Detroit – Sunday afternoon was the first test of youth vs. veterans, but in the first period it would be Chicago’s Adam Burish going in on Chris Osgood and getting an unassisted goal. That would be the first of many players using their individual skills. Not to be outdone, however, were the veteran Detroit Redwings. Dan Cleary would answer Chicago’s Burish, and tie the game at 1 with an unassisted goal that developed into a trend on Sunday as we would see Johan Franzen do the same thing. He motored in on goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and put the puck through his five-hole, giving the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. The pesky Blackhawks would not go away as they tied the game right back up at 2 on a goal by Kris Versteeg (who is the leading rookie scorer in the playoffs). Then, here came the Motor City boys like a well- oiled machine. The Blackhawks had no answer as the Red Wings stepped on the gas and pulled away. The first goal came off the stick of Mikael Samuelsson as he revved past Khabibulin. The motor wasn’t done yet, as Cleary put the key in the ignition again and fired the puck home. The Red Wings made sure that the Blackhawks wouldn’t get any thoughts of scalping or tying the game with a final empty-net goal by Henrik Zetterberg. Game 2 can be seen on Versus, Tuesday night at 6:00 pm.
