped this series up already. Instead, they’re one game away from elimination and now must win Game 6 at The Pond Tuesday night to force a seventh game back in Hockey Town.

I’m fairly certain Wings’ supporters are sick of Jean-Sebastien Giguere stoning their team and stealing games from them. Especially in sudden death. Like 2003 wasn’t enough? The Anaheim netminder did it again making big stop after big stop to give his team a chance in a game they had no business being in- finishing with an outstanding 36 saves to back stop his team within a win of their second Stanley Cup Final appearance in four years (three seasons).

I was equally as amazed as NBC’s Brett Hull and Ray Ferraro that the Ducks won this game with such a poor effort. You just can’t play that way and expect to win at this time of year.

Yet because of the 2003 Conn Smythe winner, Anaheim was allowed to get away with it. They can thank Giguere by treating him to an expensive steak dinner after how well he performed. Sure, the lone goal he gave up to Detroit defenseman Andreas Lilja 6:13 into the second period was one he’d love to have back. Off a Dan Cleary feed, Lilja’s point shot snuck past his glove to put Giggy’s Ducks behind.

However, aside from that, he more than made up for it with some clutch stops including several from point blank range which could’ve put the game out of reach. After a fairly even opening stanza in which Detroit had three more shots (11-8), they peppered Giguere with 15 but only managed to beat him once on the aforementioned odd-man rush. Meanwhile, the Ducks got just three shots on Dominik Hasek hardly testing him.

If there was one thing they did well in a one-sided second, it was kill penalties. The Ducks lost their discipline going to the box four times after falling down a goal. But they repeatedly killled them off to hang around entering the third.

The Wings should’ve put this game away. No doubt about it. They blew two more PP opportunities including one which left just 2:19 on the clock for Anaheim to work with.

Aside from that, they did catch a bit of bad luck when Nick Lidstrom’s shot off a giveaway hit the right post behind Giguere with 9:01 remaining. That would’ve been huge give how well they were playing. From a physical standpoint, they were much better than their opponents.

Anaheim also wasn’t showing that they were capable of generating the type of chance it was going to take to get it tied. That’s when they caught a break when Pavel Datsyuk was sent to the box for interference with 1:47 left. Ducks coach Randy Carlyle wisely pulled his goalie for the extra attacker giving them a six-on-four.

The strategy paid dividends when Detroit penalty killer Johan Franzen failed to clear the puck which allowed a hustling Chris Pronger (booed all day) to keep it in. Ironically enough, it was Franzen that Giguere denied twice on an earlier power play to keep the deficit one for his two biggest saves.
Usually when you don’t clear it out, you get burned. That’s exactly what happened. Eventually, a three-on-one was created down low with Teemu Selanne feeding Scott Niedermayer in the slot. The Anaheim captain quickly settled the puck down and fired a wrister which changed direction going off a diving Lidstrom’s stick and then fluttered past a helpless Hasek to miraculously tie it with 47.3 seconds to go.

Just like that, a game Detroit dominated was going to overtime. In it, they had their chances. Valtteri Filppula just missed from about 25 feet when his wrister sailed wide. They also got their seventh power play when Travis Moen hooked down Danny Markov. But the Wings couldn’t come up with the goods. Tomas Holmstrom was setup nicely in the slot but his wrister which might’ve been ticketed for the back of the net was blocked by a sliding Duck. It was their best chance.

The Wings would lose ironically when Lilja had a dreadful turnover in front of his own net leading directly to an unassisted tally for Selanne for his second career OT winner. The Detroit defenseman circled his net but felt pressure from a backchecking Selanne and Andy McDonald. As he attempted his pass, the backcheck pressure from McDonald caused him to lose the puck giving the Finnish Flash a one-on-one with Hasek. Selanne faked forehand and patiently waited for the Dominator to go down before roofing a backhand for the winner at 11:57.

It touched off a nice celebration as a happy Selanne was mobbed by teammates. He’s always been a great finisher and one of our favorite players. Now the original Winnipeg Jet is a game away from his first Stanley Cup appearance. The 15-year veteran sniper who’s tallied 540 career goals during the regular season has waited a long time to get to this point. It would be nice to see him get there and have a shot at a championship.

Here was the OT hero’s reaction:

“Everything happened so quickly. You don’t have enough time to plan anything. But I’ve been practicing that move my whole life. I knew I had to get it up. He [Hasek] goes down and covers up everything down low.”

He didn’t miss. Now Detroit has their backs to the wall. We’ll see how they respond Tuesday night.

Some quick hits:

1.It was a tough game for Franzen because he played so well for most of it registering a game high eight shots in 22:00. Had he scored on a nifty redirect or on a rebound with a few minutes left, he would’ve been a hero. Instead, one error cost his team. The same also could be said for his teammate Lilja. That’s the breaks.

2.It’s hard to fault Hasek on either of the goals he allowed. One was deflected in by his own teammate to tie it while the other was off a brutal turnover which allowed one of the game’s most dangerous goalscorers to take advantage surprising the netminder. Maybe the 42 year-old six-time Vezina winner could’ve waited out Selanne a little more before sprawling out. It was a weird game for the goalie because he wasn’t all that busy and looked on his way to a routine shutout. Then in the blink of an eye, it changed. The pressure’s on for Game Six.

3.The Wings were the more physical team as it went on outhitting the Ducks 27-22. Markov and savvy vet Chris Chelios (45 years young) each paced them with four while Anaheim checking center Sammi Pahlsson led everyone with five.

4.Cleary was pretty effective in the loss for Detroit setting up Lilja’s goal and playing extremely well finishing plus-one in 22:33.

5.Todd Bertuzzi struggled to distinguish himself in this game. The big power forward even got out of the way of a Mikael Samuelsson point shot allowing Giguere to see it. After a couple of good games in a row in which he scored twice and setup another goal, he was ineffective and received just 15 shifts (12:01) getting only one shot. He’ll need a more inspired effort in the elimination game.
6.Henrik Zetterberg was held off the scoresheet despite six SOG. He and linemate Datsyuk were pretty good in this game but couldn’t get one by Giguere even though they combined for 10 shots and some solid scoring chances.

7.After a quiet first three games, Selanne has exploded for five points (2-3-5) in the last two Anaheim wins. They needed their best finisher to pick it up and he has come through.

8.The most effective line for the Ducks was the Kid Line of Dustin Penner, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Getzlaf was very effective down low on the cycle creating a few opportunities along with Perry. They’ve been the team’s most consistent line all series.

Our three stars:

3rd star- Scott Niedermayer (tying PPG with 47.3 left, +1 in 35:13)
2nd star- Teemu Selanne (OT winner, assist)
1st star- Jean-Sebastien Giguere (36 saves and improved to 12-1 in playoff overtime-best in NHL history)