The Detroit Red Wings fought back from a 3-0 series deficit against the Sharks, but they were unable to fight back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period of Game 7. A beautiful backhand snipe by Pavel Datsyuk with six minutes left kept the Red Wings in the hunt, but the Sharks managed to hang on for the 3-2 victory. San Jose is now headed to the Western Conference finals to face the Vancouver Canucks for a chance to move on and play for the Stanley Cup.
The Sharks opened the scoring in the first period with a Devin Setoguchi power-play goal. Seven minutes later and with one minute left in the first, Henrik Zetterberg turned the puck over right to Logan Couture, who sniped it to put San Jose up 2-0.
The Red Wings controlled the second period and outshot the Sharks by a margin of 17-6. This was after getting outshot 17-11 in the first period. The sustained pressure led to a Zetterberg goal on a 3-on-2 where Valtteri Filppula made a great pass to set up the score.
Just like in Game 5 at San Jose, the Sharks took a 3-1 lead in the third period. This time Patrick Marleau stepped up his game and scored at the 12:13 mark by tipping in a loose puck on the goal line. The Red Wings' hopes of coming back again were running out, but Datsyuk's ridiculous backhand cut the lead to one with six minutes left.
Despite having a power play and later turning up the heat with an empty net at the end, the Red Wings couldn't find the equalizer. Once again they had issues sustaining pressure with the extra man, and ultimately this was one comeback they couldn't complete.
The Red Wings' run through the 2011 NHL playoffs is now over, and the Red Wings are headed home thanks to yet another one-goal loss to the Sharks.