Capitals blank Red Wings

Photo by: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals got the whitewash done to complete Friday night. The team’s number one goaltender picked up his 24^th career shutout stopping 25 to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 at Verizon Wireless Center.

The Red Wings saw themselves back on the road after a tough loss at home against Tampa. The 4-3 loss they suffered on Tuesday allowed them a break before going into the nation’s capital to go against the Capitals. Howard got the nod to start as his time to return to the net was green lighted due to his success so far. Though Detroit is 2-6-1 in their last nine, Howard’s fifth start in the last six makes him their best bet to get a victory to end the week.

Washington made that mission difficult as they brought the game in the Detroit end challenging Howard with their energetic offense. They launched several scoring chances at the Red Wings net minder, but the top man in net did enough to keep things level. The hits began to pick up to a high degree with TJ Oshie colliding hard into Riley Sheahan. The Capitals won a break after things got too dangerous with Danny DeKeyser earning a five-minute major for boarding Tom Wilson.

Washington had a slight advantage with Oshie not available on their power play unit, but the time being a man up served them to an offensive standpoint but failed to get an edge during the large power play. Time elapsed quickly that included the Red Wings taking time with the extra man. Their struggling power play continued working against them with big stops from Holtby.

Detroit made every effort to come back and even up on shots to the net but Washington showed their strength on defense. One big chance arrived with four minutes left with Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg taking a shot on Holtby but failed to complete the scoring chance. One further opportunity came to them in the final minute of play when Washington gave up a power play. They managed only a quarter of the time but in the end couldn’t overcome being outshot 11-5 in the first period.

Detroit made serious improvements going into the second period, allowing very little room for Washington to score while upping their shots in their opponent’s end. While they didn’t get much done on the remainder of their power play, the energy was quite apparent as they began to show an effort that matched the Capitals. The game was a stalemate on ice as neither team gave much to allow the score to change.

Detroit once again had the end of the period to themselves gaining a fourth chance to make a big statement. Unfortunately for their lack of scoring while a man up, they played to the sound of the horn where things remained scoreless and the third becoming an important moment of the entirety.

The teams took their near even stance from the second and made things interesting to start the third. Washington and Detroit carefully eyed the chances when skating in for a play but the goaltenders both had other ideas on how they were going to react. Howard and Holtby continued to play at their best while the teams kept sharp games on one another.

Five minutes remained on the clock and the tension in the arena could be cut with a butter knife. The fight for control ensued but a move for the Red Wings ended in a bad beat. They fought behind their net for possession getting the puck away from Washington. The puck was cleared to the boards, but no one from Detroit gained hold. It was there that the puck slid in reach of Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov. The 25-year-old sent a drive at Howard where it bounced off leaving a second opportunity alive. Jay Beagle got there for the shot and scored his fourth changing the tide.

It was almost a two goal margin for the Capitals when a loose puck nearly got away from Howard, but the whistle saved him and the Red Wings from letting the game slip away. Time was no longer an option to play with for Detroit as Howard skated off the ice for the sixth man. A solid chance arrived on a loose puck that saw Gustav Nyquist with the puck but couldn’t get it away in time. A costly penalty by Zetterberg killed things with 49.4 seconds left on the clock returning Howard to the net. Though they did receive a final chance from Dylan Larkin at the net, the Capitals skated off with the victory and a big shutout for their goalie.

Washington outshot Detroit 28-25 and despite the well-rounded comeback for a second straight game, the Red Wings didn’t have the power to put anything into the net. They’ll regroup from the short road trip and retry Sunday when they host the Calgary Flames at the Joe Louis Arena.

Lightning strike in last minute to beat Red Wings

Photo by: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Lightning got the best of Detroit for a second time this season. Despite a major comeback by the Red Wings, it was at the hands of Nikita Kucherov who scored two goals on the night beating Detroit 4-3 at Joe Louis Arena Tuesday.

Petr Mrazek got his first start in four games in Detroit’s return to home ice. Their path had Jimmy Howard in net trying to end a six-game winning streak that they did against the Flyers. Their two-game streak was put down by Montreal on Friday as they suffered a 5-0 loss to the Canadiens in which Howard took the brunt of all their goals. With the need for new strategy, coach Jeff Blashill decided to go with the Czech with the notion of their rivals.

They suffered a loss to start the season against the Lightning who defeated them 6-4 in Tampa. They got Andrei Vasilevskiy a shutout against the Islanders on the road and hoped to keep their grip on the Red Wings in their second consecutive match.

They started well on the bad luck of Mrazek who went after the puck behind the net. A bounce of the puck from the boards got out of his reach which Kucherov easily got hold of scoring on the open net of Detroit for his seventh. A strong win off the draw for Tampa in the sixth minute allowed them to move the puck near the boards and out to the blue line. A shot from the far end from Viktor Hedman bounced back for a rebound that Lightning captain Steven Stamkos got a piece of scoring his ninth of the year.

The two-goal margin immediately sent a cause for concern on the Red Wings bench who were being outscored 7-0 in their last three and a half periods. Detroit showed improvement on their push for offense but still found themselves fighting to respond while time fell off the clock. In the final minutes of the period, the Lightning messed things up in their end with a loss of control behind the net.

It was there that Luke Glendening got hold of the puck feeding the puck across the front of Ben Bishop where Frans Nielsen set up. He pulled the puck back and delivered a nice backhander to end the shutout and get one on the board. The teams played out the last 79 seconds with the game now active on both sides. Tampa still outshot Detroit 11-9 but was out-hit through twenty minutes.

The second took a different look for both sides as Steven Stamkos didn’t come back to the bench to start the period. It was reported that the Lightning captain suffered a lower-body injury and wouldn’t return. The biggest piece of Tampa’s offense allowed Detroit to become more aggressive and bring better results from their end. They got into trouble six and a half minutes in when Brendan Smith took a penalty giving Tampa their first man advantage of the night.

They made it a short 5 on 3 for the Lightning but handled the serious issue with good defense. The reward came in the shape of outshooting their Atlantic Division rivals, taking the offense to Bishop in order to level the score before the end of the second. Detroit got another boost of energy as they watched their teammate Steve Ott get into it with Brian Boyle. Boyle initiated the fight with the NHL veteran getting shots to the Detroit forward but went off the ice with a fighting major and game misconduct.

The Lightning now down three men left the door open for the Red Wings to counteract with Stamkos and Boyle out for the night. Bishop was hanging on making big stops on the Red Wings with three minutes on the clock. Brayden Coburn returned to the bench after taking a flying puck to the lower body missing out on some ice time but not the remainder of the game. His actions along with the rest of Tampa’s support staff allowed them to hold the one goal margin. Another scuffle ensued at the end of the period with Justin Abdelkader getting into it with Alex Killorn.

He started the third in the penalty box with the Lightning back on the power play for another chance. They cashed in taking a 3-1 lead on a one timer from Nikita Nesterov that just nicked Glendening to direct it into the net for his first. Six minutes went by with Detroit not wanting to sit two goals down for long putting in some aggression. They already outshot Tampa as well as holding them back on getting pucks in the Detroit end.

The Red Wings showed net front presence in the Lightning end with Abdelkader putting a screen on Bishop. It was there that rookie Ryan Sproul delivered a wrist shot that went through the goaltender cleanly notching the first of his NHL career. Detroit thought they were getting a break going up a man but it was a matching of penalties that left things at four on four. It didn’t take long for them to get back on it with the Red Wings playing four on three for 90 seconds.

Detroit took their time setting up the shot, but a drive from Mike Green only saw Bishop stop a high one to the upper-body. He made two more stops on Detroit but a second chance on the play saw Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg find some of the net open up giving him a shot to score his third of the season. With the game tied and half the period to go, it left Detroit in a positive spot that they could just do enough to get ahead.

It was turning into critical moment where one team was going to be out front by the end of the game. Prior to the final minute of the period, the Lightning dug inside the Red Wings zone taking their scoring chances seriously. The puck moved all over the ice until a shot from Kucherov went into the net that made the difference. The Red Wings went all in pulling Mrazek from the net to get six men for the final 60 seconds. It didn’t work out finding a clean shot that led them to a heartbreaking finish.

Bishop breathed a sigh of relief at the end of regulation gaining a victory for his sixth of the season. Bishop made 25 saves for a .893 save percentage. Mrazek had a bad night dealing with very fast plays in front of him that were difficult for the net minder. He made 18 saves but accepted a fifth loss. They won’t be able to take time to review the defeat as they leave once again to meet against the Washington capitals on Friday night.

Habs blank Red Wings for tenth straight home win.

Carey Price helped his team reach history once more. The number one net minder for the Montreal Canadiens pulled off a tremendous shutout against the Detroit Red Wings while his teammates knocked in five straight to win 5-0 at Centre Bell Saturday night. It was the tenth consecutive home win for the Habs to start the season in their century long history.  

The Red Wings got back to the road with a two game winning streak under their belt. They came into Montreal without the services of Andreas Anthanasiou who injured his knee during the game against Vancouver on Thursday. The open spot once again allowed Montreal native Anthony Mantha to come in from Detroit’s AHL team in Grand Rapids to show his talents in front of friends and family. Mantha has been hot with the Griffins scoring eight goals so far this season. With his momentum joining the ranks of the Red Wings and Howard in net once more, Detroit would hope for a big win against their Original Six rivals.

Before the game got underway, the Montreal Canadiens delivered a tribute to Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe for his legendary skills on the ice as well as his rivalry with the Canadiens greats. The rivalry of the day got going right away with the Canadiens doing work deep in the Detroit zone. They took a 1-0 lead 4:17 into the first period getting hold of the loose puck every time. It ended with Phillip Danualt scoring his fifth of the season on a final slap of the puck that got behind the Red Wings net minder.

It was getting out of hand for Detroit as the action remained in Montreal’s offensive zone. Paul Bryon made it 2-0 with turnover in the neutral zone, stealing the puck from Niklas Kronwall before going in on Howard notching his fifth. Eight minutes went into the books with Detroit having shot just twice on goal.

It became a difficult feat to overcome so early and Detroit pushed through getting more time with the puck. They were battled by the defense of Montreal who wanted more than to switch the momentum back their way and increase the goal margin. They gained a couple more scoring chances during the period that included a last minute game changer. Shea Weber got himself on the board delivering a one timer off the faceoff near Howard for a third unanswered, and his sixth with the Canadiens.

The second period saw Detroit get an important power play to make good use of down three goals. Unfortunately for their power play unit, fighting one in on Price was a feat that was greater than themselves. Montreal used their physical strength to knock down Detroit and their chances during the two-minute stint. A big mistake of two straight penalties allowed Detroit to get a four-minute power play and make something of regaining so much lost ground.

Price made every second of their man advantage a nightmare as the Montreal goaltender made save after save performing smoothly along with the support of his team. Detroit took a number of shots on him but came up short leaving them wondering what could be done to change the pace.

It didn’t go their way as the Habs continued to fire away at Howard where at the midpoint of the game Paul Byron took a shot on the puck where he got the puck into the net with Howard calling interference. The Red Wings goaltender along with head coach Jeff Blashill called for a challenge which they won on the count that Howard froze the puck while being pushed in.

Just when it looked as if the barrage from Montreal had to an end, the team picked up right where they left off and took it back to Detroit. With six minutes left, Alex Galchenyuk got across the blue line where he drove the puck to the net before it went off the skate of Andrew Shaw giving him two on the year. Habs captain Max Pacioretty scored just 90 seconds later on a drive that made a huge 5-0 run. Detroit was far beyond falling off the tracks leaving them completely out of sorts to end the second. Montreal outshot them 15-10 in the twenty-minute stanza with still a third period left to play.

Petr Mrazek came in replace of Howard to start the final 20 minutes despite the massive gap between themselves and the Canadiens. Price remained a force to be reckoned with as the Red Wings spent the majority of time fighting off the defense while throwing everything they had left at the Montreal goaltender. He stopped all eight shots that Detroit brought to the table in the third period ending another successful game on home ice that set a new record for most consecutive wins to start a season.

Price made 25 saves for his tenth straight win that he wouldn’t forget. The Red Wings would let the disappointment seep in just briefly as they prepared to move on with their schedule facing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.