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.

Red Wings fight to beat Rangers in shootout

 Henrik Zetterberg #40 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates his third period goal with teammate Tyler Bertuzzi #59 during an NHL game against the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena on December 29, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Red Wings pulled a much-deserved win ending their overtime woes at Little Caesars Arena Friday night. While there was friendly banter between some members of each team, Detroit came out victorious ending a bad run in overtime to defeat the New York Rangers in a shootout winning 3-2. Jimmy Howard shut the Rangers out in net during the 3 frames to earn a big win to snap a two-game slide. Frans Nielsen was responsible scoring his 47^th goal in the shootout with his experience paying off.

With just one game to go before the Winter Classic, the Rangers would have a lot to fight for in support of Henrik Lundqvist. The Swede goaltender was just one game behind NHL legend Tony Esposito for eighth on the all-time winningest goaltenders. A win would give him 423 wins and would beat Esposito by 112 Games to reach that mark. The Red Wings found themselves on another losing streak and hoped to keep it short with a victory at home. They began a two game homestand to conclude 2017 with an Original Six matchup and Jimmy Howard once again taking position between the pipes.

He watched his team work Lundqvist early on with Gustav Nyquist launching the first shot at him. The Rangers netminder made the stop on his Swedish countryman and continued dealing with the Detroit offense swarming around him. It wasn’t until the seventh minute that New York recorded a shot on Howard who made the five hole save.  

They got on to creating pucks in the Detroit end to match that of the Red Wings who used a power play only to lose out on the opportunity. As the number one team with the most shorthanded goals, they tried getting one on the Rangers who were lucky enough to stop them. They went back at pressuring Detroit in the late stages with one going in at 17:35. With a lot of ground in front of Howard, the Rangers took the lead with Jimmy Vesey setting up David Desharnais for a one timer that gave him his fourth of the season. When the first came to a close, New York shot the last eight pucks indicating their dominance in the final minutes.

The Rangers picked up where they left off attacking Howard and the Red Wings looking to get a leg up on the scoreboard. Detroit’s defense came in and helped clear away their scoring chances while looking to create any sudden chances they could. One came eight minutes in with a long stretch pass bouncer from Dylan Larkin that Andreas Athanasiou got to in time. The quick forward got in front of Rangers defenseman Nick Holden to get the blade on the puck and swing the puck high to hit top shelf for his sixth tying the game.

He tried four minutes later to get a second one on Lundqvist but the veteran goalie had his focus on the puck to make the big stop of the 23-year-old. His actions saw the rest of the squad get in on firing pucks at Lundqvist recording eight in the second period. Six minutes were left with both teams even on shots on goal with Detroit still adamant about taking over control of the game while they created opportunities.

With 3:25 left on the clock, the Red Wings gained a power play to get an edge on controlling the puck. In response right off the opening faceoff, New York was quickly on the puck in their attempt to kill time off the penalty. They did the job knocking out Detroit’s third of the game and brought the period to a close. While they were outshot 11-9 to Detroit, the third would determine a lot as both teams were full speed with the game even.

The Rangers got the jump on Detroit in the third period making it count just 2:34 in. With plenty of push into the Detroit zone, the Rangers scored with Vinni Letteri in his first NHL game scoring his first career goal with Boo Nieves making the assist for the 22-year-old who had his family in attendance. The offense only got heavier for New York as they were all over Howard who struggled to make the stops against them. Detroit somehow turned the game to run their way soon after. At 12:55, Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg scored on Lundqvist with a second chance shot that gave him his sixth. The goal came with a strong defensive play by Gustav Nyquist who kept the puck in the offensive zone for Zetterberg to gain possession.

With the game tied, the Rangers went with a strategy to surge on shots at Howard to get out front with time on the clock and pressure Detroit heavily. They had scoring chances but none found a good way of getting into the net behind the Red Wings netminder. The Rangers had Detroit outshot but a power play in favor of the home team allowed them one chance of scoring the game winner. New York successfully killed of the penalty but soon went back a man down to hand the Red Wings another opportunity with 1:20 left in the game.

A shot that got behind Lundqvist almost gave the Red Wings the lead but a save by Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh allowed him to sweep the puck away from the crease. There was still time on the man advantage for them but it became clear that despite the very close chance, the teams would go into overtime with Detroit having 40 seconds up 4 on 3. New York outshot Detroit 18-11 in the period but with just five minutes of play left, it would be up to them to keep their consistency alive.

The Rangers killed off a fifth power play and continued playing 4 on4 before Lundqvist helped reset the playing field to 3 on 3. A huge chance for New York came on a penalty shot for Brady Skjei who was stopped by Howard on the pads. The final two minutes of overtime were very tense for both goaltenders in the net but a winner was not decided leaving a shootout to take care of things.

Nielsen got it going with a five-hole shot on Lundqvist while Howard stopped Matts Zuccarello. Nyquist continued to be stopped by Lundqvist losing out on his chance while Mika Zabinejad flowed well to cut him off. Zetterberg almost had another fake working against his good friend in net for New York but went wide on the shot. A final stop of Kevin Shattenkirk gave the Red Wings a very well-deserved win that ended their 0-6 overtime record.

“I actually think it was my first on him,” said Nielsen when asked about his shootout attempt. “I watched Gus [Nyquist] when he came in on him, we were looking at that one a bit to find some holes so I saw him open on his five hole and that’s what I tried to do.” “Getting the win means a lot,” he told Fox Sports Detroit reporter Trevor Thompson. “It’s been tough lately. We feel we deserve better than what we’re getting and we have to put in a good streak to get back in it.”

They will try to do so on New Year’s Eve when they face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Devils put a fork in their fifth win over Red Wings

The New Jersey Devils celebrate Nico Hischier's second goal of the game during the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center on December 27, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

A late surge from Detroit wasn’t enough to help them achieve victory on the road Wednesday night. The Red Wings put together a strong stance in the third period but the New Jersey Devils defense and goaltending from Cory Schneider helped them gain a 3-1 win at Prudential Center giving them a fifth consecutive win.

With the Red Wings back in business after Christmas, they hoped to bring an end to their losing streak with just three games to go in 2017. The challenge remained for them going into New Jersey to face the surging Devils who looked to win their fifth win. Schneider would make his seventh consecutive start for New Jersey carrying a 5-0-1 record in his last six decisions. He hasn’t lost in regulation since Dec. 8. Jimmy Howard was once again in net hoping to overcome his tough afternoon in Boston last Saturday. With Detroit able to score more in recent games, they would have to break quickly and get a grip on the score.

Through the first eight minutes, the Devils controlled the game but had yet to change the score themselves. Detroit’s defense along with Howard doing work in net helped them stay dead even. They also struggled getting a shot on Schneider having trouble getting the puck out of their own zone. It took them 13 minutes to record a shot but the force was coming strong from the Devils who continued firing point shots hoping that one would go in.

At 15:16, it came for them on the stick of number one draft pick Nico Hischier who was at the far end scoring his sixth through Howard for the 1-0 lead. He got a penalty to him giving Detroit a chance to level the score before the period came to a close. The Devils killed it with good work on the penalty kill that left Detroit with very little time left to do anything. They gave up a bad turnover losing the puck in the back end where the speed of New Jersey came into play. It was Hischer once again scoring from the far end for his second of the night. It was not the way Detroit wanted to end the period being down in a hole after the first period.

The second saw the Red Wings improving their offense but still trailing the Devils in the opening minutes. Howard had some big gloves saves in net that helped prevent the score from getting away from Detroit. Tyler Bertuzzi continued to contribute quite a bit to getting his team into a spot to create a scoring chance. He found a chance to set up teammate Justin Abdelkader with a shot that he patiently waited to fire off and get the top corner on Schnieder’s left. It was the veteran’s sixth of the season and Bertuzzi’s first assist of the season.

The Red Wings tried to create some pressure during another power play, but the Devils put physical strength to stop the puck in its tracks, killing time off the man advantage. The New Jersey PK showed consistency as they rallied to another penalty kill in the late stages avoiding a tie from happening. They got through the final 1:12 holding back the Red Wings to keep their one goal lead after 40 minutes.

With the margin short, Detroit clearly had chances to dictate the game and conduct strong offense. It came together over several minutes as the Red Wings created shots on the puck to pressure Schneider in net. He saw two more power plays in the third period, not allowing them produce the results Detroit wanted. They gained confidence in their attempts and took the lead on overall shots to the net.

New Jersey got a break after 12 minutes to get a power play of their own but faced a Detroit penalty that had them beat. Opportunities were becoming less as five minutes remained in the game with the Devils still holding the goal over Detroit’s head. Another power play in their favor gave them more time on the puck and less for the Red Wings. When 1:20 was left in regulation, Coach Jeff Blashill pulled Howard or the sixth man but the Devils defense was too strong putting the game out of reach with an empty netter being credited to Sami Vatanen for his second. The last 23 seconds were just a formality as New Jersey clinched their fifth straight at home handing Detroit their third defeat.

Schneider had another solid night between the pipes with 31 saves and a .969 save percentage to gain his 17^th win this season. Howard continued to wear the losses despite stopping 29 of 31 and a .935 save percentage. He and Detroit would move forward to Friday when they host the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena.