Afternoon Box Score: Red Wings Even Series
By Chuck Sudo in News on May 18, 2013 8:20PM
Everyone who believed the Blackhawks would simply outskate Detroit should slow their rolls now. The Red Wings proved they're still a team to be reckoned with as they pulled even in their Western Conference semifinal series with Chicago.
Patrick Kane got the Hawks on the board first with a slap shot 14:05 into the first period. From that point on the Red Wings slowly began to take control. Damien Bruner tied the score two minutes into the second period and the Wings kept the Hawks in check on transition. Brendan Smith scored the game winner 16 minutes into the period on a snap shot set up by a beautiful assist from Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg. Meanwhile, Detroit held the Hawks to only five shots on goal in the period.
The third period was all Detroit, with goals from Johan Franzen and Valtteri Filppula. For the game, the wings held a 30-20 advantage in shots on goal and did their damage against Corey Crawford with the two teams evenly matched on the ice. The player of the game was Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard, who stopped 19 shots and got stronger between the pipes after Kane's goal. Zetterberg had two assists and now has 10 points in the postseason as the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks for the first time this season.