After a hard fought game one, both teams came out hard in game two. The Blackhawks were looking to go back to Chicago with a split from the first two games in Detroit. The Red Wings were looking to end the series before it really got going.

Chicago 2 @ Detroit 3 (OT) – You can’t stop them, you can only hope to contain them. In a game that was eerily similar to their game one matchup, the Red Wings prevailed in a closely fought game and now head to Chicago with the Blackhawks needing to win four of the next five games to win the series.

Like game one, the Blackhawks took the lead early. Jonathan Toews banked a shot in off Jonathan Ericsson’s skate on the power play to give Chicago the first lead of the game. It wasn’t long before Detroit tied it up when a Brian Rafalski slap shot found its way through a crowd and into the back of the net to knot things up. The second period had only one goal, like game one. This time, Dan Cleary took off on a breakaway and snapped one by Nikolai Khabibulin. You may have heard this story before but the Hawks tied the game up in the third. Jonathan Toews scored his second of the game past the midway point of the period to tie the game at deuces. Unlike game one, Detroit wasn’t able to pull away from the tie and we found ourselves heading to overtime. Just over five minutes into extra time, Mikael Samuelsson forced a Brian Campbell turnover and got the puck to Jiri Hudler. A Detroit three-on-one ended with a tic-tac-toe play of Hudler to Valtteri Filppula to Samuelsson and in.

In between the posts, the two veteran netminders put on a clinic that aspiring goaltenders should keep on tape. Khabibulin made 35 saves in the losing effort while Chris Osgood made 37 saves for the win.

This had to be a demoralizing loss for the Hawks. They went into this game with a must win attitude, believing that a chance at the next round hinged on getting a split from the first two games. While they played well enough to beat most teams in the first two games, the Wings have another gear that Chicago has yet to find. They need a boost from the home fans and carry that through sixty minutes if they want to take game three.

Detroit leads the series 2-0

Three Stars of the Night:
1. Jonathan Toews (Chicago)
2. Mikael Samuelsson (Detroit)
3. Dan Cleary (Detroit)

Thursday’s Schedule:
Carolina at Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh leads the series 1-0 (TV: TSN, Versus)