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Red Wings vs. Sharks: Can Detroit Pull Off the Unthinkable Comeback and Defeat San Jose In Game 7 Thursday Night?
The first round of the NHL Playoffs was chock full of drama. There was a pivotal overtime game just about every night it seemed. The Conference Semifinals? Not so much. One series wrapped up in six games, two others finished in sweeps and the fourth appeared to be headed in the same direction when the San Jose Sharks took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Detroit Red Wings.
Not so fast. Detroit has put together a remarkable three-game run to level the series. In Game 6 on Tuesday night, the Red Wings scored three goals in the final 10 minutes to stave off elimination for the third straight time. Will they feeel the pressure now that they’ve come this far? We’ll see on Thursday night when they try to pull off the unthinkable on the road in San Jose. With a win in Game 7, Detroit would become just the fourth team in NHL history to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first three.
Can the Red Wings pull it off? If anyone can at this point, it would seem to be them. Obviously Detroit carries with it a massive amount of hockey history, with many chapter written by the veteran players on this year’s team. The fact that they’ve got this far is amazing enough, but I don’t think too many would be shocked if they finished things off. If you’re going to watch just one hockey game this whole postseason, make sure it’s tonight.
Detroit’s Patrick Eaves joined WDFN in Detroit with Matt Shepard to discuss the atmosphere of Game 6, what has allowed Detroit to come back from down 3-0, how players don’t think about the offseason even when it appears their season is over, the chippy play at the end of Game 6 and just how special it’s been to be a part of these playoff games.
His thoughts on the atmosphere in Detroit during Game 6:
“It was pretty special. After the game I went home and I was laying in bed and my ears were still ringing. That’s when you know it’s really loud. It was great; we were definitely feeding off their energy and it helped us get those three goals late in the third there.”
What is special about the Red Wings’ locker room that has allowed them to come back from down 3-0 in the series?:
“You kind of just look across the room at every stall and everyone’s just calm and has pretty much been there many, many times. We weren’t out of those games or anything. They were getting some good bounces there. We just knew if we stuck to the gameplan the tides would change. We’ve put ourselves in position where we can win the series now and I think that’s just due to the leadership and the belief in each other and what we can do as a team.”
How do you not think about getting away for the summer when you’re down 3-0?:
“You don’t want to be there right now, doing that, especially right now in Minnesota where my brother said the lake just unfroze a week ago. … You just got to focus on the task at hand. We’re in a situation where we have an opportunity to do something great, being down 3-0. That’s kind of what I focus on. This is a special opportunity to do something.”
Can the chippy play late in Game 6 carry over to Game 7 or do you have to put it in the past?:
“We knew what they were going to try to do. We could see that coming. That has no carryover effect. Obviously we know that we frustrated them [Tuesday] night and we just have to do the same thing. It really has no affect on the next game at all.”
Will Game 6 and 7 be fun even though it seems nerve-wracking?:
“Oh yeah. That’s why we play. Situations like [Tuesday] night, the season’s on the line and we have our fans going crazy and we’re able to come out with a win. That’s why you play. You just try to put yourself in situations where you can win series.”
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