Dominance: This is what it looks like. The Wings owned this game from start to finish, with the Sharks getting five minutes, if that, of anything resembling pushback spread out throughout the game. Unlike recent dominant stretches, there was little to now flagging as time went on and the Wings couldn’t beat Niemi. They didn’t get discouraged. They just kept coming at him. That was reason enough to feel it would continue into the second after a dominant first, and to believe it would continue into the third after a dominant second.
The Sharks goal did derail the Wings briefly and for a couple minutes it seemed like it may be a game headed for a tragically unfair end, but the Wings obviously didn’t feel that way. They dialed it back up and took care of business, treating us to some of the most thrilling hockey I’ve seen in years.
Filppula: Huge game at just the right time. Dan Cleary would have missed that lay-up goal from Datsyuk.
Cleary: Missed more chances than the Sharks had (only a slight exaggeration). I expect his luck to catch up to him on Thursday. He should have a huge game.
Kronwall: Continues to be a revelaton. He’s been the most important defender in this series and continued with another great game last night.
Jimmy: At 20 shots faced and with the Wings’ dominance, you’d think he wasn’t tested much, but he had a huge game in the few times he was truly needed. He looked bad on the Sharks’ goal, but made up for it with some huge saves. He’s still  the reason the Wings have gotten to this point and if  you’re still doubting his status as an elite goaltender, you’re sad.
Thornton: He’s a real class act, with his cheapshot post-horn hit on Datsyuk and his late man slash on Zetterberg. I gotta say I hope he’s in that mindset tomorrow, because the Wings will skate circles around a team led into stupidity like that. A guy that talented shouldn’t feel the need to resort to such idiocy.
Datsyuk: Still playing with an injury and still looking great doing it. I would have loved to have seen him more personally embarrass the Sharks, but the pass across to Fil was pretty good as a consolation prize. Maybe he can rub their faces in it tomorrow.
Zetterberg: He’s tuning up and continuing to impress. You start to wonder how the Wings did it without him and then you remember that this team is good.
Abelkader: Continues to do his best to be the goat, with another late penalty. I would love to see him sit tomorrow, though Draper’s not exactly free from the dumb penalty bug. We’ll see.
Modano: Made a few good plays and had a hand in some solid rushes, but wasn’t huge for them. He wasn’t a big drag, though, and that’s the point. That said, I hope a few days off are enough to get Franzen up and running again. Probably not, but it’d be cool to have him back for Game 7 if he can contribute.
The Crowd: Great again, with plenty of cheering and plenty of energy. I loved seeing them standing with 8 minutes left, even though it made it harder to see the puck and even though it only lasted a short while.
Next: I don’t know where the Sharks’ heads are at. It’s easy to conclude from their late game frustration that the Wings are back in there, but it does no good to assume that. They’re not likely to go down without a fight. But if the Wings can crack Niemi early, the unraveling may begin then. The game has to pick up right where this one left off: with the Wings moving their feet and fighting for the puck to the same degree. Last night, they wanted it bad. They have to want it even more tomorrow.
It’s going to be epic.
