Detroit’s Damien Brunner made up for a subpar game by netting the winner in OT. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

They were held without a goal by Jonas Hiller and the Anaheim Ducks for five consecutive periods. They trailed twice in the third period by margins of 1-0 and 2-1. Their best line on the night was their fourth. But in the end the Detroit Red Wings dug deep and forced overtime before pulling out a thrilling 3-2 win in Game 4 that knotted their Western Conference first-round series at two games apiece.

Here are some observations from Detroit:

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An injury to Jonas Hiller means a 42-year-old unknown will be on the Ducks bench. (Debora Robinson/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

It’s another one of those dream-come-true moments that only happen in the NHL.

With Jonas Hiller a late scratch for tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars, and minor-league recall Igor Bobkov unable to make it to the Honda Center in time for the start of the game, the Anaheim Ducks reached into the local hockey ranks to find someone to fill a sweater…and sweat it out on the bench.

42-year-old Rob Laurie, whose claim to fame might be starting for the Anaheim Bullfrogs roller hockey team in the first-ever professional sporting event at the Honda Center, is in the lineup for the Ducks.

Laurie, who last played on ice for the El Paso Buzzards of the Central Hockey League in 2002 and had his jersey retired in 2011 by the Bullfrogs, signed a one-day pro tryout contract. If nothing else, he’ll take warmups tonight, and have a heckuva story to tell the boys in the beer league.

UPDATE: And the dream dies quickly. Bobkov arrived 3:56 into the first, sending Laurie to the showers. Still, he earned a #43 Ducks jersey and the chance to face some NHL shooters in the warm-ups. Not bad for a guy whose previous career high-water mark might have been a one-game stint with the AHL’s Adironcack Red Wings in 1995-96.

The Great One is rumored to be looming over Toronto’s perennially fallen Leafs.  (Nick Turchiano/Icon SMI/Getty)

By Allan Muir

• Purple Monkey Dishwasher. Does Wayne Gretzky want to be president of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Probably not, but someone speculated about it on the radio, then the internet got ahold of it, so apparently now it’s a thing.

• Don’t jump! Is this the first suspendable hit of the season? Nick Kypreos was the first to report on Twitter that Brayden Schenn would hear from Brendan Shanahan today after he leapt off the ice just prior to making contact with Anton Volchenkov. Hard to determine the first point of contact from this video, but it doesn’t appear to be the head. Still, there’s a desire to eliminate hits that involve leaving the ice, and since there was no penalty called on the play, the guess here is that Schenn will face a fine if nothing else.

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