Red Wings Fly Past Ducks to Tie Series

It looked like the Anaheim Ducks were going to take a 3-1 series lead against the Detroit Red Wings, but the Detroit had other plans.

During the first two periods Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller played as well as he did in game three when he shut out the Red Wings 4-0. His teammate Matt Belesky gave him a 1-0 lead to work with and Hiller shut out the Red Wings through two periods.

Something changed in the third. Detroit’s Brendan Smith came out and scored their first goal a minute into the period to tie it up. It reenergized the team and the crowd. Even when David Steckel tied it up for the Ducks, the Red Wings did not give up. They played hard and drove the puck to the net, upping the pressure on Hiller.

When it seemed the Ducks were going to win in regulation, Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk hit a slap shot passed Hiller to tie the game 2-2. The goal livened up the crowd again and gave Detroit the momentum they desperately needed.

In overtime both teams appeared to be equally hungry for the win. The Ducks wanted that 3-1 series lead while the Red Wings refused to shorten their season. The game ended on a very basic mistake by Hiller. He stayed in the net to clear the puck and it ended up with Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist. He passed it to Damien Brunner, who easily slid it past Hiller to life the Wings 3-2 in overtime.

Game five is Wednesday night in Anaheim. The series is now tied 2-2.