Red Wings blast goals in net to beat Ducks

Photo by: Dave Reginek/Getty Images

The Detroit Red Wings ended their homestand with an explosion at the Joe Louis Arena Saturday night. The long frustration came in a massive offensive boost with the team defeating the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 snapping a four game losing streak. Tomas Tatar assisted by recording his first career hat trick and momentum that Detroit needed so much.

Things didn’t get any easier for the Red Wings who sat on a four-game skid coming off a 4-1 loss for the second straight game. Their consistent breakdown left them in a huge lopsided game where the Los Angeles Kings ran away with the victory. In the last game of the current homestand, Detroit faced a strong Ducks team that is on a roll during their road trip. Anaheim was 4-1-0 in their last five and 7-2-1 in their last ten. With so much offense coming from their former Western Conference rivals, Detroit had to wake up out of their lack of shooting and become competitive fast.

The Red Wings showed potential answering the Ducks first shot of the game getting in some time in their zone. They later handed Anaheim a power play which they did well against for a time. It all fell apart with Rickard Rakell in perfect position to put the puck in the open part of the net with Petr Mrazek having no idea of the occurrence. Rakell earned his 13^th of the season before watching his team face a Detroit man advantage.

Detroit dug big in the Ducks zone taking their best shots on netminder Jonathan Bernier but to no avail. The last part of the penalty saw a breakdown of the Red Wings offense and a push for a possible shorthanded breakaway. Detroit stopped it but couldn’t do much else as time expired for the extra man.

As the midway point of the period closed in, it became apparent that the Red Wings were progressing well on shots to the net. They outshot Anaheim 9-4 with some big hits tailing along. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall put Ondrej Kase on his rear end with a big hit near the boards followed by Jonathan Ericsson putting down Andrew Cogliano and Ryan Kesler. It was Ericsson who got called for roughing putting the Ducks back on the power play.

They once again made good on the 5 on 4 with Shea Theodore scoring his first of the season. Detroit coach Jeff Blashill immediately challenged the call due to off-sides on the count of the Ducks. Officials reviewed the play and ruled that the video was inconclusive keeping the 2-0 lead up.

The margin was much too big for the Red Wings but had plenty of time to make it up. When play resumed from the TV timeout, Steve Ott brought it upon himself to liven things up when he took on Joseph Cramarossa. The two went to the box for fighting majors but it clearly gave the Red Wings more fight.

Mike Green made something happen in the 13^th minute of play where he double faked a shot before finding Tatar near the net. His pass to the Czech paid off giving Tatar an open spot scoring his first since playing Winnipeg and fifth overall. The period ended well for Detroit as they outshot the Ducks 15-10 while also doing well winning the puck off the faceoff.

The pace for the Ducks was still on a high note beginning the second stanza with a huge offensive rush that had Detroit trailing. Anaheim had taken six shots in the opening minutes of the game looking to regain their lead. They did it on Cam Fowler’s eighth of the season giving his team another big step forward. Detroit knew that something had to come fast in order to recover from the score. Tatar got it done on a lucky shot that hit the springing boards before bouncing off the leg pads of Bernier giving him his second of the night. “This was amazing,” said Tatar to Fox Sports Trevor Thompson. “It felt god for sure and I’ve been waiting for a puck like that this season.” Detroit was back within a goal fighting to get the game even quickly.

The game got level after a well laid play by Detroit’s fourth and first lines to tie the game. Dylan Larkin got credit on Riley Sheahan’s shot that went five hole on Bernier and into the net. Officials reviewed the play for forward motion and cleared the Red Wings from doing such action. Anaheim challenged the play for goaltender interference immediately after sending officials back to review the play. The video evidence showed that Larkin did not interfere with Bernier giving the 20-year-old his tenth of the season.

The game was on an even keel and Detroit scoring more goals than their last three games combined. With the lead becoming an important mission, the Red Wings had eight minutes to get the job done getting into a comfortable position. A second chance on the man advantage arrived for Detroit but was killed off by Anaheim who didn’t want to give up anything with the scenario so close.

The play went back to even strength where there was a heavy presence in the Ducks zone. It was there that Xavier Oulett fired a centering drive from the far end going over Bernier for his first this season. It gave Detroit their first lead of the homestand and a big statement that they meant business. They finished the period with the defensemen really making their mark while Detroit as a whole outshot Anaheim 21-20.

The Ducks made a change in net sending John Gibson to replace Bernier who let in too many to carry on. The pace was in the hands of the Red Wings who resumed to getting the job done while they carried the momentum. It was five minutes of full strength till an opportunity for Tatar arrived. The Slovakian scored his first career hat trick on a great turnover in the offensive that gave him seven on the year and a big answer that was looking to end their woes. Tatar took his time to set up the shot on Gibson sending everyone on their feet and the hats flying onto the ice. There was still a lot of time left on the clock before the Red Wings could celebrate.

The Ducks made that clear with Rakell getting back into the offense of their game. He went in all alone bobbing and weaving through the Detroit defense before shooting the puck top shelf to give him two on the night. Detroit wanted to get back to their two-goal lead and with their team working well, the possibility was high for them. They got it done with nine minutes left with the Red Wings playing actively in front of the Ducks net. A second opportunity on Bernier came on the stick of Frans Nielsen who scored his seventh on the year.

The two goal lead for the Red Wings was still holding up in the final minutes, but they knew they couldn’t let off the gas just yet. The remaining time on the clock had to dissipate enough to give themselves something to celebrate. The Ducks searched for a time to pull Gibson but with 91 seconds, he had to wait for a clean chance to give his team six attackers.

A delay of game penalty killed their chance of doing that allowing the Red Wings to charge toward the win. The monkey was off the back of the Red Wings who brought a great end to their four game homestand defeating the Ducks. Mrazek’s spirit was uplifted despite allowing four on the night. He made 21 saves on the night for a .840 save percentage.

“For our team it was a relief to get the win,” Tatar said. “We didn’t play our game but we started showing character, we battled our way back and it feels good.” Good feelings going into the holiday week have the Red Wings taking off for their longest road trip so far with their first taking place against the Carolina Hurricanes Monday.