Red Wings Vs. Sharks, Game 7: Henrik Zetterberg Closes San Jose Lead To One Goal After Second

The San Jose Sharks are twenty minutes away from avoiding the worst choke they experienced in the history of the franchise. They also have a one goal lead to protect in the process.

The Detroit Red Wings kept the puck in the offensive zone for most of the second period. They created a handful of chances early including a good shot from Niklas Kronwall in the slot area at the 6:28 mark of the period and another good chance from Dan Cleary in front of the net two minutes later.

Even though the Red Wings were creating all of the chances early in the second period, the Sharks were able to draw the only penalty of the period at the 10:45 mark of the period. The Sharks were able to get some scoring chances, but the Red Wings kept the momentum of the period with a 2 on 1 chance featuring Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves and killing the powerplay.

Henrik Zetterberg scored the first and only Wings goal in the period shortly after the Wings killed the Sharks powerplay at the 13:10 mark of the period. Zetterberg was able to score on his backhand through a crowd as Antti Niemi just missed the puck on the blocker side. The lone assist on the goal came from Valtteri Filppula.

The Red Wings lost their second player of the game as Dan Cleary ran into Jiri Hudler essentially headfirst and then had his head bounce off the ice as well. Cleary was helped off the ice by teammates and will most likely not return to this game.

The Red Wings pretty much dominated play for much of the second and that showed in the shot totals as the Red Wings outshot the Sharks 17-6 in the period. Antti Niemi made a handful of impressive saves to keep the Sharks lead at one goal, but the Sharks offense needs to stop playing on their heels or the Red Wings are going to complete the comeback in this game.