Canucks trounce Red Wings 4-1

Jake Virtanen #18 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates his second-period goal with teammates Michael Del Zotto #4, Daniel Sedin #22, Henrik Sedin #33 and Chris Tanev #8 during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on October 22, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

Vancouver got off the blocks with perfection at Little Caesars Arena Sunday night. Sven Baertschi had two goals on the night against a very slow Red Wings squad that resulted in their 4-1 victory and second in a row to end the weekend. Canucks netminder Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves on the night that handed Detroit their fourth consecutive loss and third straight at home.

The Red Wings two recent losses have come with a surge of scoring and offense but defeating Toronto and Washington proved difficult. With the homestand continuing for Detroit, their chance to build a winning streak came with changes to their roster. Andreas Athanasiou was officially signed by Detroit while Riley Sheahan moved on to join the Pittsburgh Penguins. Though Anthanasiou can’t officially begin to play just yet, his team would get the chance to improve and be the front runners through the full length of regulation.

They got on the puck early in the period taking shots at Markstrom in net for the Canucks. They took three before Vancouver took over control with a power play in the fifth minute of play. Vancouver went after Jimmy Howard between the pipes for the Red Wings but despite five attempts, they were unable to convert on the man advantage. From then on it was a fight for the puck which left little time for either team to get anything of strength to happen. Vancouver gained three more shots on Howard but he was all over them with the pad saves clearing it out of trouble.

The Canucks were still getting their scoring chances in the Detroit zone having nine through 15 minutes. Their tenth came on an awkward bounce from Bo Horvat that Baertschi got on a redirect that he backhanded by Howard for his first of the season. Detroit tried to get the pace increased with a one timer from Dylan Larkin on Markstrom but couldn’t get it locked in.

The Red Wings kept the efforts up but were coming up empty with the period closing in. With 1:32 left, the young guns of Detroit answered at the right time getting the game level. Anthony Mantha got a quick pass from Gustav Nyquist before rifling the puck into the net for his fourth of the year. Detroit spent the remaining seconds holding off the Canucks in order to turn the tables going forward after they were outshot 11-9.

The second period saw Vancouver still getting a lot of chances and odd-man rushes in the Detroit zone with very little resistance. Through nine minutes, they took an 7-3 run before the scoreboard changed in favor of the visitors. The Canucks got the puck in the neutral zone and gained an odd-man rush in the Red Wings end. Derek Dorsett was well ahead of the Detroit defense shooting the puck at Howard which went up an over him landing behind him to cross the line for Dorsett’s fifth.

He tried again just minutes later but instead created havoc on the Red Wings active line. They were already ten shots ahead of Detroit as the Red Wings were stalled in their own zone. It left Vancouver the dictate pucks to the net that included a second goal from Baertschi; leaving him enough room to fire one on the stick side of Howard gaining a 3-1 lead. The energy was low inside the arena which reflected the Red Wings play in the final minutes.

Before the horn could sound to end the period, Vancouver took off with Daniel Sedin on point easily setting up Jake Virtanen with a shot on Howard. The rebound easily came back to him scoring on a wide-open net for his first as a massive lead for his team. The damage was done with sheer force as Vancouver outshot Detroit 18-6 in the period.

The need to push was hard for Detroit to get going as the pace of the third period slowed even for the Canucks. By the halfway point, they relied on their three-goal lead over the Red Wings nothing just five shots on Howard that included a second failed power play. Detroit gained their first man advantage 13 minutes in but the effort was much like their even strength play with little opportunity of pressuring Markstrom. The Canucks looked to bring a complete victory in the final four minutes having notched their 35^th shot.

The last moments of the game saw Vancouver making the stops on Detroit who couldn’t find the energy all game long. They succumbed to the loss at the final horn where they were outdone 37-21 in a defeat they’ll want to forget. The path didn’t get any easier as they headed out to another road trip beginning in Buffalo against the Sabres Tuesday.