THIRD PERIOD

Highlight Reel: Detroit is rocking along with the 1-0 lead, not really being threatened because no teams protects a playoff lead better than the Red Wings do. But they aren’t satisfied. Fedorov goes into the corner hard, beats Olausson to the puck and fires it to Brendan Shanahan, who is ahead of Trnka. It’s merely a matter of Shanahan surviving a Trnka slash that would have felled a redwood, then beating Hebert for a 2-0 lead that is enough to bring on the seafood shower. What’s thrown on the ice is supposed to be an octopus, but looks a lot like squid, and it brings back memories of the days when the Red Wing management allowed such a thing on its home ice.

It’s Not in the Summary: The Ducks come out in the period with the same energy they had in the first. Marshall fires a shot on goal that Chris Osgood deflects into the air. McInnis is there to fungo it into the net. Problem is the shot comes from the second story. No goal. Only 34 seconds have elapsed and the energy is sapped.

Winning Number: Detroit gets its legs after the early Duck foray. Halfway into the period, the Red Wings have outshot the no-longer-flying Ducks, 10-3. At the end of the period, it’s 17-6 and Sweep City.

Wrong Number: For the Ducks, it’s 31, the amount of saves by Osgood. He finishes the series with 109 saves and gives up only six goals. In finishing off the Ducks, Osgood posted his sixth career playoff shutout. A hot goalie can take a team a long way into the playoffs. Anybody want to bet against a Detroit three-peat?