May 18, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith (2) celebrates with teammates including Henrik Zetterberg (40) after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period of game two of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Redemption was the front page story of today’s game…at least for one of the teams playing. The Detroit Red Wings gave as good as they got from the Chicago Blackhawks in game 1 and traded a 4-1 victory back to them at the United Center. Several players who were much maligned or just plain sucked earlier in the postseason turned in remarkable performances. Brendan Smith turned in a goal and three shots tonight after playing the goat for much of the last series, Valtteri Filppula scored a highlight-reel goal and had 18:05 of ice time in which he was -NOT- a liability unlike the past few games, and Johan Franzen finally showed some of the playoff fire he’s famous for, after coming into the game with 3 goals and a -7 rating in 8 games. The team that looked like it could have been swept after game one came out and outplayed, outpossessed, and outshot (30-20) a Chicago team that looked surprised by the intensity of Detroit’s play.

The tilt didn’t start off as well as it ended, however. Chicago came out of the gate into the first period dominating and hemming Detroit into their own zone. The Zetterberg line in particular was heavily outmatched by Chicago’s trio of Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Brandon Saad. However, it was the second line of Patrick Sharp, Michal Handzus, and Patrick Kane that made Detroit pay. Brendan Smith mishandled a clearing attempt and fell over at Chicago’s blue line, which resulted in a 3-on-1 against – sigh – Kyle Quincey. Cleary attempted a backcheck and did a good job of blocking Sharp’s original pass, but the puck bounced off him and right to Handzus, who fed it over to Kane who made the score 1-0 with his first playoff goal in over two years.

Despite looking invigorated from being scored against, Detroit wasn’t able to equalize until the second period, from a deflection courtesy of Damien Brunner off a Jakub Kindl point shot; Kindl made a great play to keep that puck and send it toward the net – he’s finally starting to show the maturity and patience with the puck that everyone expected when the Wings drafted him 19th overall in 2005. Kindl wasn’t the only recent first round pick to shine in the second period though; Brendan Smith stepped in to join a rush at the end of the period and tapped in a Zetterberg pass to put Detroit ahead by 1 going into the third period.

Thankfully, Detroit’s third period fortunes seem to have turned, as they continued to dominate the game at both ends of the ice and wound up with two goals for and none against to show for it. The first one came off the stick of Johan Franzen, who showcased his beautiful snap shot with a blast that rocketed over the glove of Chicago goalie Corey Crawford. The Mule can be as dominant as any player in the league when he gets angry, so hopefully the ire of that game 1 loss doesn’t leave him for game 3 on Monday. Goal #2 came from another underachieving forward in Valtteri Filppula, who scored an amazing highlight reel goal from his knees to cap off scoring at 4-1. Good game.

But where does this leave Detroit?

The Wings have essentially nullified Chicago’s home ice advantage by defeating them so thoroughly at the United Center, but they absolutely NEED to win both games at home if they want to take this series. I highly doubt Chicago will play this badly again at home, so it’s imperative that Detroit takes advantage of being at home while they still can. Tonight was a big step though, as the team showed that they can stick with and dominate the apparently-superior Hawks.

Thanks for reading, and go Wings! Follow me on twitter: @dzkefalas

May 8, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (35) falls into the net after colliding with Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf (15) during the second period in game five of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Considering the Detroit Red Wings had won both of the previous two games that had gone to overtime, you would be excused for thinking they had the Anaheim Ducks right where they wanted them on Wednesday night when the teams left the ice at the end of regulation tied 2-2.

This time though, things didn’t sick to the script. Less than two minutes into the extra period, Ducks center Nick Bonino found the back of the net, giving Anaheim a 3-2 edge in this Western Conference first round series and sending some undoubtedly nervous fans at the Honda Center home happy.

The Ducks needed to rally twice from a goal down to put themselves in position for some late night drama. Johan Franzen opened the scoring in the first period, putting the Red Wings up 1-0 a the 5:28 mark with a shot that deflected past Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. Kyle Palmieri evened things up for the hosts before the first break, spinning and firing a shot by a screened Jimmy Howard.

Hiller and Howard took turns stealing the show in the first half of the second period, matching each other save for save. Much maligned Red Wings forward Mikael Samuelsson finally broke the deadlock, converting a rebound of a Henrik Zetterberg shot to make it 2-1 Detroit with 9:52 left in the second.

The Red Wings had a glorious chance to extend the lead when Daniel Winnik had his “Justin Abdelkader moment,” receiving a five-minute major for boarding Dan Cleary (who did return to the game). But the Ducks killed off 4:11 with hardly any real chances on goal before drawing a holding call on Brendan Smith. Ryan Getzlaf scored on the ensuing power play, knotting the game a 2-2.

Both teams had their chances to end things in regulation. Anaheim had a puck cross the Detroit goal line early in the third only to see it waived off when it was ruled someone pushed Howard into the net. The Red Wings’ young combo of Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson created a late chance off of a 3-on-2, but Howard still had to stone Corey Perry – something that hasn’t been a problem in this series – one last time to send the game to OT.

Detroit had an early sniff of the Anaheim end, but it was over not long after that. Defenseman Ben Lovejoy was able to work he puck out of the corner to Howard’s left, and his pass made it all the way across the crease to Bonino, who beat Andersson to the spot and had a relatively easy shot to score the game-winner.

Hiller turned away 29 of 31 Detroit shots to get the win, while Howard was once again probably the Red Wings’ best player, making 31 saves of his own. Anaheim also had a huge edge in physical play, outhitting Detroit 32-19.

With a big opportunity to seize control of the series now gone, the Red Wings will turn their focus to holding serve at home on Friday night. Game time is 8 pm at Joe Louis Arena.

The game was over when…

The Red Wings failed to score on the Winnik major. Actually, that’s putting it too lightly. They turned in one of the worst five-minute man advantages in recent memory, getting few shots on goal and showing very little urgency. The Ducks’ penalty killers deserve a lot of credit too, but the only thing worse would have been giving up a shorthanded goal against – and really, Getzlaf’s goal on a power play created during the major was practically the same thing.

The unsung Red Wings hero was…

This might not be a popular pick since fans want him to score more, but Valtteri Filppula did his part to keep the team within striking distance. He logged the most ice time of any forward, was the only Red Wing above 50 percent in the faceoff circle, and he even got credited with two hits. Yes, they need production out of him, but it’s not like he’s not trying.