The Red Wings picked up their fourth win in a row and second in a row at home with Jimmy Howard picking up a well-deserved shutout. Goals from Gustav Nyquist and Andreas Anthanasiou gave Detroit a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks at Joe Louis Arena Saturday night. It was the fifth win they got on home ice this month that led to a four game winning streak.
The Red Wings sat on a three game winning streak going into their second straight home game hoping to keep all their current success alive. A few more players got their names etched into the season scoring goals while some progressed in slight different ways. For the Detroit goaltending unit, it was clear that all was well with both goaltenders. Howard kept a good game against the Rangers while Mrazek handled the fight from Nashville. Howard got the start against San Jose and hoped to bring his strength in his first home start of the season.
He faced an early power play to San Jose who didn’t have much luck as Detroit’s penalty killing unit stole the puck nearly scoring shorthanded. The Red Wings pushed their offense after killing the penalty to outshoot the Sharks seven minutes in. They went on their first power play of the game taking shots on Martin Jones in net for San Jose. Their time almost ran out till the Sharks took another penalty giving Detroit a short 5 on 3.
The Red Wings took four shots on goal but couldn’t get the upper hand of the score. With six minutes left, Detroit gave San Jose their second try on the man advantage. The Sharks couldn’t deal with Detroit’s strong defense as their opportunity came and went before returning to even strength. By the time the period came to an end, the Red Wings outshot San Jose 11-6 while winning 13 of 21 on the faceoff.
Detroit felt slow in the opening period and wanted nothing more than to improve in the second. Dylan Larkin didn’t help the team’s effort getting a penalty in the opening minute putting the Sharks on their third power play. Detroit killed it off adding some energy to get something going. Nyquist was on a mission to make a stab with the puck in hand. He skated in to fire a shot that got a piece of the top corner notching his second of the season.
San Jose responded by picking up the pace with Detroit and be active on offense. They took the lead on shots to the net giving their best at Howard who did well shutting their efforts down. At the midway point, the Sharks nearly saw the score go forward on a bad giveaway that was saved by Jones in net. Things didn’t get better as Detroit rallied back to take control of puck possession. Nyquist was also hungry to keep things alive for his team and took another good shot on Jones getting his second of the night with five minutes left.
He led Detroit to finish strong but watched a late surge come from the Sharks. In the final seconds of play, San Jose got hold of the puck and almost made it a one goal game with Logan Couture and Brent Burns getting shots on the net. Burns took a shot that some thought went in but the horn sounded and saw the referee wave off the play. San Jose took 12 shots that allowed them to outshoot Detroit who only managed nine.
Detroit came into the third starting it off with a power play that was their best of the game so far. Though they didn’t get a goal in the end, it was a strong show of offense that held up their 2-0 lead. Anthanasiou made it 3-0 after getting a great pass from Tomas Vanek that allowed the Red Wings sophomore to run off alone in the Sharks zone. He took a legitimate slap shot that gave him his first of the season.
The three goal lead allowed Howard to relax a little as his team gained another chance to improve their power play with a sixth attempt. It was still a problem for Detroit to get one while a man up but with the three goal lead in hand, they played the remainder of the game staying tight on even strength.
Four minutes were left on the clock and it was clear that Detroit had complete control of the game and an assured victory. They were outshooting San Jose 32-23 while Howard inched his way closer to a shutout. With two minutes left, the Sharks went for the empty net but it did them no good in the end. They held off any shots toward the empty net but in the end watched Detroit skate away with another win.
For the Detroit net minder, his 30 saves allowed him his 23rd career shutout but he gave due credit to the team’s PK. “I thought they were really great tonight,” Howard said to Fox Sports Detroit’s Trevor Thompson. “Mike Green bailed me out there in the third with a big block.”
With four games in a row, it leaves the Red Wings in a vulnerable position to continue playing their best. “We’ve found a way to rebound from there and that’s a good sign of things,” Howard went on to say. “I think tonight was our most complete game we played so far.” Detroit gets a well earned break before they take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Photo by: Dave Reginek/Getty Images
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