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Lidstrom: 'We weren't giving up at all'

By Dave Lozo - NHL.com Staff Writer

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Lidstrom: 'We weren't giving up at all'
Nicklas Lidstrom didn't score the winner himself, but he his redirected shot helped the Wings complete a comeback in Game 5 and force Game 6.
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Nicklas Lidstrom didn't score the winner, but his blast from about 10 feet inside the blue line was redirected home by Tomas Holmstrom with 6:02 remaining to give the Detroit Red Wings a 4-3 victory in Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinal series with the San Jose Sharks.

The Red Wings overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third period to fight off elimination for the second game in a row. The Sharks hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series and will go for the kill once again Tuesday night back at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Following the game, the 41-year-old Lidstrom talked with reporters.

Q: Did you guys make it a point to have the defensemen push up offensively after the Sharks made it 3-1?

A: Whenever we get some pressure down low, we try to get up there in the play. It has to be at the right moment. You can't just be gambling. When we're behind, we just try to find openings. That's what happened for us.

Q: Were there any worries after the second period?

A: We knew we hadn't played our best in the first two periods. They were playing better and they were playing harder. They were winning all the battles too. That's why we were down in the game.

Q: Down 3-1, you guys never counted yourselves out?

A: We weren't giving up at all. We kept going after them, getting pucks to the net. We tried to be active on D when we can. We just kept shooting pucks on the net, because we're not going to give up. We had to win today and that's what we did.

Q: How excited are you to go back to Detroit?

A: We're happy to push this to a Game 6. We've got some momentum now, but we have to continue to play the way we did in the third period. We can't play the way we did in the first two periods because they were taking the game to us early on.

Q: Do you think you planted a seed of doubt in their dressing room?

A: They have a great team over there and they're battling hard and playing real well, so I think we got a little bit fortunate tonight. We're a team that's not going to give up. We're going to keep battling until this is over. I think that really showed in the third period.

Follow Dave Lozo on Twitter: @DaveLozo

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