Red Wings Post-Game: Singin’ the Blues
By Nick Seguin
7 years ago
After a beautiful tribute to their late owner, the Red Wings looked to end their three game losing streak against the visiting St. Louis Blues. Every game is important to the Wings right now as they try to claw their way out of the basement of the Eastern Conference. Tonight, they crumbled under the pressure and gave up another two points. Let’s see how it all went down.
The Rundown
The game got off the same way all of the others do: with a goal against the Red Wings. It was only two minutes into the game when Ivan Barbashev picked up the puck behind the Red Wings net and brought it up along the boards, completely unchallenged, before burying it blocker side on Petr Mrazek.
The rest of the first period, other than an uninspired Red Wings powerplay (what else is new?) was pretty much uneventful. Detroit would end the period with a 10-7 edge on shots.
The second period didn’t go any better for the Wings. They recorded one shot on their only powerplay and killed off two penalties. The real star of this period was Petr Mrazek, who turned away sixteen St. Louis shots.
The Red Wings only recorded four shots on goal in the second.
The third period was a much better story for the Wings. Mike Green took a penalty only 40 seconds in, forcing the penalty kill unit to work for the fourth time. But after that, the Wings had a dominant powerplay where Zetterberg recorded four shots.
The Red Wings outshot the Blues 15-10 in the third period. They had a fantastic push at the end of the game, with an empty net, crashing the net and almost burying the puck a few times. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Jaden Schwartz would shoot the puck down into the empty net. When the final buzzer sounded, it was 2-0 St. Louis.
The Red Wings extend their losing streak to four games.
The Stats
As you can see, the Red Wings were chasing the puck most of the game. St. Louis played some dominant hockey and didn’t let the Wings get anything going in their own end. It’s a frustrating way to lose a hockey game. The Red Wings need to be stronger on the puck and the forecheck if we want to see these lines reverse.
Motor City MVP
He may have gotten off to a rocky start, letting in an arguably soft goal only two minutes into the game, but Petr Mrazek quickly found his confidence and kept the Blues at bay through a dominant second period. He posted an .964 SV%, turning away every St. Louis shot except for the first one.
Up Next
The Red Wings host the Washington Capitals Saturday afternoon. Puck drop is 2:00 PM so make sure to finish your chores in the morning. If it’s anything like when the two teams met last week, it will be an exciting and high scoring game. You’ll be able to catch the game on FS-D or NHLN-US and, as always, Brock Seguin will have your post-game right here at Wings Nation Saturday morning.
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