Detroit snaps home losing streak in shootout against Sharks

 Trevor Daley #83 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates his goal with teammates during an NHL game against the San Jose Sharks at Little Caesars Arena on January 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jennifer Hefner/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Red Wings had to go the distance to achieve victory at Little Caesars Arena Wednesday night. The struggling Detroit squad saw themselves in a draw that went all the way to a shootout where Justin Abdelkader scored the winner to give them a 2-1 final over the San Jose Sharks.

Detroit’s 5-1 defeat due to Alex DeBrincat’s hat trick left the Red Wings sour for quite some time during the All-Star break. Now that business was ready to resume, their hosting of the San Jose Sharks left the need to win big and not fall into another long losing streak. So far, Detroit has lost five straight at home (0-4-1) since winning Jan. 5. The team received good news with Darren Helm, Abdelkader and Trevor Daley coming back to the lineup. With a two-game slide in motion for them, they hoped that Petr Mrazek could pull out another win to get the team on a better path.

The Red Wings were slow coming out in the first period and had to deal with adversity from the Sharks. They got a power play 3:49 in but the Detroit PK did work in their zone to keep them from getting the opening lead. They stayed tight with them through ten minutes with each team notching three shots apiece. The game began to pick up after the Sharks held off the Red Wings power play to go on a shooting spree. Detroit followed along with the pace and finished with a fight that did not lead to a lead change. They outshot San Jose 12-11 while they had more scoring chances than the home team but gave away the puck 11 times.

The second saw another slow start for the teams as the fight for possession continued on. Both teams looked for opportunities to fire the puck but both Martin Jones for San Jose and Petr Mrazek for Detroit were flawless between the pipes. As the minutes fell off the clock, the Red Wings kept ahead by a small margin but couldn’t put it into a new gear against them. Detroit suffered another power play but the PK continued to save them from seeing the score being changed for the worst.

When they returned to even strength, Detroit tried getting ahead on shots to the net but as close as they were coming to Jones, he denied them a lead with the second period coming to a close. They gained a huge chance on a late power play in the final minute. It helped the Red Wings increase their firepower but, in the end, no goals were scored. The Red Wings led once more 13-9 becoming most important to make something happen with one to go.

The third was a clear indication of both teams trying to make a big difference with opportunities decreasing in regulation. The Sharks and Red Wings fired away with some coming very close through the first several minutes. The moves of Detroit came together in the sixth minute where Daley took a scoring chance with a backhander. The puck somehow got between the five hole of Jones before getting into the net that secured the goal for the Red Wings to lead. It was Daley’s fourth of the season and the one that completely changed the course with 13 minutes remaining.

The Red Wings were well ahead outshooting San Jose 9-5 with six minutes left on the clock hunting down a chance to nail in a second puck. Before they could do that, the Sharks found a way to tie things up with five minutes on the clock. With a player out of luck with a broken stick for Detroit, San Jose made use of the advantage and gave Kevin Labanc a great point shot. He tore the puck through traffic hitting the top shelf behind Mrazek to level the situation and record his sixth of the season.

The final minutes were a desperate attempt to score the game winner while chances were still around to do so. San Jose had a heavier presence in the Detroit zone but Mrazek and the defensive support in front of him kept the threat clear. They played out what was left of the third period to move into overtime for 3 on 3 action.

The first half saw the Red Wings trying to end the night and get the win with some attacks but getting ahead of the Sharks was difficult. Frustration came to Dylan Larkin who got hooked by Brent Burns but was not awarded a penalty shot. They played on a 4 on 3 power play but Jones was still heavily focused on not being the goalie to allow a goal. The Sharks had a long shift during the Detroit man advantage but got fortunate to clear out the puck. San Jose didn’t get any chances to put a real play into motion ultimately leading the teams to a shootout.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski got things started after Frans Nielsen was stopped by Jones to take the lead for them. It was secured even better by Logan Couture who made it 2-1 after Nyquist kept Detroit alive. Andreas Athanasiou tied things up that saw them in a tie through three rounds. After going scoreless in the fourth and fifth, Tomas Tatar got things going again to take the lead.

San Jose responded with Chris Tierney scoring. Justin Abdelkader came into action to score a goal that held strong. “I wanted to give him a good shot fake there,” Abdelkader said to Fox Sports Detroit reporter Trevor Thompson after the game. “I thought I could get him down and then I always like to come on the right side to have more options. I just pulled it to the backhand and got lucky and put it in.” Mrazek dealt well with Tomas Hertl to end the game and give Detroit a very well-deserved win.

The 25 year old Czech had a strong night in net stopping 30 of 31 for a .968 save percentage while denying four of six from the Sharks in the shootout. While he’ll have plenty of momentum to continue on the rest of the week, the Red Wings victory and snapping the losing streak at home allowed them to prepare for a Friday night matchup in Carolina against the Hurricanes.

Flyers stun Red Wings in quick OT win

Jakub Voracek #93 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates his goal with teammates during an NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on January 23, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

Travis Konecny put an end to the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena Tuesday night. The young center got his best chance scoring the game winner that gave the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 win extending their streak to four games.

Detroit’s recent win on Monday allowed Petr Mrazek to get another shutout under his belt and the team on a good point to return home. He would face a serious challenge against a Flyers squad that has eight wins in its last night. Since their ten-game losing streak that began Dec. 5, Philadelphia has turned up a surge of victories that included Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. With a current three game winning streak and a loss to Detroit this season, the Flyers would try to make it four in the hopes of giving the Red Wings a sour welcome home.

The Red Wings got started well going deep in the Flyers zone where Dylan Larkin scared Brian Elliot in net with a very close shot that went off the post. They didn’t get many after that but held Philadelphia to a minimum amount of scoring tries on Mrazek. It remained slow through the halfway point with both teams each having three on the respective goals. It soon changed with defenseman Jonathan Ericsson scoring a big drive from the far end that went off the skates of Brandon Manning.

The deflection got the puck to go out of the reach of Elliot to give the veteran his second of the season and first in 40 games. The confidence of getting ahead on the scoreboard for a second consecutive game allowed them to hold their ground and play an even game against the Flyers. When the period finished up, the Flyers edged the Red Wings 5-4 but the difference maker was in the hands of Detroit.

Not wanting the Red Wings to grow a lead that would get out of hand, the Flyers made a strong push right from the start of the second period. After seventy second of play, they got things tied with a good shot from Andrew MacDonald gaining his second on the year with Voracek making the lone assist. They had a 4-0 run on Detroit through the opening minutes on shots at the Czech netminder hunting down a shot to take over the lead. Detroit wouldn’t let them despite being outshot again in the second.

Since even strength wasn’t working for them, they attempted to do so on a Detroit penalty to Luke Witkowski for charging. For the sixth consecutive time, the Red Wings killed off the power play of their opponents with a shorthanded chance that nearly turned the tables in their favor. They later had a power play at 15:56 that had them fighting to get the lead but Elliot and the Flyers PK shut them down.

In the final minute, Philadelphia had another man advantage that worked for them with 36.4 seconds left. Jakub Voracek had enough space to fire a shot that went into the net. Detroit challenged the call that there was goaltender interference but NHL officials ruled that no interference was visible. Voracek earned his ninth to get his team ahead after two periods making the third very interesting for both parties involved.   

Every shot was key for the Red Wings and the Flyers who didn’t get a lot on one another through the first several minutes of play. When they did, the scoring chances were so close that Detroit was frustrated being down a goal to the visitors. Larkin was a prime example of attempting to get it done for his team as he used his signature backhand in front of Elliot only to see it go into the glove when he tried for a second opportunity.

The Red Wings were not done as they made things happen with a full line effort that ended with Frans Nielsen scoring on a chance in front that tallied his 11^th to tie the game at two. Tyler Bertuzzi who had recently been on fire lately had an open net where he fired a shot that had too much power on it going well above his mark. With a chance to break the tie with five minutes, Detroit gained a power play that had everyone heated when Robert Hagg boarded Bertuzzi from behind.  

The Flyers made the key stop to force the Red Wings back to even strength with three minutes to go and still no determined winner. Detroit had the leverage shooting 10-7 with the intensity clearly rising. Bertuzzi got another chance but as the empty net came into view, he had very little time and ended up dislodging the net. Anthony Mantha was the last Red Wings player to take a shot on net in the final minute but his attempt went unanswered as the Flyers stopped them to force overtime.

Much like Andreas Athanasiou’s goal that gave the Red Wings a victory against Ottawa, the Flyers earned the ultimate win in similar fashion. A chance on the puck in the Detroit zone came to Konecny who gained the puck near the blue line getting ahead of the Detroit defense and 1 on 1 with Mrazek. The drive caught the net to end the game and give the 20-year-old centerman his ninth of the year 27 seconds into the period.

Officials went back to check whether Konecny went off sides when he gained possession of the puck. After a check from NHL officials in Toronto, it was determined that he was onside during the play thereby holding the goal up for his and the Flyers. The loss hurt those in the stands for Detroit as they extending a losing streak that went four games.

While Philadelphia relishes in victory, the Red Wings would attempt another try at ending their woes on home ice hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

Mertens rips Svitolina out of the Australian Open

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It appeared that the quarterfinals were not yet Elina Svitolina’s forte for a third time. The Ukrainian saw Elise Mertens use a strategy of net front points that beat the world number four to submission at the Australian Open to win 6-4, 6-0 at Rod Laver Arena Tuesday afternoon. In what was considered the biggest upset of a top five player in the tournament, the 22-year-old up and coming Belgian tore apart the Ukrainian to advance to the semifinals.

After winning two titles early last season, the Ukrainian held off the 22-year-old Belgian to win her third WTA title. She held Mertens to six games with a defense in the second set that gave her the victory on the clay courts. With both reaching the quarterfinals for the first time at the open, it was a big moment where Svitolina would keep her composure and carry serious leverage against Mertens who doesn’t. The world number 37 hasn’t dropped a set all tournament but faces her first top ten player so far making the difficulty higher than ever for her.

Mertens had the lead during her opening serve but allowed Svitolina to force deuce on her own error. The Ukrainian secured the break before going on the hunt for consolidating her own. The sun became a factor in Svitolina’s serve which let the Belgian come in and fight for an early tie. She got deep into rallies with Svitolina before securing the AD point to win her first hold of the set. After showing her strength, Mertens put together a solid break that gave her a 2-1 lead on the fourth seed.   

The 22-year-old made it 3-1 on a dirty ending where her shot bounced off the top of the net falling perfectly into Svitolina’s end. She stopped the deficit in its tracks gaining a hold in the fifth that got her game back in motion to control her own. It was becoming a problem as Mertens brought her net game into play that began to create problems for the world number four. She was down 5-2 quickly and needed ways of striking back.

The Ukrainian did it with two wins that broke Mertens but still in danger of going a set down with the Belgian on the ball for a third try at the set. She got it done with the net front shots that put Svitolina down a set after 41 minutes. Svitolina was held back on her serves that couldn’t get up to speed.

The second set was all Mertens as she used her drop shots and ball placement to her full advantage breaking Svitolina apart. The fourth seed had nothing to show for it as she was being beaten by the Belgian who dictated where she wanted the ball and took a shocking 3-0 lead sitting halfway from a major upset. Svitolina was well in danger and tried everything to break Mertens who was having the match of the tournament. She continued to make Svitolina run who at times got complacent in her game before firing a winner that gave her a massive 5-0 run serving for a spot in the semis.

Playing with so much focus and pressure beyond the scale for Svitolina, Mertens achieved match point at 40-30 that came on a long ball ending things at 1 hour and 13 minutes. The victory set a new point for Belgian tennis as she reached the semifinals of a major for the first time since Kirsten Flipkens did it in 2013. “I’m full of mixed good emotions,” Mertens said to Renae Stubbs during her on court interview. “I gave it all today and was a little stressed at the end but I played my game and it went well today.”

She’ll await new ground awaiting the winner between Caroline Wozniacki and Carla Suarez-Navarro.

Red Wings shutout Devils in 3-0 win

The Detroit Red Wings celebrate Tyler Bertuzzi's first period goal during the game against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on January 22, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Red Wings learned the mistakes from Saturday and produced a fine form of hockey at the Prudential Center Monday night. Detroit’s defense and goaltender Petr Mrazek held off the New Jersey Devils in a 3-0 shutout.

Injuries appear on both teams which would affect the power of either going in with a losing streak. While the Devils only had one loss dating back to Saturday, they found themselves without Taylor Hall because of a hand injury keeping him out two games. The Red Wings IR list got longer with Luke Glendening, Justin Abdelkader and Trevor Daley going down while the team suffered a two game losing streak in Saturday’s home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. With being on the road once again for a short time, Detroit hoped to use defenseman Joe Hicketts and forward Tyler Bertuzzi on the first line as a difference maker to get a win.

The Devils challenged Detroit early taking a lead on shots to the net that Mrazek dealt with. He made a quick slide blocking a wraparound attempt from Drew Stafford to attempted to get New Jersey ahead. The Red Wings were tailing them 7-3 on shots to the net after six minutes but Detroit remained relentless. Dylan Larkin brought a play in the Devils zone backhanding a shot at center hitting Devils goalie Cory Schneider’s pads. As it rebounded, Bertuzzi got to the puck scoring the one-timer for his second of the season.

With the good point of starting on time while being behind on the shots, Detroit had the lead through 12 minutes was a lot to be confident about. They began to create scoring chances with one from Anthony Mantha going off the post. It didn’t deter them from quitting as gaining ground with time on the clock was the order of the period. While they didn’t get another one against New Jersey they accomplished a good show on offense outshooting them 12-11.

Detroit got a chance to increase their chances of shooting at Schneider as they wanted to gain further ground as the second period got rolling. They couldn’t convert on the man advantage and fell into some trouble minutes later. A power play went to the Devils who later got another one but failed to break through Mrazek and the Detroit PK unit. The Devils didn’t make it easy for Detroit either as they couldn’t gain any open ground facing Schneider as New Jersey overturned the puck at times.

The Devils went back on the man advantage as the fifth power play of the night went into action with six minutes left. Detroit showed consistency supporting Mrazek while he had good focus on the quick shots New Jersey got off but not behind him. The work to keep the Devils scoreless paid off for them late with 1:48 left with Jonathan Ericsson bringing the puck in the Devils zone.

The veteran defenseman found David Booth ready where he rifled the pass getting it well above Schneider who went down on the pads only to have another goal allowed. It was Booth’s fourth of the season and first since Dec. 5. “When Ericsson gave me the puck I just wanted to get a shot on net,” Booth said about his goal. “I wanted to get a shot on net and create something there and really didn’t know it went in till I saw the red light on.” They finished strong on the right mark despite being outdone by the Devils 12-9 who knew that they needed a solid third period for a comeback.

They almost had the start two minutes in as a shot at Mrazek left the left side of the net open where Drew Stafford went for a try but got tied up with Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg who took the penalty for holding. Detroit made a fourth successful penalty kill keeping the Devils away from scoring one to change the pace of the game.

They were denied through several minutes as the Red Wings kept the defense on lock to kill time off the clock and keep the two goal buffer alive. With 8:57 left, they made it 3-0 on a shot from Dylan Larkin that ended up being a response from the rest of his teammates until they saw that it was good. Officials went back to check on the play and determined the puck went into the net fully despite the light not coming on. Larkin gained his eighth securing two points in the game while making it very difficult for their opponents.

The Devils were in dire straight but got another chance to make something happen on the man advantage. For a fifth time, the Red Wings killed the penalty they created that built up a lot of confidence to come out of the game strong with four minutes left. With the Devils all but out, the Red Wings were not ready to give up putting pucks at Schneider with Gustav Nyquist tapping one that didn’t get beyond the goal line for him to get credit on the scoreboard. He let it go as they played the last minute in regulation bringing a much needed win on their short getaway from home.

Mrazek earned his second shutout against the Devils since Jan. 2006 which also set a new franchise record for the Red Wings. Mrazek created a big win that gave the Czech netminder back to back shutouts in his starts that hasn’t been done since January 2008 when Dominik Hasek pulled off the feat. The 25 year old made 37 saves with 11 of them coming on the Devils power play which had five attempts.

“Well I felt pretty good before the game and tried to build a game like I had in Chicago and I tried to stay focus and it was a big one,” Mrazek said during his press conference.

While it was a good overall win from the team, they couldn’t relax as the work done needed to go into tomorrow night’s match at home where they’ll host the Philadelphia Flyers.