Detroit put Colorado on the defensive

Tenacious forecheck helped Red Wings bury Avalanche early

By Mike Eidelbes, Special to the Rocky

Friday, April 25, 2008

Carlos Osorio / Associated Press

Detroit's Andreas Lilja, left, keeps Colorado's Cody McCormick from going after Darren McCarty.

The game was a shade more than 21 minutes old, and Detroit had burst out to a 4-1 lead against Colorado in the first game of the rivals' Western Conference semifinal series.

It could've been far worse.

Thanks to a tenacious forecheck that had Avalanche defensemen treating the puck like it was a live grenade, the Red Wings controlled the flow through the first third of the game Thursday. On the occasions when Colorado's breakout passes didn't completely miss the mark, they often ended up in teammates' skates. In most cases, Detroit forwards won the battles for the puck just inside the Avs' blue line, creating scoring opportunities and keeping the visitors on their heels.

"Our game plan was to put pressure on their defense, make them rim it (around the boards) or turn it over, be patient, and try to stay after for the puck down low," said forward Dan Cleary, who scored the Red Wings' second goal of the game, on a shot that dribbled across the goal line after caroming off goaltender Jose Theodore. "That's the key. Colorado's got real talented forwards up front."

The inability to move the puck effectively clearly frustrated the Avalanche. Rare were the times they could get it out of their own end, let alone gain speed through the neutral zone and generate scoring opportunities of their own.

"That's never fun when that happens," said forward Henrik Zetterberg, who teamed with linemate Pavel Datsyuk to score the Red Wings' first goal, off a nifty give-and-go play that froze the Avs. "We did a good job of going after the defense, we got some bouncing pucks to our advantage and we scored some goals."

After taking a three-goal lead 1:13 into the second period, the Red Wings appeared to lay back. The Avs controlled the tempo from there on out.

"We stopped skating, we hung on," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "I think when you watch the playoffs, you understand how hard it is to win. Their level of urgency went up and we relaxed."

Expect more of the same - a full 60-minute effort, in fact - from Detroit in Game 2 Saturday, especially with the health of Colorado forwards Peter Forsberg and Wojtek Wolski in doubt.

"That's been our game plan since the start of the season - aggressive on the forecheck, but smart and patient," Cleary said.

"Don't get beat by one pass. Simple hockey, really."

• April 25, 2008

  10:38 a.m.

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  octopus writes:

  Get used to it, kids. This is why Detroit led the league in GAA, all season. It's OUR puck. Sometimes we get tired of shooting, and let the other team play with it for awhile.