Red Wings extend winning streak with shootout win over Ottawa

Jimmy Howard #35 of the Detroit Red Wings makes a save against Bobby Ryan #9 of the Ottawa Senators as Mike Green #25 of the Detroit Red Wings and Cody Ceci #5 of the Ottawa Senators look on in the second period at Canadian Tire Centre on October 7, 2017 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

A long scoreless game got very interesting in the final minutes but saw Detroit win it in the end. Both went beyond overtime where a shootout win from Frans Nielsen gave the Red Wings a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre Saturday evening. Jimmy Howard recorded 37 saves including three in the shootout to extend his winning streak to two games.

Detroit’s first victory at Little Caesar’s Arena was key to starting the season off right but staying there for a while wasn’t in the cards for the Red Wings. They started the first of a four-game road trip westward beginning with one in the Canadian capital. Erik Karlsson wasn’t able to assist his team in their home opener that ended in a 5-4 loss to Washington.

The reigning Norris Trophy winner had surgery done back in June; expecting to be ready in a week. Detroit was more than ready to keep the winning streak alive with everyone from rookies to veterans making their efforts known to the squad. Howard earned the right to start in what he hoped would be a good start to being away from their new home.

They gained a power play where plenty of shots got in front of Craig Anderson in net for the Senators but he and the Ottawa defense killed the minor penalty. It was a minute later that they caught a back to back penalty but none made their way behind Howard. When the man advantage finished, both teams stayed neck and neck with one another where neither got leverage over the other.

The Senators gained a third chance on the power play but as their previous scoring chances didn’t produce much, the third followed suit in f

amiliar fashion. Detroit still held the SOG ration while covering themselves in tight situations. Mike Green made a good stop on a 3 on 1 rush but took a hooking penalty for Ottawa’s fourth of the period. A majority of their power play was killed off where Detroit got two shorthanded chances including one from Frans Nielsen that was saved at the buzzer by Anderson.

The rest of the penalty was killed but despite going 0-4, the Senators were keeping the pace against their opponents who sought the game’s first lead change. Half the penalty went by with very little scoring chances from either side. Ottawa had a second shot off the post with a surge on the power play with six minutes left. While it again went unconverted, Ottawa was still finding shots at Howard where at times they had him and the Detroit defense scrambling to clear the puck. The Syracuse native dealt with plenty before Detroit helped him to get back on his feet.

The Red Wings got into the Ottawa end where they had Anderson all over the place and soon on his back at one point. It was there that the puck got loose for a brief moment where Detroit’s chance to slap it into the open net above Anderson was stopped with the Senators taking possession. A large applause went to the Senators netminder but the second period came to a close with still no one leading the game.

The third saw very little action on pucks to the net and an increase of frustrations for both teams. By 5:25 both teams completed a power play each with nothing coming from it. Through the first ten minutes, the team both took two shots on each other’s net with no sign of the stalemate ending. The time came with 2:36 left on the clock with Dylan Larkin on the puck making a big move with Martin Frk on his wing. The third year forward made the pass to Frk who fought off the Ottawa defense before firing on through Anderson for his second in straight games.

Just when it looked as if it would be a one way ending for Detroit, the Senators made their response with Dion Phaneuf on the puck. After turning the puck over from Detroit’s Jonathan Ericsson, he came in with a shot midway in the opposing zone where it got redirected by Derrick Brassard for his first of the season. 1:51 was left on the clock with both quite active on the offense now that the teams scored. The moment came for one to take the lead before the end of regulation, but it was not meant to be. The Senators outshot Detroit 36-28 in 60 minutes giving them a fighting chance to get their first win in the five minute OT.

Ottawa had two good shots on Howard with one of them nearly sliding within centimeters of the goal line. Detroit had one with Tomas Tatar trying to get his 100^th career goal in and end it but didn’t have the golden shot. To make matters worse for the Red Wings, they got caught with too many men on the ice giving Ottawa a 4-3 power play in the final seconds. Detroit did everything to avoid the threat and go to a shootout making it the Senator’s second straight.

The lineup began with Detroit starting with Nielsen scoring by freezing Anderson to finish with a wrister. Howard stopped Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan leaving Trevor Daley to get it done. His backhander was stopped by the Ottawa netminder leaving them one more chance to extend the shootout. Brassard tried to be the hero for his team on the night but a rifled shot went off the right leg pad of Howard to bring it to a close for Detroit’s second win and first in extra time.

Despite the struggle to record goals through a large majority of the game, Detroit’s willingness to find pucks and get them to count were enough to end the weekend with a second straight win. They’ll prepare for a couple days off before they head to the Lone Star state to take on the Dallas Stars Tuesday.