Red Wings trounce Penguins 4-1 on NYE

Frans Nielsen #51 of the Detroit Red Wings pounds gloves with teammates on the bench following his second period goal during an NHL game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena on December 31, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

Detroit ended the year with a huge victory over the defending champions Sunday night. The Detroit Red Wings`1 got ahead on the score board with Gustav Nyquist scoring two on the night in their 4-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Little Caesars Arena. Jimmy Howard had a terrific time in net making 37 saves against some of the best scorers in the league to get a solid two game winning streak.

Two years ago, the Penguins gave a hit to the Red Wings at home defeating them at home in 2015. With them matching up once again, Detroit wanted to finish 2017 with a winning streak after beating the Rangers on Friday night. A lot of work at pressuring Henrik Lundqvist led them to a thriller that went to the shootout where Howard made the shutout a reality.

He got the nod again from coach Jeff Blashill to do work in their final home game of the year. Pittsburgh lost the Hurricanes on Friday but looked to rally having a day off. Matt Murray would get into action for them between the pipes after suffering an upper body injury. The game would depend on how he acted against the first charge from Detroit.

Detroit got a short amount of time against them with Murray stopping their two scoring chances. The Penguins turned things around by going on a long offense that had them challenging Howard who had his defense staving off Pittsburgh’s attempts. Eight minutes were in the books without a goal but that changed on Detroit’s first power play of the night.

While it took plenty of time to get something, a drive into the Penguins end began with Henrik Zetterberg overturning the puck in the neutral zone before a pass to Nyquist changed the lead in their favor. Nyquist launched the puck high hitting the top shelf of the net for his 11^th. A bad move from the Red Wings put Pittsburgh on a four-minute man advantage. Detroit killed off the double minor with four minutes left in the first period. They handled the situation and the final minutes of the period that saw them outshot 12-6. Being ahead of the Penguins was the right way to start the game but 40 minutes were still left to keep the consistency.

The scoring chances from the Red Wings were small in the first but as the second got underway, you would have never realized it with Dylan Larkin coming up big. He skated in well on Murray delivering a beauty to give the 21-year-old his sixth of the season. With a two-goal deficit, the Penguins began to fight for chances to fire the puck and get into contention. Howard was becoming a tough one for them robbing a shot that was at point blank. A second try from Evgeny Malkin on the power play was robbed by Howard but was reviewed by officials and called a good goal. The puck crossed the goal line despite being in the glove of the Red Wings goaltender thereby giving Malkin his 14^th.

The Red Wings didn’t let themselves worry about it as they were staying in a tight battle with Pittsburgh to contend with gaining ground on them again. With five minutes left, Detroit came up with a steal that turned into a stretch pass for Frans Nielsen. The power forward took off with the puck, faked a shot and beat Murray at the net for his tenth and a two-goal deficit once more. The Red Wings strategy of playing solid defense worked out for them despite being outshot once more 12-10.

When the third got underway, Pittsburgh made it a mission to pick up the pace with twenty minutes left for them to play. They gained a push of offense shooting five through the first six minutes but struggled against Detroit. Howard continued dealing with some serious scoring chances that had the puck shot right in front of him closing out the net next to him. Despite winning 9 of 25 defensive zone face-offs, they managed to handle the Penguins offensive lines preventing them from gaining an edge with five minutes left in regulation.

Detroit wanted the win more than ever and did so with a barrage of shots that beat Murray and the Penguins with three minutes left on the clock. A lot of slapping the puck around inside the Pittsburgh crease allowed Nyquist to get his second of the night on what was plenty of opportunities created. The final 3:24 finished off the Penguins that gave them a massive win over the defending champions to complete the year on a positive note.

Howard was named the first star of the night with a strong performance for the Red Wings getting 37 against the Penguins as well as dealing the four-minute power play that they had. When it was all said and done, Howard got another big boost of confidence and a .974 save percentage. They’ll all go and enjoy the holiday and get right back to business hosting the struggling Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.