A Good Start (Wings 4, Avs 3)

The Red Wings opened the series with a 4-3 victory over Colorado. The beginning appeared almost like it could have been a blowout, as the Wings took a 4-1 lead and the allegedly sick Jose Theodore was pulled in favor of Peter Budaj, but the team started to let the lead slip away from them as the game kept going, which left fans on the edge of their seats throughout the latter half.

I only caught the third period (I turned on the radio on my way home to Ken Kal praising Andreas Lilja's play, which I took as a good sign, considering some of his earlier gaffs) after getting home from class, and thus I didn't actually see any of the goals, but the hockey I saw was a much closer, tighter game, as predicted. Ryan Smyth looked incredible, and, like I noted earlier, the line of he and David Jones created a whole lot of great chances. Luckily for the Wings, Chris Osgood stood tall and made some incredible saves, and Johan Franzen hasn't forgotten his recently acquiring incredible scoring touch.

The atmosphere at the Joe looked awesome, and it's clear that people are really excited for this series. What I caught of this game was some fun hockey to watch, and I hope that keeps up throughout the series, whatever the final result (although, of course, go Wings!)

For a reaction from someone who caught the whole game, check out Joe Hass' liveblog over at Behind the Jersey.