Red Wings win 3-1 against Stars

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The Red Wings saw plenty of offense come together in the shape of victory Tuesday night. Detroit as a whole had scoring from veterans and rookies that ended in a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars at Joe Louis Arena. It was the first regulation win for Detroit at home since Nov. 10 and an important night honoring Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay.

The 2-1 OT loss to Montreal was a sour note for Detroit to swallow. With two consecutive injuries to Tyler Bertuzzi and Brendan Smith in the same game, the Red Wings had to recall Tomas Jurco who made his season debut on home ice. Jurco had been out with a long-term injury that kept him from being the usual part of Detroit’s lineup. Veteran Niklas Kronwall took over for Smith in hopes that his physical strength could tame the Stars. Dallas gives Detroit a hopeful chance at victory as they struggle in overtime situations while the Red Wings are on a streak of capturing points.

Things didn’t start well for Detroit as they were quickly down 1-0 just 16 seconds into the game. A lucky break for Esa Lindell came on a shot that went off the skate of Detroit’s Mike Green. The puck ricocheted high hitting the top shelf for Lindell’s second of the season. It further led the Stars to take four shots on the net while the Red Wings had yet to record one. They eventually got on the board but then allowed Dallas to a power play midway through the period.

Detroit’s PK worked perfectly allowing the Stars just one shot on goal with Petr Mrazek staying alert between the pipes. He managed to stop another one of their long moments with the puck with Detroit needing to respond before the first came to a close. They got on the power play for the first time in the game needing to make something of it.

They did so with less a minute on the clock with Dylan Larkin taking a shot at it. His drive was redirected off the skates of Jordie Benn ending Detroit’s 15 missed chances with a man up. Larkin picked up his seventh which was not only a big play, but the one that kept them on an even keel after 20 minutes.

The second saw both Dallas and Detroit running neck and neck on shots to the net. The score being tied had both of them pushing to get the lead back. The Stars once again put the Red Wings on a power play that had newfound life of recent. A big play arrived for them with Anthony Mantha and Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg in a connection. The passing play between the two players resulted in a goal for the 22-year-old right winger who delivered a wrister behind goaltender Kari Lehtonen for his third on the year and Zetterberg’s 12^th assist.

Aside from the score, the Stars remained even with the Red Wings moving the puck well when they gained possession. The Red Wings scrambled at time to take the puck away from Dallas but watched them push forward. By the time the final minute of play, the Stars took the lead on shots to the net leading 10-9 in the period.

One goal was the margin of victory for Detroit going into the third and overtime glooming its head upon the teams. The notion sat heavily upon the stars more than their opponents leading to their dominance of possession and shots at Mrazek. They gained a power play in the late stages of the third where Dallas had increased their shots by more than 10 in the Detroit zone. The Stars added more to their surge on the offense as Patrick Sharp and Mrazek got into it near the net earning the Detroit net minder the penalty.

Both played 4 on 4 with three minutes left giving the indication that the Stars were pulling out all the stops to force overtime. Stars coach Lindy Ruff pulled Lehtonen from the net but in the end, it was Detroit’s night to finish on top. A big win of possession allowed Steve Ott to shoot at the empty net to make it a solid 3-1 finish at home. It was Ott’s second of the season and one that he will mark down as a way to end a successful night.

Mrazek earned the victory by playing a full 60 minutes with plenty of action in front of him. The Red Wings net minder stopped 34 of the Stars shots for a .971 save percentage and the sixth win for him this season. Detroit would no doubt take the win under their belts serious as they prepare for a third home stand facing the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Canadiens end Red Wings winning streak in OT

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A heartbreaking loss for the Red Wings started the new home stand at the Joe Louis Arena Saturday night. Alex Galchenyuk won it for the Montreal Canadiens in overtime 2-1 over Detroit. Carey Price won his 13^th game of the season in what was a tight game up to the late stages of regulation.

The Red Wings sat on a two-game winning streak that they worked very hard to accomplish. In both instances, Detroit pushed things to limit beating the Devils and the Sabres in overtime situations. Their second meeting against the Canadiens was one where they hoped they wouldn’t get a repeat in their 5-0 shutout against them two weeks ago.  

The Habs remain at the top of the Atlantic Division with Carey Price tearing things up carrying a 12-1-1 record in his last 14 starts. He and the Canadiens have been a force that many have fallen under, but the Red Wings will try to change their pace and the future of the 60-minute match.

The Habs started with a strong chance with captain Max Pacioretty going for a wrap around on Mrazek who made his first start in some time. The Czech made the important stop to get his team going on defense. Montreal made their way back with Alexander Radulov coming in for the second rush but it was brought to a halt in the Detroit zone.

Their efforts were not done on the ice as they fought the puck away from Detroit and went back to bringing further heat to Mrazek in net. A huge chance for Artturi Lehkonen arrived when he had a large part of the net wide open with  Petr Mrazek laid out flat. He found the energy to get up enough just in time to make an awesome glove save. The save gave the Red Wings offense some energy to bring offensive support and counter Montreal.

They couldn’t up their time on puck possession as the Habs broke apart many opportunities near the blue line despite slowing Montreal down. By the second half of the period, Detroit showed life in their sticks, taking scoring chances on Price. Though it wasn’t enough to make a big statement, they proved their existence in the opening 20 minutes allowing Montreal just four shots more in the final ten minutes.

Detroit improved slowly in the second period but surpassing the Canadiens wasn’t near to the speed that they wanted to be. The Red Wings took five shots through nine minutes while holding the Habs to just a pair. At the halfway point, Detroit earned the game’s first power play but it didn’t help them in the slightest. A cause for concern came where an injury to Brendan Smith took him off the ice in a knee to knee collision near the boards with Montreal left winger Phillip Dannault.

Tyler Bertuzzi became an addition to the injury list as he took a hard check to the boards by Montreal’s Alexei Emelin. The impact from Emelin caused Bertuzzi to get tangled up on the boards that caused him serious pain to the point of nearly needing assistance off the ice. Despite having two men out, the Red Wings did well for themselves with a late power play and outshot the Canadiens 15-5.

The third period saw them stay up 5 on 4 but the Habs killed off the remainder of their penalty with considerable ease. Both teams clearly became incensed on getting the first goal in for their benefit. The Red Wings were forced to play double shifts with Bertuzzi and Smith out of action. The need for consistency seemed the be just the change Detroit needed to put themselves ahead. Justin Abdelkader was responsible for the go ahead shot on goal that was helped out by Frans Nielsen once again. Nielsen delivered a one-time centering shot for Abdelkader giving him his fourth of the season.

The remaining 16:40 of regulation was now in Detroit’s hands to maintain their hold of the lead with solid defense and a shutout from Mrazek required to win. They continued to outshoot the Canadiens showing their want for a progressive winning streak as well as improvements to the offensive side of their game. It nearly became a 2-0 Red Wings lead with Detroit slapping away at chances near and around Price. The Habs net minder got lucky to have the puck stop under his back that brought the whistle from the referee and ended the onslaught.

Montreal got into an aggressive pace to even up the game with Emelin taking his physical play to another level. He got near the boards with Dylan Larkin where a knee to knee contact took the 20-year-old rookie off the ice writhing in pain. He returned to the bench but not before Montreal evened the game. A shot from Tomas Plekanec from the corner redirected off the stick of Brendan Gallagher that gave him his fifth on the year and first in 16 games.

With the Habs back in the game, it was once again a race to the finish where either way, one team would win it. Five minutes remained in the period with Montreal recording shots on the net of Mrazek catching up to the numbers put up by Detroit. Neither they nor Detroit could get the game winner into the net forcing a third overtime period for the Red Wings.

A massive opportunity came for Detroit in the shape of a slashing penalty to Shea Weber giving the Red Wings a 4 on 3 in hopes of winning it. The power play was foiled for the third time in the game with only one way left to win it. After a reset came, the Canadiens were getting warmed on turning over the puck. A bad run came for them as Montreal got the puck to go on a solid 2 on 1 at Mrazek. Radulov skated along with Galchenyuk who was passed the puck below going for a shot that got behind the Czech goaltender.

It was an absolute heartbreaker for the Red Wings who did pick up a point in the battle but came to the realization that they lost a second straight to the Canadiens. While Mrazek had a well-rounded performance, the winner for the 13^th time was Price who earned top honors stopping 32 shots on the Red Wings for a .970 save percentage.

It was Mrazek’s second overtime loss this season making 22 saves on the night for a .917 percentage. Detroit picked up a much needed point but wanted more in what wasn’t the end of their home run. Tuesday would resume their fight for points when they host the Dallas Stars Tuesday.

Green's OT goal hands Detroit second straight win

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Mike Green’s patience on the ice paid off more than he knew. The Red Wings defenseman scored the game-winner in overtime that gave Detroit the 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center Friday night. The victory added a second straight for the Red Wings and a much-needed win for goaltender Petr Mrazek who ended the night with 13 saves in a backup position.

The Red Wings put in a lot of effort to eek out a victory in Buffalo Wednesday night that got the monkey off their backs. There was little time to rest before their next game that took place after Thanksgiving with a trip to New Jersey. Howard was back in net after a strong performance in Buffalo gave him another game to start. With his good work as Detroit goaltender and the sticks of the Red Wings coming alive, the team as a whole brought positivity that would hope to turn into serious offensive power.

Detroit found themselves in a whole six minutes in as they left a part of the ice open during the Devil’s scoring chance. Kyle Palmieri returned to the team after an injury setting up the play where Travis Zajac got right on it. He got it out front to John Moore who took the shot notching his fourth of the season. To make matters worse, the Devils scored a huge four-minute power play that had every opportunity to increase the goal margin.

The Red Wings responded with a big move while shorthanded with Justin Abdelkader getting a short breakaway. He sent a drive that came back to teammate Frans Nielsen whose shot on Cory Schneider gave him his fourth as well. He added his second of the night three minutes later with an outstanding jump on the puck where a second chance tap gave Detroit a 2-1 lead.

A sudden change came to the Red Wings goaltending situation as Howard came to the bench during the break. An unknown situation sent Mrazek into replace him with over seven minutes left in the period. Detroit went on another power play but again couldn’t convert on the man advantage. The finished up the final two minutes of the first with an improved hold on shots to the net outdueling New Jersey 12-4. It was determined that Howard suffered a lower-body injury but returned to the bench.

Mrazek stayed in net to start the second defending his team’s lead while the offense tried to increase their shots on goal ratio. Both teams shot just once through the first four minutes but the Devils saw a great chance to even up the game. A battle for possession between Michael Cammalleri and Ryan Sproul on the boards led to the Devils veteran clearing the puck for his team. He got hold of it again taking a shot that went off the skate of Detroit’s Jonathan Ericsson that gave Cammalleri his fifth.

The Devils ended the woes of their struggling power play with a turnover in the Detroit zone that began a three-man play. The puck ended on the stick of Pavel Zacha who delivered a high shot top shelf giving his team the lead, and second unanswered by Mrazek. The problems of Detroit allowed the Devils to gain a tremendous amount of momentum that put them in prime position to maintain the lead in the period.

The Red Wings tried to make something happen during the power play but were once again foiled. By some miraculous play in the final seconds, a pass from Gustav Nyquist got to Dylan Larkin who quickly took a shot. His scoring chance got into the net with 1.2 seconds on the clock. The play was immediately challenged by Devils coach John Hynes speculating that Detroit was off-sides with the puck. Video evidence proved that Nyquist was in possession before the blue line thereby deeming it a good goal. It was Larkin’s sixth of the year and first since Nov. 10.

More had to be done by the Red Wings to get back ahead in the game and not let their momentum down. Anthony Mantha got his team rolling ahead for the second time in the game as he and captain Henrik Zetterberg hooked up to score just 43 seconds into the period. Mantha brought the puck in alone from the blue line sniping a shot top shelf that gave him his second. From that point and deeper into the third, Detroit did everything possible to prevent the Devils a chance to tie the game hoping to secure a regulation win on the road.

New Jersey had other plans making them clear on a delayed penalty that saw former Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey drive the puck only to have it redirected by Adam Henrique to level the game at four all. Time became a huge factor for both teams to make one last stab at gaining control of the score or face overtime. It was a back and forth battle for possession with the Red Wings clearly showing their attempts to get the best of their opponents.

Despite the continuous problems with their power play, a final shot at making something happen came in the shape of a power play in the final minutes of play. Things ended still even leading to a 4 on 3 power play going into a five-minute period. The Devils killed off the remainder of the penalty that put things on even strength.

The Red Wings were taking some serious shots on the New Jersey net coming close each time. With two minutes left on the clock, the Red Wings got a huge sigh of relief with Green becoming the hero. Tomas Tatar slid the puck at center to Green patiently waiting for the moment to fire things off and win it for the Red Wings.

With two games in the bag for Detroit, a big matchup stood in front of them as they would host the Montreal Canadiens who shut them out in the last meeting. For the Red Wings, it meant that an embarrassment could not be a factor in Saturday’s match.

Red Wings win in shootout to down Sabres

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It took more than an effort of regulation for the Red Wings to come out victorious Wednesday night. The 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres allowed them to end a four-game losing streak to go forward to enjoying the holiday. Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Vanek came up big in the shootout to give them a well-deserved win at the KeyBank Center

The Red Wings hoped to end two bad runs in their recent spill of troubles. The first was their four-game skid while on the road where they hoped to end things well before the holiday. The second was their offense and its need to defeat opponents while preventing one goal victories as well as further losses. Jimmy Howard has remained a strong force for Detroit but the support joining him on the ice required a strong response on both sides of the puck. When playing Buffalo on the road they are 8-0-1 in their recent history.

They nearly gave the Sabres an early lead but the whistle of the referee was blown before the horn went off. It was a save for the Red Wings who were already being outshot in the opening minutes. They began to get some speed taking the game to goaltender Robin Lehner in net for Buffalo. By the time they reached the halfway point of the period, Detroit evened up on shots to the net with five.

They couldn’t create further chances after surpassing the first ten minutes as they watched Buffalo take the game to Howard taking another four. The frustration of that turned into a bad moment for the Red Wings as Vanek handed them a four-minute power play on a double minor. Though they killed the first 40-plus seconds, Detroit would go into the second period dealing with the large power play left on the clock.

The Detroit PK got the team out of trouble after four minutes but still had trouble getting a push on pucks to the Sabres net. An opportunity came in the shape of a power play that was their first of the game. The Red Wings once again let the man advantage slip away. They gained another one in the ninth minute that only increased their shots ahead of Buffalo.

Things began to slow down, but as the period came near to close, the Red Wings had to try and put one on the board to make a statement. They did so during an even strength play that began with rookie Ryan Sproul. His stretch pass to Tomas Vanek allowed the Austrian to set up Nyquist with a brilliant snipe that gave him his first goal in 14 games. The period ended with the Red Wings on a good footing but still had 20 more minutes left to compete in.

Buffalo answered them in the third minute of the period with Evander Kane set up Sabres captain Brian Gionta a solid scoring chance. He went in front of Howard getting a piece of his stick on the puck to slide it behind the goal line. The Red Wings immediately challenged the call stating that Gionta interfered with Howard in net. Officials checked the video and saw there was no interference maintaining the good goal and Gionta’s fourth of the year.

To make matters worse for Detroit, they had to fight off a penalty just a minute later that did not result in an increase in their score. It didn’t stop from being a powerful enemy against the Red Wings who struggled to be the stronger of the two. Time quickly fell off the clock as both goaltenders did whatever they could to prevent a slip-up with opportunities becoming less. The intensity for the Sabres came to its highest point in the final two minutes where they took a combination of shots and second chances to get the go-ahead behind Howard. The Red Wings net minder did fantastic to stop their efforts leading to a force of overtime and an important point to their names.

Anthony Mantha came out swinging during the overtime session nearly scoring the game winner during the opening minute. His attempts got the Red Wings pressing the situation hoping to be first to score. They fought with Buffalo to get it out of their zone but it was a difficult task. Ryan O’Reilly and Rasmus Ristolainen were going big on ending it before the end of the period but Howard stopped it just in the nick of time. The final minute was all on Howard to stop the Sabres leading both teams to move into a shootout.

Howard made a big stop to start the session with Gustav Nyquist coming up huge with the opening goal. Sam Reinhart scored for Buffalo making it critical for Detroit to keep the edge. They got it done with Vanek pulling a solid trick in front of Lehner that put them up 2-1. Howard’s save on Cal O’Reilly gave the Red Wings a very important victory that gladly snapped the four-game losing streak.

“I was sticking with it, battling, keeping the composure throughout the lineup,” Howard said to Fox Sports Detroit reporter Trevor Thompson. “We found a way to get the extra point here.” After an enjoyment of Thanksgiving, the Red Wings will get back at it meeting the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Flames edge Red Wings 3-2

The Calgary Flames put their best forward to get a final victory at the Joe Louis Arena. A charge on offense led them to scoring the game’s final goal giving them a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings Sunday night. The loss handed them their third consecutive loss and another that was more painful than the last.

Detroit suffered another one goal loss for the second time with nothing coming from the sticks of their offense. The power play was another major factor that had them struggling to make anything of it. The Red Wings have managed just three of the last 26 attempts with them currently the league’s worst. Howard got the nod once more as his performance in net has been the best thing from the team. With Calgary being a lower ranked opponent, the Red Wings gained their best chance to change the course of their season.

An early penalty from the Flames gave Detroit a power play hoping that they could convert with an ease of setting up in the zone. Their problems riddled the two-minute advantage with Howard saving a shorthanded play from Calgary. The move added some energy to the Red Wings who wanted nothing more than to get ahead in the game.

A lengthy possession in the Calgary zone watched the Red Wings take three attempts at the net of Chad Johnson. A third try began with a drive from Justin Abdelkader that flew into traffic where Tomas Tatar was. The shot went off the Czech where he swung himself around to slide the puck through Johnson for his third of the season giving Detroit their first goal in five days. The success from Tatar got the Red Wings pushing hard to get another one Johnson. Tomas Vanek got back into it after being out 11 games due to an injury. The play he began sent the rest of his line near the crease to create further scoring chances.

Despite the active offense and the lead, they still couldn’t get out of the whole on the power play, they easily handed the Flames another successful penalty kill. Despite dropping a second straight, the Red Wings had their important lead that led to the final minutes being quiet on offense. The period ended in each team notching ten shots on net with the Red Wings holding a heavy edge.

The two went into the second period with a fight for possession rather than increasing the scoring opportunities. For the Flames, it meant a chance to even things up while they had the Red Wings slow on shots to the net. At 3:40 Garnet Hathaway scored his first NHL goal on a Dougie Hamilton one timer from the far end that deflected off the stick to even up the game. The Flames grew on their recent statement and took the lead on shots to the net pressuring Howard to a higher degree.

Detroit countered the actions of their opponents and brought a heavy presence into the Calgary zone where wanting the lead back was essential. The Flames didn’t let them get an inch further on their mission ending the period with them outshooting Detroit 10-6 and maintaining a split to send both into a critical third period.

The Flames played to win starting things off in the final twenty minutes that caused another big concern for the Red Wings. The go ahead went to Matt Stajan who caught a redirect on Hamilton’s drive that gave him his first and a big 2-1 lead for Calgary. The Red wings caught a lucky break five minutes later when a loose puck got into their possession. Anthony Mantha got hold of it sending a shot at Johnson but coming up short. He got the puck back for a second opportunity scoring his first of the season that got them back into it with 12 minutes left in regulation.

With so much time left on the clock, it allowed the Flames to go for the go ahead at any point. On a well conducted skate into the Detroit zone, Calgary’s Mikael Backlund took a spot on the glove side of Howard where he got the puck from Michael Frolik to quickly put it behind the Red Wings goaltender. It was the big statement that held up for six minutes putting Detroit in a bad situation. To make matters worse, they gave up a penalty that left the Flames with an advantage to end the game. Despite pulling Howard for the sixth man, it wasn’t enough to force overtime handing Detroit their third straight loss.

The defeat left the Red Wings suffering the loss of Marchenko who left the game with an upper body injury. Gustav Nyquist gave a cause for concern when the final horn sounded indicating an injury to himself. With injuries and a lack of offense clouding the Red Wings, they would take every game in stride that began with a road trip to visit the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.