Vs. BOSTON

@ Fleet Center. Boston, Massachusetts. Attendance: 17,565
Game 1 of 1 Vs. Boston (1-0) Wings win series

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Wings tank Sharks, 4-3


By Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

    SAN JOSE -- At first, Brendan Shanahan was disappointed in himself. Shanahan had just made a great play stripping Mike Rathje of the puck off a faceoff. He went in on a breakaway, but after firing his shot on goalie Steve Shields thought he missed the goal.
    "I thought I hit a post," said Shanahan, who momentarily turned his head in disgust and got into position to backcheck. "Then I saw all these guys headed my way."
    The only thing Shanahan hit was the back of the net. The puck whistled past Shields giving the Wings a 4-3 lead in the third period they kept in an entertaining, playoff-like game Monday.
    "It was a good hockey game," said Shanahan, whose two goals on the night give him 19 for the season. "We had more jump tonight. Even after the first period (the Wings trailed 1-0) we felt we could upgrade."
    That the Wings did, thanks to Shanahan's two goals, another steady effort from goalie Manny Legace, and dumb San Jose penalties and defensive plays.
    "The calls and their goalie were the difference," Sharks Coach Darryl Sutter said.
    Legace faced 32 shots, gave up two breakaway goals to Owen Nolan (who has 25 goals for the season), but turned aside Nolan at least two other times.
    "I played against Owen before (in junior)," said Legace, 4-0 with the Wings. "I know him. Right now, he's playing unbelievable. He can be the total package."
    "Manny gave us a chance to win," Coach Scotty Bowman said. "There were lots of scoring chances. I thought both goalies just played outstanding tonight."
    Tomas Holmstrom and Sergei Fedorov (power play) also scored for the Red Wings.
    Alex Korolyuk scored the other Sharks goal.
    Fedorov's goal, 35 seconds into the third period with the Sharks two men down, gave the Wings a 3-2 lead before Nolan scored his second of the game to tie it again.
    "It was important to come out and score that power-play goal," Bowman said. "Often it can go the other way and the other team gets a big lift out of killing off the two-man advantage."
   
   

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