clean breakouts like the one shown above. Instead, Boston forced Detroit to play along the boards, forcing the Wings to play physical. After the Wings recovered the puck, the Bruins would shift to a relentless forecheck that prevented Detroit from setting up and building up speed. At the same time, Boston sent more men to the front of the net as they noticed that Jimmy Howard was giving up a lot of rebounds in the first game. This led to Boston scoring two quick goals in the first period. The Wings made an adjustment in the second period to counter this aggressive forecheck. Check out this image from a breakout in the second period of Game 2.

In this image you can see how the lead forward in themistake which led to numerous odd-man rushes. The Wings were playing too fast and Boston just let the game come to them. Game 4 saw Detroit play a much better game, but unfortunately they broke down in overtime and allowed wave after wave of offensive chances. The insertion of Todd Bertuzzi and the return of Henrik Zetterberg were key for the powerplay as the Wings finally scored a powerplay goal, but in the end, the Bruins depth overwhelmed them. Julien was extremely smart to continue to roll four lines in the third period while Babcock shortened his bench. When the game switched to overtime, guys like Carl Soderberg, Shawn Thornton, and Gregory Campbell wreaked havoc because they had the fresher legs.

Detroit’s Gameplan Moving Forward

The Wings are facing elimination