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Lively Boards Help Wings Win Game One

Written by: Tyler Bodman on 31st May 2009

PHOTO BY SCOTT VANKOUGHNETT

Even when he's not playing veteran d-man Chris Chelios still fires pucks from the blueline to see which way they'll bounce like he did this morning. | read this item

Detroit, MI — It’s called home ice advantage for a reason and last night the Detroit Red Wings showed the world why.

Usually when you hear home ice advantage you think of the crowd and how much impact they can have on the momentum of a game. However, the crowd wasn’t the advantage last night.

In game one of the Stanley Cup finals the Wings used their veteran savvy to bounce the puck off the end boards to generate scoring chances. It worked on the first goal when Brad Stuart fired a slap shot that missed the net, caromed off the boards, hit the back of Marc-Andre Fleury’s leg and slid into the net.

“Those things happen when you put the puck to the net especially in this arena,” said Brad Stuart after the game. “It was one of those lucky breaks but we’ll take it.”

Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom says that firing the puck wide isn’t new. It’s something that they’ve practiced for a long time and not just in Detroit.

If there isn’t a clear lane, the defense has been instructed to fire the puck wide in an attempt to bank it in front. The Wings’ forwards know that they may have to stand to the side of the net to try to deflect the puck if there’s a crowd in front.

“We know in this building the boards are pretty wild,” said Lidstrom after game one. “The puck’s bouncing a lot out there. So it happens quite frequently where if you can’t get it on net, just get it deep.”

It makes the situation even more difficult for the goalies. Not only do they have to worry about shots coming straight in now they have to worry about the ones from behind too. Even Wings’ goalie Chris Osgood has struggled with the boards.

“It’s tough for goalies,” reiterated Osgood after earning the win. “They’re scoring lots in the regular season on [the bounces]. Especially if it comes off one side and out the other, you’re pretty much left defenseless. It can be frustrating, but you’ve got to work them the best you can.”

Fleury was visibly irritated after the game. Knowing that two of the Wings goals weren’t even shots on net had him seeing red.

“I don’t see that every game,” said Fleury. “You know, it’s a little frustrating when they go in but we should come into the next game and be ready for it”

Penguins’ forward Maxime Talbot made a point to say that the Pens are going to be more aware of the boards in game two, tonight. Talbot said the Pens knew the boards were lively but they weren’t prepared for how Detroit would use them.

“They’re an experienced team and they used their boards,” Talbot said. “They know how they bounce and used them for their first two goals.”

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby remained optimistic about getting their own opportunities with the boards tonight. Stating that the biggest key was adjusting to how much faster the game gets when the boards are in play.

“Just when you think the game is quick, you see the bounces that the boards have. I mean, for goalies, for defense, for everybody, they’re pretty tough to read. So it makes things a little quicker. They’ve got a couple of bounces tonight, and hopefully we’ll get ours back.”

The difference maker in last night’s game wasn’t Lidstrom, Hossa, Zetterberg or Osgood, it was the rink boards. The Wings had the advantage last night by having a better idea of where the pucks would bounce. Tonight things should be a little more even with the Penguins paying more attention and having a little more experience in Joe Louis arena.

Topics: Brad Stuart, Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings, Game 1, Game One, Marc-Andre Fleury, Maxime Talbot, Niklas Lidstrom, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, Stanley Cup finals