Wings Post-Game: Five and Counting
By Nick Seguin
6 years agoAfter an embarrassing 4-1 loss handed to them at home by the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, the Red Wings hit the road for a tour of the Atlantic Division. The first stop was Buffalo, New York, where the Wings would take on Jack Eichel and the Sabres. It was a chance to break the four game losing streak they’ve slumped themselves into. Let’s see how they did.
The Rundown
The first period went by pretty quickly and pretty uneventfully. Larkin took a pretty weak slashing penalty that the Red Wings killed off masterfully. The Wings were outshot 12-10 and Jimmy Howard was looking good in net. They escaped the period without a goal for or a goal against.
The second period got off to a similar start, but it was only four minutes in when Larkin took his second penalty of the game. Again, he sat for slashing. This time, however, the Wings didn’t have to kill off the whole penalty as Viktor Antipin took a hooking penalty halfway through. The result ws a 4-on-4 that Detroit owned in every way except the scoreboard.
In fact, it was the Sabres who would hit the scoreboard first on a wraparound by Benoit Pouliot. It was a pretty ugly goal that I’m sure Howard wishes he could have back.
Detroit would take one more penalty before the period ended – Larkin again, this time for hooking – but wouldn’t be able to get the equalizer. They were outshot 13-10 in the second period.
When the third period got underway, it didn’t take long for the Red Wings to find themselves back in the box. This time, it was Mantha who sat for holding. And it didn’t take long for Buffalo to count their man advantage short as Eichel took a slashing penalty. This time on the 4-on-4, it was Buffalo who outplayed Detroit. No goals were scored though, and Detroit couldn’t convert on their 30 second powerplay either.
Detroit barely showed up for third period and if it weren’t for Jimmy Howard, the score would have been much worse. There was a few minutes in the middle of the period where the Mantha – Larkin – Frk line almost got something going, but they couldn’t put it past Robin Lehner.
In the final minutes of the game, Howard was pulled during an offensive zone faceoff and the boys almost slid a couple in. Unfortunately, Lehner wasn’t going to give up his shutout that easily. And he never did. The game ended with a score of 1-0.
The Red Wings losing streak is now at five games.
The Stats
Throughout most of this game, these teams felt even, almost like they were of similar skill. Detroit’s poor start to the period led to their downfall. Towards the end, they picked up the pace, but it was too little too late. They actually evened out the shots, firing 31 of them on Robin Lehner. Unfortunately, Lehner was on fire and they weren’t getting anything by him.
Motor City MVP
Tonight’s Motor City MVP is Jimmy Howard because without him, Detroit’s loss would have been much worse. Howard turned away 31 Buffalo shots for a save percentage of 0.969. He was easily the best Red Wing on the ice tonight.
What’s Next
The Wings move down the eastern coastline down to Tampa Bay to take on Steve Yzerman’s Lightning for the second time in seven days. Last Thursday, Tampa Bay beat Detroit 3-2, but it was a very tight game. The Wings will be looking for their retribution.
As always, Brock Seguin will have the pre-game report early Thursday afternoon on WingsNation.com.
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