Detroit Red Wings play host to San Jose Sharks at Joe Louis Arena – Game 3, NHL playoffs
The Joe Louis Arena will be busy this Wednesday as Detroit Red Wings will be hosting San Jose Sharks in the third game of the series.
The Sharks played the two games on home ice and became one of the few teams to use this advantage to the fullest.
The Sharks were not as dominating as expected but still they managed to come up with two 2-1 decisions in their favour. The first game saw the Sharks winning 2-1 in overtime while the second was won in regulation time to put them into a 2-0 series lead.
The Red Wings are in desperate need of a win and with the home ice advantage, they have strong chances of doing so. However, if they cannot manage a win, then the Red Wings are in a lot of trouble. Another fact that should be kept in mind is that the Sharks
have been relentless while playing on away ice in the regular season.
However, they have not been able to continue the same dominance in the playoffs but still they are in a good position to notch up a win to move one step closer to the Western Conference finals.
The Sharks boast tons of talent and experience. They are guided up front with players like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau with Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray guarding the goal in the defence line. Murray has a huge physical presence in the team with his
240-pound body and is appreciated by quite a lot of players.
“He’s a huge body,” Marleau told the Sharks’ website. “He keeps the forwards on their toes because they know he’s out there. He can step up in the neutral zone and lay a big bone crushing hit as well. He likes the rough stuff and doesn’t shy away from it.
He goes towards it and makes guys uncomfortable.”
It has been touch and go between the two teams in the series so far but the disappointing thing for the Red Wings is that they have been on the losing end on the two occasions. The Red Wings offence has not been able to provide the same productivity as the
Sharks that has resulted in two losses in the opening two games.
“I want our forwards to spend more time in the offensive zone with sustained pressure,” Coach Mike Babcock said after Tuesday’s practice. “And we can backcheck harder. We can be harder all over -- all our forwards. That has nothing to do with who's playing.”
The Red Wings will be expecting a good performance from players like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk as they look to make their way back into the semi-final series that they trail by 2-0.
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