RED WINGS POST-GAME: WINNIPEG JET DOWN
By Nick Seguin
7 years ago
The Red Wings flew into a snowstorm Tuesday morning as “Winterpeg” was in full force. The Red Wings were looking to close out a tedious road trip that saw a collapsing loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday and a shaky OT win in Brooklyn on Sunday. The Jets entered Tuesday’s contest on a two game winning streak and defending a Wild Card spot. A win would launch them past the Minnesota Wild for third place in the division. It was an important matchup for both teams. Let’s see how they fared.
The Rundown
The Jets came out flying and rattled the first six shots of the game off of Petr Mrazek. The seventh went through him. Andrew Copp scored on a deflection off a point shot 6:41 into the period.
The Red Wings wasted no time in responding, though. A mere 24 seconds later, Tomas Tatar flipped a rebound past Connor Hellebuyck on the Wings’ first shot on goal of the game. It was Tatar’s first goal in eight games.
Two minutes later, the Red Wings were offered an opportunity in the form of a powerplay. Alex Burmistrov went off for highsticking Dylan Larkin. Alas, the Red Wings couldn’t convert. The Jets, however, took the momentum they built on their penalty kill and netted the go-ahead goal at 11:22 of the period.
Dustin Byfuglien converted on a 2-on-1 on a pass from Patrick Laine. And Laine wasn’t done. At 13:08 of the period, he ripped his 17th goal of the game past Mrazek to give the Jets a 3-1 lead.
The period would end with this score and the Jets leading in shots 16-7.
In order to try and spur some scoring, Jeff Blashill juggled the lines heavily in the second period. Suddenly, Dylan Larkin was playing back on the first line with Zetterberg and Tatar while Mantha was playing on the fourth line with Ott and Miller. He struck gold, though, when he had Larkin and Mantha on the ice at the same time together.
Detroit managed to stay in it through the second period, despite Winnipeg outplaying them. They even tied the game late in the period. Thomas Vanek redirected a beautiful pass from Xavier Ouellet into the back of the net at 17:52.
The game was now tied, but the Wings were still being badly outshot 28-16.
The Red Wings got off to a really good start in the third period, outshooting the Jets 6-0. Unfortunately, neither team could find a goal to pull ahead despite both having good opportunities throughout the period. This one would have to be settled in overtime. It would be the second time the Red Wings went to overtime in two games.
Despite an exciting 3-on-3 overtime period, nothing gets accomplished. In the shootout, it was not looking good for the Red Wings as Laine scored a pretty goal on Mrazek. But Vanek shot back immediately to tie it up. Then, Brian Little hit the post and it was up to Henrik Zetterberg to give the Red Wings the lead.
Straight filth indeed. And it would be enough to secure the victory. This was a big win for the Red Wings as they took four out of a possible six points on this road trip.
The Stats
Yeah… There’s not much to say here. The Red Wings continued to be one of the worst possession teams in the league. Winnipeg skated circles around them all night, with the exception of the start of the third period. Let’s move on from this.
Motor City MVP
The Motor City MVP tonight goes to Dylan Larkin for playing on every line and in different positions. Larkin started the night on the fourth line with Steve Ott and Drew Miller, but eventually saw time on the first, second, and third lines. He played centre and he played on the wing. In addition to this, Larkin got the primary assist on the team’s second goal – a beautiful pass through the slot to fellow youngster Anthony Mantha.
Up Next
The Wings get two days of rest before opening up a five-game homestand against the red hot Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. Puck drop is at 7:30 PM EST and you can catch the game on FS-D+. As always, Brock Seguin will have your game preview right here on wingsnation.com the morning of the game.
Recent articles from Nick Seguin
