Wings Post-Game: A Happy Halloween

Returning home after a week on the road should be a rewarding experience, but on everyone is always a little restless on Halloween. On this spooky eve, the Red Wings played host to the last place Arizona Coyotes. The Yotes put up their first win of the season on Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers and have put up a measly three points in 12 games. They rolled into LCA on Tuesday to terrorize the Red Wings. Let’s see how the teams made out on this spooktacular night.

When the game started, the Coyotes weren’t the ones terrorizing, they were the ones being terrorized! Gustav Nyquist scored on a wrister from the high slot only 1:29 into the game.

This was Nyquist’s second goal in two games, not including the shootout winner in Florida on Saturday. And his early game energy was appreciated as Detroit kept their foot on the gas, scoring a second goal only 1:08 later. This time, it was Luke Glendening scoring from the high slot off a pass by Marty Frk.

After Glendening’s goal, the Red Wings continued with an onslaught of shots against the Coyotes. All four lines were rolling, outskating and outplaying the Coyotes at every level. For example, on a mid-period penalty kill, the Wings had more shots on goal than the ‘Yotes. As they settled into the game, the Coyotes got a little better, firing 7 shots on Jimmy Howard. It was no match for the Wings 18 shots, though. It’s the most shots Detroit’s taken in the first period all season.

Detroit got off to an equally energetic start to the second period, but this is when the Coyotes started to claw their way back into the game. Eleven minutes into the period, Howard made a huge save on a breakaway from Clayton Keller. Seconds later, Jason Demers had the puck on his stick at the point and buried a shot past Howard.

Detroit would not stand for a one goal game, though. Less than two minutes later, Dylan Larkin stripped Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the puck deep in the Coyotes zone. He found Andreas Athanasiou alone in the slot, who found Mantha down low around the net, who buried it on an open net. A beautiful play from the three young Red Wings.

Detroit kept the pressure up and players were chipping in from all over the lineup. Ericsson had a good offensive and defensive zone shift. The Mantha-Larkin-AA line had strong possession shifts. Abdelkader almost set up a Nielsen goal. The Coyotes almost escaped the period down by two, but Larkin wasn’t done. Going in on a 2-on-1 with Mantha, Larkin tried to make a pass through the slot, but it deflected off of Luke Schenn’s stick and into the net.

It was Larkin’s 2nd goal of the season and his 3rd point of the night. The teams retreated to the locker rooms with the Wings up 4-1, despite being outshot 12-10 in the second period.

In the third, Arizona started to look much more energetic. Only two minutes into the period, Nick Cousins scored through some confusion in front of the net to cut Detroit’s lead in half.

The Coyotes went on to outshoot Detroit 8-2 through the first ten minutes of the period. That’s not to say Detroit didn’t have any chances. Frans Nielsen had a breakaway opportunity that he was out-defended on. Mantha centered a pass to Larkin who fired it high.

Speaking of Larkin and Mantha, their line absolutely destroyed the Coyotes. Athanasiou had two strong scoring chances on the same chance and he and Mantha almost converted on a 2-on-1 right after.

Arizona wasn’t done, though. Clayton Keller, circling the zone, threw a shot on net through traffic from the point that was redirected by Brandan Perlini past Howard, bringing the Coyotes within one.

It wouldn’t be enough for the Coyotes, though, as Darren Helm buried an empty net goal with just over a minute to play. They played a better third period, getting 14 shots through on Jimmy Howard, but Detroit held strong and notched their second win in a row.

Notice how that blue line doesn’t even start until after the second Detroit goal? The first period was all Detroit. The Coyotes may have been tired from their game last night, but the Wings were walking all over them. That changed in the second period though, as Arizona started to climb back. They actually outshot Detroit in the second and third periods, something the Wings needed to be careful of. Luckily, the offense showed up tonight and Detroit was able to bury a couple more goals.

In the third, Arizona almost outpossessed Detroit for a bit there, a sign that the Red Wings started to collapse into themselves. Howard had some big saves and their defense had some big plays. Overall, it was a solid showing by the Wings, but remember that they were playing against the worst team in the league.

Tonight’s Motor City MVP is Dylan Larkin. Larkin scored the game winning goal, his second of the season, on a fluky bounce of Luke Schenn’s stick. It was his second point of the night, the first was a beautiful assist on the Anthony Mantha goal.

Larkin’s line played wonderfully and he generated so many chances. He lead the team in Corsi-For and had 3 shots on goal. Blashill deciding to put the kids on a line together and leave the lines alone is proving to be the best thing he could have done for these players.

With his strong game tonight, Larkin passed Mike Green to become the point leader for the Red Wings this season. He’s 5 assists away from last season’s total. Keep it up, Larks!

The Wings kick off a four game Canadian road trip Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators.Though they defeated the Senators in a shootout in the teams’ first meeting, Ottawa has since added Erik Karlsson to the lineup. They are coming off of an 8-3 beating at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, so they’ll be looking to bounce back in a big way. Puck drop is at 7:30 P.M. EST and you can catch the game on FS-D or TSN-5 in Canada.

As always, Brock Seguin will have the pre-game report early Sunday afternoon on WingsNation.com.