DETROIT: Henrik Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula scored less than two minutes apart in the third period as the Detroit Red Wings rallied again for a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks Tuesday to force a decisive seventh game in their second-round series.
San Jose must defend home ice Thursday night to avoid becoming the fourth NHL team to lose a best-of-seven series after leading 3-0. San Jose’s Logan Couture scored early in the third period, but Zetterberg tied it with 9:22 remaining, and Filppula scored the winner with 7:28 left.
Darren Helm added an empty-net goal. Every other game in the series was decided by one goal. Detroit scored the last three goals of Game 5 to win 4-3.
Skating with confidence and desperation, the Red Wings outshot San Jose 45-25, but they were on the verge of elimination after Couture batted a rebound out of midair and the puck trickled past goalie Jimmy Howard with 16:06 remaining. The puck barely crossed the goal line before Howard covered it with his glove, but the goal stood after a review.
Zetterberg tied it by deflecting a wrist shot by Niklas Kronwall past goalie Antti Niemi, and the Sharks never regained momentum. Filppula put Detroit ahead, converting a nice cross-ice pass by Pavel Datsyuk.
– Associated Press
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