Game 3 of this series was marked by what the Red Wings didn't do.
Poor defensive decisions and mistakes abounded from a team that couldn't afford it against a disciplined opponent.
Not so tonight.
Tonight was the scrappy, scrambling, and swarming Wings' defense of their championship years.
The Wings are not a defensive team that intimidates with size and power; they beat you with smarts and technique.
They hit, but they pick their spots, usually using superior positioning and knowledge to get the pressure off and to transition into the attack.
You could never beat just one defender. There was always someone else, and even if you could crack the defense, the backcheck from some of the best defensive forwards in the league came to the rescue.
Detroit scored three goals, but all it needed was one—that was how complete the defensive play was that the Red Wings threw at the Coyotes.
Gone was the lackadaisical, passive approach two nights ago. No more letting the Coyotes have the zone while the defensemen fell back.
The moment the puck crossed the blue l ...
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Article written by Thomas Knapp
That’s More Like it: Detroit Red Wings Tie Series with Defensive Effort
April 20th, 2010 by Thomas Knapp Leave a reply »
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