Detroit Redwings V San Jose Game Review

Both teams were heading into different streaks this evening as Detroit had started 5-0 and then lost 2 straight and San Jose started 1-3 and then won 3 straight.

Niemi and Howard were the starting netminders as the game started off.

It was all action around Howard’s net to start as Lidstrom sat 2 minutes for hooking but the Redwings netminder made about 4 or 5 great saves to keep the Sharks out.

There was then some great work from Zetterberg entering the zone and pulling a save off Niemi as he created another chance for Datsyuk who couldn’t bury a puck that bounced out infront of Niemi.

A Scintillating first 9 minutes as both teams favoured attack to defence. Zetterberg, Cleary and Datsyuk were really turning it on after that 1^st powerplay for the Sharks as Detroit tried to take the game to the opposition. They got the lead around the 13 minute mark as Datsyuk fed Lidstrom at the blue line and he fired a shot purposely wide to bounce straight back out to Zetterberg who had the wide open net to fire the puck into. A great play from the Wings captain.

Detroit continued to put the pressure on San Jose and got a powerplay late in the period. Datsyuk hit a post to start and then Holmstrom had a goal scrubbed of for incidental contact on Niemi as he put the puck in as he was spread out on the floor. The contact was outside the crease and initiated by the netminder so Detroit were unlucky not to get that 2-0 lead going into the 2^nd.

An early powerplay in the 2^nd period for San Jose saw Ryan Clowe equalise with a quick wrist shot right in front of Jimmy Howard.

San Jose took a 2-1 lead around 8 minutes into the 2^nd as Patrick Marleau beat his old team mate Ian White in a foot race to the puck and as both players played at the puck Marleau managed to get it over Howard’s glove hand via White’s stick.

A powerplay goal for Detroit with just over 5 minutes of the 2^nd period left levelled the game at 2-2. Datsyuk firing the puck from between the circles and Holmstrom tipped it in and finally registered his 1^st goal of the season.  

Joe Thornton put the Sharks back in the lead with just under 2 minutes of the 2^nd left as Pavelski got the puck from the boards to the streaking Thornton and he went clean in on Howard and put it between his pads.

The Redwings finished the period on the powerplay as Havlat was called for hooking but couldn’t find a leveller before the hooter. They would, however, come back out for the 3^rd with over a minute still remaining on the PP.

Detroit couldn’t take advantage of that early powerplay opportunity in the 3^rd and both teams exchanged another powerplay chance each without causing any harm.

The 3^rd period was an even period with Detroit creating the better chances but nothing spectacular as San Jose stood firm. They managed to seal a 4-2 win with an empty net goal from Thornton with around 35 seconds left.

Probably the best that Detroit have played so far this season without coming away with the win. A truly entertaining game from both teams. Let's hope for this match up come playoff time again.

- Adam Yates

GetRealHockey.blogspot.com Joins the Hockey-Community.com Family

In an effort to broaden our relationships; GetRealHockey.Blogspot.com has recently joined the Hockey-Community.com family of blogs.  The team at hockey-community.com has a unique internet offering for hockey players and fans.  This write up from Puckwatch.com on Hockey-Community.com gives you good insight as to what you can expect by visiting the Hockey-Community.com website.

http://www.puckwatch.com/2011/01/hockey-communitycom-makes-hockey.html

We encourage all our readers to visit their website.  It is one website that should be bookmarked for reference purposes. GetRealHockey.blogspot.com can be found on the blog roll of the Hockey-Community.com website.

GetRealHockey and Sponvo.com - What a combo !!!!

GetRealHockey.blogspot.com  is working with some of the most exciting websites in the business.  Check out Sponvo.com which is one of our newest partners. This write up on Sponvo.com should give everyone a good ideas of what the site is about.

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Reimerless Leafs Ruin Rangers Home Opener

The New York Rangers (3-3-2) were handed a 4-2 defeat, as they played their first home game of the year, to the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs (6-2-1).  Earlier in the day James Reimer was placed on injured reserve. He felt severe headaches during the Wednesday’s skate. The so-called whiplash injury is sounding more and more like a concussion. Gustavsson also fueled the rumours with his comment after morning state today, when asked about Reimer’s current set back “With concussions you never know, right? Career band-aid Tim Connolly made his season debut after a training camp shoulder injury.

 

Girardi started it off with a soft shot that squeaked five hole past Gustavsson giving the Rangers a 1-0. New York continued to dominate the Leafs leading to a disallowed goal due goaltender interference from Callahan. Minutes later there was another goal disallowed guess who? Callaghan again. Initially called two minutes for interference then seconds after he was set free.

 

Lombardi tied the game that seemed to spark the Leafs although nothing else materialized in the period. Two minutes into the third Lupul continued his good start to the season with his fifth goal of the year to give the Leafs a 2-1 lead. The Leafs continued to out shoot the Rangers as MacArthur laced a slapper right through Lundqvist. Mike Brown then added an insurance marker with a laser snap shot over the glove of Lundquist bringing it to a 4-1 Leafs lead.

 

Del Zotto tried to help NY climb back with a point shot that deflected off Leafs’ Connolly edging it to 4-2.  In a rarely called penalty Dubinski was given two for snowing Gustavsson. The Leafs looked a little timid in the last few minutes but were able to hold off for a big 4-2 especially against a goaltender like Lundqvist.

 

Questions will continue to be asked of Gustavsson even though he had a fairly decent game. The city and fans have grown to Reimer and as his health remains in question so does that of the entire team.

 

By: Liam Niven

Inconsistency the key for Rangers in loss to Leafs

The stage was set for the New York Rangers (3-3-2) to have a magical night. It was the home opener of a renovated Madison Square Garden, as the hallowed venue was packed with the Blueshirts faithful.  Everything seemed to be going the way of the home team, with the exception of the results.

Inconsistency was the key as the Rangers fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs (6-2-1) in hockey action on Thursday night. New York had good puck movement early on, gaining the 1-0 lead at the 6:23 mark.

Dan Girardi (1) tallied the first goal at MSG off a strong move from Marian Gaborik to get the Garden rocking.  New York continued to swarm the Toronto cage throughout the first, recording a whopping 16 shots in the frame.

Leading the energetic charge was Captain Ryan Callahan, who showed his blue collar attitude throughout the course of the game. ‘Cally’ hustled to the point to where the Toronto players were ‘nudging’ him into their keeper to cause two interference calls by the referees.

Sadly for the fans of the Rangers though, those two calls, cost the teams two goals in what was a momentum-changing moment for the fans in attendance.  As the horn sounded to start the second period of play, the Leafs started to tilt the ice in their favor scoring four goals in two periods of play.

Michael Del Zotto did respond with one final tally for the Rangers at the 15:26 mark of the third period but time ran out on any comeback attempt for the home team, as the Leafs skated away with their sixth victory.

For New York, who had the right idea to start the night tossing every puck they could at the Leafs cage, wound up outshot by Toronto by a tally of 26-14 in the final two periods. The loss also continues a disturbing trend for Rangers’ fans-as victories at Madison Square Garden have been a rare occurrence.

The Rangers will look to reverse that trend on Saturday as they will square-off against the Ottawa Senators. The game is scheduled to air on the MSG network, with the face-off slated for 3:00 p.m.

Stacy Podelski

http://www.smacksportvideos.com/

Islanders to hold Halloween basket auction in the fight against Cancer

When the New York Islanders take the ice to face-off against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night, the team will be holding a very special Halloween basket auction.  The event will cap-off a month long fight the team has held in the fight against cancer.

All of the Islanders players created their own baskets, filling each one with Halloween goodies along with autographed items. These unique baskets will be raffled off on Saturday at Gate 14 on the concourse.

Each individual ticket will be $5 or fans can purchase five tickets for $20, all proceeds from the auction will benefit the ‘Islanders Fight Cancer’ Campaign.

Stacy Podelski

http://www.smacksportvideos.com/

Isles earn point in shootout loss in Steel City

The New York Islanders (3-5-0) had the lead, along with the momentum against the Pittsburgh Penguins (8-2-2), but a costly mistake in the third period of play cost the Isles their first victory in Steel City.

Looking to rebound on this current losing streak, the team jumped ahead to an early lead getting the puck and bodies to the cage. It was a flurry of Islanders white jerseys in front of the Pittsburgh cage, which resulted in a goal by Frans Nielsen (2) for the early lead.

That goal for Nielsen snapped a scoreless streak for New York which spanned 167:44 minutes. New York continued to throw everything they could at the Penguins Marc-Andre Fleury was up to the task of holding the Isles to one run.

Not to be outdone by his counterpart was Isles keeper Evgeni Nabokov, who made some impressive saves to keep his teams’ one goal lead at the end of the first period of play.

Matt Martin added to the positive momentum, along with the score at the 0:45 mark of the third period, grabbing a Steve Staios attempt and ringing it home for the 2-0 lead.  The Islanders had a ton of 3-on-2 opportunities throughout the course of the game, but they could not cash in.

The inability to cash in along with not clearing their offensive zone in the third ultimately cost the Islanders what could have been a huge victory in Steel City. Pittsburgh started their comeback effort at the 1:29 mark when Chris Kunitz (3) spoilt the Nabokov shutout bid.

Pittsburgh tied the game up at the 4:15 mark, on the crucial penalty kill play by the Islanders. Up until this point in time the Penguins were held by the New York defense. One mistake resulted in beautiful tic-tac-toe passing to James Neal (9) who tallied the game-tying goal.

Neither team could find the game-winner, until the shootout frame, when Evgeni Malkin made a beautiful move-allowing Pittsburgh to skate away with the victory.

In the bad news department for fans of the Orange and Blue, Nabby removed himself from the shootout opportunity-as Rick DiPietro made his return to the cage. There has been no word as of yet on a potential injury to ‘Nabby’ or if he’ll have to miss any time with the team. 

New York will return home to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum for a nice stretch starting on Saturday. The Isles will host the San Jose Sharks with the game scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. MSG Plus is scheduled to televise the action, as the team is going to honor the ’92-’93 team, as a part of the 40^th anniversary celebration.

Stacy Podelski

http://www.smacksportvideos.com/