Nashville at Detroit - Game Four Scoring Chances

Game Three saw the Red Wings in control for much of the contest, but that was to be expected with the Predators playing most of the game with a one or two-goal lead. This game saw a lot more action with the score tied, but it didn't feel all that much different. The ice was tilted, but goaltending made the difference. A closer look at Game Four after the jump.

The Game:

Some Thoughts:

First off, I'd just like to say that Kevin Weekes and Mark Lee are generally pretty brutal. But Lee really got me angry in this one. After a huge hit by Niklas Kronwall, Lee says, "Kronwall walloped Hemsky; remember that back in early February in Edmonton?" Actually, I'd forgotten. But thanks for the reminder!

Anyroad, this was the second straight game where there was a complete shellacking for the home team, and as I mentioned in the opening, this one didn't have Nashville in front most of the way, but the Red Wings still lost. Down 3-1 with two games left on the road is a particularly unenviable place to be, especially since, as we've seen, the Red Wings do much better when they have better control of the match-ups, and get more ice time for Datsyuk (+7 -1) against a wider variety of Nashville's lineup and let Henrik Zetterberg take some of the extra time against Nashville's top guns.

Still, it's hard to say that the Red Wings were unlucky. Nashville had a goal disallowed on the always-frustrating "intention to blow the whistle" rule. The difference was clearly between the pipes. Jimmy Howard was uninspiring (and at times poor, though the one really bad goal was disallowed), while Pekka Rinne was phenomenal. Goaltending matters, and Rinne has just been better.