Game five, in my opinion, the most important game in a close series. The Detroit Red Wings struck first on the road, when Johan Franzen scored on the power play 5:28 into the first period. Kyle Palmieri answered for the Ducks with a little over 2 minutes left in the first. Half way through the second period, Mikael Samuelsson scored to give the Wings a one goal advantage. The Ducks answered back once again late in the period, when Ryan Getzlaf wristed a shot passed Jimmy Howard on the power play. The third period saw no goals, so on to overtime we went for the second night in a row. A couple of minutes in, Ben Lovejoy skated the puck deep and tried to throw it to the net and missed the puck, so he skated below the goal line and cut back to the front and set up Nick Bonino for the overtime winner to give the Ducks the 3-2 series lead.

So back to Detroit the two teams went, all pressure on Detroit to win or end their season. The first period didn’t see many chances either way. Anaheim killed the only penalty called in the first period, but Pavel Datsyuk finally opened the scoring with just over a minute left in the first. A little over half way through the second period, Kyle Palmieri took a shot from the right side, the puck pinged off of the post and went off of Detroit defender Brendan Smith and into the net. An unfortunate goal for Detroit, but if you’re Anaheim, you’ll take that goal any day. Tied up at 1, a few minutes into the third period, Palmieri was called for high sticking. Henrik Zetterberg answered the call and scored to give the Wings a 2-1 lead with their season on the line. A little over 5 minutes later, Justin Abdelkader, who just returned from his two game suspension, threw the puck on net and Dan Cleary deflected it in to put the Wings up 3-1. With 3:28 remaining in regulation, Emerson Etem scored when Valtteri Filppula skated the puck behind his net, and through back behind him. The puck took an awkward bounce, and the Ducks took advantage of the Wings being out of position, and Etem smacked in an easy goal to bring the Ducks within 1.  Less than a minute later, Saku Koivu dumped the puck in for Corey Perry who threw it around the boards to Francois Beauchemin. Beauchemin shot the puck toward the net and set up Bobby Ryan for game tying goal. Once again, the Wings and Ducks were headed to overtime, the fourth time in the series, and the third game in a row. The Wings came out pressing early, and Henrik Zetterberg, once again came up huge for the Wings. Zetterberg shot from the top of the face off circle and the puck was deflected by two Ducks on its way into the net.

The Wings tied the series at 3, and forced a game seven back in Anaheim. It should be nothing less than stellar for the entire 60 minutes. Hopefully, we won’t have to see another heart-stopping overtime, and these players can have a little rest before moving on. Although, I can’t say I that I wouldn’t like to see a game seven overtime winner. It should be good. The Wing and the Ducks kick of game seven on Sunday night at 10pm eastern.

Apr 3, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Ryane Clowe (29) sets for the face off against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Sharks defeated the Stars 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

According to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer the Philadelphia Flyers are having exploratory talks with the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames about Jaromir Jagr, Ryane Clowe, and Jay Bouwmeester. Nothing substantialhas arisen yet but the talks have been confirmed. The Flyers chip seems to be Sean Couturier but Carchidi doesn’t think that now is the right time to trade Couturier as he seems to going through his sophomore slump. He also said that based on what he is hearing Anaheim Ducks Bobby Ryan is no longer in the mix.

Bob Mckenzie believes that the Flyers are among the leading contenders for Clowe along with the Minnesota Wild but the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens are still in the mix. According to Mckenzie there is a 50-50 chance that Clowe is moved today.

Mckenzie also said that the Rangers are more interested in Clowe as a rental player while the Canadiens might think the price is too high for a rental. The Flyers, Wild and Canucks are all capable of giving an extension to Clowe. He also said that San Jose and Minnesota seem to like trading, could Mckenzie know more than he is letting on?

March 2, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) against the Ottawa Senators during the third period at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers defeated the Senators, 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Dreger also had some speculation about the Philadelphia Flyers. He said that Danny Briere could possibly go to the Montreal Canadiens for a draft pick but only if he is healthy and willing to waive his no-trade clause. He also reported that the Flyers could do a trade with the Anaheim Ducks where they would swap Sean Couturier for Bobby Ryan. Spector’s Hockey said however that this move will likely not happen until the off-season.

Mar 23, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider (35) in the third period of the game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center. Canucks won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

According to Joe Haggerty of CSN the Boston Bruins could be looking into other top six forwards if the asking price for Jarome Iginla is too high. He mentioned the names Jaromir Jagr and Martin St. Louis.

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN has also done a lot of speculating. According to him the Dallas Stars have been in talks with the Ottawa Senators about Derek Roy but the price might be too high for the Senators. LeBrun also reported that teams have been asking the Vancouver Canucks not only about Roberto Luongo but also Cory Schneider. Although the Canucks could get more for Schneider they are not likely to move him. Any trade for them won’t come until the end of the season.