Very few things in sports are as exciting as a playoff hockey game that goes into overtime. Fans of both teams are sitting on the edge of the seat and hanging on every move of the puck. They live and die on every shot, pass and save that is made during the extra time. Of course, one thing that separates playoff overtime in hockey from other sports is the rules are different than the regular season. In the regular season, when a game goes into overtime, the two teams play four on four in a five-minute period to decide the winner. If no winner is determined, then the game goes into a shootout. In the playoffs, both teams play five on five and there is no time limit. You play until there is a goal scored.
In game 4 of their Western Conference playoff series, the Detroit Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks needed extra time to decide the winner. Detroit, playing at home, did not want to go back to Anaheim trailing 3-1. Riding the back of their goalie, Jimmy Howard, Detroit was able to tie up the best-of-seven series at two games each. Howard allowed two goals and made 33 saves. Equally impressive was his counterpart, Jonas Hiller — who stopped 49 shots for the Ducks.
The overtime period saw Detroit spending a lot of time in the attacking zone. There was one part of the overtime where Detroit kept the puck in the zone and kept attacking the goalie with shot after shot. The Ducks tried clearing the zone but could not get the puck out. It was Hiller that kept Anaheim in the game with a shot to win. The final goal wasn’t really one you could put on him either. After stopping a break-a-way chance, nobody from the Ducks picked up Damien Brunner who was there to put the puck into the back of the net.
With the win, Detroit has guaranteed at least one more game at home. If they can manage to pull out a win in Anaheim on Wednesday night, there is a chance they can close out the series at home. For now, though, the Red Wings are happy to have tied the series. In hockey, one win can be the momentum change needed to swing a series.
Greg Higgins is a hockey contributor to www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greghiggins457, “Like” him on Facebook, and add him to your network on Google.
