The Detroit Red Wings drew first blood in Anaheim for Game 5 of their series with the Anaheim Ducks, a series where home ice advantage has meant little. But the Ducks tied it on Kyle Palmieri's goal with 2:19 left in the first period, sending the teams to the first intermission tied at 1-1.
Ducks vs. Red Wings Game 5 update: Teams exchange first-period goals
Franzen received a lucky bounce, Palmieri had a seeing-eye shot.
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Johan Franzen opened scoring on a Red Wings thanks to a little bit of good fortune, sending the puck to the crease where it bounced off the Ducks defense past Jonas Hiller:
Palmieri equalized off of a faceoff win, corralling the puck at the top of the slot and sending it through five bodies to elude Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard:
The teams traded goals as well as power plays, though the Ducks' penalties were of a particular variety: Both Corey Perry and Saku Koivu were called within the first six minutes of the game for goalie interference. Perry is a noted crease crasher with a reputation for running goalies, but Koivu isn't known for that sort of thing.
Regardless, neither incident was particularly egregious, however. Koivu just sort of landed on Howard after battling in front, while Perry was backed into Howard while tussling with Jonathan Ericsson. Already being called for a penalty, Perry got his money's worth by crowding Howard with his skate between the goalie's legs.
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