The perfect breakout to set up the third goal. Abdelkader take the puck on the half board and calmly makes a play back to Smith. Franzen sees strong position and cuts across the ice from the far wing.

If there was a game to start believing in this thing, that was obviously it. Not so much because of the 2-1 series lead but because, for once, Henrik Zetterberg played no part in any of the Red Wings goals. Unless you’re a goalie, supreme individual performances don’t work in the playoffs. the best players end up canceling each other out. Gustav Nyquist and his band of merry men stepped in to fill the void.

Allowed

4:35, 3rd Period. 2-1 Red Wings

Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen actually do a good job of forechecking, but Franzen is hit from behind in the corner and loses the puck. The third forward into the zone, Pavel Datsyuk, pressures the defenseman. That forces a flip pass to Patrick Kane. Kyle Quincey, mesmerized, tries to bat the puck out of the air and misses. Brendan Smith hustles back in attempting to make up for Quincey’s mistake, but instead of leaning on Kane, Smith tries sweep the puck away. Kane fends him off and beats Jimmy Howard. Responsibility: Kyle Quincey (0.75), Brendan Smith (0.25)

We’ll just tiptoe around the who was responsible for that “non-” goal that would have tied the game.

Scored

7:49, 2nd period. 1-0 Red Wings.

After the Red Wings lose the faceoff, Damien Brunner gets to a loose puck and flips it out of the zone. Gustav Nyquist chases it down, hopscotches around one defenseman, waits out the other, holds on a little longer to wait out Crawford and scores. That might have been a set faceoff play, excluding the whole losing the faceoff part. Back in the day, my team ran had a similar strategy. Whether it was or not, Nyquist gets most of the credit because he did most of the work. Responsibility: Damien Brunner (0.25), Gustav Nyquist (0.75)

8:20, 2nd period. 2-0 Red Wings

Cory Emmerton pokes the puck down the corner for Patrick Eaves, who takes it around the net, gives it back to the point, gets it back, dumps it into the zone then pressures the Blackhawk defenseman into rolling a weak pass right up the middle. In good position as the third foward, Emmerton intercepts the pass and rolls it back to Eaves, who shoots and whacks his own rebound towards the back door. Drew Miller drives the net and finishes the job. Responsibility: Patrick Eaves (0.33), Cory Emmerton (0.33), Drew Miller (0.33)

6:46, 3rd period. 3-1 Red Wings

Datsyuk absorbs a hit behind the Red Wings’ net to slap a puck to Justin Abdelkader on the half board. Abdelkader gives it back to Smith, who bounces a pass to Franzen streaking over from the far wing. Franzen dishes to Datsyuk, who takes an off balance wrister and puts it top cheddar. For the boys. Responsibility: Pavel Datsyuk (0.25), Justin Abdelkader (0.25), Brendan Smith (0.25), Johan Franzen (0.25)

You three four stars of the game:

1. Gustav Nyquist (0.75 goals)

2. Patrick Eaves (0.33 goals)

3. Cory Emmerton (0.33 goals)

4. Drew Miller (0.33 goals)

Series totals:

Playoff totals:

Great hustle by Dan Cleary to get into the play and set the pick in front of the net.

Things we knew before Game 2: The Red Wings won. Brendan Smith redeemed himself. Henrik Zetterberg is really good at hockey.

Things we learned after Game 2: The Red Wings defense is the key component of the series. In Game 1. Two major mistakes from defensemen and two minor ones led to three goals. In Game 2 defensemen played major parts in three of the Red Wings’ four goals. If the Red Wings get holed in their own zone and subjected to the Blackhawks forwards, they’re going to lose. If the defensemen can make smart outlet passes and jump into the play offensively,the Red Wings are going to win.

Through two games, it’s been that simple. Take a look at the numbers.

Allowed

14:05 1st period. 1-0, Blackhawks

Brendan Smith steps up to take away a pass, misses, and the Blackhawks go in on a three-on-two. Kyle Quincey does all he can to take away a pass to Patrick Kane and does so, with the pass hitting his stick and going to Michal Handzus.  Dan Cleary goes straight for the puck instead of picking up Handzus, who passes backdoor for the goal.  Responsibility: Brendan Smith (0.5), Dan Cleary (0.5)

Scored

2:40 2nd period. 1-1, tied

Damien Brunner forces a turnover in the zone. Gustav Nyquist gets the puck, then gets decapitated. Joakim Andersson chases down loose puck and gives it to Jakub  Kindl, who gives it back to Andersson, who give back to Kindl, who takes a quick wrist shot that finds its way through and is tipped in by Damien Brunner. Responsibility: Damien Brunner (0.25), Jakub Kindl (0.25), Joakim Andersson (0.25), Gustav Nyquist (0.25)

16:08 2nd period. 2-1, Red Wings

The puck is flopped up the boards and Henrik Zetterberg gets it as Niklas Hjalmarsson can’t handle the pressure and falls down. Brendan Smith jumps into the play. The dish. The goal.  Responsibility: Henrik Zetterberg (0.5), Brendan Smith (0.5)

7:19 3rd period. 3-1, Red Wings

Jonathan Ericsson takes a routine regroup pass and zip lines a pass to Johan Franzen just in front of Chicago’s blue line. Franzen uses that second-best shot on the team of his to put one bar down on Corey Crawford. Resplendent outlet pass. Responsibility: Jonathan Ericsson (0.5), Johan Franzen (0.5)

12:03 3rd period. 4-1 Red Wings

Zetterberg cleanly loses a faceoff in the Red Wings zone but steps around the centerman and chips the puck past Brent Seabrook to get it out of the zone and create a 3-on-2. Cleary does a great job driving to the net, forcing Nick Leddy to go with him. Zetterberg drops it back to Valtteri Filppula, who cuts to the open space Cleary just opened up for him and gets hit by a backchecking Dave Bolland. Filppula still manages a backhand shot, which squeaks through the five-hole. Crawford probably should have stopped this, but the play was so good we’ll give all the credit to the three guys who made it happen. Responsibility: Henrik Zetterberg (0.33), Dan Cleary (0.33), Valtteri Filppula (0.33)

Your three stars of the game:

1. Henrik Zetterberg (0.83 goals)
2. Jonathan Ericsson (0.5 goals)
3. Johan Franzen (0.5 goals)

Series totals:

Playoff totals:

This throwback photo of Jose Alvarez shows a closer resemblance to the Bag Watcher photo than any other. If there were any doubts Alvarez was our man, they’re gone now.

As May neared its midpoint, we knew the series and pitching matchup we’ve all been hoping for was approaching. No, not Tigers vs. Rangers and Justin Verlander vs. Yu Darvish. I’m talking about Jose Alvarez’s Toledo Mud Hens facing Chris Bootcheck’s Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders.

But the matchup of mound monsters didn’t happen. Jose Alvarez continued his assassination of hitters on Tuesday, going six innings and giving up just two earned runs while striking out seven. Bootcheck pitched the next day. Maybe the pressure of seeing Alvarez’s performance got to him. Maybe he felt like he needed to give his former team a chance to live. Maybe he thought I was going to be in attendance and got nervous. It was his worst performance of the season.

He gave up eight runs on eight hits in just three innings. The good news is that he only walked two (control has always been a weakness) and, due to his ruthless pillaging of the International League before then, his ERA only rose to a still very respectable 3.00. In the three starts between we last met and Wednesday, he pitched 18 innings, gave up four earned runs and walked five while striking out 13. The Bootcheck legend found a new audience. The one hiccup can’t diminish a solid season.

But Alvarez can. He is done with the talk of the previous James Mungro Memorial Award sponsored by (get at me Videxio) winner. He doesn’t have hiccups. Since we last checked in, Alvarez has given up a total of four runs while striking out 24.  His 1.69 ERA is second in the International League.

He turned 24 earlier this month. He has been confirmed as a real person who can give quotes to the newspaper and everything. He is basically the younger, better, Venezuelan version of Chris Bootcheck. So he can do what his counterpart couldn’t, right? He can get a call up to the major leagues?

Well, no. I asked the question to MLive.com’s Chris Iott. Before continuing it’s important to note that while he works with enemy of the blog and master of the fake shoulder surgery James Schmehl, Iott is quite good at his job and seems like a really nice guy. He answered a question about Jose Alvarez after all.

Iott gave it to us straight. Despite the Detroit News saying that the Tigers would stick Jose Alvarez in their rotation “today” if needed, they don’t need him and there are plenty of people in line to make a start before Alvarez. The Tigers also have a pretty good long reliever in Drew Smyly, eliminating the other spot Alvarez could occupy.

But the biggest problem for Alvarez, and Bootcheck for that matter, is that they aren’t on the 40-man roster. To get there the organization has to designate somebody for assignment, opening them up to be claimed on waivers by another team.  It’s going to be tough for Alvarez, and Bootcheck especially, to slither into one of those spots. They have to be so good they render another player in the organization useless. But the Tigers can’t ignore the merciless torching of the International League forever, especially from a guy who just turned 24.

Until Alvarez reaches that can’t-ignore point, there’s not much to do but watch more of the same — and figure out the probable pitching matchups for when the Mud Hens make the trip to Scranton on July 22.

The beginning of the third goal. Dan Carcillo is the Blackhawk in the middle. Somehow, he beats all three Red Wings near him to the puck behind the net.

The Red Wings held out longer than expected, but that game eventually turned into the bus crash you secretly expected it to be. Get ready for the first in what should be a lot of minuses in this series.

Allowed

9:03, 1st period, 1-0 Blackhawks (PP)

Gustav Nyquist takes a hooking penalty. Brendan Smith loses a battle behind the Red Wings net and the Blackhawks get it out to the point. Smith chases out and doesn’t do anything. The puck goes down in the corner to Kyle Quincey who gives it to back to Smith on a pass that may have been intended for Cory Emmerton. Smith fails on his clear, one quick pass to Marian Hossa later and it’s in the net. Responsibility: Gustav Nyquist (0.25), Brendan Smith (0.75)

8:02, 3rd period, 2-1 Blackhawks

Jonathan Ericsson battles in the corner, finally wins the puck and then sends a weak backhand pass up the boards directly to a Blackhawk. The puck comes to Patrick Kane who walks up the boards and draws a puck-watching Dan Cleary to him while Johnny Oduya slips into the slot wide open. Two passes later Oduya puts it off the post and in. Responsibility: Dan Cleary (0.5), Jonathan Ericsson (0.5)

11:23 3rd period, 3-1 Blackhawks

The puck is dumped into the corner and gets caught up on the back of the net. Despite Damien Brunner, Gustav Nyquist and Niklas Kronwall around him, Dan Carcillo beats all of them to puck. Nyquist takes a circuitous route behind the net. Brunner half-heartedly battles for it. Howard tries to hold it against the mesh but fails and gets his stick caught while doing so.

Kindl glides in as the fourth-man into the zone (how a defenseman is the fourth man into the zone, I don’t know), and fails to check for the trailer, Marcus Kruger. Instead, Kindl converges on Michael Frolik, who Kronwall kind of sort of had, and leaves Kruger wide open to find the loose puck and backhand it into the net. This was just horrible defense all around. I’m hesitant to put part of the blame on Jimmy Howard after he stopped 38 shots, but he’s either got to forget about the puck on the net or be strong enough to hold it there and get the whistle. Responsibility: Damien Brunner (0.20), Gustav Nyquist (0.20), Nicklas Kronwall (0.20), Jakub Kindl (0.20), Jimmy Howard (0.20)

Empty nets don’t count.

Scored

10:57 1st period, 1-1 Tied

Jonathan Ericsson takes the puck behind the Red Wings’ own net, fends off a Blackhawk and makes an outlet pass to Gustav Nyquist, who passes cross-ice to Damien Brunner. Brunner takes a shot on net. Nyquist hustles to the rebound and hits the puck towards the net again. It eventually sidles over to Brunner and he smacks it in from the side of the net. Responsibility: Jonathan Ericsson (0.33), Gustav Nyquist (0.33), Damien Brunner (0.33)

Your four least valuable players:

1. Brendan Smith (-0.75 goals)

2. Dan Cleary (-0.5 goals)

3. Nicklas Kronwall (-0.2 goals)

4. Jakub Kindl (-0.2 goals)

Series totals:

Playoff totals:

The Red Wings couldn’t be the pearl of the NHL forever.

That was the prevailing thought after the first lockout. The salary cap would eliminate the Red Wings’ competitive advantage — being able to spend lots and a lots of money. They would regress to the mean. They would, eventually, have to be the ones looking up at the giant.

That time has come.

The 36-7-5 Blackhawks await, the No. 1 seed, the team that swept the Red Wings in the regular-season series.

For the first time since the Red Wings ran off back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998 (and probably even before that), they are severe underdogs in a playoff series. LVH Superbook has the Chicago Blackhawks -340 to win the series. That means you have to bet $340 to win $100. It’s the worst odds of any of the remaining teams. By over 100 points.

Whenever this season comes to an end, it won’t be the same as all those early-round playoff losses to Anaheim and Edmonton and Los Angeles. Those came with the Red Wings as the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in series against what were supposed to be clearly inferior teams. They ran into the hot goalie and some bad luck, squandered a chance at the Cup.

There are no daydreams of a Stanley Cup for this team. For a while it didn’t look like it would ever get a chance to play. But the lockout lifted in January and a few days after it did Mike Babcock gave an interview to the NHL Network. He was asked what effect the 48-game schedule was going to have.

“We’re hoping, like everybody else, to get lucky with injuries,” Babcock said. “You get the wrong people hurt in this business for too long of time, I mean let’s be honest, this year you get a groin pull that’s 10 days, that’s five games. Injuries are going to be significant.”

If it didn’t turn out so badly, Babock would get more credit for being prophetic.

Jakub Kindl, Todd Bertuzzi, Carlo Colaiacovo, Brendan Smith, Jonas Gustavsson and Johan Franzen all wound up on the injured reserve during the season. Darren Helm, who Babcock mentioned in the interview as part of the reason the Red Wings had more depth at forward this year, played just one game.

So with a week to go, the Red Wings sat outside of the playoffs. The season devolved into a simple goal: keep the streak alive. Four wins in the final four games accomplished that.

Now, after a first-round series win, Red Wings fans find themselves as the team that they’ve been burned by so many times before: the overachievers. There is talk about a goalie that just may be capable of stealing a series. Analysts are using words that don’t mean anything to describe the the team, the same words that are used on every year for every club that pulls a significant upset (at least in terms of seeding) in the first round: plucky, scrappy, gritty.

For once the playoffs aren’t six weeks of irritably watching every game and simultaneously expecting disaster but hoping it doesn’t come. They’ve become a fantasy of what could happen if the Red Wings find a way to make it down the road despite facing oncoming traffic.

And you may not want to admit it, but it’s been kind of fun.

This man just won you a series. (clydeorama)

Sure, the Red Wings beating the Ducks was a team effort and every one in the organization contributed, but let’s get past the cliches. Some members of the Red Wings were more responsible for the win than others. It’s not like that social media intern really made a difference in Game 6. Here are the four people you should be building bedroom shrines to, and one more that will get more than that if the Red Wings upset the Blackhawks.

Henrik Zetterberg - Zetterberg led everybody on the Responsibility Chart with a 2.83 rating, a full goal better than anybody else on the team. He single-handedly accounted for 3.08 goals, while allowing just 0.25. The winning team averaged 3.57 goals in the series. Zetterberg was basically solely responsible for one win.

In total, Zetterberg played a part in 10 of his team’s 18 goals and just one of the Ducks’s 21 goals in this series.

Justin Abdelkader and Dan Cleary - Second and third (1.83 and 1.6, respectively) on the Responsibility Chart, they both did one thing well: go to the front of the net. Filling the void left by Tomas Holmstrom is where the two got most of their points, although Abdelkader became better player after the suspension and Put Da Team on his Back with that shorthanded goal in Game 7. If the stars get you to the finals and the grinders get you to the Cup, these two showed the Red Wings might have the roster to do it.

Mike Babcock - Babcock has become the Mike Tyson of coaching. Before the opponent even steps in the ring they’re scared of him. Take what Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau told the Detroit Free Press before Game 7.

“You’re always looking at the other bench and at who they’re putting on, who is not playing as well for you as you think, and maybe making changes,” Bodreau said. “You try to think three steps ahead, but it’s difficult.

“I know at the end of each of these games, I’m pretty whipped. That tells me I’m having to do more thinking than I really want to do. And besides, when you’re trying to match wits with Mike (Babcock), who has been in every pressure situation in the world, it’s not the easiest thing.”

To simply 92 words into five: Babcock was in his head.

It became most apparent in Game 7. Babcock knew the Red Wings had little chance if they fell behind early, so he kept Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the same line for warmups, then split them up to start the game. Bodreau overreacted and split up Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The Red Wings out shoot the Ducks 7-1 in the first five minutes of the game and score the game’s first goal.

Babcock hit Bodreau with body shots like those the entire series.

What about Jimmy Howard? - Well, Game 3 was his only bad game of the series, when he conceded two soft goals in the 4-0 loss. The only other goal he was partially responsible for was Emerson Etem’s goal in Game 7, but Etem was allowed to power slide around three Red Wings and take a wide-open shot in that situation.

My Responsibility Chart has Howard at -1.31 in the series — fourth worst on the team. The system, however, skews negatively towards defensive players and especially Howard for a simple reason: Howard can’t score any goals. All he can do is wrack up the negative points.

His save percentage is up 23 percentage points (from .888 to .911) from last year’s five-game series loss to Nashville. He has made a number above-average to spectacular stops, including a Corey Perry-to-Ryan Getzlaf connection in Game 7 that would have mutated everything. But he didn’t exactly pull a ‘I put da team on my back’ series though.

Among the 15 goalies that played four or more games in this first round, Howard’s .911 save percentage is tied for 11th, second worst among the eight conference semifinalist goalies.*

Howard has been good. But as the Red Wings face the Blackhawks, they need something beyond that. For once they need the goalie who keeps the puck out of the net on every scramble, the one that makes it obvious for all the analysts that this is the year’s ‘hot’ goalie. The Red Wings need Jean-Sebastien Gigure with the Ducks, or Curtis Joseph with the Oilers.   Howard has been good enough  put himself in position to be that goalie. But he isn’t that yet.

*(Marc-Andre Fleury’s has a .891 save percentage.)

The puck’s path on what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

(A full series recap is coming later.Also,  the James Mungro Memorial Award Update has been pushed to later in the week.)

No long intros. No short intros. No intros at all except this one telling you that there won’t be any intros. So, I guess this is actually a short intro. So one short intro. I’m confused. Moving on to the numbers.

Allowed

This is essentially a power play goal since Kyle Quincey got out of the box four seconds before the goal went in. Emerson Etem gets the puck in the neutral zone, two steps by Valtteri Filppula and shoots the puck into the zone. It’s not a good dump in and hits Carlo Colaiacovo right on the stick. Colaiacovo can’t control it and gives  it back to Etem, who takes the puck, gets away from Filppula again, steps around a diving Jakub Kindl and beats Jimmy Howard short side. Howard’s angle is way off here. Not sure Kindl needed to go down, but he was taking away the pass to the man driving to the front so it’s semi-excusable. Responsibility: Carlo Colaiacovo (0.25), Valtteri Filppula (0.25), Jimmy Howard (0.25), Kyle Quincey (0.25)

Henrik Zetterberg takes a delay of game penalty. Anaheim misses a shot on the power play, Francois Beauchemin beats Joakim Andersson to the puck and fires it on net, where it hits Jonathan Ericsson in the skate and goes in. Ericsson was literally standing in the crease, not really covering anybody. Responsibility: Henrik Zetterberg (0.25), Jonathan Ericsson (0.25), Joakim Andersson (0.25), luck (0.25)

Scored

Filppula takes a low hard shot on net from the top of the circle. Dan Cleary has a good screen in front. Jonas Hiller makes the save with his pad and kicks it out to the slot where Zetterberg comes in and snaps it into the net. Responsibility: Valtteri Filppula (0.33), Dan Cleary (0.33), Henrik Zetterberg (0.33)

(Shorthanded) Justin Abdelkader picks off a D-to-D pass, gets a breakaway, goes backhand-forehand-five hole. Moist. Responsibility: Justin Abdelkader (1)

Zetterberg wins the faceoff. A shot from the point goes to the half board. Cleary chases it down and chops it to Zetterberg in the corner. Zetteberg gives a backhand pass back to Cleary who — either intentionally or unintentionally depending on how skilled you think he is — taps it between his legs to Filppula, who puts a quick shot on net. Goal. Responsibility: Henrik Zetterberg (0.33), Dan Cleary (0.33), Valtteri Filppula (0.33)

Your three four stars:

1. Justin Abdelkader (1 goal)

2. Dan Cleary (0.66 goals)

3T. Henrik Zetterberg (0.41 goals)

3T. Valtteri Filppula (0.41 goals)

Two solid plays on the forecheck leads to a turnover and the Red Wings’ third goal

So what did the Red Wings need to stay alive, despite getting some bad luck and giving away a two goal lead with four minutes to go? Just Henrik Zetterberg playing the game of his life and Justin Abdelkader returning to the lineup and going to the net. The two players combined for nearly two full goals by themselves on Friday night.

Allowed

Kyle Quincey throws a sloppy pass in the neutral zone directly to Emerson Etem. Etem gives to Kyle Palmieri, who takes a wrist shot that hits the post, bounces of Brendan Smith and goes into the net. Not much Smith could have done. Responsibility: Kyle Quincey (0.5), luck (0.5)

Valtteri Filppula gets the puck after an errant Anaheim shot, takes it behind his own net — then gives a drop pass to nobody. The puck bounces off the boards and right to Etem on the back door who deposits in the net. Responsibility: Valterri Filppula (1)

The puck is dumped into the Red Wings zone and Brendan Smith immediately loses a battle with Corey Perry. Quincey trips over Perry’s stick and/or Perry trips Quincey. The puck comes to half boards and is thrown on net, where Smith is left to battle with two guys as Pavel Datysuk meanders into the play late and goes straight for the puck instead of the third man down low. Bobby Ryan eventually scoops in a rebound. Responsibility: Brendan Smith (0.5), Pavel Datsyuk (0.5)

Scored

Pavel Datsyuk gets to a missed shot and pokes it into the corner. Zetterberg picks up the puck, protects it as David Steckel hits him, then makes a backhand pass to Datsyuk. One dangle. Two dangles. Lace. Nice screen by Abdelkader in front. Responsibility: Justin Abdelkader (0.33), Pavel Datsyuk (0.33), Henrik Zetterberg (0.33)

(Power Play) Henrik Zetterberg takes a wide-open slap shot from the left side. Good screen by Johan Franzen. Responsibility: Henrik Zetterberg (0.5), Johan Franzen (0.5)

Dan Cleary dumps the puck into the Anaheim zone and then gets on the forecheck. Filppula is the second man in on the forecheck, forces the turnover and takes a weak shot wide. Justin Abdelkader chases it down and throws it on net. It hits Cleary and goes in. Responsibility: Dan Cleary (0.33), Valtteri Filppula (0.33), Justin Abdelkader (0.33)

Datsyuk wins the faceoff and Henrik Zetteberg comes in in support to get it back to Nicklas Kronwall. Kronwall fakes the slap shot, which draws a Duck to him and leaves an open space for a pass to Zetterberg. Just like the second goal, Zetterberg takes a wide-open slap shot from the left side. This time Abdelkader has the good screen in front. The result is the same. Goal. Game 7. Responsibility: Pavel Datysuk (0.25), Nicklas Kronwall (0.25), Henrik Zetteberg (0.25), Justin Abdelkader (0.25)

Your three stars:

1. Henrik Zetterberg (0.98 goals)

2. Justin Abdelkader (0.91 goals)

3. Johan Franzen (0.5 goals)

Series totals:

Seconds before the game winner. Joakim Andersson stares at Nick Bonino, but reaches his stick out instead of moving his feet to cover him.

Game 5 was a game of interchanging periods of domination, good goaltending, plenty of chances and plenty of blame to be spread around. Head to your torch and pitchfork store, because you need to load up on supplies.

Allowed

Cory Emmerton loses the faceoff, Kyle Palmieri picks up the puck. Patrick Eaves follows. As Palmieri turns and shoots a wrister, Eaves does a strange little shake move, to actually get out of Palmieri’s way. Anywho, the puck  finds it’s way through the four people screening Jimmy Howard and into the net. Responsibility: Cory Emmerton (0.5), Patrick Eaves (0.5)

Brendan Smith takes a holding penalty. Getzlaf gets a long pass, glides into the zone, waits, waits, waits, and finally puts it past Jimmy Howard. Joakim Andersson is backchecking and has Perry, but pulls off him and glides towards Getzlaf. That leads to Nicklas Kronwall staying back to account for the pass to Perry instead of challenging Getzlaf. Responsibility: Brendan Smith (0.5), Joakim Andersson (0.5).

Brian Lashoff gets walked in the corner by Ben Lovejoy. BEN LOVEJOY. Lovejoy steps out of the corner and dishes to Nick Bonino backdoor, who Andersson doesn’t pick up. Game over. Series one game from being over. Season one game from being over. Responsibility: Brian Lashoff (0.5), Joakim Andersson (0.5)

Scored 

(Power Play). Henrik Zetterberg with great control of the puck down in the corner, spins off a guy or two and dishes to Johan Franzen, who tries to throw it back door to Pavel Datsyuk. The pass hits an Anaheim defenseman’s skate and goes on net. Franzen beats Jonas Hiller to the puck sitting on the goal line and taps it in. Responsibility: Henrik Zetterberg (0.33), Johan Franzen (0.33), luck (0.33)

Datsyuk wins a battle for the puck in the defensive zone, comes up the boards and gets tripped. While on the ice, Datsyuk slides it to Zetterberg, who fires it low far side forcing Hiller to kick the rebound out to his left, where Samuelsson is waiting to bang it in. Responsibility: Pavel Datsyuk (0.33), Henrik Zetterberg (0.33), Mikael Samuelsson (0.33).

Your four non-stars from Wednesday’s game: 

1. Joakim Andersson (-1 goals)
2. Brian Lashoff (-0.5 goals)
3. Cory Emmerton (-0.5 goals)
4. Patrick Eaves (-0.5 goals)

Series totals:

The moment before the moment

No wasting time. By now you know what’s happening.

The guide to who’s responsible for the Red Wings’ Game 4 overtime win, in easy to decipher fashion.

Allowed

The puck gets dumped into the zone, Kyle Quincey and Matt Belesky each go for the puck and cancel each other out. Brendan Smith picks up the puck, puts it directly into Quincey’s feet and loses it behind the net. Andrew Cogliano gets the puck and flips it to Matt Belesky, who get stopped one, whiffs once, then turns around and scores. Responsibility: Brendan Smith (1).

Jakub Kindl separates Kyle Palmieri from the puck. Etem picks up the puck in the corner. Lashoff hits him behind the net. Kindl doesn’t stay with Palmieri, who picks up the puck and throws it on net. Lashoff runs into Jimmy Howard, creating a weird rebound that kicks over to the back door. David Steckel sneaks behind Gustav Nyquist and taps it in. Responsibility: Jakub Kindl (0.33), Brian Lashoff (0.33), Gustav Nyquist (0.33).

Scored

Kyle Quincey lets a shot go from the point, which is stopped. Joakim Andersson wins a battle in front to poke the puck into the corner. Cleary picks up the puck and makes a great pass to Smith, who takes a slap shot that bounces twice and finds a way into the back of the net. Responsibility: Joakim Andersson (0.33), Dan Cleary (0.33), Brendan Smith (0.33).

Pavel Datsyuk takes the pass, carries the puck across the neutral zone and into the Anaheim zone. Snipe City. Responsibility: Pavel Datsyuk (1).

Lashoff knocks Daniel Winnik down, freeing up the puck. Kindl makes a nice pass to Andersson, who hits  hits Nyquist streaking up the middle. Hiller poke checks, Nyquist kind of gets a shot off before tumbling into the corner. Damien Brunner swoops in and buries the rebound. Responsibility: Brian Lashoff (0.20), Jakub Kindl (0.20) Joakim Andersson (0.20), Gustav Nyquist (0.20), Damien Brunner (0.20).

Your three Red Wings stars of the game, based on the numbers.

1. Pavel Datsyuk (+1 goal)
2.  Joakim Andersson (+0.53 goals)
3. Dan Cleary (+0.33 goals)

Series totals: