What was looking like a possible sweep earlier this week in the Detroit-Nashville Western Conference quarterfinal suddenly is a 2-2 dogfight, one that includes a possible goalie controversy on the team with the NHL's best record.
For the first 176 minutes of this series, the Red Wings never trailed. Then Jason Arnott scored late in the third period of Game 3. Since then, the Wings have trailed for approximately 59 of 64 minutes.
And now Red Wings goalie Dominik Hasek, who was pulled during Wednesday's Game 4 loss in Nashville, will head to the bench and Chris Osgood will start Friday night's Game 5 in Motown, with Detroit the sizable money line betting favorite (over/under: 5) on WagerWeb.com.
Said Detroit coach Mike Babcock: "The puck didn't hit him (Hasek) in Nashville. The bottom line is we've done this all year long. Ozzie's been very good for us. I thought Ozzie played well. So that's what we're doing. I just told Dom to get on the ice, get some work done, and get your game back. We plan on having a long run here, so be ready. Plan B is Chris Osgood and he won 29 games and had the best goals-against average in the NHL, didn't him."
Hasek, who gave up three goals on 14 shots Wednesday, was diplomatic about his demotion. "Friday is an important game and Ozzie's going to be in. I don't want to look too far ahead. Now is Ozzie's time. We'll see how we play and what's going to happen."
The Red Wings played Osgood in 43 regular-season games and Hasek in 41, but Babcock had planned only to play the six-time Vezina Trophy winner in the playoffs."I'm 100 percent ready," Osgood said.
When asked if Osgood should now be considered the No. 1 goalie, Babcock said, "The truth today isn't the truth tomorrow. The bottom line is Ozzie has an opportunity and we'll see what he does with it."
Babcock also said there might be changes made to the lineup, including the forwards: "There might be."
The Predators have had no such goalie problems, as Dan Ellis was the No. 1 star in Wednesday's 3-2 victory. The Wings wound up throwing 41 shots on the Nashville net, but Ellis, making just his fourth career playoff start, turned away 39.
"It feels outstanding, coming back from a series when it looked like we were down and out,' Ellis said. "We battled back in front of the home crowd and used them as an energy boost. We believe in ourselves.'
In addition, the Preds are getting some unlikely scoring: defensemen have produced 14 of Nashville's 26 points.
"Our 'D' has really been ripping pucks," Ellis said.
In order to grab a series lead, the Predators will have win a road playoff game on Friday night, something Nashville has yet to do in nine attempts over four seasons: 0-4 in two series against San Jose and now 0-5 in two series against Detroit.
Betting trends: Under is 7-3-1 in Predators' last 11 games. ... Wings are 211-76-16 in their last 303 home games. ... Predators are 6-26-2 in the last 34 meetings in Detroit. ... Predators are 5-11 in the last 16 meetings.
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